If you came to read a success story, you should head back and find a debrief that tells how he/she rose from 600 to 750. If you want to share a journey with me, read ahead. You have nothing to lose and maybe some insights to gain. It's a long read, so bear with me. I will try not to bore.
I had my 4th GMAT attempt today. I'm positive that I have bombed it, but I will let you know more after I receive the score.
4th attempt. I know right! It seems I should have learnt something from my experience and should have improved my scores like so many GMAT aspirants have. Alas, I haven't, at least not about GMAT. I was mentally prepared that this will be my final GMAT attempt, so I went in all guns blazing.
Nevertheless, let's start from the start. Not when I was born, but when the dream of conquering GMAT was born in me.
Chapter 1 - Birth of a Dream2019. I had already written CAT twice. For the unaware, CAT is the entrance exam for admissions to most MBA colleges in India. I had enrolled in a Prep institute to prepare for it. But I always knew that that exam wasn't for me. More than knowledge, CAT is an exam of speed. Not entirely, but majorly. My Quant is good but I was slow and always stumped by the Logical Reasoning section. My highest score in the last attempt was 92 percentile, with a 99.99 in the Verbal Section.
So when my scores were released in Jan 2019, I locked CAT prep books in a box and thought to start something fresh. India seemed too competitive to me, so I began dreaming of studying abroad, and hence entered GMAT. To really mark a new beginning, I got my ACL surgery which took me 3 months to rehabilitate from. While I couldn't study in that period, I mentally prepared myself for the exam to come, and became familiar with the format and syllabus. Like any Indian, I hoarded any and every material I could get my hands on. I searched on google, “Best books for GMAT”, “Best course for GMAT”, “Best so and so and so”. Now all I had to do was start.
Chapter 2 - GMAT is a piece of cake. NOTIn May, I finally started the process, with an aim to write GMAT by August. While I was still apprehensive about joining a course online, I got a 3 month GMAT CLUB subscription. Initially I found the UI of the GMATCLUB website very ancient. A more rigid interface than what you are used to while using social media. But in its simplicity, lies its efficiency. All sections neatly arranged with filters that made selection easy. I was WFH even before the Covid pandemic, so it gave me ample time. Time was never an issue.
I studied between breaks. I studied before work, I studied after. My enthusiasm had no bounds. At a point, I was doing 100 questions a day. DS and SC were completely new to me, so understanding them took time, but gradually I got better. I bought all the GMATPREP tests, and practiced them. I averaged around 680 and was happy with that score. I wasn't able to touch the venerate 700 mark, but I was getting restless with the pace. So I decided on a date and booked my exam. What an expensive exam? But worth it, so I thought. The closest center was still 20 km away from home and I couldn't find morning slots. So I booked the one at around 4PM. I took my bike, and drove to the venue, excited and pumped!
The onboarding experience at the center can be quite intimidating. I can't recall much how my exam went, but it didn't seem too good or bad. IR felt harder than I thought, but I didn't mind that much. I knew I would get a decent score, at least that's what my mocks would have me believe.
When the screen flashed my score, I think my heart dropped in my stomach. I had never such a low score ever.
630 ( Q47, V29, IR 2, AWA 5)Chapter 3 - Rise from the ashesI was done for the year. 2019 was the worst year of my life. LOL. Welcome 2020.
The pandemic, change in project, forced to WFH, it was quite a lonely time for me. But I always look at the glass half full. I took this as a blessing in disguise ( I hope not to offend, the pandemic was a terrible period for a lot of people). I started studying early this time. The syllabus was not the issue, my wits and nerves were. I was averse to ordering an ESR as I didnt think it could help me much. So I continued with my preparation, doubling down on the verbal section. I read many debriefs, watched alot of tutorials and read multiple books in the hope to narrow the gaps. I bought the Veritas test series, having exhausted the GMAT prep tests. This time I saw a marginal improvement. My scores hovered around 700, but never more. Another august had arrived, and there was no point waiting any longer. The exam was booked, and I was set to do myself proud.
This time, I could feel my energy draining during the exam, especially in Verbal. Things didn't make sense anymore, words were confusing. I felt my performance dropping throughout. I shrugged it off. Another screen flash, another heart attack.
650 (Q48, V31, IR5, AWA 6)Chapter 4 - I’m falling, but can I still fly?This time, I didn't take the beating lying down. I immediately ordered an ESR, and sent copies to a couple of Prep companies for review. They gave me a walkdown of the ESR and explained to me what action I could take. I took the
e-GMAT course of 3 months, and started from scratch, going through every module, every quiz , every forum. Their Verbal section is excellent and I took advantage of it. I wanted the exam to be on my terms, so I booked the test at home. My scores finally reached 730 level on the Sigma-X mocks. I prepaid for my trip to Goa for Christmas. Irrespective of good or bad, I was prepared to take some time off right after my exam.
The exam day arrived. Third times the charm, right? I was going to be zen, calm as a monk. I downloaded the app “Headspace” and did a 15 minute meditation(Overkill, I know). My desk was set up, and I finished the check-in process. It went quite smoothly. I was 4 questions down in my Quant section, and pop. My wifi moonwalked out of my laptop. Slyly, but surely. And the test froze. My zen looked like a Hen. But the internet returned in 10 mins. The proctor assured me that the test will resume. However, it didn't. He told me not to worry and that I will be able to reschedule soon and just logged off before I could enquire any further. I immediately mailed the GMAT team and tried calling their customer care, which is one of the worst in the world.
To give you an example, when I called one of their numbers, the lady who received my call said she couldn't help me because she was assigned to help US clients. When I asked her the number of her Indian counterpart, she asked me to continue redialing, since the number is the same but it's routed randomly to different centers. Are you kidding me? I pay 250$ for this?
Anyway, R2 deadlines were nearing and I hadn't started with my applications yet. I knew I couldn't do justice to the applications, without clearing the exam first. Quickly I logged into the MBA portal and booked my exam for the nearest date, Dec 19.
This time, I was confident I got it. My Quant went well. I even got a Boldface question in CR (I read somewhere that one only gets it when the level gets tough, which means I must be doing well). Was I?
660 (Q48, V33, IR7, AWA 6)Chapter 5 - Just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I am lost.Never put all your eggs in one basket. I based the next 5 years of my life on this exam. I wanted to get the best possible score, to go to the best possible school. But life moved on, I started focussing at work, started focussing on my mental health, and altogether piecing my life together.
But the world works in mysterious ways. Did you forget the online exam that got cancelled due to a technical error. Well, the GMAT people mailed me (almost 3 weeks later), giving me a GMAT voucher to retake the cancelled test. Should I take it or not? Not now.
I postponed my decision till the last date of the voucher and then booked for 3 months later.
It was the same thing, all over again. Study, practice, give mocks, repeat. I had decided to give it rather than let the voucher go to waste. I kept low expectations and just decided to work at my own pace. I again booked it to give from the comfort of my house. I did Manhattan mocks this time. My maximum score was 690.
The test went smoothly, but again I felt weird writing the Verbal section.Weird isn't it, that I scored a 99.99 in CAT but couldn't cross as V35 in GMAT? Well, It's not that weird, given that GMAT is based on logic and strategy. I thought I was meant for this exam. But I don't think I am.
It's not a bad thing tbh. You win some, you lose some, right? I seem to have lost more than won. But it’s not the end.
Most importantly,
I made a lot of notes while I studied for this exam. I want to share it with you guys, but only if there is a demand for it, as It will take me some time to consolidate them together.
Also, why should you listen to someone who couldn't achieve his target score. But for every success story you read, there are a 100 people who don't make it. Never discount whom you can learn from, and if i can benefit someone, I would feel my struggles bore fruit for someone at least.
EpilogueWhat are my plans after this? I don't even know what score I will get. Maybe, it will be better than before, maybe it won't. I may or may not choose to tell you all about it. Time will tell.
For now, I will try to figure out what next I want to do. I plan to stay back in India and do an executive MBA from the IIMs. Is my score and profile good enough? I don't know.
Haha, so many questions, and no answers. But to brothers and sisters who have fallen like I have, This isn't the end. There is a place for average people like us too.
Never give up. But learn when to move on.
Hope you enjoyed reading. Let me know if there are any questions.
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22 Apr 2021, 01:39
