Initially reluctant to write it down as not much to talk about, but i thought other members should benefit from this post -
Profile - Male, Indian, 6 yrs of work experience, Working in London ..
Gmat experience - I've spent countless hours on this exam and thought of appearing for it in 2011 and then 2012 but couldn't do so because of work and personal reasons. Now i finally decided to go ahead and apply to top B schools in US and Europe since i've got fairly good amount of work experience with fast track career and international experience. So i booked a slot in Jan end'14 and appeared for the exam today. Now i've come back and posting this to share my experience -
I took full mock tests after every week under full timed conditions to monitor my progress -
Gmat prep1 (680, Q44/V40) (Without any recent study, had only prepared a year back so just gave it to assess where i stand
MCAT1 (610 Q48/V31) (22 Mar'14, After booking the gmat and studying for two weeks)
MCAT2( 680 Q48 / V35) (1st week of april, after studying for a month)
MCAT3 (680 Q51 / V33) (Apr'14, Verbal wasn't that par)
Gmat prep2 (710 Q50, V36) (2 weeks before exam)
MCAT 4 (700 Q50, V38) (2 days before exam)
I appeared for the exam and finally got the score - 650 (IR 8, Q46, V34). As you can see my performance was never very high in the mocks but inconsistent. Also, i rushed through the last 4 questions on verbal due to timing issue. I would be reappearing for the exam in a month to address my weaknesses.
Materials referred -
OG 12, Verbal Review 2nd edition, Manhattan SC guide, Powerscore CR bible, SC grail, Gmat club quant questions
Key takeaways -
1.
Time management - More than getting everything correct, it's important to spend more time questions you can solve than attempting those you can't ... If you can attack a question in 2 mins. go for it otherwise LET GO ... i had a surplus time in verbal at 20 and ended up guessing on last 4 questions due to wrong judgement and my ego !!! ..
2.
Never underestimate the GMAT - It's all about strategy .. Gmat tests your concepts and timing more than anything else ... It's all about performing under pressure
3.
Always give exam under timed conditions and don't experiment on final day - i took all the tests under timed conditions and took energy drinks during my real exam ... maybe some sugar overdose played its part ..
3.
There's always next time if you plan ahead - GMAT isn't the end ... I probably made a big deal out of it so couldn't maintain discipline when it mattered the most ... I don't know if i will score higher next time or get 700+ but i have taken it as a learning lesson and getting back to books so that i give it with better preparation ... i still have time to submit my applications so i can afford another re take .. Let's see ...
To be continued - !!!!