It all started back in 2016 when I interned at a reputed MNC for the complete 4th year of my college. The team and the management were in awe of my work ethic and it was just a formality to get converted to full time after the graduation. But it would have been a boring tale to tell without the twists, the MNC giant split into two entities and the entity my team got assigned to was sinking at a fast pace resulting in a hiring freeze. All my efforts looked in vain and thats when somebody planted the seed of Masters in my mind. I started doing extensive research about what is my area of interest and what are the career opportunities that interest me in the long run. But it did not take long enough for me to understand that all this is futile if I dont have a clear goal and these things have more value if I have enough work experience before Masters. So there goes all the research in the dump and I start from scratch to preapre for interviews. As fate had it, the other entity (which was not sinking and rather soaring) offered me a lucrative job opportunity and I took it with both hands. I enjoyed every bit of the job: the team, the work and the well paid life. Now I knew the aspects of job that keep me excited and those are the ones I want to pursue as my career. So the Masters journey begin.
I have divide my debrief into 3 parts:
1. Story about how I went through my 4 attemps and what kept me going
2. Tips to improve GMAT score
3. Examination experience and ways to tackle the paranoia
Please feel free to directly navigate to the section of your liking.
1. Story:
The basic question every Master aspirant asks himself: GRE or GMAT?
I recycled all the research I had dumped earlier and used to realize that business courses prefer GMAT compared to GRE. I understood about the exam, joined Education Aisle in Bangalore and started prepping 3-4 hours on the weekend. I scheduled my exam in March 2018 and started prepping with more rigor. It was soon enough I realized that like every other Indian aspirant I am poor at the verbal but can ace Quant without much preparation. I scored average on my GMAT official mocks ranging between 630-650. I assumed I would do better in the actual test but it was exact 640 (mean of my mocks). I did not know how to react to the score, I knew it was not a great score but people kept telling me that is good and they have seen people doing worse in GMAT. I took a break and enjoyed life a bit, additionally work load also soared and got a little busy. It took me till June to realise that I need to restart the prep and this time I analyzed my weak areas from the first attempt and targeted them. Basically all the three verbal areas were a blunder (V26) but SC was the worst. Education Aisle provided me with useful insights and new material to prep for the 2nd attempt. I scheduled the test for August. The mocks were still hanging at 660-670 and my score was 660(Q50,V28) on the test day. The reality kicked in. Self doubt ruled the mind, I declared myself mediocre. I thought I did my part yet failed to achieve results, this demotivated me like hell. I was on the verge of dropping my Masters plan. But when I gave up on myself, there were others who did not. My sister, who herself has a great GMAT score and completed her MBA from top B school, motivated me stating that she considers me capable of a better score and its just proper preparation is what I am lacking. This time I took a step back and questioned my preparation methods. I researched online and found that
egmat not only provided with prep material but also prep methods. This was a game changer. I soon realized I have been doing things wrong for a long time now. I prepped for 2 months on
egmat and gave my exam in December 2018. I could sense that I had got better. I was scoring around 690-720 on the mocks. I thought I might miracolously score 720+ on the exam day, but I ended up with 700(Q50,V34). The familiar feeling kicked in, I was not sure if I was content with the score. I went home and told myself that I had done everything I could and this is the best I can get. Also people were in awe of my score, couple of them even glared at me when I said I am not sure if the score is good. With all these things in mind, I decided to apply to schools with this score and chilled in life for a while. Since I got my score in December, I assumed I can chill till August and then prepare my essays. So fast forward to August and I realize 700 is just NOT good enough for an indian aspirant. I will get no where with this score. Panic all around but a great idea popped into my mind, during the last attempt I had not completed the
egmat course and there were many chapters left. I mailed them asking to give me a month on their platform as their subscription expires in 6 months( meaning it expired by April). They got back to me promptly with a great deal, 80% off on the actual price. I took the deal and added extra arsenal into my prep by buying the
GMAT Club tests too. I was hell bent on cracking it this time. I started the prep on November 1st and was adamant that I will give my exam in December. I scheduled the test for December 7th. I was prepping 4 hours on weekdays and 6 on weekends. I was cruising through the
egmat material. I was improving in my mocks. My Chrome browser would suggest "GMAT Club" rather than "GMAIL" when I type the letters "gma". This was it, I noticed positive changes. I noticed the confidence with which I approached the Verbal section. The day before the test I scored 720 on the mock. But this score was different, this score was no luck, it was all well though out answers. The next day was the most crucial one. I took a light breakfast and rode on my bullet to the test centre. A little nervous, a lot more confident I started the exam. I started with Verbal and would gain confidence on every sure shot asnwer I knew about. Cruised through Quant and IR. Took my time to write my essay even though I was exhausted inside out. Clicked on the submit button partly hopeful and partly afraid of what is coming. The screen read 730 : Q50, V39. I let it sink in, I did not show out any excitement as I had to maintain decorum in the examination hall but I was jumping inside. Self assurance that I can do it was a feeling of euphoria. I clicked on accept scores and walked out with a subtle smile. I realized one thing that dragged me through all this was PERSISTENCE. Persistence to keep going, persistence to improve, persistence to learn and adapt.
2. Tips:
a. Focus on weak areas from the very beginning
b. Preferred course material-
Verbal- Manhattan SC and
EGMAT Verbal
Quant-
GMAT Club Tests.
c. Education Aisle (@educationaisle) is a good way to kick off the preparation if you prefer classroom experience (personally I wanted some classroom experience)
d. I repeat,
GMAT Club Tests are must
3. Examination experience and tips:
a. In my first attempt I picked Quant first which meant that I was tired by the time Verbak started. I rectified this mistake in the second attempt
b. Make sure you sleep early and enough before the day of the examination
c. I read it on some blogs and it helped me personally. I popped in a paracetamol on the morning of the exam, since I usually get feverish because of exam nervousness
d. In the break, I had some snickers and did 15 pushups to shake off the tiredness. Trust me it was awkward doing it in the examination centre but was totally worth it by the end
e. If your exam is in Bangalore, prefer the Shivajinagar Pearson centre. It is clean and has a much needed positive vibe to it
So thats all about my journey. Also if you are not motivated already, I got an admit into Fuqua and Marshall. Got shortlisted from Berkeley. But as I said twists are part of the tale, all my plans are uncertain because of COVID-19. Hopefully everything is sorted out by the time the course begins.
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01 Jun 2020, 14:57
