Hello everyone,
If you are reading this, I can tell something about you.
1. You don’t like your work
2. Your salary slip makes you sad
3. You are under pressure to get married
Do you disagree? … Stop Lying!
Let me tell you my journey. How I managed to get the two things that looked impossible. Even on paper. My journey is not out of the world. It’s not unimaginable. It is achievable.
I was introduced to GMAT by my teammate who was an expert at [Alt + TAB] (switching screens on desktop before anyone can find). He did that when I caught him switching some GMAT material and beat him in his own game. 3 days of gyaan over long status calls exposed me to magical world of GMAT.
Okay, I’ll admit. 99% of the gyaan was handed over during the long status calls in which our contribution was to keep our phone on mute throughout. But it was a good opportunity! My point is … look for opportunities to find information. Look for those daily ordinary moments that can help you to become extraordinary.
Now I knew everything about the exam. Format, question types, numbers, timing, breaks, approach and what not. I had all the insider information on the world’s toughest exam.
All I had to do was … take a mock. 700 was the minimum I was expecting. I downloaded the GMATPrep software (Yes, I’m from the Gandalf era), sat for the exam and completed it in 2 … days.
It was too much to do in a single sitting. I completed the exam and got my score. 590.
The good thing about IT industry is … you learn to be optimistic. Something wrong with the system sir. Let me retry. This should not happen.
I knew GMAT is a smart exam. It must have penalized me for not completing it in a single sitting. I decided to take the second mock.
This time I completed in a single sitting. Score - 620.
Now, it was time to work on the exam. I unearthed every person on my network and arranged tons of material on GMAT and created individual plans for Quant and Verbal.
Quant plan:
1. Cover every topic and master the ones I knew well.
2. Refer all the material I have.
3. Practice as much as possible.
Verbal plan:
1. Practice 10 questions a day of SC and CR (Practice makes a man perfect. Period.)
I reattempted mocks and my score was in 680-720 range.
Confident of a 720 (my optimistic nature), I scheduled the GMAT and got 700.
For a while, I did not know how to react. It was not in 600 range but it was not 700+ either. I took the ESR and realized that I faltered on many places. Clearly, my plan above did not give me the desired results.
I decided to go with it and applied to some schools. I got some offers but not from my dream schools. A lot of research later, I realized that my score is good but it is in the average GMAT range. For an IEM student, it has to be above the average range. I wanted to try again.
Then, for some personal reasons, I had to put my GMAT and MBA dream on hold for some time.
2 years later, I reactivated. You remember Captain America getting reactivated? I felt like that. Wonders were happening all around me. And I was wondering what’s happening!
I took out all the material, books and what not. Dusted them. Rearranged them. And started wondering how do I cover all of that material all over again? With every passing year, your responsibilities at workplace and home increases. Available time decreases.
It’s important to study smart. Looking at that infinite material … I knew it will be difficult.
Then another good friend of mine introduced me to
e-gmat.
I did a lot of research. Spoke to people, read reviews and took the demo course. I realized the following:
1. It’s a complete course (no need to refer to anything else).
2. It’s tried and tested
3. It makes you practice what you learn
I decided to give it a try and work with it.
Here are my detailed plans for Quant and Verbal.
Quant (Had 49 on the previous attempt. Wanted to take it beyond that)
1. Studied every topic in detail
2. Practiced smart by identifying weak areas and working on them
3. Kept analyzing my performance and worked only on the weak areas. No need to keep practicing on what you are already good at.
Verbal (36 in first attempt)
1. Kept my study limited to the
e-gmat content
2. Detailed
error log. (Question type, error type and frequency)
3. Revisit the content where I faltered
4. Practice the weak areas
I stuck to limited content and worked on my mistakes.
For mocks, I purchased the GMAC mock sets. They are expensive but since they are closest to the actual exam (trust me!), it’s a good investment.
My mock scores:
Exam-1: 730 | Exam-2: 710 | Exam-3: 690 | Exam-4: 740
Though each exam differs on the difficulty level, the score is more or less accurate. Also, there is a strong possibility of your score varying by some 20-30 points on the test day. (99.9999%, it will be on the lower end).
Confident of my preparation and the range, I scheduled my GMAT.
Exam Day experience:
I took the exam at the Green Park center in Delhi, India. It rained in the morning and I was half drenched when I arrived at the test center. While validating my signature with the passport, the administrator made me resign at least 10 times (my passport is old too … remember Gandalf era?). 10 minutes delay here. Then, when the administrator was trying to login into the system to start my exam, his password did not work. Another 10 minutes delay.
The point is, things can go wrong and deviate from your plan. But it’s important to keep calm. Focus on what is important. Don’t let such fallacies distract you.
I attempted the exam in the following order: Verbal-Quant-IR-AWA.
Remaining exam was a smooth experience. Keep in mind the following when you go for the exam:
1. Carry some quick food with you.
2. Your break time included mandatory frisking and passport validation. Keep that in mind.
3. Even if a section does not go as per your expectation, don’t let it affect the other sections.
I got 730 this time.
Score breakup:
Quant: 50 | Verbal: 39 | AWA: 6 | IR: 8
Another 1-2 points on verbal would have been good, but still this was a score that made me happy.
I have to give the due credit to
egmat for their expert content, forums and rigorous practice routine. The calibrated and verified approach made the difference.
Next, I worked hard on my applications (another long story, probably some other time) and eventually got the admit from ISB.
GMAT is difficult if your approach is not planned, structured and feedback driven. As long as you know what to work on ... you will get your dream score.
If you have any questions, message me. If you want to ace the GMAT, join
e-gmat.
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12 Apr 2019, 10:32
