Material Used: Kaplan GMAT Premier 12-13, Official Guide17, GMATCLUB downloads, Gmatprepnow.com
Round One:With no prep course or mentors, I started prep in July by purchasing a used Kaplans GMAT Premier from a colleague who had just taken the GMAT. He swore by it and told me to just finish it. I took his word for it and went through the book. On finishing, I googled for a good practice test series and found
MGMAT. My first score in
MGMAT was Q39 V27 540. Needless to say, this took the wind out of my sails. But that did not stop me from taking two more tests(Q28 V34 520 and Q22 V33 480) before I went to Reddit and got two pieces of great advice:
OG and Gmatclub.
Round Two:I found out a lot of interesting things on GMATCLUB. The first thing was that people took the official test software more seriously than all the test makers'. I immediately went to the site and registered to get my own copy of it and took the first test (Q45 V36 660). I went ahead and ordered a copy of
the official guide and decided to set the test to November twelfth. I started going through the
OG and took the
MGMAT test on weekends.
MGMAT 4: Q39 V36 620
MGMAT 5: Q43 V37 660
MGMAT 6: Q39 V39 650
I felt that I had plateaued and almost gave up on my dreams of scoring above 700. It was at this stage that I made some changes to my tools. My Gmatclub membership had gotten me a free 6 Veritas prep tests. I also visited this site called Gmatprepnow.com which had a host of wonderful videos which taught me some key points that I had not known before. I restarted my prep.
Round three:A month before my actual exam, I made a schedule and decided to stick to it, come hell or whatever. I had found this article on
Magoosh for a one month plan. So I took the
OG part from it and made sure I would finish it in the morning before going to work. Since I go to work in my car, I would play stuff like tables, squares, cubes etc (stuff that helped with quant) on the way to work. On my way back, I would play random playlists from YouTube about English grammar, or the playlists from Gmatprepnow.com and
Magoosh. After coming home, I would open Gmatclub and browse through forums, solving as many questions as possible before crashing.
One major component during this prep was the Veritas prep tests that I took on the side. While I could have just reset the
MGMAT tests, I decided that a fresh test maker would keep me on my toes. They did not disappoint. I learned a lot from tests by both series of tests. My breakup during this period:
Veritas 1: Q42 V39 660
Veritas 2: Q44 V38 670
Veritas 3: Q49 V39 710
GMAC2 : Q50 V40 740
Getting the last score on GMAC2 was a huge boost to my ego and I decided not to freak about the test. I continued my routine till the day before my test but I had a song in my heart and a spring in my step. I checked the strategies in this site as well as
MGMAT for timing and scratchpad setup. I also finished the IR prep in the
MGMAT site.
Test day:I reached the test center well ahead of time, so I spent some time going through the notes I had written earlier. I went in exactly half an hour before my scheduled time. A side not here. They stopped a kid from taking his test because he did not have the appropriate identification. Please check the applicable document for your country before going there (For Indians, it is your passport). The people at the test center are a calm, thorough and professional bunch. They showed me the washroom and water filter before starting the security check. Once done, I was escorted into the testing room. I can not describe the test. It was a haze. I did, however keep feeling that I was in the 680 - 700 zone and not above. When the test ended and I saw my score 760(Q49 V45), I could not believe my eyes. I walked out as if in a trance and collected my results before coming out. I had to sit in my car for a good fifteen minutes before it actually dawned on me that I was not dreaming.
Takeaways:The one thing that I will suggest to anyone who asks me is "Make a plan and stick to it". It might sound cliched, but If you actually write down a sequence of actions to be performed, you will be more inclined to executing them. Draw a chart, prepare a time table, mark it with sketch pens for every alteration you have to make. Adjust the plans if something new comes up but make sure you retain the integrity of the program. Being committed to an idea is easier when you interact with it regularly. Next, prepare a strategy before going for the test. Prepare a strategy for your timing, plan how to use the scratch pad and how to guess your way through questions you can't solve. I can't remember whose article I read these in, but I will not forget the following words: "The GMAT doesn't test your mathematical skills or your command of the English language, it is a series of puzzles that you can solve under 2 minutes each". Remember this and do not panic. Proper planning and panic free execution will definitely see you on the right side of 700.