Spirituality and the GMAT: From 470 to 730 in about 3 months

Hi all,

This is my first post in the forum. My post is intended to help as many future test takers as possible.

I took my GMAT test on 28/4/2016 and got 730.(Q49 V40) The score is good but I was a little disappointed with my quant (I scored 50 in most of my recent GMAT prep exams) and my IR score. (only 4) However, I have now decided to make other aspects of my application stronger by working on them.

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Background:

I am an Information and Communication Technology Engineer from India (Just google about DA-IICT). Contrary to popular belief, my competitive Quant skills were very weak. Fortunately or unfortunately, I did not have to prepare for tough Quant screening exams during placement season in my college because I had received one of the best pre-placement offers from a reputed company via internship. So, I had to work my way up on both verbal and Quant skills, unlike most engineers.
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Journey:

First full test without any prep about 10 months ago, I had scored 470. Don't remember the breakup but it was fairly disappointing so I moved on with my normal life. However, 10 months later I found myself in between jobs (a story for some other day) and this is when I decided to take the first step in fulfilling my dream of MBA. I realized that I just don't want a MBA degree but I need a MBA degree.

Anybody would assume that it would be easier to study when one is not working. But trust me, it is not the case especially when you were working continuously previously in reputed firms.(Transitioning from working to not working) So, my GMAT journey was just about as much tough emotionally as it was mentally.

I think these three months have taught me as much about life as it has taught me about Quant, Verbal and Ellipsis.

You will read a lot of tips about how to do well in Quant and Verbal and IR and AWA. I don't intend to repeat those. Almost all of those tips are helpful if you follow them properly.

My tips would be more focused towards how to handle this journey mentally (using spirituality and practicality) and come out of this journey as a better version of yourself, no matter what the result is.(You can always retake!)

1) Meditate regularly

This is by far the most influential reason of my positive GMAT journey. Meditate for 15-20 minutes. It helps you on so many levels. You become mindful. You realize that GMAT and MBA is just one part of life and there is so much happening around you without you paying attention to it. (Birds, animals, wind, etc.) Mindfulness is an asset which will help you to push yourself out of a negative frame of mind or a discouraging situation. Some breathing exercises along with meditation will also give you a power to stay calm in the most difficult of times.

2) Remember less, Do more

This is as much valid for Quant as it is for Verbal. Remembering rules or formulas is not going to help unless you have practised and applied that rule at least 5 times.
Also, for Quant, this post ( overview-of-gmat-math-question-types-and-patterns-on-the-gmat) was indeed very helpful in channelizing most of my Quant efforts towards specific topics.

Prepare and work hard but intelligently. 80/20 rule is also applicable to GMAT Quant.

3) Its all about timing- Maintain a balance between urgency and panic

I have experienced that there is a thin line between sense of panic and sense of urgency. While sense of urgency is useful for working on easy/medium problems in order to save some valuable time, it could easily turn into a sense of panic which would let you make 2-3 consecutive mistakes. Hence, it is absolutely important to time every small thing you practice and make sure that you finish the problem in adequate time.


4) The most important strategy is to identify and stick to one
The one thing which is true about strategy is everybody has got their own. But the important thing here is to identify a strategy for yourself and stick to it.

For example, I was initially very confused whether to use a/b/c/d/e for elimination strategy in CR, SC and RC. However, I later realized that if I read options properly, I could do that in my mind and save around 20-30 seconds. I know its a different perspective. But my point is I stuck to a strategy because it felt right to me regardless of the popular belief.
Second thing I realized was that if I had enough time to read each question and option at least once in verbal, I had higher chance of a good score than just leaving one or two blindly to keep up with the time. That is a huge trade-off between accuracy and speed. I chose speed on most occasions because it was giving better results for me. However, it could be totally different for some other test taker. (It is a risky strategy but I am known for making such decisions )

Again, the idea is that you should have a strategy which suits you and then, stick to it.

5) Take care of your body

While preparing for GMAT, one should take care of the body, the machine, which makes it possible for us to even attempt GMAT. Exercising regularly (20-30 minutes), taking care of your body postures as well as taking timely breaks should help. Do not ignore your body for GMAT or for that matter, anything else in life. Life is meant to be a balancing act of these 5 aspects: Professional(GMAT being part of it), Physical, Spiritual, Interests and Relationships. By that logic, body is at least as important as GMAT. (Critical Reasoning )


6) Keep Faith, Work hard, Positive attitude

Your mock test scores may vary but that does not mean they show how exactly will perform on the exam day. I see them as more of your potential. If you had scored Q51 once, or V42 once, it means you CAN do it again on the test day itself. Keep faith on the almighty/your own self and keep working hard with a positive mindset. There is a very famous quote in the holy book of Geeta: "One should keep doing their work/karma without worrying about the end result. It will be taken care of, eventually."


7) Prepare professionally, Try to keep emotions out as much as possible

Keep your ego aside. Prepare like a professional. Organize data out of your practice sessions like a data entry professional and analyze it like a data analyst. Plan strategies like a consultant and implement them like a CEO. Nothing to get emotional about. (even if you think your life is dependent on GMAT) Work for x hours a day. Take a break on at least one day a week. I used to effectively study for 6 hours each day, and almost never on a Sunday.

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Full test Log and most importantly, the deliberate mental approach after those results:

(Somewhere in Feb last year) GMATPrep#1 470 (Dont remember the breakup, formatted the computer...long story. Moved on and decided to prepare for GMAT some time later.)

3/2/2016 Started studying for GMAT
11/2/2016 MGMAT#1 540 q37 v28 (No IR or AWA) {Post exam reaction: Too low, but will improve}

17/2/2016 MGMAT#2 620 q41 v34 (No IR or AWA) {Post exam reaction: Positive, I see an improvement. Will
continue my efforts}

25/2/2016 MGMAT#3 610 q40 v34 (No IR or AWA) {Post exam reaction: Neutral, either whatever I did last week was not effective OR need to get second opinion regarding score. Next week, I shall give Gmat Prep.}

1/3/2016 GPrep#1 680 q49 v32 (No IR or AWA) {Post exam reaction: Positive, Brilliant. I felt that I was improving faster than MGMAT showed me. Now onwards, I will use Gmat Prep only to check my progress since its the most authentic score as well and sometimes the most encouraging too}

15/3/2016 GPrep#2 680 q49 v34 (No IR or AWA) {Post exam reaction: Neutral, OK. I see an improved verbal score so there has been some improvement. Will keep working in this direction.}

26/3/2016 Re-GPrep#1 720 q49 v39 IR 7 {Post exam reaction: Positive. First Full test and this is good. It was a retest so no need to be super happy.}

1/4/2016 Gprep#3 710 q49 v38 IR 5 {Post exam reaction: Positive. It seems the score is stuck around 710-720. Need to try something more challenging to bring my level up. ( Big Mistake.)}

6/04/2016 MGMAT#4 630 q45 v32 IR 2.47 {Post exam reaction: Negative. Yes MGMAT is tough but seeing 630 is discouraging after consequent 700+ scores. Will try GMat prep test if everything is fine.}

8/4/2016 Gprep#4 660 q50 v28 IR 6 {Post exam reaction: Negative. Something wrong with my Verbal strategy or maybe, an off day. Need to change the verbal timing strategy as I could not finish last 10 properly.}

14/4/2016 Gprep#5 760 q50 v42 IR 5 {Post exam reaction: Elated. Unexpectedly Brilliant. Need to get the dates for 28/6 now. Will try to save OG for last week (BIG MISTAKE)}

21/4/2016 Gprep#6 680 q49 v33 IR 8 {Post exam reaction: Negative. 7 days to go for the final take, v33 is bad. I did not use OG and saved it for the last week. This strategy backfired clearly. Will need to
take one more test before the final one.}

24/4/2016 Re-GPrep#2 720 q50 v37 IR 7 {Post exam reaction: Neutral. I know I can do better than this but this is more satisfying than a 680.}

28/4/2016 GMAT 730 q49 v40 IR 4 {Post exam reaction: Happy. I had panicked at the end of Quant and IR. IR is bad, but still managed to fight positively in verbal. I can work with this score.}

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Materials used:

Verbal
-OG 15: Golden. Absolutely a bible for GMAT. One should do this thoroughly at least 2 times. Also, try to use the online version. It helps a lot in timing.
-Manhattan SC: Again, a great resource to strengthen your basics.
-GMAT Club: It is a brilliant resource for practising RCs.
-Powerscore CR: Could not finish the book, but seemed very good for people with weak CR.
-Manhattan CR,RC: They are decent. May help in giving you extra practice. (Especially online question banks)
-Kaplan 800: Decent for additional practice but sometimes, it gets very easy.
-E-GMAT- Due to a promo offer, free access to 350+ questions was available for 15 days. Completed all and it helped in building up my confidence.

Quant
-OG 15: Golden. Absolutely a bible for GMAT. One should do this thoroughly at least 2 times. Specially the medium and tough ones. Also, try to use the online version. It helps a lot in timing.
-Manhattan Strategy guides: Good for basics, not much for practice. Online question banks are good.
-GMAT Club: Excellent for practice. Any question, any difficulty, any topic. Time your attempts though.
-Manhattan Advanced Quant: This was an impressive resource for additional practice.
-E-GMAT- Due to a promo offer, free access to 350+ questions was available for 15 days. Completed all and it helped in building up my confidence.
-Kaplan 800: Do not use this for Quant. It is of no use.
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Thanks GMAT Club and everybody (Esp. BB,Bunnel) who indirectly helped me in this journey. I owed this post to you all.

Ultimately, it is not a rocket science. Some take weeks while some take months to get their desired score. The most important thing is to keep going, not to give up and to believe in yourself (And be strong in parallelism ).

YOU CAN DO IT. All the best.

Cheers,
Pawan