So I started my GMAT preparation in October last year, with no clues about the exam, caring little to strategize, and making a mindless effort to solve every question on the planet!
I took a couple of mocks before my 1st exam in January and scored 740-760 in all of them. Needless to mention, I was literally lit with confidence. I finished my test, and there was a score - 720! Now it may seem a fairly average score TBH, but when you hail from a competitive pool and read all the horror stories on the internet, this score actually haunts you in the night!
Without thinking, without even exercising a single portion of my rationale, I booked another test date - February. The dollars pinched, but my determination didn't waver. Mocks - 750-770 this time, and I was super confident that I would get my desired score. Bam! - 730. With a 2 point increase in Quant, my verbal scores had dipped considerably!
What was going wrong? I was super confident about Sentence Correction (my strongest suit), RC but somehow I couldn't replicate the performance of my mock exams! And while I was contemplating all of these, the world went into a lockdown. Everyone encouraged me to apply with 730, as it seemed a fairly good score for an "Indian female", but I wasn't convinced. I wasn't convinced because somehow the scores didn't reflect my actual capabilities. I could do better.
Heeding people's advice, I applied to a few schools but as my instincts said, I got waitlisted in some of my dream business schools. I knew that I would have to tip the scales in one direction; I couldn't alter my essays or my profile, but I could definitely give a last shot to the GMAT. So here's what I did from November 1st-December 1st in order to bolster my score by 30 points, get into the 99th percentile, and ace the test in a centre with the MASK on (yep that's a huge question). I will summarize my take from the entire journey so that even if you are starting your preparation, you know exactly how to assess yourself.
1.
Strategy: Extremely crucial. I talked to an
e-GMAT's GMAT strategist and sought his help. The strategy will determine exactly where you are, and how you will perform on the d-day. My strong suits were SC, RC, Algebra and Arithmetic, while I severely lacked in CR, Geometry, P&C. Yes, it is important to be cognizant of your exact strengths and weaknesses. How do you do that? You can either practise the problems by sectioning them, or you can order an ESR (expensive), or take
e-gmat's free mock (as it provides a detailed and sectioned analysis). Once you are aware of this, you will be able to exactly plan out days and hours of your time to dedicate to each section.
2.
Bolstering the verbal score: Why do non-native speakers tend to have a relatively lower verbal score? Because since school days, we have been educated and taught incorrect grammar, sentence constructions. We are so used to speaking and writing in a specific way, that we cannot discern an incorrect sentence from a correct one. So, read. Read books authored by native speakers. Listen to debates, read research papers, and when you do so, spend time dissecting some of the sentences you find absurd. (This helps with SC as well as RC).
3.
Practise, but not mindlessly: I remember having practised over 500 SC questions from the GMAT Club. But it is equally important to maintain a logbook, find out the weaker
sub-sections (for eg, Boldface within the CR section), and then henceforth, keep a tab of your performance in that particular sub-section.
4.
Use the right sources: A lot of companies seek to write "GMAT style" questions, but they absolutely turn out to be nonsensical. For the CR specifically, I recommend practising the LSAT questions, for SC, Manhattan, Veritas,
egmat and
Magoosh, besides the official and GMAT prep questions.
Being self-aware of my weaknesses (and accepting them) is what helped me ace the journey, and I enjoyed every single bit of it. All the best, keep practising and keep working hard for the goal.
P.S. - I took the test at a Pearson Professional Test Center yesterday. It was amazing. As for the mask, I used an N-95 mask because it really helps me breathe well, and just ensure that you take a mock wearing a mask. That should suffice.