Hi All,

I have been lurking around this site for 3-4 months now. This forum has been a great support for me as I read strategies, debriefs and lurked around in "Admitted" forums. I didn't see any Fashion students debriefs and I thought I would add one of my own to motivate anyone with a similar background.

I took the GMAT last Saturday and scored a 770 (Q50 V45 IR 8 AWA 5) on first attempt.

Brief Profile:
Indian Female
Graduated from the top fashion school in the country.

Overview:
I decided to start studying for the test in January this year and took the first GMAT Prep test completely cold to understand the pattern. I scored a 660 (Q47 V34). My target score on GMAT was a 750 so I bought my OG 13 and got down to working on it. It took me over 3 months to finish the book (I was keeping quite busy - job change, moving houses etc). I took another GMAT Prep Test after finishing the book and scored 720 (Q49 V39). I felt that I was on the right track and booked a test date of July 12.

Next I started MGMAT books and did the corresponding questions from OG (I actually used a OG 13 to OG 12 converter as I didn't want to do the same book again even though the questions are same I liking marking on my books and I had a copy of OG 12 as a hand-me-down from my brother). I maintained an error log for OG 12. I finished all MGMAT books by 15th June. I took another GMAT Prep Test (after resetting the previous one) and scored a 760 (Q50 V42 IR 8). With another month to go before my test, I decided to plug in all of my weaker areas and studied Combinatorics and Geometry from the Veritas Prep Books and signed up for the e-GMAT SC course. I finished these by 30th June and took my last GMAT Prep Test scoring 760 again (Q49 V45). Last 10 days were spent reading up for AWA and IR and doing random questions from OG. I actually studied very less during the last week and spent my time going out or watching sitcoms.

Test Day:
I had a 9AM appointment and the test centre is half an hour away from where I live. I woke up at 7, had a light breakfast and left for the test centre at about 7:45. I reached at 8:15 and was told that we weren't allowed in till 8:30. At 8:30, I got in and was seated at the reception area. After Palm scanning and other formalities, I was shown to my terminal. One strange thing that happened was that the invigilator asked me to take off my light summer jacket and put it in the locker. I had to plead with him to allow it(I get cold very quickly and I always wear summer jackets in any AC environment) and I even mentioned my fashion background to convince him that it was a light jacket(as allowed by GMAC)
The test went fairly well. I thought I doing well and was able to answer questions in my problem areas. Once the test was over, I was presented with a host of screens asking for profile information. All of this was optional but since I was taking the GMAT for the first time, I did not know which would be the last screen in the optional info section. So everytime I pressed next, I heartbeat went up a few notches. Finally when I saw my 770, I was elated and super-excited and could not wait to get out of the testing room and share the news with everyone I love. I raised my hand to be escorted out of the testing room, collected my Unofficial Report Card and walked out happy and proud.


Below are my suggestions on the prep material and strategy. Please take them with a pinch of salt, what worked for me might not work for you so you have to try different things to find out what works best for you.

Books & Prep Material:
OG - I solved only OG questions during my entire prep. Even when I was reading MGMAT, I never solved any of their back of chapter questions and stuck to the cross-referenced OG questions at the back. I think solving official questions keep you connected to the actual level and type of questions asked.

MGMAT Strategy Guides - I didn't really find them working for me. They were a little too basic for my taste. If you are building up your foundations, they might be a good way to go but I don't think they help past the 700 level. Use them to build up concepts in areas where you find yourself struggling.

Veritas Prep Books - They present material a little too complexly. If you are already at a 700+ level, I recommend Veritas Prep Books. They are quite difficult to read and understand but once you get their way of presenting material, they explain complex concepts quite well. Do not study these if your basics are not in place, they will only end up confusing you.

e-GMAT SC Course - BRILLIANT. I love the course. Their lectures are exactly like the ones Indians study in school Easy to understand, albeit delivered in a little boring voice. Easily applicable concepts and good examples. I did not use their 3-step process as I didn't find it working for me but they definitely helped me go from V42 to V45. Their interface and accessibility on mobile devices is certainly lacking and there is huge scope of improvement on those fronts. But there is certainly nothing lacking in the course material. I highly recommend e-GMAT (I can only vouch for SC part) irrespective of which stage or level of preparation you are at.

Prep Tests
I did not take any other tests except the GMAT Prep ones (again my obsession with solving official questions only). Took the 3rd one with IR and AWA. For the rest, I skipped AWA and IR. Even though I took the GMAT Prep Tests 4 times, I did not remember any answers so there was no undue advantage.

Other Tips:
1. Do not try to estimate the level of difficulty of a questions during the test. One, it might be an experimental question. Two, your idea of difficultly of a question may be very very wrong. This will just waste your time and put you under pressure.
2. If you are an Indian, do not forget to bring your passport. It might sound too obvious to be mentioned but I had a girl during my slot who didn't read the country wise ID requirement and turned up with a Driving License. Obviously, she was turned away. The invigilator said that he gets atleast one case everyday.

So my GMAT journey has come to an end. Another mammoth task of applications lies ahead.

Good Luck to everyone who is yet to take the GMAT!!

Cheers!!

Nice score. I am sure that you will get a lot of interview invites. Regarding the Manhattan GMAT strategy guides, did you do the questions at the end of each chapter? For whatever reason, I think the Manhattan GMAT practice problems are a lot different in terms of wording, as compared to the official guide. What are your thoughts?

Hi,
No, I didn't do the questions at the end of chapters. I was obsessed with doing only Official Questions and did absolutely no other questions except OG. So, can't really help you with your query. Sorry!

Heartiest congratulations !

Yours is one of the simple debriefs. Simple in the sense that you have not used any other material than OG13 and official tests !!
still unbelievable !!!!

I am sure your debrief will motivate lot of folks such as me !!

Hi Septgmat,

Thanks! Glad to be of help

Posted from my mobile device

Way to go!!! Good luck for your applications. That's kind of my dream score. what were your areas of weakness and how did u tackle them? Also anything additional besides focusing on official question?
_________________

Great overall score and some fantastic strategies. I am glad that we could be a part of the same.

[url]I actually studied very less during the last week and spent my time going out or watching sitcoms.[/url]

- Is this the norm for you before every exam or was GMAT exception.
BTW = Fashion + MBA + Great GMAT Score => Bright future
_________________

Hi Farhan,
Thanks for the kind words!

My area of weakness is mainly Geometry so I went through the Veritas book in the final month of my prep. I found it to be quite good though it is not very easy to understand. As you can see in my debrief, I recommend Veritas books to push you forward at the top scores.

Good luck for your GMAT!!

Hi,

Thanks! E-Gmat is an excellent resource.. glad I found it at the right time

This was my first competitive exam after grad entrance so can't really say if this is a norm but I was feeling comfortable with my prep and didn't want to touch any new material so kept it light in the last week.

Thanks for the last statement.. Hope it translates