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01 Apr 2023, 23:27
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I come from an engineering background in India. True to the stereotype, I am good at mathematics. I also like reading. I started thinking about appearing for the GMAT in January 2022, but became serious about it only in May. Given the deadline for September, I planned to study for 2 to 2.5 months before attempting the GMAT.
Attempt 1
I solved the OG guides without much thought first. I started with Verbal as I wasn’t worried much about Quant. Watched a couple of videos on Youtube and tried to find patterns in the questions. I also referred to the Veritas guides to develop concepts.
CR was especially difficult for me. I knew about the prethinking approach but lacked the patience to implement it. Also I tried to reason with the correct answer but often could not convince myself about why a particular answer choice was incorrect.
For SC, I could solve the easy and medium level questions but often faltered when it came to difficult questions. I knew there was a missing link but just did not understand how to improve it.
I had taken the official GMAT mocks and scored 720 and 740 in each. The official mocks were way easier than the questions I had solved before. I was quite happy with the score.
After the mocks I went for the exam and ended up scoring a 710 (V38, Q49). I was disappointed knowing that this score would not get me into the school I aimed for. In retrospect, I had missed out on one factor - the test pressure. I had given the mocks in the comfort of my home. But at the exam centre, I became nervous and the reality hit me - If I couldn’t score well in the exam, not only would I waste the fee but also wouldn’t have a chance to apply in the first round.
Attempt 2
After the first attempt, I dropped the thought of GMAT. I convinced myself that I would apply next year and study at leisure. September is the beginning of the fiscal year for my office, workload being low, I picked up GMAT again. I ordered an ESR but I could hardly make any sense out of it. One of my friends had previously recommended e-GMAT so I decided to try a guided approach this time. My main goal was to improve solving skills in timed environments. I was also aware that there were loopholes in my preparation, especially when it came to difficult questions. e-GMAT’s concept based learning would help me fill these loopholes.
Upon joining e-GMAT, I got an ESR analysis done and developed a study plan to reach my goal. I started with the concept files and I was surprised how concepts, which overwhelmed me initially, were laid out in simplicity. I made it a point to go through all concept files, taking notes diligently and structuring my thought process. Through the Cementing quizzes, I was more confident about the application of concepts. I discovered that I was facing difficulty in modifiers and parallelism. Maintaining an error log and going back to basic concepts helped me deconstruct difficult questions and understand the root cause of my mistakes.
I overcame my fear of CR through the prethinking approach. On the SC side, the meaning based approach helped me solve difficult problems with confidence.
To be honest, I think the level of Quant in e-GMAT prep is more difficult than the level of the actual exam. It’s no harm learning tricks and tips to conquer GMAT problems quickly - especially for topics like even-odd, primes, PnC, etc. But personally, I am not a fan of remembering formulas or tricks and I try to stick to the basics, taking the longer route in most cases. I used the PACE algorithm to figure out which areas needed improvement and solved a few questions of each strengthening my conceptual understanding. For practice, however, I mostly stuck to Medium level questions in eGMAT and questions from the Quant OG.
One important pointer here would be to understand the patterns that GMAT asks - you might solve the entire question correctly but it’s a multiple choice question, so you have to select only what is asked. Hence, paying special attention to the words in the question like ‘NOT’, ‘in the range’, ‘number of solutions’, etc is very very important.
Another mistake I kept making was getting attached to the questions and trying to solve everything. The algorithm will raise your level equally for both 100% correct questions and 80% correct questions. So as per my mentor’s suggestion, keep a hard time limit on the questions(~2 mins) and keep moving ahead.
I was a part of the LMP program where I was guided by Akash. Akash is the best mentor hands down. We made a study plan keeping in mind my work schedule and frequently readjusted the plan to give sufficient time to areas which needed preparation.Starting with concepts, then to quizzes, then mixed quizzes and lastly the mock tests - Akash helped me to organise, schedule, analyse and also reflect on each of the tests.
I gave another GMAT attempt on 15th October. I knew I had studied hard and was completely prepared. But I scored only 700(V38, Q48). This was lower than my first attempt. I was heartbroken after the second attempt. I was not able to find any reason to explain this. Hence I decided to take a break. I went to India for a vacation and came back after a month rejuvenated. My friends and family in India had advised me to go for an application in R2 even with a score of 710. Taking up their advice, I started working on an application in December.
Attempt 3
I come from a retail background in Japan and an MBA is something rare in my field. I wanted to understand the application process better. Given that it was already December I decided to apply to only one school. I finished the bulk of the application - essays, resume within a week. Now I had 3 weeks in hand and the application was in the review stage.
All this time Akash had been an excellent mentor, keeping up my spirit , always telling me ‘it was just a bad day and I could do much better’. With borrowed motivation, I started to work on GMAT again - this time only for 2 weeks. I brushed up the concepts, went through the error log rigorously and attempted a few more quizzes. The timeline was squeezed up but we made good use of each available day, one section at a time. While I was confident about my Quant ability, I put all my heart into Verbal - understanding the nuances and forcing myself to think in a structured manner in situations of time deficiency.
The application was due on Jan 4 and I booked GMAT for Jan 2nd. I used the year end holidays to study in peace. Since it was a vacation period I had no option but to give the GMAT online.
The test was like just another mock for me. I was mentally prepared that in the worst case scenario I would apply to the school with a 710. I could not believe it when I saw the score 750 (V42, Q49). Also my IR and AWA sections were perfect (happens after 3 attempts 🙂). It was a moment of relief and sheer bliss. Application completed and score submitted.
I have now interviewed for the school and am waiting on a decision!!
Let me talk a bit about e-GMAT and how they helped me in this journey.
Structuring the thought process → We know that the GMAT is a game of critical thinking under time constraints. And this can be achieved only by a disciplined mindset. In the first attempt, I allowed my mind to run-off: jumping to options without pre-thinking in CR, selecting an option just because it sounds nice, spending way too long on a particular question, etc. With the structured concept files and timed quizzes in e-GMAT you get into a habit of thinking in a particular way and keeping a check on time. This will not just help you manage time to cover all questions but will also help to keep your confidence level high without giving in to time pressure.
Detailed analysis → Every question I solved on e-GMAT, whether correct or incorrect, I made a point to review the explanation. It is very important you get the question correct for the correct reason, especially when it comes to questions where options need to be eliminated. With e-GMATs team of experts, you can not just review standard explanations, you can also freely ask any follow up questions you may have. This helped me a lot to understand why my way of thinking was correct or incorrect.
Appropriate guidance → I cannot emphasise enough the role played by the mentor in my e-GMAT journey. I would have never attempted the GMAT third time, had it not been for Akash’s guidance. Let the experts create roadmaps and all you need to do is follow the roadmap with utmost sincerity. After every test, we would analyse the mistakes and create a learning plan to strengthen a particular concept. The time management techniques given by Akash helped me overcome anxiety and stay calm in the final test.
Overall, I am very grateful to the entire team of e-GMAT and Akash especially for having faith in me and keeping me motivated. I can vouch for the e-GMAT team that if you follow the steps sincerely, your target GMAT score is definitely achievable.
Lastly, my tips to GMAT applicants would be to understand the basics, prioritise reviewing your mistakes and stick to time limits. Keep a cool head on the day of the exam and remember that in the end, it’s just a component of your MBA application.
Attempt 1
I solved the OG guides without much thought first. I started with Verbal as I wasn’t worried much about Quant. Watched a couple of videos on Youtube and tried to find patterns in the questions. I also referred to the Veritas guides to develop concepts.
CR was especially difficult for me. I knew about the prethinking approach but lacked the patience to implement it. Also I tried to reason with the correct answer but often could not convince myself about why a particular answer choice was incorrect.
For SC, I could solve the easy and medium level questions but often faltered when it came to difficult questions. I knew there was a missing link but just did not understand how to improve it.
I had taken the official GMAT mocks and scored 720 and 740 in each. The official mocks were way easier than the questions I had solved before. I was quite happy with the score.
After the mocks I went for the exam and ended up scoring a 710 (V38, Q49). I was disappointed knowing that this score would not get me into the school I aimed for. In retrospect, I had missed out on one factor - the test pressure. I had given the mocks in the comfort of my home. But at the exam centre, I became nervous and the reality hit me - If I couldn’t score well in the exam, not only would I waste the fee but also wouldn’t have a chance to apply in the first round.
Attempt 2
After the first attempt, I dropped the thought of GMAT. I convinced myself that I would apply next year and study at leisure. September is the beginning of the fiscal year for my office, workload being low, I picked up GMAT again. I ordered an ESR but I could hardly make any sense out of it. One of my friends had previously recommended e-GMAT so I decided to try a guided approach this time. My main goal was to improve solving skills in timed environments. I was also aware that there were loopholes in my preparation, especially when it came to difficult questions. e-GMAT’s concept based learning would help me fill these loopholes.
Upon joining e-GMAT, I got an ESR analysis done and developed a study plan to reach my goal. I started with the concept files and I was surprised how concepts, which overwhelmed me initially, were laid out in simplicity. I made it a point to go through all concept files, taking notes diligently and structuring my thought process. Through the Cementing quizzes, I was more confident about the application of concepts. I discovered that I was facing difficulty in modifiers and parallelism. Maintaining an error log and going back to basic concepts helped me deconstruct difficult questions and understand the root cause of my mistakes.
I overcame my fear of CR through the prethinking approach. On the SC side, the meaning based approach helped me solve difficult problems with confidence.
To be honest, I think the level of Quant in e-GMAT prep is more difficult than the level of the actual exam. It’s no harm learning tricks and tips to conquer GMAT problems quickly - especially for topics like even-odd, primes, PnC, etc. But personally, I am not a fan of remembering formulas or tricks and I try to stick to the basics, taking the longer route in most cases. I used the PACE algorithm to figure out which areas needed improvement and solved a few questions of each strengthening my conceptual understanding. For practice, however, I mostly stuck to Medium level questions in eGMAT and questions from the Quant OG.
One important pointer here would be to understand the patterns that GMAT asks - you might solve the entire question correctly but it’s a multiple choice question, so you have to select only what is asked. Hence, paying special attention to the words in the question like ‘NOT’, ‘in the range’, ‘number of solutions’, etc is very very important.
Another mistake I kept making was getting attached to the questions and trying to solve everything. The algorithm will raise your level equally for both 100% correct questions and 80% correct questions. So as per my mentor’s suggestion, keep a hard time limit on the questions(~2 mins) and keep moving ahead.
I was a part of the LMP program where I was guided by Akash. Akash is the best mentor hands down. We made a study plan keeping in mind my work schedule and frequently readjusted the plan to give sufficient time to areas which needed preparation.Starting with concepts, then to quizzes, then mixed quizzes and lastly the mock tests - Akash helped me to organise, schedule, analyse and also reflect on each of the tests.
I gave another GMAT attempt on 15th October. I knew I had studied hard and was completely prepared. But I scored only 700(V38, Q48). This was lower than my first attempt. I was heartbroken after the second attempt. I was not able to find any reason to explain this. Hence I decided to take a break. I went to India for a vacation and came back after a month rejuvenated. My friends and family in India had advised me to go for an application in R2 even with a score of 710. Taking up their advice, I started working on an application in December.
Attempt 3
I come from a retail background in Japan and an MBA is something rare in my field. I wanted to understand the application process better. Given that it was already December I decided to apply to only one school. I finished the bulk of the application - essays, resume within a week. Now I had 3 weeks in hand and the application was in the review stage.
All this time Akash had been an excellent mentor, keeping up my spirit , always telling me ‘it was just a bad day and I could do much better’. With borrowed motivation, I started to work on GMAT again - this time only for 2 weeks. I brushed up the concepts, went through the error log rigorously and attempted a few more quizzes. The timeline was squeezed up but we made good use of each available day, one section at a time. While I was confident about my Quant ability, I put all my heart into Verbal - understanding the nuances and forcing myself to think in a structured manner in situations of time deficiency.
The application was due on Jan 4 and I booked GMAT for Jan 2nd. I used the year end holidays to study in peace. Since it was a vacation period I had no option but to give the GMAT online.
The test was like just another mock for me. I was mentally prepared that in the worst case scenario I would apply to the school with a 710. I could not believe it when I saw the score 750 (V42, Q49). Also my IR and AWA sections were perfect (happens after 3 attempts 🙂). It was a moment of relief and sheer bliss. Application completed and score submitted.
I have now interviewed for the school and am waiting on a decision!!
Let me talk a bit about e-GMAT and how they helped me in this journey.
Structuring the thought process → We know that the GMAT is a game of critical thinking under time constraints. And this can be achieved only by a disciplined mindset. In the first attempt, I allowed my mind to run-off: jumping to options without pre-thinking in CR, selecting an option just because it sounds nice, spending way too long on a particular question, etc. With the structured concept files and timed quizzes in e-GMAT you get into a habit of thinking in a particular way and keeping a check on time. This will not just help you manage time to cover all questions but will also help to keep your confidence level high without giving in to time pressure.
Detailed analysis → Every question I solved on e-GMAT, whether correct or incorrect, I made a point to review the explanation. It is very important you get the question correct for the correct reason, especially when it comes to questions where options need to be eliminated. With e-GMATs team of experts, you can not just review standard explanations, you can also freely ask any follow up questions you may have. This helped me a lot to understand why my way of thinking was correct or incorrect.
Appropriate guidance → I cannot emphasise enough the role played by the mentor in my e-GMAT journey. I would have never attempted the GMAT third time, had it not been for Akash’s guidance. Let the experts create roadmaps and all you need to do is follow the roadmap with utmost sincerity. After every test, we would analyse the mistakes and create a learning plan to strengthen a particular concept. The time management techniques given by Akash helped me overcome anxiety and stay calm in the final test.
Overall, I am very grateful to the entire team of e-GMAT and Akash especially for having faith in me and keeping me motivated. I can vouch for the e-GMAT team that if you follow the steps sincerely, your target GMAT score is definitely achievable.
Lastly, my tips to GMAT applicants would be to understand the basics, prioritise reviewing your mistakes and stick to time limits. Keep a cool head on the day of the exam and remember that in the end, it’s just a component of your MBA application.
04 Apr 2023, 06:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Dear ru345,
Congratulations on your score of 750 with a remarkable V42 (96th percentile)!
With this, you have become a part of the top 2 percent of test takers! The fact that you improved from your last test score of 700 to 750 (87th percentile to 98th percentile) within just 17 days makes this feat even more commendable.
Pursuit to Success
I was as elated as you were when I received the email below about your exam results.
Don’t wait for opportunity, create it!
You were always willing to put in the effort to understand where you were going wrong and where you could improve. With your dedication, you let the pre-thinking approach in CR become second nature to you. The image below shows how you improved your accuracy in CR hard questions from 63% to 87%.
Consistency is what transforms average into excellence!
You maintained your diligence and perseverance through all Verbal subsections. You were consistently practicing GMAT style questions in the Scholaranium to master the applications. The image below shows your statistics across three subsections in Verbal in hard questions. These statistics show the consistency through which you got that V42 (96th percentile).
I can understand you might have felt that the level of questions in the Quant Scholaranium was a little tougher. However, we do not want you to get any surprises in the exam. As famously said - “Sweat more in training, bleed less in war!”
I am sure that you will face every challenge thrown at you with the utmost determination and I wish you all the very best for your next steps!
Regards,
Akash
Congratulations on your score of 750 with a remarkable V42 (96th percentile)!
With this, you have become a part of the top 2 percent of test takers! The fact that you improved from your last test score of 700 to 750 (87th percentile to 98th percentile) within just 17 days makes this feat even more commendable.
Pursuit to Success
I was as elated as you were when I received the email below about your exam results.
Don’t wait for opportunity, create it!
You were always willing to put in the effort to understand where you were going wrong and where you could improve. With your dedication, you let the pre-thinking approach in CR become second nature to you. The image below shows how you improved your accuracy in CR hard questions from 63% to 87%.
Consistency is what transforms average into excellence!
You maintained your diligence and perseverance through all Verbal subsections. You were consistently practicing GMAT style questions in the Scholaranium to master the applications. The image below shows your statistics across three subsections in Verbal in hard questions. These statistics show the consistency through which you got that V42 (96th percentile).
I can understand you might have felt that the level of questions in the Quant Scholaranium was a little tougher. However, we do not want you to get any surprises in the exam. As famously said - “Sweat more in training, bleed less in war!”
I am sure that you will face every challenge thrown at you with the utmost determination and I wish you all the very best for your next steps!
Regards,
Akash
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