|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
06 Aug 2020, 18:52
Kudos
Bookmarks
Background & Prep:
I started my GMAT journey around December time last year, and started seriously studying around January. I used the Economist's GMAT Tutor course (now owned by Bloomberg); I'll do a detailed review of it some day, but for what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend it, especially for Quant. Their Verbal approach is decent, however. I did try the EMPOWERGMAT free trial - the strategies on it are great, especially on how to guess on Quant; I hadn't heard that tip anywhere else, and I tried a lot of platforms. No offence to Rich and the team though, I didn't particularly find their style of videos to my liking, but that's a personal preferences thing. From a content standpoint, I'd definitely recommend it over Economist's GMAT Tutor.
I also tried ExamPAL, and watched all their videos. They're OK, worth a watch in your early prep, but they won't take you all the way. I tried TTP, but I didn't like their approach - to algebraic and dry, not enough shortcuts taught or employed - which is fair if you want to study that way and really know your stuff, but if there's a quicker and easier way to a problem, I'd rather learn that. I also tried Veritas's free classes and YouTube videos - Veritas is really good IF you want to dish out that kind of money, and I'm not entirely convinced anyone needs to do that for any non one-on-one tutoring.
I took the official test sometime in April/May for the first time, and scored a disappointing 690. I then took the 2nd official test sometime in May, and got a score of 700. I then retook the 1st exam, and due to some repeated questions I scored a 740. It wasn't that I got the repeated questions all correct (I actually repeated the same mistakes I made the first time around and got the same question(s) wrong!); rather, it helped add some time to the clock, which ultimately led to the higher score (illustrating the importance of timing and strategy).
I then bought official practice exams 5 & 6, and scored 730 on both in July.
My goal being HBS, which has a median and mean GMAT score of 730, I was feeling fairly confident to finally take the real thing. I have a weak undergrad GPA, a relatively strong career and CV, and come from an underrepresented geography and background, so I was hoping to hit a minimum of 720 in order to feel confident about my application.
Test Day
Honestly, I was looking forward to the exam after coming off a high of hitting 730 twice on exams 5 & 6. I did some prep the day before and the day of, but didn't study too hard to avoid getting tired. I scheduled the exam in the evening, as I had been taking all my practice exams at the time, and didn't want to change my routine.
I checked in half an hour early, and after the first proctor inspected the room and gave me the clear, is when the trouble began. When the proctor forwarded me to the next proctor so I could begin my exam, the Pearson OnVue software froze at a black screen. I could hear the ringing of the application as the proctor kept trying to call me, but I couldn't access the software or anything else, as the OnVue software takes over your system and leaves you unable to tab out or do anything. I waited maybe 5 minutes or longer at the black screen, and decided to restart my laptop. It was a risk, as the proctor's could have given up and I'd either get my exam cancelled or have the chance to reschedule, but it worked out, and I was back in the software and explained the issue to the proctor. All good from here, you'd hope...
After the second proctor inspected the room (apparently because I had to restart my PC that invalidates the previous inspection), she explained they tried to call my phone. Well, I had put it on silent and put it away from me (in a drawer in my desk), so I never heard it. She asked I take it off silent so she can call me if another technical hiccup arises, so I did. Then the exam began. Midway through one of the early questions, she interrupts and says I have to show her that my phone isn't on my desk and to show where I put it. I showed it to her, hiding my annoyance. She thanked me, and told me to carry on. That wasted probably 30 seconds right there.
The rest of the quant section went by smoothly. I actually made it to the final question with 4 minutes to spare. It was a tough rate/work/time question, and I was fairly certain I got it right. But because I had the extra 2 minutes to spare, might as well double check my work right? And here's where the real problem began. I was expecting a 1 minute warning marker, the same as you get in the official practice exams. Nowhere was it mentioned that the official exam does not have the 1 minute marker; it was an assumption on my part, based off the official practice exams - so I can accept that was my mistake. As you can imagine, the time ran out as I was double checking my work, and that really got my heart pounding. I wonder, had I gotten that question right, or even wrong, what my score would have been...
I then contacted the proctor immediately (it was a different one this time, they have multiple it seems and they overlap), and told him I didn't get the 1 min marker, and whether this was a software glitch or does the official exam just not have this feature? He said he'll check and let me know. I immediately started with the Verbal, as I was already 20 seconds delayed as I was chatting with the proctor. I was fine with that though, as I usually end verbal with time to spare. What was horrible though, was the proctors would reply back while you're taking the test - disrupting the flow and taking time. This happened a few times, and I simply replied back let's discuss this during the break, and closed the chat window.
I finished Verbal confidently, though I was expecting a better score, it was still OK. During my 5 min break I chatted with the proctors (they take forever to type sometimes), and consumed the entire break and an extra 30 seconds on them. They weren't helpful at all with my timer issue, and I'm not sure how to find out the answer - is there a way to contact GMAC/Pearson about this and potentially request a redo?
Surprisingly, IR was more difficult than expected. Actually, not that difficult, but the first 7 or 8 questions I got were extremely time consuming, which was something I was not entirely prepared for, as my previous IR experiences have been quite easy.
The Result
My final score, 710 overall, Q47/V41, IR 6. I'm not entirely sure now if I should apply to HBS with this score, or redo the test - I believe the centers are open in my geography.
My advice to anyone taking the online GMAT - don't expect the proctors to care about your time crunch. Do what you can to ensure they won't interrupt you during the exam, like with my phone.
For the admissions experts out there, I'd like your POV on my 710 score - I realize my chances will be better with a higher score, but considering I'm applying from an underrepresented background (IT Sales at a bluechip company) and geography (the Middle-East), with a unique personal background (dual national, neither of them USA) - should I try to apply with a 710? I've heard of cases where admissions team request the candidate to do a GMAT retake so they can increase their score and make the cut - does that happen often? Does it happen at all with HBS?
Thanks for reading about my GMAT journey you guys, though it may or may not be over yet. Time will tell.
I started my GMAT journey around December time last year, and started seriously studying around January. I used the Economist's GMAT Tutor course (now owned by Bloomberg); I'll do a detailed review of it some day, but for what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend it, especially for Quant. Their Verbal approach is decent, however. I did try the EMPOWERGMAT free trial - the strategies on it are great, especially on how to guess on Quant; I hadn't heard that tip anywhere else, and I tried a lot of platforms. No offence to Rich and the team though, I didn't particularly find their style of videos to my liking, but that's a personal preferences thing. From a content standpoint, I'd definitely recommend it over Economist's GMAT Tutor.
I also tried ExamPAL, and watched all their videos. They're OK, worth a watch in your early prep, but they won't take you all the way. I tried TTP, but I didn't like their approach - to algebraic and dry, not enough shortcuts taught or employed - which is fair if you want to study that way and really know your stuff, but if there's a quicker and easier way to a problem, I'd rather learn that. I also tried Veritas's free classes and YouTube videos - Veritas is really good IF you want to dish out that kind of money, and I'm not entirely convinced anyone needs to do that for any non one-on-one tutoring.
I took the official test sometime in April/May for the first time, and scored a disappointing 690. I then took the 2nd official test sometime in May, and got a score of 700. I then retook the 1st exam, and due to some repeated questions I scored a 740. It wasn't that I got the repeated questions all correct (I actually repeated the same mistakes I made the first time around and got the same question(s) wrong!); rather, it helped add some time to the clock, which ultimately led to the higher score (illustrating the importance of timing and strategy).
I then bought official practice exams 5 & 6, and scored 730 on both in July.
My goal being HBS, which has a median and mean GMAT score of 730, I was feeling fairly confident to finally take the real thing. I have a weak undergrad GPA, a relatively strong career and CV, and come from an underrepresented geography and background, so I was hoping to hit a minimum of 720 in order to feel confident about my application.
Test Day
Honestly, I was looking forward to the exam after coming off a high of hitting 730 twice on exams 5 & 6. I did some prep the day before and the day of, but didn't study too hard to avoid getting tired. I scheduled the exam in the evening, as I had been taking all my practice exams at the time, and didn't want to change my routine.
I checked in half an hour early, and after the first proctor inspected the room and gave me the clear, is when the trouble began. When the proctor forwarded me to the next proctor so I could begin my exam, the Pearson OnVue software froze at a black screen. I could hear the ringing of the application as the proctor kept trying to call me, but I couldn't access the software or anything else, as the OnVue software takes over your system and leaves you unable to tab out or do anything. I waited maybe 5 minutes or longer at the black screen, and decided to restart my laptop. It was a risk, as the proctor's could have given up and I'd either get my exam cancelled or have the chance to reschedule, but it worked out, and I was back in the software and explained the issue to the proctor. All good from here, you'd hope...
After the second proctor inspected the room (apparently because I had to restart my PC that invalidates the previous inspection), she explained they tried to call my phone. Well, I had put it on silent and put it away from me (in a drawer in my desk), so I never heard it. She asked I take it off silent so she can call me if another technical hiccup arises, so I did. Then the exam began. Midway through one of the early questions, she interrupts and says I have to show her that my phone isn't on my desk and to show where I put it. I showed it to her, hiding my annoyance. She thanked me, and told me to carry on. That wasted probably 30 seconds right there.
The rest of the quant section went by smoothly. I actually made it to the final question with 4 minutes to spare. It was a tough rate/work/time question, and I was fairly certain I got it right. But because I had the extra 2 minutes to spare, might as well double check my work right? And here's where the real problem began. I was expecting a 1 minute warning marker, the same as you get in the official practice exams. Nowhere was it mentioned that the official exam does not have the 1 minute marker; it was an assumption on my part, based off the official practice exams - so I can accept that was my mistake. As you can imagine, the time ran out as I was double checking my work, and that really got my heart pounding. I wonder, had I gotten that question right, or even wrong, what my score would have been...
I then contacted the proctor immediately (it was a different one this time, they have multiple it seems and they overlap), and told him I didn't get the 1 min marker, and whether this was a software glitch or does the official exam just not have this feature? He said he'll check and let me know. I immediately started with the Verbal, as I was already 20 seconds delayed as I was chatting with the proctor. I was fine with that though, as I usually end verbal with time to spare. What was horrible though, was the proctors would reply back while you're taking the test - disrupting the flow and taking time. This happened a few times, and I simply replied back let's discuss this during the break, and closed the chat window.
I finished Verbal confidently, though I was expecting a better score, it was still OK. During my 5 min break I chatted with the proctors (they take forever to type sometimes), and consumed the entire break and an extra 30 seconds on them. They weren't helpful at all with my timer issue, and I'm not sure how to find out the answer - is there a way to contact GMAC/Pearson about this and potentially request a redo?
Surprisingly, IR was more difficult than expected. Actually, not that difficult, but the first 7 or 8 questions I got were extremely time consuming, which was something I was not entirely prepared for, as my previous IR experiences have been quite easy.
The Result
My final score, 710 overall, Q47/V41, IR 6. I'm not entirely sure now if I should apply to HBS with this score, or redo the test - I believe the centers are open in my geography.
My advice to anyone taking the online GMAT - don't expect the proctors to care about your time crunch. Do what you can to ensure they won't interrupt you during the exam, like with my phone.
For the admissions experts out there, I'd like your POV on my 710 score - I realize my chances will be better with a higher score, but considering I'm applying from an underrepresented background (IT Sales at a bluechip company) and geography (the Middle-East), with a unique personal background (dual national, neither of them USA) - should I try to apply with a 710? I've heard of cases where admissions team request the candidate to do a GMAT retake so they can increase their score and make the cut - does that happen often? Does it happen at all with HBS?
Thanks for reading about my GMAT journey you guys, though it may or may not be over yet. Time will tell.
07 Aug 2020, 10:42
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi juxmba,
710 is a very nice score! Regarding whether to apply with that score, I think the first thing you should do is reach out to one of the many admissions consultants here on GMAT club:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/admission-co ... 4/?fl=menu
If you do end up deciding to retake the GMAT, and need some advice, feel free to reach back out, and I’d be happy to help.
710 is a very nice score! Regarding whether to apply with that score, I think the first thing you should do is reach out to one of the many admissions consultants here on GMAT club:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/admission-co ... 4/?fl=menu
If you do end up deciding to retake the GMAT, and need some advice, feel free to reach back out, and I’d be happy to help.
Moderator:
