Kaladin's Kombat | My GMAT Journey

Kaladin's Magic Pill for a 700 score
The Dark Side of GMAT Prep



GMAT Club is like the vast African savannah. In it one can observe GMAT tutors in their natural habitat.
A few GMAT tutors are brilliant. Some are bad, if well-meaning. Then, there are a few conmen.
Today, I will talk about the third variety.

Right after my first GMAT attempt in 2019, after a disastrous Q39, I fell prey to one such test-prep company.
They promised the moon. By using their proprietary approach, they claimed, I could magically solve any DS question in under 2 minutes.

Like most students, I wanted a good score. And I wanted it immediately. I was looking for short-cuts; I thought I could solve this problem by throwing money at it. I had forgotten the old proverb: ​"A fool and his money are soon parted."

So, I paid good money for their course (~50% of my monthly paycheck). I went through all the videos, learned all the tricks. And waited for the magic to happen. Alas, I waited in vain.

Fast forward two years to today. As I was practicing a 700 level DS question, I chanced across a post by the same test prep company hawking its "proprietary" approach to other students. As I read the post, I chuckled to myself.

Students want to ace the GMAT because they have dreams. They want to improve their lot in life. And many are wiling to try anything to improve their score. A few unscrupulous tutors try to take advantage of such students. Such is life.

If you are trying to improve your score, you will have to put in the time. It took me ~2 years to go from Q39 to Q48. If you put in the time, you should see results, but there is no guarantee.

If you still think there is a magic pill out there, I have some snake oil to sell you.



Now, let's get back to our prep. All the best!