Hello everybody,
I am Arvind Murali, and I would like to share my GMAT experience with the test takers who plan to take a shot at the GMAT. I hope my experience can add value to your learning process.
I took the GMAT on 20th July 2022 and scored a 760(Q51 V40) on my first attempt.
I was planning for an MBA, and with my self-research, I planned for a deferred MBA.
I wanted to apply in the final year of my undergrad, and that meant that I had to take the GMAT earlier to ensure that I had enough time for the applications.
I realised that a good GMAT score was the preliminary route to get an admit to a good B-school. I also discussed this with my parents and decided on when to take it.
I did some more research on where to enrol and landed on real-time classes with Crackverbal.
I took an official mock to see where I stood and scored a 680.
Then, I worked for a month, but my semester had started, and I couldn't continue my GMAT prep.
I had a discussion with my mentor Devmitra from Quant, and my effective preparation started in April 2022.
I attended the live classes on Weekends, watched the class recordings to make sure that the essential points were covered, practised the Crackverbal tests and finally practised OG questions from the learning platform. I also used the Advanced official guide for added practice after I completed the official guide.
Along with daily practice, I knew that measuring what matters is extremely crucial. So, I added statistics on my accuracy on topics and subtopics. With the additional statistics I constantly recorded, I knew which areas I had to improve and which areas just to add some more finetuning and precision. I would suggest that maintaining an
error log where you can measure and assess your progress, accuracy and areas of improvement is vital for a solid GMAT prep.
I practised consistently and assessed myself with the official mock tests before 3 weeks of writing the GMAT. I did not want to take any unofficial mocks. I think it's the official mocks that are a true indicator of one’s ability and prep level. In my official mocks, I scored 770 and maintained the momentum.
I now focussed on Ir and Awa. For Ir, the official mock tests helped me to understand the type of questions that are tested, and for Awa, Nitha mam helped me with the template and the Awa class. I also had a strategic discussion with verbal coach Arun who provided me with pointers on time management, and I took the learning that I needed to first work on learning on improving the accuracy and conceptual hold and then work on time. Working on both metrics together is not an appropriate strategy, is what I understood.
Finally, on the 20th of July, I maintained a confident and calm composure since I was confident with my preparation. As I worked through the test, I felt I had done well on Quant. However, with verbal, I was not sure. When I ended the test and saw 760 on the screen, the moment seemed unbelievable. I couldn't believe my eyes. I even asked the support staff at the test centre if what I saw on screen was my score!!
The moment was filled with emotions of happiness, excitement and gratitude!
I took some time to sink into the feeling and communicated the score to mentor Devmitra.
My tips-I think if we could measure our areas of improvement, be consistent and avoid silly errors, Quant on GMAT can be rewarding, and for Verbal, along with momentum and avoidance of silly errors, a good conceptual hold can be a differentiating factor.
I used effectively 2.5-3 months for my GMAT prep and used official resources, and studied for 2-3 hours on weekdays and around 4 hours on weekends. So, I would suggest attempting and analysing official questions exhaustively.
GMAT is also a test of strategic decision-making, and hence I would suggest also considering educated guessing as a critical strategy.
I hope all of you have a wonderful GMAT prep journey, and the best of luck!
PS- I have already submitted my score to the GMAT club for verification.
Arvind Murali