Disclaimer: I am not good at writing, (p.s. My AWA score is yet to come :p ), but I hope the content in here is helpful for people.
Hi Guys. Ankur here.
GMAT history
Diagnostic - 620(do not remember the break up)(Mid July 2017)
Attempt 1- 630 Q50 V23(19th Sep 2017)(Order VQ)
Attempt 2- 750 Q50 V40(6th Oct 2017)(Order QV)
Attempt 1- Not at all an expected score. Scored 740/750 3 times in GMATPrep, 730 once, 710 once and 620 once(diagnostic), Manhattan test were between 660-680(3 tests).
I knew that I Managed time poorly that day and hence ended up paying for it. Because I knew there was no fundamental problem with me. The very same day after I came back from the centre, I looked for the next immediate test date that falls after 16 days. I booked for 6th Oct. My aim was verbal this time, quants has always been my strong point. Because of my time mismanagement I had to guess in 3-4 questions I guess that is where the fall started that never stopped.
After coming back I spoke to few people in the verbal group and started preparing again for the next attempt. Frankly speaking, the second time I didn’t even refer any single extra material. I had 3
manhattan prep tests remaining, hence I gave those tests and analysed my mistakes thoroughly. That is one thing that helped me I guess. I also went through the Manhattan guide for SC, it wasn’t that great for me because I simply can’t
follow the rules etc. they just don’t seem to penetrate inside my head. 1 decision that I took that day was, to become active in the Verbal group. I had put that group on mute ever since i joined. The discussions that happened, people explained, i explained to people. That is it.
Attempt 2- Was chill more than ever because I knew that I was prepared previously hence had nothing to loose, managed time properly, though I exceeded my break by some 15 seconds and that too for the verbal part
, but i took some educated guesses in 2-3 questions towards the 30s questions and I completed verbal just on time. Quants was well in time. One thing that I changed from my previous attempt was the order of exam. For 630 i did VQ but for 750 i did QV, no science there, i just thought that first attempt had me struggling for time in verbal so to get into rhythm I will do Q first.
Overall Materials used:1.
OG 2017
2. GmatPrep Tests Exam Pack (1&2)
3. Manhattan Tests (6)
4. Verbal group was the best experience, as it allowed me to practice anytime and anywhere. Thanks to people at https://gmatclub.com/chat who created the app for computers.
People have been asking me to guide them. Honestly I am not qualified to guide anyone, because what works for me might not work for you. I still apply the rule of sounds good for SC which is considered as sin. CR was just my ability to reason the statements correctly and get into the hypothetical situation. RC, i followed just one technique, read a para, write 1-4 imp words related to those while reading and then after the para done, write in 1 words what i did (e.g. gave examples, experiment, oppose etc).
Quants has been my string point hence just practice.
My latest mock score
Manhattan Test 680, Q48 V34, gave it 4-5 days back
----EDIT 1----Initially my study hours were- Sat and Sun 6 hrs I had classes, so that was to keep me on track as I am working professional. Daily i tried taking out 2 hrs including morning and night.
Practice Source:
CR- A verbal https://gmatclub.com/chat group that I joined, really lovely people there. Apart from this only
OG and GmatPrep qns.
SC- Again the https://gmatclub.com/chat group and
OG and Verbal review and GmatPrep. Manhattan Test analysis.
RC-
OG only
Quants-
OG, Quants review, https://gmatclub.com/chat group qns.
----Edit 2----Time Mismanagement in Attempt 1- I started with the verbal section. I think it took me some time to get into the feel of the exam and the flow of it. Hence I was more careful and slow in the beginning. And that resulted in me loosing few critical seconds while attempting each question and ultimately few minutes after I was done with 20+ questions. The result was that I had very less time remaining when I was in my 30s in Verbal. As a mitigating strategy, I guessed for 3-4 questions and there started my downfall. Verbal is always hectic, so even for my second attempt I was short of time, but because I managed my time better in the RCs this time and also because I was in the flow as my order was (Quants, Verbal, IR, AWA), it didnt take me much time for the questions in Verbal.
Hence, better strategy in RC and the verbal only after quants helped me to take care of the time mismanagement.