Hey, there, fellow members!
My name is Lokesh Reddy, and I'm a software engineer by trade. I just wanted to share my GMAT journey with you all. I started with a score of 640 (Q48 V31) on my first mock test, but after a lot of hard work and some ups and downs, I finally scored 760 (Q51 V41).
At first, I thought the GMAT would be a breeze, especially since I felt confident about my Quant skills. But boy, was I wrong! It was a long and arduous journey, with many sleepless nights, but I'm happy to say I finally aced it.
I have to give a shout-out to this community for keeping me motivated throughout the process with all the inspiring success stories and helpful insights. I made many mistakes along the way that ended up extending my prep time, but I also learned some great strategies that helped me succeed. I think my experience can be a valuable learning opportunity for other GMAT aspirants and help them avoid making the same mistakes I did. So, I just wanted to share my two cents, and hopefully, it will be helpful for you all.
My GMAT Scores and Timeline:
Oct’21 First Mock (Official) - 640 (Q48 V31)
Mar’22 First Attempt - 690 (Q50 V33)
July’22 Second Attempt - 730 (Q49 V41)
Aug’22 Third Attempt - 720 (Q49 V40)
Nov’22 Fourth Attempt - 740 (Q50 V40)
Nov’22 Fifth & Final attempt - 760 (Q51 V41)
My
effective prep time was only 5-6 months as I took two 2-month long breaks amidst other breaks. Also, I did most of my prep only on the weekends because of a hectic work schedule.
The first 4 attempts were taken at test centers, and the last one was an online attempt. ESR Analysis played a significant role in helping me identify my weak areas. Hence, I have attached my ESRs for ease of reference.
Highest Mock Scores - I twice scored 770 on the official mocks, once before my 2nd attempt (GMAT 730) and once before my 4th attempt (GMAT 740). My highest verbal mock score was V45 in Manhattan mocks. I was very happy after having scored V45 in my weaker Section, that too in a mock that is crazy in terms of hard questions. This served as a booster for my prep as I was confident about moving in the right direction.
Resources Used -• Manhattan guides (in the initial stage of prep i.e. before 1st attempt)
•
GMATWhiz Online Course
• Official Questions
• GMATClub (I was a part of some study groups on GMATClub that really added value)
Being a working professional, I knew right from the beginning that I needed a course as I could not afford much time in planning. I started looking at courses that offered a comprehensive plan of action along with the best value, not just content. After taking a free trial of multiple products, I decided to move ahead with
GMATWhiz as it provided a personalized study plan with clear weekly targets, which could help me stay right on track.
Mistakes Made in My First Attempt: GMAT 690
When I started preparing for Quant, I thought once you have that Quant foundation, it was all about practicing in a way that you pick up the correct pattern.
GMATWhiz course has kind of covered all the models we get in each topic, so I did not need to look elsewhere for any topic.
FROM the essential basic formulas, the shortcuts that we need, and the models we need to cover - TO the right methods to solve questions and detailed explanations for every question- they have it all. Coming to Verbal, I prepared for the entire SC module first, as I got almost all of it wrong in my first mock test. I was just learning the concepts and practicing questions and thought I was improving. I thought being practice-heavy would help me become familiar with all the kinds of questions that the GMAT throws. I thought the major portion of prep was done, and with a little more prep (CR, RC), I could beat the GMAT. Hence, I took a 2-month long break post my SC prep (a big mistake) and prepared in a casual manner for CR and RC when I resumed my studies. Little did I know that it would hurt my scores, and I would have to come back to the same things.
My first attempt was for severe underestimation and brute force (also because I had taken CAT and somehow managed this way). Even though I had certain methodologies of
GMATWhiz with me, I did not implement them much while solving questions, assuming it to be a time-consuming process (only later to realize how important they were).
On the test day, I was devasted to see a 690 (Q50 V33) flashing on the screen. My Quant score was good, but my verbal was still low. Post this attempt, I again took a 2 month-long break and later scheduled a call with my mentor, who helped me understand the below important findings:
Takeaways from 1st attempt-• Consistency is the key. Don't break your momentum by taking breaks.
• Give importance to all sections. Don't take any section for granted, even if you believe you're good at it (like I did in the case of CR and RC).
• With such shortcuts, you may get by with easy-medium-level questions. However, when it comes to hard questions, you will struggle if your approach is not right.
Journey to GMAT 730: My First Real Shot with Structured Efforts
While preparing for my 1st attempt, I followed a very random approach with no structured efforts. However, after a break, when I resumed my studies, I decided to implement my mentor's findings into action and focus on learning the right methodologies with full force.
I started with understanding the basics, took every minute step seriously (without skipping any), and practiced the methodologies at length until I started doing it subconsciously, making it a habit when it came to Verbal.
I compared my approach with detailed solutions to understand the right approach. I worked on perfecting my approach, focused more on learnings and takeaways, and picked up pattern(s). And there I was! I scored GMAT 730 (Q49 V41) in my next attempt. Yes! My Verbal improved significantly from V33 to V41 in less than 2 months. The fact that I could score 98 percentile in SC, where I once faltered too much, gave me tremendous joy. I have elaborated separately below on how I turned around my Verbal Prep. As for the drop in Quant, I assumed it to be a bad day and knew I could do better. I decided to go for a retake.
Important Takeaway-It's critical to focus on learning the right methods and their efficient use before you start solving questions. Initially, you may have second thoughts but keep those doubts at bay. Trust the course you're working with and follow the methods religiously to score high.
Verbal Prep Strategy
Sentence Correction- From being weakest area to scoring 98%ileAlthough I started my SC prep with the
Manhattan books, in my first mock, I almost got all the SC questions incorrect. I learned a lot of grammar rules, but somehow it did not seem to work for me. I was only focusing on grammar rules for solving SC questions and kept looking for splits. However, learning the logical method is vital before using the splits approach or any other short-cut focused method. You might get easy-medium questions immediately, but you will always struggle with the hard ones. You need to start thinking like the question creator to pick up logical methods.
In the
GMATWhiz SC module, I learned that when you read a sentence, you should be able to interpret the meaning that the sentence is trying to convey. For that, it is important to pause at the right points, break the sentence and ask the right questions to understand it. It was all new for me. I began approaching SC questions from a meaning standpoint. You should know what to focus on and what not to do in 1 min's time-
GMATWhiz taught me that. I also made mental notes of the subject-verb pairs while reading the sentence and paid attention to the other pause points as suggested by the
GMATWhiz course. This process helped me to find errors before even moving on to the options. I could easily eliminate 2-3 choices in most questions and then plug the rest of the choices from a meaning standpoint.
Important SC Tip - In GMAT SC, it's important to understand the intended meaning of the original sentence, identify the errors, if any, and then eliminate answer choices that are either grammatically incorrect or do not convey an intended meaning. The rest follows.
I was taking around 3.30 mins to solve SC questions as I did everything consciously, but as practice happened and I progressed, it became natural to me, and I could solve SC questions in 1.30-1.50 mins. The time gap between your reading and comprehension is your actual time-lapse. The more you can reduce the time between these two, the faster you can answer questions. You will pick up the patterns and techniques. Once the approach is solid, you can move towards reducing time- first scanning for splits, then reading the sentence. I could comprehend the meaning of the sentence as I read along and learned to manage my time. The Intended Meaning-based Approach for SC was truly a game changer for me, and my accuracy greatly increased. This also helped me in doing RC well.
Time Management Tip - Time management and accuracy are both interlinked. If you follow the right approach and use efficient methods of solving questions, timing will automatically fall into place, and your accuracy will increase.Critical Reasoning Strategy - Framework Driven Pre-thinkingDuring my 1st attempt, I did not focus much on identifying the conclusion but only on answer choice elimination in CR which hampered my accuracy. After screwing my scores in the previous attempt, I learned that identifying the conclusion helps to understand the scope of the argument, which in turn helps to eliminate answer choices that fall out of scope. I focused on learning the right methodologies with
GMATWhiz CR strategies to fill my gaps.
GMATWhiz course helped me break down the CR questions into the most common categories - Causality, Plan-Goal, Comparison, and Quant and helped solve each one of them with high accuracy consistently. The Pre-thinker's guide proved really helpful.
Important Tip-Make sure you review the solutions and compare your process with the solutions to ensure you're sticking to the same and right methodology.
RC StrategyBy the time I started preparing for RC, I had already built up my comprehension and analytical skills with SC and CR. The intended meaning approach not only helped me in acing my SC prep but also helped me improve my RC skills. I could understand the intended meaning behind the passage -what the author is trying to say and why. So, RC was smooth for me with the right reading strategies taught by
GMATWhiz. Also, they have the patterns and options you generally encounter on all of the RC questions like out-of-scope, half-truths, distortion, etc. That was useful.
I used to take mental notes of how the passage was flowing. After each paragraph, I summarized which para talked about what and created the mental map. It really helped. I managed to cut down the time from around 2.20 minutes per ques to around 1.30-1.40 minutes.
It's important for you to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. I used to save time on my stronger sections and use on my weaker sections. That helped me in managing my time efficiently.
My Final Push to GMAT 760: The Extra Edge I Needed
In my previous attempt (GMAT 730), seeing the drop in Quant score from 50 all the way to 49 at the cost of verbal was not easy. But when I retook the GMAT after a gap of 20 days, my quant was still at 49. My heart sank. That's when I realized that it was never a bad day but a bad prep for me. I started introspecting myself. Quant being my stronger suit, I kept neglecting it. And that kind of hurt my Quant Score. That was a learning for me.
Important Tip-Don't be overconfident if you're good at a particular section. Losing touch may hurt your scores.
I decided to revisit the Quant module again and fix my weak areas. But now I was getting questions wrong, and in fact, in one of the GC mocks, my Quant score went down to Q44. That pressed the panic button for me. I felt lost. That's when I realized I needed help.
I reached out to Saquib from
GMATWhiz, who analyzed my performance and scores and pointed out that I was falling for the common traps that GMAT sets for the test takers. He suggested I watch a webinar they have specifically addressing the common Quant traps and how to avoid them. It was really helpful. Knowing the kind of traps you're going to encounter gives you heads-up, and you are mindful of it. I felt confident again.
I connected with my mentor more often. He helped me understand and fill all my gaps. Solving a question or taking a mock certainly helps you to know your weak points. But there are blind spots that are not easy to identify on your own as you bring just one perspective to it. I had those in CR and RC. There were particular kinds of questions that I was getting wrong consistently, and it was a cause for concern. Saquib helped me identify the blind spots and told me the areas I needed to work on in order to reach my goal. That played a critical role in fine-tuning my prep.
Key Takeaway - The problems we face are unique to each of us, but those problems have already been dealt with mostly by experts. If you can find your blind spots and fine-tune your prep on your own, it is great. But if you have someone by your side who has done this for years and seen students go through the same thing, it can't get better for you. That other person can provide an unbiased opinion by looking at it from an outside perspective and giving you additional input on things you may have missed.
In addition to the
GMATWhiz mocks and official mocks, I also took Manhattan mocks for Verbal, and GMATClub mocks for Quant. My mentor analyzed those mocks for me at length by paying attention to every minute detail and shared detailed findings with me. He not only pointed out topic-wise weaknesses but also skill-wise and habitual mistakes, which helped me channel my energy in the right direction. This strengthened my test-taking strategies and made me test ready.
On my next scheduled attempt, I scored a GMAT 740. However, Saquib believed I had the potential and pushed me for a retake. Finally, on my 5th attempt, when I saw 760 flashing on the screen with a Perfect Quant Score and V41- it was an unbelievable moment for me. I had made it to GMAT 750+, and my dream was accomplished. Saquib's mentorship and guidance played a pivotal role in my journey, and I will forever be indebted to Team
GMATWhiz for their constant support and motivation right till the end. They believed in me and my dreams, and so I could!
Top 3 Dos & Don’ts For Scoring High on GMAT
DOS• Be consistent with your GMAT prep. Try to complete it in one shot, as gaps might derail your prep. If breaks are inevitable, try not to take a long one, like a month or more.
• Understanding the patterns, frameworks, and common traps that GMAT sets and knowing how to avoid them can make your life easier. Know what GMAT is actually testing you on and pick up patterns. It's all about getting into the mind of the question-makers.
• Have someone to help you identify your blind spots. Having a mentor to provide you with detailed feedback and help you with the road map can do wonders.
DON’TS• Never use the brute force method. Doing more no. of questions doesn't necessarily increase your chances of scoring high. Quantify your prep in terms of the number of key takeaways you can get from a certain question to apply across your prep.
• Avoid retaking the mocks as it may lead to inflated scores and give you a false picture of your readiness for the test.
• Don't panic on D-Day. I know it's easier said than done. But trust me, I made this mistake twice and only suffered. For instance, I panicked when I got a 5-paragraph long RC in the first quarter. But you got no control over it. If it's hard, it's the same for everyone. Trust your prep!
So, this is my story of 120 points improvement on the GMAT. I completed my GMAT Journey with a GMAT 760 (Q51 V41).
All the best to each of you aspiring to reach a high GMAT score! I hope you find your GMAT motivation and learn the dos and don'ts from my experience. Find my video debrief here -
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25 Feb 2023, 13:36
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