760- This peaceful, easy feeling, GMATClub material rocks!

Okay, I think the quants score can be improved a couple of points through more practice and employing the right strategies. On verbals, have you had a look at the e-GMAT course?

Santanu

I was actually doing well in Verbal and not so in Quant but over work/stress did me in..I wanted to do too well and lack of sleep had full effect..I remember almost waking up to time of 10 mins and 8 questions left in verbal..

I have decided to go back to basics..I am studing SC using Aristrotle SC Grail and then I plan to restudy MGMAT SC guide..I plan to do OG 10, 11 and 12 questions and then I will take a MGMAT test to check my progress..If i don't improve I will take e-gmat but I hope I don't need it

Let me check out the free videos and questions for e-gmat..will keep you posted ..

A question for you : What do you think about the present job market esp in Europe for a Finance Grad? I started with MBA programme search but I am more inclined towards a Masters in Finance (with high quant)..I have IT background with 5+ years work exp..

Sunney

The current financial situation in Europe is, indeed, concerning. Markets and resultantly, the job situation, could get even worse in the next six months. Precisely why now could be a good time to do an MBA I think. This scenario, however grim it looks now, shall not last forever, and in the next couple of years, the financial markets should improve from here.

On the MBA vs Masters in Finance question, I think an MBA makes sense if you want to do a pure switch from IT to Finance. The MIF seems to be geared more towards oldies like my humble self, with some financial experience already under their belts. However, if you do get admission to a good MIF course in the US or Europe, it could be a good option both in terms of dollars and time.

Santanu

Hello again folks!

I have already added my debrief after scoring a 760 here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-760-50-q-42-v-satisfied-124675.html.

Have decided to add another discussion thread, capturing some more random thoughts, once the bubbly excitement of a 760 score has settled down now.

So here goes:

Things they tell you to do, but I didn't:

- Take no tests in the last few days, just revise:

I had taken 3 full tests in the last 3 days leading to the GMAT - this was primarily because I had set myself a timeframe of only 10 days for my second attempt as I was going on vacation after that and it was not possible to take the GMAT later. Also, for me specifically, getting accustomed to the test taking mindset just prior to the actual test works - keeps me mentally agile and on my toes. I think, given the more than one month of inaction after my first attempt, taking a host of tests leading into the G-day helped me get over my rustiness.

- Always include the AWAs in your mock tests:

In all my mock tests, I have never, ever done that. A 4 hour ordeal, including the one hour taken for the AWAs, would have been very stressful and would not have allowed me to take 5 practice tests in the last 7 days. Despite many pieces of advice to the contrary, I believe that, for people who are comfortable expressing themselves cogently in English, leaving out the AWA sections during the practice tests could actually be beneficial. In fact, in the actual test, writing the two AWAs in a relaxed mode helped me enter the quants section in a comfortable frame of mind.

- Maintain an error log:

I have never maintained an error log, though I have revised my incorrect solutions post taking a mock test in detail. Revising the problems that I got wrong and those that I got right accidentally have been very helpful in improving my overall accuracy and performance. However, I am not a very organized person by nature and maintaining an error log of all questions I had gotten wrong across all mock tests would have been too tall a mountain to climb. For me, learning from my mistakes after taking a mock test largely offset the need for a specific error log.

- Take your time when going through the RC passages, and take detailed notes:

Well, this strategy did not work for me. It led to significant time leakage and did not improve my accuracy. For me, quickly browsing through the passages to have an overall idea of the structure (occasionally spending a bit more time on sentences that are more dificult to comprehend) and then diving into the requisite portion when answering a specific question worked better than taking detailed notes. It ensured that I spent time on questions that actually needed spending more time on.

I must mention here that many other pieces of advice here at the forum have been real gems and have helped me achieve the score I have.

A couple of key ones are:

- Keep track of time - give yourself a minute max to evaluate whether you can solve the problem - if you think you cannot, make an educated guess if possible else a random one, and MOVE ON!

This worked like a dream for me - I had spent more time than I should have on some obstinate quant problems and ended up with a rushed and panicked quant score of 48 in my first attempt - followed the advice to the tee the next time and got a sweet 50 on the next attempt.

- The problem sets on DS and PS by Bunuel, strategies, tips and solutions by Walker and Bunuel:

A mere thank you is not enough to express how much the problems and solutions have helped me. To all ye future test takers - please go through these freely-available documents and include them in your test prps.

- The various verbal threads, verbal guides by Whiplash, Gayathri, TestMagic, RC guide by Rhyme etc:

Apart from the Manhattan SC guide, these documents and discussion threads were invaluable - had gone through all these documents and the SC, CR and RC discussion threads on GMATCLub. Would have, without doubt, gotten a lower verbal score if I had not gone through them.

Cheers and wish you a very happy new year!

Santanu

great advice, I also haven't done the AWA section in my mock tests, will do that from now on. Congrats on your score.

Thank you - I tend to agree with many of them (except the RC one - it worked for me much better to read the entire passage in detail).

Also, how many probability/combination questions did you encounter during your test? Was it worth in your opinion to study all the higher end questions? (I have recently seen some theories that it is not worth spending much time on probability, combinations, statistics, and other high end 700+ questions, so I am curious how true that is... I actually did not study these fields as they were not covered in the Kaplan Math Workbook and of course I got a probability question on my test that I could not answer.)

hey if you still have them, could you post the links to the following things:

- The problem sets on DS and PS by Bunuel, strategies, tips and solutions by Walker and Bunuel, especially on probability:
- The various verbal threads, by Whiplash, Gayathri, TestMagic, RC guide by Rhyme etc:

Santanu:

I encountered only one or two probability / combination questions. But working on the practice problems helped boost my confidence that I can handle them if I happen to meet them on test day. And this confidence helped me attack the quants section boldly, I think. Also, for me, specifically, working on the probability / combination problems helped me use my 'little grey cells', as Hercule Poirot would have said, and keep them well oiled. Also, I was making a number of errors on DS problems. Using Bunuel's approach to solve DS problems in number theory, inequality, modulus, geometry and probability / combinations from his DS problems set helped a great deal in improving my DS accuracy.

Thanks and welcome!

Regarding AWAs, I honestly feel that, if one is comfortable with writing in English, one need not include the two AWAs in each mock test he or she takes, but that's my opinion only....

Santanu

Pls go through this link: download.php

This link contains GMATClub resources, and has links to all downloadable documents.

Santanu

whoever told you to take detailed RC notes is crazy

nonetheess, good job man!

Well, then ManhattanGMAT staff and most other experts out here would be crazy, going by that definition given most advise students to take one's time the first time one reads an RC passage and take detailed 'short-hand' notes. 'Detailed RC notes' does not mean writing out paragraphs of notes, but jotting down most key datapoints.

Cheers

Santanu

Hi Santanu,

First of all congrats for the phenomenal score.
I would like to know how tough was the Maths section as compared to your practice tests.

And did you find any idioms questions in the SC?

BR
Mandeep

Hi Mandeep

The first time I took my GMAT (730, 48q, 42v), I found the quants section tougher than GMATPrep quants. I think that was partly the luck of the draw given I seemed to have gotten at least 3-4 tough geometry and coordinate geometry problems. Also, I think my quant prep was undercooked the first time around and my strategy flawed.

The second time (760, 50q, 42v), the questions seemed easier and more inline with GMATPrep quant, with only one or two weird problems for which I promptly guessed and moved on. My DS preparation was better plus I had decided that I would skip problems that I did not understand - I had wasted time during my first GMAT.

In sum: I think it was a 50:50 mix the second time: The questions I got were relatively simpler and on expected lines - also, I was better prepared and had a sound strategy.

Santanu