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14 Sep 2006, 18:22
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Brothers and Sisters of GMATClub,
I am done with my GMAT and got a 700(Q49 V37). Could have got 720 but no regrets. I was immensely benefited from GMAT club. I would like to dedicate my success to my wife who was patient with me and provided encouragement throughout my preparation time, one of my friends who is also a GMAT club member who was guiding me through the entire preparation process and last but not the least the members of this club who shared their valuable knowledge, experience and time for the benefit of everyone in this is commendable GMAT community. A special thanks to few members of this forum such as giddi77, tehcalvin, jchen1731, sperumba, tl372 and ceointhemaking who gave me some strategy tips when I need them the most. I have done quite a few posts in the forums here even though the numbers are in no way comparable to the number of posts made by few other members such as ps_dahiya. Let me share some of my preparation and exam experience here so that it might be useful at least for some one who gets motivated by reading others experience. In fact I used to read others experience to motivate myself whenever I feel dejected. So, I am just paying it back. I am not going to tell anything new. It is going to be mostly a summary of other member’s experience.
Background:
- Undergrad in Engineering (my mother tongue is not English)
- MS in one of the US universities
- About 6 years of IT experience.
My Target Score:
My target score was 730.
Preparation:
Prepared for about 3 months, about 2 hours per day. First 2 months of preparation was not regular. I was distracted with so many things. But I compensated those missed time in the final one month of my study. Since I fixed my exam date right at the start of my preparation, I developed a sort of exam pressure during my last month of preparation. I devised a project plan and executed it with diligence. I used Kaplan materials, OG 11, Manhattan GMAT SC book, Number properties ebook from 4GMAT.com and Next 10 LSAT prep book. I found the Manhattan GMAT SC book for SC, Kaplan GMAT800 book for SC, Number properties ebook from 4GMAT.com and Next 10 LSAT prep book for RC and CR immensely useful. In addition I prepared my own collection of Q questions from sample questions available in 4GMAT.com website. I will post that document in the math forum soon. I was a bit strong in Q since I had the engineering background. My weak area is verbal especially RC and CR. My strike rate was 80% in SC right from the beginning. I used the Kaplan method for RC. Initially I couldn’t see any results. But as I practiced, I slowly improved my RC. But my performance was not consistent. So, I was a bit scared. My strike rate in CR was 70% in the beginning. I devised my plan to focus on my weak areas without losing touch in my strong areas. So, started doing 10 questions a day in PS, DS and SC and about 20 questions a day in RC and CR during my final month of preparation. From my second month of preparation, I started taking full- length tests. I took all my practices tests with the AWA section. This definitely improved my stamina. During the second month of my preparation, I took one practice test per week. I slowly increased it to two practice tests per week during my third month of preparation. I was scoring around 650 in all the Kaplan CATs. I took two manhattan tests in which I got around 630 and two PowerPrep tests in which I score around 700. In the final week I took two GMATPrep exams. I scored 680 in one and 720 in the other. I got the confidence. But the exam fear was there still since my scores were little inconsistent. But that fear helped a bit. I realized that I was not overconfident because of that exam fear. A little bit of exam fear is always good.
Exam Day:
I took the two days before my GMAT exam off from my work. I didn’t study much the day before GMAT exam. The day before that, I took one GMATPrep exam in the morning. Then I revised all the concepts and the questions that I got wrong in all my practice exams. My test was in the morning. I went earlier to the center. They asked me whether I am willing to take the exam immediately. I said yes. The center was quiet except for some typing noise. The erasable scratch pad was fine and I didn’t have any problems with that. I was assigned with a corner desk. . I was little lucky on that. But still I was able to hear some typing noise. I had my earplugs on and started with the AWA section. It went fine. I am decent writer in English. So, I dint have much problem. I took the break. Had some water and a banana. Then started with the Q section. I was paying close attention to the questions and was also conscious about the timing initially. Then the questions got increasingly tougher. Slowly I was losing concentration and I realized I did couple of silly mistakes in my calculation after confirming the answer. But it was too late. I tried not to get reminded about the question that I went wrong with. I got couple of combination questions, one probability question and a few number theory questions. But most of the questions were in line with GMATPrep. Finally the section came to an end when I ran out of time for the last question. I just guessed the last question. I knew that I missed few easy points in Q section. I was consistently getting 50 or 51 in my practice tests. So, it was a little disappointment for me. But I tried to forget about that during the next break. I took the second break. Had another banana and some water. Psyched up myself for the verbal section. Started the verbal section with a SC question. I knew I got it right. Then I got couple of medium level CR questions and then few SC questions. Then I got a RC passage about some polish politics. I was very focused and concentrated on the passages very well. The passages got tougher as I was proceeding with the verbal section. Finally it came to an end. My timing was perfect. I was left with 10 secs when I finished my last question. The survey was the most irritating part. It is really very sadistic of them to give the survey just before showing our score. Finally the scoring algorithm went for few secs and the score showed up. 700…right on dot. I was happy about my score. If I had not done some silly mistakes in Q I would have got around 720. But no regrets. I got my unofficial score reports and walked out.
I still believe that I am capable of more than 700. I even thought of retaking the exam. But some of my friends advised me not to take the exam again since I have a good academic record and experience to back up my score. So, I decided not to take the exam again.
Some quick observations and tips:
1. Confidence is the key. If you believe that you can do it, you can definitely do it.
2. Be composed during the last few days before the exam and don’t think about your scores and stuff. Just focus on techniques and concepts.
3. GMATPrep is the most useful of all practice exams. It gives you the exact style of questions that you get in the real exam. So, try to solve as many GMATprep problems as possible from the math forum of the GMATClub.
4. Improvement in your weak areas is definitely possible with practice. Do not lose hope and keep hitting hard.
5. Smell victory and you will definitely get it.
I know that my experience is very similar to many other members in this forum. But I am just trying to make a little contribution towards motivating members who are about to take the exam. The experience I got through this club is of immense value to me. I will try to stay around and answer any questions that others might have.
"Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached!!" - Vivekananda
I am done with my GMAT and got a 700(Q49 V37). Could have got 720 but no regrets. I was immensely benefited from GMAT club. I would like to dedicate my success to my wife who was patient with me and provided encouragement throughout my preparation time, one of my friends who is also a GMAT club member who was guiding me through the entire preparation process and last but not the least the members of this club who shared their valuable knowledge, experience and time for the benefit of everyone in this is commendable GMAT community. A special thanks to few members of this forum such as giddi77, tehcalvin, jchen1731, sperumba, tl372 and ceointhemaking who gave me some strategy tips when I need them the most. I have done quite a few posts in the forums here even though the numbers are in no way comparable to the number of posts made by few other members such as ps_dahiya. Let me share some of my preparation and exam experience here so that it might be useful at least for some one who gets motivated by reading others experience. In fact I used to read others experience to motivate myself whenever I feel dejected. So, I am just paying it back. I am not going to tell anything new. It is going to be mostly a summary of other member’s experience.
Background:
- Undergrad in Engineering (my mother tongue is not English)
- MS in one of the US universities
- About 6 years of IT experience.
My Target Score:
My target score was 730.
Preparation:
Prepared for about 3 months, about 2 hours per day. First 2 months of preparation was not regular. I was distracted with so many things. But I compensated those missed time in the final one month of my study. Since I fixed my exam date right at the start of my preparation, I developed a sort of exam pressure during my last month of preparation. I devised a project plan and executed it with diligence. I used Kaplan materials, OG 11, Manhattan GMAT SC book, Number properties ebook from 4GMAT.com and Next 10 LSAT prep book. I found the Manhattan GMAT SC book for SC, Kaplan GMAT800 book for SC, Number properties ebook from 4GMAT.com and Next 10 LSAT prep book for RC and CR immensely useful. In addition I prepared my own collection of Q questions from sample questions available in 4GMAT.com website. I will post that document in the math forum soon. I was a bit strong in Q since I had the engineering background. My weak area is verbal especially RC and CR. My strike rate was 80% in SC right from the beginning. I used the Kaplan method for RC. Initially I couldn’t see any results. But as I practiced, I slowly improved my RC. But my performance was not consistent. So, I was a bit scared. My strike rate in CR was 70% in the beginning. I devised my plan to focus on my weak areas without losing touch in my strong areas. So, started doing 10 questions a day in PS, DS and SC and about 20 questions a day in RC and CR during my final month of preparation. From my second month of preparation, I started taking full- length tests. I took all my practices tests with the AWA section. This definitely improved my stamina. During the second month of my preparation, I took one practice test per week. I slowly increased it to two practice tests per week during my third month of preparation. I was scoring around 650 in all the Kaplan CATs. I took two manhattan tests in which I got around 630 and two PowerPrep tests in which I score around 700. In the final week I took two GMATPrep exams. I scored 680 in one and 720 in the other. I got the confidence. But the exam fear was there still since my scores were little inconsistent. But that fear helped a bit. I realized that I was not overconfident because of that exam fear. A little bit of exam fear is always good.
Exam Day:
I took the two days before my GMAT exam off from my work. I didn’t study much the day before GMAT exam. The day before that, I took one GMATPrep exam in the morning. Then I revised all the concepts and the questions that I got wrong in all my practice exams. My test was in the morning. I went earlier to the center. They asked me whether I am willing to take the exam immediately. I said yes. The center was quiet except for some typing noise. The erasable scratch pad was fine and I didn’t have any problems with that. I was assigned with a corner desk. . I was little lucky on that. But still I was able to hear some typing noise. I had my earplugs on and started with the AWA section. It went fine. I am decent writer in English. So, I dint have much problem. I took the break. Had some water and a banana. Then started with the Q section. I was paying close attention to the questions and was also conscious about the timing initially. Then the questions got increasingly tougher. Slowly I was losing concentration and I realized I did couple of silly mistakes in my calculation after confirming the answer. But it was too late. I tried not to get reminded about the question that I went wrong with. I got couple of combination questions, one probability question and a few number theory questions. But most of the questions were in line with GMATPrep. Finally the section came to an end when I ran out of time for the last question. I just guessed the last question. I knew that I missed few easy points in Q section. I was consistently getting 50 or 51 in my practice tests. So, it was a little disappointment for me. But I tried to forget about that during the next break. I took the second break. Had another banana and some water. Psyched up myself for the verbal section. Started the verbal section with a SC question. I knew I got it right. Then I got couple of medium level CR questions and then few SC questions. Then I got a RC passage about some polish politics. I was very focused and concentrated on the passages very well. The passages got tougher as I was proceeding with the verbal section. Finally it came to an end. My timing was perfect. I was left with 10 secs when I finished my last question. The survey was the most irritating part. It is really very sadistic of them to give the survey just before showing our score. Finally the scoring algorithm went for few secs and the score showed up. 700…right on dot. I was happy about my score. If I had not done some silly mistakes in Q I would have got around 720. But no regrets. I got my unofficial score reports and walked out.
I still believe that I am capable of more than 700. I even thought of retaking the exam. But some of my friends advised me not to take the exam again since I have a good academic record and experience to back up my score. So, I decided not to take the exam again.
Some quick observations and tips:
1. Confidence is the key. If you believe that you can do it, you can definitely do it.
2. Be composed during the last few days before the exam and don’t think about your scores and stuff. Just focus on techniques and concepts.
3. GMATPrep is the most useful of all practice exams. It gives you the exact style of questions that you get in the real exam. So, try to solve as many GMATprep problems as possible from the math forum of the GMATClub.
4. Improvement in your weak areas is definitely possible with practice. Do not lose hope and keep hitting hard.
5. Smell victory and you will definitely get it.
I know that my experience is very similar to many other members in this forum. But I am just trying to make a little contribution towards motivating members who are about to take the exam. The experience I got through this club is of immense value to me. I will try to stay around and answer any questions that others might have.
"Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached!!" - Vivekananda
... I believe that U would have the 700 trophy soon 
