RohanBasawkar wrote:
I am also in the same boat. Planning to start my prep, but really can't think of giving a mock test right now, for the fear that the score might demotivate me.
I have been reading expert post and also solutions. That has only confirmed my impression that some serious preparation is required.
Serious preparation is required for almost everyone. The older you are, the more you need. It's normal. Unless you're a 22 year old Engineering/Maths/physics grad and native English speaker who does a lot of reading, you're going to have to put some work in. OK, I got to my score in 9 weeks, but I was working part time and put in at least 180 study hours
Veritas have a diagnostic test that's shorter than an actual mock, but it did overscore me by 2 points on quant, and underscore on verbal, however, I think it's decent and reasonably accurate
CAT or no CAT, what's important is to know your weak areas. You can determine this with an organised
error log. You need to note for every wrong questions 1) the difficulty 2) the topic/type and 3)the reason why you got it wrong
If a low starting score demotivates you, are you really in the right mind to study for the test? If I'd had done a CAT before any study I'm sure the result would have been shocking, probably 400s. I was way, way, way off on quant. Reading university websites, which make it sound like only the creme de la creme of career gods will ever get in to the school, demotivates me 1000 times more than the GMAT ever did
For Quant, I did like the Maths Revolution approach to DS, and wish I'd seen it at the start of my study to get me into good habits right from the get go. I do think the MR questions posted on the forum are easier than their stated level though, as I can solve most of them in my head quickly with no issues and I am not a Q51 student. The GMATclub math Qs are great and well-organised
For verbal, get a subscription to the WSJ or Economist. Read it daily.
To be honest, the GMAT is a cake walk compared to the actual application, because you can improve your GMAT but there's precious little you can do about the weak points in your CV