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In Episode 3 of our GMAT Ninja Critical Reasoning series, we tackle Discrepancy, Paradox, and Explain an Oddity questions. You know the feeling: the passage gives you two facts that seem completely contradictory....- May 08
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Hey there! I am here to share my journey from 555 to 705 on the GMAT. To provide some context, I am an engineer with experience mainly in management consulting and tech, and I am not a native English speaker.
The Wake-Up Call
I started my GMAT journey knowing virtually nothing about the test, but with some confidence given that I had done good in what I thought were similar tests. However, on my first mock test I scored 555 which was way below my expectations and, furthermore, I felt really lost even in the modules I was supposed to be strongest in. This was a turning point for me: I knew I had to take the study seriously and with a clear methodology if I wanted to achieve the improvement I wanted.
Guided by recommendations from friends who had performed well on the GMAT, I came to know about e-GMAT and after some further research I decided to go with them as my primary source of study. I will review here my main impressions of the platform, but I can already say that it was undoubtedly the basis of my study and success.
Verbal: From V80 to V84
Verbal was my first big hurdle. I was okay, but "okay" doesn't cut it on the GMAT.
Critical Reasoning questions used to make my head spin. In some cases, I was unable to understand the details that defined the correct choice, while in others I managed to do so but wasting an absurd amount of time. This is where I got the first great tool from e-GMAT: the pre-thinking strategy. Following the process of visualizing the question stem and pre-thinking before moving to the answer choices made almost every CR question solvable, so when I practiced questions in a relaxed manner, my rate of correct answers increased considerably. However, in timed-constrained tests, my results didn’t improve that much, and I was constantly left with unanswered questions because of lack of time.
When I analysed my results (I recommend doing it without fail after each test), I realised that my biggest problem was due to poor time management, which in turn was because the time it took me to understand the texts was too long. And here is where I would like to give my first big advice: take advantage of the tools and methodologies, but always knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. In my case, I’ve always had difficulties with English, and although I have taken advanced courses, I have done them relatively recently, so it is impossible for me to have the speed of comprehension of a native speaker or someone who learned to speak it as a child. Considering this, I developed a "simplified" pre-thinking (my focus was on understanding the logical thread of the arguments), and even though it was not as precise as doing the full pre-thinking, it allowed me to distribute my time much better, and ultimately resulted in a considerable improvement in my results. Just for clarification, my message here is not for you to repeat the same adaptation that I did, but to start from the standard methods and adapt them based on your own skills to make the most of your strengths.
Thanks to this strategy and its adaptation, my CR accuracy improved to 70% on hard. But another key point to get to it was the RC reading strategies. I learned to slow down and absorb the information, which in my case was especially valuable given my struggles with the language. My comprehension improved and my speed in tackling RC passages increased, gradually reducing my time to 6-7 min per passage (in addition to some valuable seconds gained in reading CR texts).
Quant: From Q79 to Q88
Starting with a Q79, I knew I had room to grow. But how? In my case, the big problem was in the knowledge gaps I had, so I started reviewing the available content on e-GMAT.
The platform covers all the necessary content to learn, which is particularly good in cases like mine where I had no idea what things were being tested (I think this ease was one of the things I valued most). However, my initial impression was that it was too much content, and that if I went through it all I would never finish it in the planned time. So here is another suggestion: For the Quant section, you can activate the "PACE" architecture, which is basically starting with diagnostic quizzes, and taking only the recommended courses based on your performance. I suggest following these recommendations as the time saved could be considerable (for example, in my case I saved ~40 hours in total) and returning to a skipped section only if while practicing you feel that you need to reinforce those specific contents. Also, in case your problem is more process-related, during the courses you will be constantly practicing 6 key skills that serve to be more methodical and avoid classic mistakes in Quant questions.
I would also like to mention that, in my case, it was key for Quant to practice with hard OG questions (you can find them in the GMAT Focus Edition OG or also in GMAT Club), which I consider to be a good reference to get used to dealing with those typically short but tricky questions.
DI: From DI73 to DI83
For DI, I started off with rather strange feelings. Given my background in consulting, I assumed this section would be relatively easy for me, however, I got my worst score on the Mock Exam.
When I analysed my performance, I realized that, once again, my biggest problem was time management. In this case, the issue was more about not knowing how to approach the questions in an intelligent and efficient way, so the first step was to review the modules of each section to understand what kind of questions there were in each one and how to deal with them (in addition to extracting some tips to save time).
The cementing stage was crucial too. It helped me build my ability for the toughest questions, practicing how to quickly extract relevant information from complex datasets and make accurate inferences under pressure.
Last, I would like to point out that practice under "real" circumstances (20-question quizzes) was very important for me. With this, I was able to better internalize the mindset of forcing myself to get quick insights and to identify those exercises that were difficult for me to solve in a short time in order to learn when to skip them (this is harder than it sounds: it means giving up on a question that you know you will probably get correct, but at the cost of valuable time that will likely result in several bad questions in the future due to lack of time and greater pressure).
Last Mile Program
As I entered the final stretch of my GMAT prep, I joined the Last Mile Push program. This was the turbo boost I needed to cross the finish line.
My mentor, Abha, became my GMAT support pillar. She crafted a plan with 14 milestones, each with its own set of metrics which clearly stated that I had to achieve a 70%-75% accuracy in Hard questions and 80% accuracy in medium questions. It wasn't just about studying anymore; it was about strategic improvement.
Those final weeks were intense: late nights and countless practice tests. But with each milestone I hit, my confidence grew.
Words of Wisdom for Future GMAT Champs
To those of you still on this journey, here's what I learned:
Remember, the GMAT is not just a test; it's a journey of self-improvement. Embrace it, learn from it, and let it transform you. I know that the road is difficult, but when you see on the screen that score that you achieved with so much effort, all those hours and all the hard work will have paid off.
All the best! 😊
The Wake-Up Call
I started my GMAT journey knowing virtually nothing about the test, but with some confidence given that I had done good in what I thought were similar tests. However, on my first mock test I scored 555 which was way below my expectations and, furthermore, I felt really lost even in the modules I was supposed to be strongest in. This was a turning point for me: I knew I had to take the study seriously and with a clear methodology if I wanted to achieve the improvement I wanted.
Guided by recommendations from friends who had performed well on the GMAT, I came to know about e-GMAT and after some further research I decided to go with them as my primary source of study. I will review here my main impressions of the platform, but I can already say that it was undoubtedly the basis of my study and success.
Verbal: From V80 to V84
Verbal was my first big hurdle. I was okay, but "okay" doesn't cut it on the GMAT.
Critical Reasoning questions used to make my head spin. In some cases, I was unable to understand the details that defined the correct choice, while in others I managed to do so but wasting an absurd amount of time. This is where I got the first great tool from e-GMAT: the pre-thinking strategy. Following the process of visualizing the question stem and pre-thinking before moving to the answer choices made almost every CR question solvable, so when I practiced questions in a relaxed manner, my rate of correct answers increased considerably. However, in timed-constrained tests, my results didn’t improve that much, and I was constantly left with unanswered questions because of lack of time.
When I analysed my results (I recommend doing it without fail after each test), I realised that my biggest problem was due to poor time management, which in turn was because the time it took me to understand the texts was too long. And here is where I would like to give my first big advice: take advantage of the tools and methodologies, but always knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. In my case, I’ve always had difficulties with English, and although I have taken advanced courses, I have done them relatively recently, so it is impossible for me to have the speed of comprehension of a native speaker or someone who learned to speak it as a child. Considering this, I developed a "simplified" pre-thinking (my focus was on understanding the logical thread of the arguments), and even though it was not as precise as doing the full pre-thinking, it allowed me to distribute my time much better, and ultimately resulted in a considerable improvement in my results. Just for clarification, my message here is not for you to repeat the same adaptation that I did, but to start from the standard methods and adapt them based on your own skills to make the most of your strengths.
Thanks to this strategy and its adaptation, my CR accuracy improved to 70% on hard. But another key point to get to it was the RC reading strategies. I learned to slow down and absorb the information, which in my case was especially valuable given my struggles with the language. My comprehension improved and my speed in tackling RC passages increased, gradually reducing my time to 6-7 min per passage (in addition to some valuable seconds gained in reading CR texts).
Quant: From Q79 to Q88
Starting with a Q79, I knew I had room to grow. But how? In my case, the big problem was in the knowledge gaps I had, so I started reviewing the available content on e-GMAT.
The platform covers all the necessary content to learn, which is particularly good in cases like mine where I had no idea what things were being tested (I think this ease was one of the things I valued most). However, my initial impression was that it was too much content, and that if I went through it all I would never finish it in the planned time. So here is another suggestion: For the Quant section, you can activate the "PACE" architecture, which is basically starting with diagnostic quizzes, and taking only the recommended courses based on your performance. I suggest following these recommendations as the time saved could be considerable (for example, in my case I saved ~40 hours in total) and returning to a skipped section only if while practicing you feel that you need to reinforce those specific contents. Also, in case your problem is more process-related, during the courses you will be constantly practicing 6 key skills that serve to be more methodical and avoid classic mistakes in Quant questions.
I would also like to mention that, in my case, it was key for Quant to practice with hard OG questions (you can find them in the GMAT Focus Edition OG or also in GMAT Club), which I consider to be a good reference to get used to dealing with those typically short but tricky questions.
DI: From DI73 to DI83
For DI, I started off with rather strange feelings. Given my background in consulting, I assumed this section would be relatively easy for me, however, I got my worst score on the Mock Exam.
When I analysed my performance, I realized that, once again, my biggest problem was time management. In this case, the issue was more about not knowing how to approach the questions in an intelligent and efficient way, so the first step was to review the modules of each section to understand what kind of questions there were in each one and how to deal with them (in addition to extracting some tips to save time).
The cementing stage was crucial too. It helped me build my ability for the toughest questions, practicing how to quickly extract relevant information from complex datasets and make accurate inferences under pressure.
Last, I would like to point out that practice under "real" circumstances (20-question quizzes) was very important for me. With this, I was able to better internalize the mindset of forcing myself to get quick insights and to identify those exercises that were difficult for me to solve in a short time in order to learn when to skip them (this is harder than it sounds: it means giving up on a question that you know you will probably get correct, but at the cost of valuable time that will likely result in several bad questions in the future due to lack of time and greater pressure).
Last Mile Program
As I entered the final stretch of my GMAT prep, I joined the Last Mile Push program. This was the turbo boost I needed to cross the finish line.
My mentor, Abha, became my GMAT support pillar. She crafted a plan with 14 milestones, each with its own set of metrics which clearly stated that I had to achieve a 70%-75% accuracy in Hard questions and 80% accuracy in medium questions. It wasn't just about studying anymore; it was about strategic improvement.
Those final weeks were intense: late nights and countless practice tests. But with each milestone I hit, my confidence grew.
Words of Wisdom for Future GMAT Champs
To those of you still on this journey, here's what I learned:
- Embrace the struggle. Each mistake is a lesson in disguise
- Find your weakness and turn it into your strength. Also, find your initial strengths and adapt your plans to take advantage of them
- Slow down to speed up. Comprehension is key, especially in Verbal
- Don't just memorize, understand. The 'why' is as important as the 'how'
- Set milestones and celebrate every win, no matter how small
- Believe in yourself. If I can do it, so can you!
Remember, the GMAT is not just a test; it's a journey of self-improvement. Embrace it, learn from it, and let it transform you. I know that the road is difficult, but when you see on the screen that score that you achieved with so much effort, all those hours and all the hard work will have paid off.
All the best! 😊
nikaro
Joined: 10 Dec 2023
Last visit: 20 Nov 2024
Posts: 178
Location: India
Schools: LBS Yale Booth (Chicago)
GPA: 4
Products:
Schools: LBS Yale Booth (Chicago)
Posts: 178
Congrats and all the best for the applications.
that is very well written, thankyou for this detailed explanation as I am in a similar situation.
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