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14 Aug 2024, 06:08
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Hello everyone!
I am glad to report that I have recently given the GMAT FE and scored a 745 (QA 88, VA 89, DI 84). Below is my 20000 cents on the exam and my overall experience.
I started thinking about taking the GMAT in March of this year. I have given different management entrance exams before, so I was in touch with basic quantitative concepts. My main concerns were DI and Verbal. After a few months of research on correct materials to use online, I decided to purchase the Official guides. I purchased all 4 guides ( Verbal review, Quantitative review, Data insights review and the Official guide). I found these books to be a very very good starting point to get you accustomed to the type of questions asked on the GMAT.
I took about 1.5 months to complete all 4 guides. I was conceptually good with quant, so I jumped right into solving questions. For verbal, I completed Aristotle’s Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension bibles first. These books aren’t specific for the Focus Edition, but I found them to be very helpful. The online question bank for Data insights is awesome. It gives a good idea of the type of questions generally asked. I also did all questions (focus relevant) from the GMAT Official Advanced question bank. I liked the book; the type of questions there are a bit more challenging, but it's good prep if your target score is high. I maintained an error log for all guides (physical copies and online question banks). I highly recommend this. I was not making too many mistakes in quant and verbal, but I was messing up a lot in DI. So, I did all the questions in the official guide and DI review book twice. This helped me understand each and every question type. There were actually a few questions I was getting wrong in the second attempt as well (funny, right? didn’t feel that way at the time)
After finishing all books, it was time for the last lap (the most important one according to me), mocks! I purchased the official mocks and 15 Experts Global mocks. In all, I gave a total of 24 mocks: 15 ExG + 6 Official + 3 reattempts of official mocks. I gave these mocks in a span of about 40 days. Initially, I was giving a mock every Sunday and spending the week going through the official guide questions that I got wrong and analysing the mock. Though this worked out for me in the end, it isn’t the best strategy out there. I had to spend the last week of my prep giving a mock everyday, which was kind of tight. The most important thing I learnt the hard way was to not take a score to heart, There were mocks where I scored very high and mocks where I scored very very low. I would go through all the questions again and pay extra attention to the ones I got wrong. Both the official mocks and Experts Global mocks are good; I would suggest buying both if you don’t have budget constraints. The scoring system on the official mocks is more accurate. I gave my last mock 2 days before my exam. I had reattempts of the official mocks left, but decided to not give those. In the end, I feel that the mocks helped me get a very good understanding of what exactly is tested on the GMAT. I have not attached my mock scores cause I believe they are irrelevant. Learning from each mistake you make in mocks and revising all mistakes is key.
Those here for the TL/DR version: The GMAT tests your reasoning skills. Earlier, the sentence correction part gave native English speakers a slight edge, but with its removal, the test is now entirely about reasoning. For preparation, stick to official questions. Official Guides, questions and mocks are GOLD. For conditioning, give as many mocks as you can, irrespective of source. Finally, enjoy the process. No matter how the exam might seem, it's kind of fun, especially DI. My DMs are open for doubts, nothing is too dumb to ask. I could have used a sound board so I am happy to be one. Cheers, ONS!
I am glad to report that I have recently given the GMAT FE and scored a 745 (QA 88, VA 89, DI 84). Below is my 20000 cents on the exam and my overall experience.
I started thinking about taking the GMAT in March of this year. I have given different management entrance exams before, so I was in touch with basic quantitative concepts. My main concerns were DI and Verbal. After a few months of research on correct materials to use online, I decided to purchase the Official guides. I purchased all 4 guides ( Verbal review, Quantitative review, Data insights review and the Official guide). I found these books to be a very very good starting point to get you accustomed to the type of questions asked on the GMAT.
I took about 1.5 months to complete all 4 guides. I was conceptually good with quant, so I jumped right into solving questions. For verbal, I completed Aristotle’s Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension bibles first. These books aren’t specific for the Focus Edition, but I found them to be very helpful. The online question bank for Data insights is awesome. It gives a good idea of the type of questions generally asked. I also did all questions (focus relevant) from the GMAT Official Advanced question bank. I liked the book; the type of questions there are a bit more challenging, but it's good prep if your target score is high. I maintained an error log for all guides (physical copies and online question banks). I highly recommend this. I was not making too many mistakes in quant and verbal, but I was messing up a lot in DI. So, I did all the questions in the official guide and DI review book twice. This helped me understand each and every question type. There were actually a few questions I was getting wrong in the second attempt as well (funny, right? didn’t feel that way at the time)
After finishing all books, it was time for the last lap (the most important one according to me), mocks! I purchased the official mocks and 15 Experts Global mocks. In all, I gave a total of 24 mocks: 15 ExG + 6 Official + 3 reattempts of official mocks. I gave these mocks in a span of about 40 days. Initially, I was giving a mock every Sunday and spending the week going through the official guide questions that I got wrong and analysing the mock. Though this worked out for me in the end, it isn’t the best strategy out there. I had to spend the last week of my prep giving a mock everyday, which was kind of tight. The most important thing I learnt the hard way was to not take a score to heart, There were mocks where I scored very high and mocks where I scored very very low. I would go through all the questions again and pay extra attention to the ones I got wrong. Both the official mocks and Experts Global mocks are good; I would suggest buying both if you don’t have budget constraints. The scoring system on the official mocks is more accurate. I gave my last mock 2 days before my exam. I had reattempts of the official mocks left, but decided to not give those. In the end, I feel that the mocks helped me get a very good understanding of what exactly is tested on the GMAT. I have not attached my mock scores cause I believe they are irrelevant. Learning from each mistake you make in mocks and revising all mistakes is key.
Those here for the TL/DR version: The GMAT tests your reasoning skills. Earlier, the sentence correction part gave native English speakers a slight edge, but with its removal, the test is now entirely about reasoning. For preparation, stick to official questions. Official Guides, questions and mocks are GOLD. For conditioning, give as many mocks as you can, irrespective of source. Finally, enjoy the process. No matter how the exam might seem, it's kind of fun, especially DI. My DMs are open for doubts, nothing is too dumb to ask. I could have used a sound board so I am happy to be one. Cheers, ONS!
14 Aug 2024, 08:17
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Hi SPM1234,
Congrats on a great score! Good luck with things moving forward.
Congrats on a great score! Good luck with things moving forward.
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14 Aug 2024, 08:18
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Congratulations! On achieving an awesome score. Thank you so much for the debrief. Would you mind if I asked you if it was your first attempt? Any piece of advice would you like to give to your fellow aspirants?
Thank you!
Thank you!
