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13 Apr 2020, 04:07
Kudos
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Hi All,
Just wanted to share my GMAT experience for those of you who are NOT aiming for a score over 600-650 and have NO maths or verbal background. While I was studying I could not find any post for this range so I decided to make one. My journey was long and I used multiple platforms to try to get my initial score from 420
to a higher one.
My Background:
- As I have a background in creative disciplines such as art and architecture. I had a full time job working 9 hours a day and didn't have the chance to take a few months off to study for the test. So all was done this was a very challenging journey for me.
- A top school I applied for was looking for diversity in their candidates and really liked my profile so they were able to agree for me to aim for a score around 600 due to my untypical background.
Time Taken:
- It took me 8 months of study to get a score of 570. And I am not ashamed of this I am superrrr proud Having taken the test 3 times with a lower score I thought it would be impossible to get a higher score.
- First test - 470, 2nd test - 360
, 3rd test - 470, 4th test - 570
Platforms used:
Manhattan Prep - NO:
- I initially started with Manhattan Prep. As much as I liked the short summaries and explanations of each topic, for someone who hadn't dealt with numbers or english verbal rules for 8 years I was feeling like there were many gaps in the explanations and I was not learning with concrete blocks one by one. I was more like memorising random items without a stable ground to build upon. I do believe the platform and books are good for people who have been doing numbers day-to-day such as people in finance BUT for someone who is completely new to this - this is not the best course to get. Not to mention its reallyyyy pricy compared to other alternatives. Honestly its not so amazing as it is described. And the most funny part is that you pay a thousand for it and then you can use the platform for 3 months or something Like.. come on....
E-GMAT - YES:
- In the middle of my journey I wanted to improve my verbal and looked for an alternative platform. This is when I found E-GMAT. After I started using it, I never went back to the Manhattan Prep Materials.
- E-GMAT is a great price and it builds block by block your knowledge on the materials. They have a plan system where they analyse your results and give you a realistic perspective how much time you need to score your aimed score. I would highly recommend it - better source, made of videos not heavy books that you need to carry around and it took me 3 months to score 100 points more with it.
- Verbal on E-GMAT - it is really good for a non native speaker. Simple explanations with videos.
100 score increase - THE SECRET:
- While I was studying studying studying I was getting the same score on all tests in E-GMAT & Manhattan Prep, it was really frustrating. I knew a lot of things by hearth and couldn't get to a higer score.
- Everything changed when I started using the GMAT Platform (the official one in their website). I bought the package with the questions and started working there as well. As much as their explanations were not clear enough and 'too simple' what really helped me there was THE TIMING.
- THE SECRET = THE TIMING.
-> IF you step back for a second from the GMAT and think about what is this test examining you on?
The test examines you - how many of this questions we give you you can solve in 2 MINUTES?
MATHS SECTION:
- It doesn't ask you if you can solve the maths question for speed of two moving vehicles towards each other in 5 minutes! It asks you if you can solve it in 2 minutes.
- Therefore if you can't solve it in 2 minutes just MOVE ON. Otherwise you constantly confuse the system if you can solve or not. Let's face it - anyone can solve any GMAT question if they were given more time. BUT the test is not about this! If you solve a question for 5 min, then next one for 3, next one for 3 - you are basically telling GMAT - no I can't solve it for 2 minutes. And then you get 5 questions at the end and you can't solve them as there is no time left - THIS IS THE TOTALLY WRONG APPROACH.
- Unfortunately I learned this 2 weeks before my final test.. But in this 2 weeks I got a 150 higer score on mocks than usual.. Wish I realised this earlier.
- PLEASE test this and you will see a difference: start a mock, look at the question on your screen - try to solve in 2 - 2.2 MINUTES if you can't just MOVE ON. This way you are actually giving GMAT an indication for the score you need. As again, GMAT is not asking you if you can solve every question for 10 minutes (anyone can), it asks you if you can solve it in 2 minutes! Once you see a question on the screen that you are not confident in such as Probability which you never studied (for example), just think for 10 seconds which answer it could be and hit the one that you feel is right and move on - here plays the luck element of the test.
VERBAL:
- The timing rule plays here too but its a bit more relaxed as you have the big texts as well. But the concept is the same IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE ANSWER - JUST MOVE ON. trust yourself to aim for the ones you know and the ones you don't know - forget them. You can't know it all. Leave time for the text bits, if you read without being stressed you are for sure going to get them right as the answer is in the text. Leave time to go quickly back to the text and make sure there are right. But not too sure don't overdo your time given.
- I also used a private tutor for a really good price from Bulgaria. The company is called CRACK. let me know if you need contact, they speak great English.
MOCKS:
- USE THE GMAT OFFICIAL PLATFORM FOR MOCK TESTS - this will give you a realistic score and it will activate the algorithm of the platform when you do the package questions. You will see your score improves.
REAL TESTS:
- If you think, 'yes I am scoring ok at home, on the real test I will be more concentrated and have a better score'. NO, don't waste your money. Until you score well at home don't go to the test centre. Surprises do happen, but there is no guarantee this will be for you. The GMAT is evil and will do anything it can for you to fail at it Don't got to war unprepared.
- Your mental state is really important. You need to learn to not stress at home before you go to the test center.
- MINIMUM 2 days (if you can more even better) before the test DO NOT STUDY. This is a really good trick and it REALLY works. It is hard not to look at the materials but just don't MINIMUM 2 DAYS before the test - relax, do not engage with friends drama, watch your favourite tv show - get your mind out of this. You won't forget anything, actually it will stick to your head better. This is how the brain works.
- If you can take the week off work, this is great. Regardless, 1 weeks before the test (before the days you decide to take of break (no study no materials)) I did - One day mock, next day mock review, mock test, mock review - as a pattern.
Other important elements that will increase your score:
- Learn the formulas by heart, Quizlet is a great platform for this.
- You will see a pattern of types of questions, such as Questions for roots they can examine you on 3 typical errors you can make. Write down those patterns and DRILL until when you see a roots question there 3 watch out errors come to mind.
- Mix the questions - at start yes do 2 weeks of Algebra to grasp the topic, but when you are on exercise mode don't do 1 week of Algebra, do Algebra today, tomorrow Probability, then next day Geometry and so on. Make sure you remind yourself every 2 days what you studied before. It is a lot of material and the GMAT key is consistency. If you are working and can do 2 h a week for this, spend 30 min a day to remind yourself something else you did yesterday
- Mix sections - I personally did one day verbal one day maths. Not sure if this is the best way but it worked for me
- USE THE GMAT PLATFORM for questions and the mocks. When you drill on a topic use E-GMAT.
- Don't study everything - its best to know 5/10 topics very well than 9 topics so-so. This will reflect on your timing.
- MOVE ON, MOVE ON, MOVE ON. We all know and can see there is a luck element on this test. YOU CAN NOT CONTROL THIS. What you can control is your timing. I used the Manhattan Prep Pad Split for the test and worked well (look into google images)
- Use an error log and do these questions until you start dreaming of them. Redo the questions you made mistakes on again and again. E-gmat has a very easy way with this when you click on wrong questions and you can do a mini mock with them.
- Use the GMAT CLUB FORUM for answers to GMAT platform questions and support
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this helps for those of you who are not aiming for a 600+ score. Happy to answer more questions if you have any
Just wanted to share my GMAT experience for those of you who are NOT aiming for a score over 600-650 and have NO maths or verbal background. While I was studying I could not find any post for this range so I decided to make one. My journey was long and I used multiple platforms to try to get my initial score from 420
to a higher one. My Background:
- As I have a background in creative disciplines such as art and architecture. I had a full time job working 9 hours a day and didn't have the chance to take a few months off to study for the test. So all was done this was a very challenging journey for me.
- A top school I applied for was looking for diversity in their candidates and really liked my profile so they were able to agree for me to aim for a score around 600 due to my untypical background.
Time Taken:
- It took me 8 months of study to get a score of 570. And I am not ashamed of this I am superrrr proud
Having taken the test 3 times with a lower score I thought it would be impossible to get a higher score.- First test - 470, 2nd test - 360
, 3rd test - 470, 4th test - 570Platforms used:
Manhattan Prep - NO:
- I initially started with Manhattan Prep. As much as I liked the short summaries and explanations of each topic, for someone who hadn't dealt with numbers or english verbal rules for 8 years I was feeling like there were many gaps in the explanations and I was not learning with concrete blocks one by one. I was more like memorising random items without a stable ground to build upon. I do believe the platform and books are good for people who have been doing numbers day-to-day such as people in finance BUT for someone who is completely new to this - this is not the best course to get. Not to mention its reallyyyy pricy compared to other alternatives. Honestly its not so amazing as it is described. And the most funny part is that you pay a thousand for it and then you can use the platform for 3 months or something
Like.. come on....E-GMAT - YES:
- In the middle of my journey I wanted to improve my verbal and looked for an alternative platform. This is when I found E-GMAT. After I started using it, I never went back to the Manhattan Prep Materials.
- E-GMAT is a great price and it builds block by block your knowledge on the materials. They have a plan system where they analyse your results and give you a realistic perspective how much time you need to score your aimed score. I would highly recommend it - better source, made of videos not heavy books that you need to carry around and it took me 3 months to score 100 points more with it.
- Verbal on E-GMAT - it is really good for a non native speaker. Simple explanations with videos.
100 score increase - THE SECRET:
- While I was studying studying studying I was getting the same score on all tests in E-GMAT & Manhattan Prep, it was really frustrating. I knew a lot of things by hearth and couldn't get to a higer score.
- Everything changed when I started using the GMAT Platform (the official one in their website). I bought the package with the questions and started working there as well. As much as their explanations were not clear enough and 'too simple' what really helped me there was THE TIMING.
- THE SECRET = THE TIMING.
-> IF you step back for a second from the GMAT and think about what is this test examining you on?
The test examines you - how many of this questions we give you you can solve in 2 MINUTES?
MATHS SECTION:
- It doesn't ask you if you can solve the maths question for speed of two moving vehicles towards each other in 5 minutes! It asks you if you can solve it in 2 minutes.
- Therefore if you can't solve it in 2 minutes just MOVE ON. Otherwise you constantly confuse the system if you can solve or not. Let's face it - anyone can solve any GMAT question if they were given more time. BUT the test is not about this! If you solve a question for 5 min, then next one for 3, next one for 3 - you are basically telling GMAT - no I can't solve it for 2 minutes. And then you get 5 questions at the end and you can't solve them as there is no time left - THIS IS THE TOTALLY WRONG APPROACH.
- Unfortunately I learned this 2 weeks before my final test.. But in this 2 weeks I got a 150 higer score on mocks than usual.. Wish I realised this earlier.
- PLEASE test this and you will see a difference: start a mock, look at the question on your screen - try to solve in 2 - 2.2 MINUTES if you can't just MOVE ON. This way you are actually giving GMAT an indication for the score you need. As again, GMAT is not asking you if you can solve every question for 10 minutes (anyone can), it asks you if you can solve it in 2 minutes! Once you see a question on the screen that you are not confident in such as Probability which you never studied (for example), just think for 10 seconds which answer it could be and hit the one that you feel is right and move on - here plays the luck element of the test.
VERBAL:
- The timing rule plays here too but its a bit more relaxed as you have the big texts as well. But the concept is the same IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF THE ANSWER - JUST MOVE ON. trust yourself to aim for the ones you know and the ones you don't know - forget them. You can't know it all. Leave time for the text bits, if you read without being stressed you are for sure going to get them right as the answer is in the text. Leave time to go quickly back to the text and make sure there are right. But not too sure
don't overdo your time given.- I also used a private tutor for a really good price from Bulgaria. The company is called CRACK. let me know if you need contact, they speak great English.
MOCKS:
- USE THE GMAT OFFICIAL PLATFORM FOR MOCK TESTS - this will give you a realistic score and it will activate the algorithm of the platform when you do the package questions. You will see your score improves.
REAL TESTS:
- If you think, 'yes I am scoring ok at home, on the real test I will be more concentrated and have a better score'. NO, don't waste your money. Until you score well at home don't go to the test centre. Surprises do happen, but there is no guarantee this will be for you. The GMAT is evil
and will do anything it can for you to fail at it Don't got to war unprepared.- Your mental state is really important. You need to learn to not stress at home before you go to the test center.
- MINIMUM 2 days (if you can more even better) before the test DO NOT STUDY. This is a really good trick and it REALLY works. It is hard not to look at the materials but just don't MINIMUM 2 DAYS before the test - relax, do not engage with friends drama, watch your favourite tv show - get your mind out of this. You won't forget anything, actually it will stick to your head better. This is how the brain works.
- If you can take the week off work, this is great. Regardless, 1 weeks before the test (before the days you decide to take of break (no study no materials)) I did - One day mock, next day mock review, mock test, mock review - as a pattern.
Other important elements that will increase your score:
- Learn the formulas by heart, Quizlet is a great platform for this.
- You will see a pattern of types of questions, such as Questions for roots they can examine you on 3 typical errors you can make. Write down those patterns and DRILL until when you see a roots question there 3 watch out errors come to mind.
- Mix the questions - at start yes do 2 weeks of Algebra to grasp the topic, but when you are on exercise mode don't do 1 week of Algebra, do Algebra today, tomorrow Probability, then next day Geometry and so on. Make sure you remind yourself every 2 days what you studied before. It is a lot of material and the GMAT key is consistency. If you are working and can do 2 h a week for this, spend 30 min a day to remind yourself something else you did yesterday
- Mix sections - I personally did one day verbal one day maths. Not sure if this is the best way but it worked for me
- USE THE GMAT PLATFORM for questions and the mocks. When you drill on a topic use E-GMAT.
- Don't study everything - its best to know 5/10 topics very well than 9 topics so-so. This will reflect on your timing.
- MOVE ON, MOVE ON, MOVE ON. We all know and can see there is a luck element on this test. YOU CAN NOT CONTROL THIS. What you can control is your timing. I used the Manhattan Prep Pad Split for the test and worked well (look into google images)
- Use an error log and do these questions until you start dreaming of them. Redo the questions you made mistakes on again and again. E-gmat has a very easy way with this when you click on wrong questions and you can do a mini mock with them.
- Use the GMAT CLUB FORUM for answers to GMAT platform questions and support
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this helps for those of you who are not aiming for a 600+ score. Happy to answer more questions if you have any
13 Apr 2020, 10:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congrats for your 150 points increase. Kindly break down your score in Q, V, IR, and AWA. When did you take your last test?
Yeah, with egmat, one can easily score 500-600
Posted from my mobile device
Yeah, with egmat, one can easily score 500-600
Posted from my mobile device
13 Apr 2020, 11:05
Kudos
Bookmarks
150 point improvement is terrific any day !! Congratulations. Wish you good luck for future endeavors.
Cheers !!
Cheers !!
