Please note that I had targeted only the 1 year MBA programs in India and hence my preparation and expectations were based on these aspirations. I am currently pursuing the 1 year full time residential MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, India, ranked among the top 5 B-Schools in India.
I started my MBA journey way back in April 2008. The intention was to join a 1 year MBA program in one of the top colleges in India. I realized that I needed to clear the GMAT with a good score. Hence my journey began.
Early Days:I started out with a 15 week crash course (6 hours on every weekend). I only gave a mock test from a CD provided by the institute and a few from the Kaplan series. My first GMAT attempt in July 2008 resulted in a score of 560. I could see the entire world crumbling in front of me. That's when my teachers from the institute and friends consoled me saying that normally people do not score great marks in their first attempt. Please note that I was already 35 years young then with an experience of 10+ years. It had been a long time since having appeared for a competitive exam.
Then I got some help from friends regarding the sites I should subscribe to, the forums that I should visit online, the books that I need to refer to and the mock tests that I should be trying out. I kept working on this and attempted GMAT another 4 times with scores of 600, 670, 640 and 650 until I tasted success with 740. After every attempt I kept revisiting my study strategies and tweaked it to accommodate the latest learnings. My only advice at this juncture is "BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND NEVER GIVE UP". The task may look daunting, the alternatives (job promotion, onsite opportunities) may look enticing, but you need to keep going till you achieve your goal. To keep it short I will share with you the mantra that I have learnt over the experiences built from my failures.
Preparation:The essential key to success (700+ score) in GMAT, you need to reach a level where it turns into a mind game between you and the test maker. While attempting questions with 700+ levels it is not the preparation that comes into use, but it is your ability to see through the intentions of the test taker. This would come by practice and once you achieve that level you will start enjoying the experience.
Study Materials/Source:1.
Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency:
OG, Kaplan 800, GMAT Club (I found the explanations provided by Bunuel on GMAT very handy. The problems were segregated based on their difficulty levels).
2.
Sentence Correction: Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide (This is the holy bible for SC), forums on
Manhattan GMAT (explanations provided by their tutors are really good. My favourites were Ron Purewal and Stacey Koprince).
3.
Critical Reasoning: GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible by David M. Killoran (Powerscore),
Manhattan GMAT sites for explanations, Kaplan 800 and some a few LSAT problems.
4.
Reading Comprehension: I used the techniques from Powerscore book for CR that had similar types of questions. Apart from this I increased my reading a lot and started critically analysing passages and articles.
5.
Essay: No preparation. Read as many articles as possible. Form opinions about the various subjects that you come across.
6.
Integrated Reasoning: The last time I appeared was just 1 month before IR was introduced and hence I would not be able to help you with this.
Study Schedule:Normally I started my study schedule around 3 months before the exam. I normally practise on each section of GMAT on a daily basis. One important learning and I feel should be always remembered is when you go through the
OG (
Official Guide) please note that when you solve a problem say on SC do not consider it as one problem but as 5 problems. We normally find out why an answer is correct, what are the concepts being tested and so on. But additionally we also need to analyse why the remaining 4 options are wrong, what the error is and how it could be corrected. By doing this you are actually obtaining a practice of 5 problems in 1 problem itself. This is very important and hence the mantra that go slow in your studies. Try building concepts rather than just ticking off options and checking whether they are right or wrong. It is the quality of your study and not the quantity that matters.
My Saturdays were kept to make up on any topics or practice of problems. Sundays was kept free for taking mock tests and analysing the results. I generally prefer the GMAT mock tests that you can downloaded from their site. I had also taken a 1 year subscription for the Manhattan mock Tests as well. These mocks were very helpful. It builds up on your time management and gives you a practice to solve under pressure.
My GMAT scores:21-07-2008 - 560
29-10-2008 - 600
12-10-2009 - 670
13-06-2011 - 640
27-07-2011 - 650
19-05-2012 - 740
To sum it up, Work hard, Believe in yourself and Never give up. I believe in Albert Einstein's quote “You never fail until you stop trying.”
Here’s wishing you all good luck with your preparations.