My turn! Okay, here goes. About me: Iâ€™m 25 years old, a mechanical engineer, a bike freak, a Ferrari F-1 team freak (Schumi rocks! Kimi will too), and a victim of the IT industry since the last 3 years (probably why I am so desperate to get out!) My Preps: Pretty erratic, in short. I studied for around 3 months for the GMAT. The first month I simply tested the water, checking out if I could actually think about giving the GMAT and getting somewhere. Discovered GMATClub from Google, and started meddling with posts â€“ mainly Verbal. About 20 days later, I downloaded the GMATPrep software from mba.com and gave the full lengths a shot. Scored 710 and 730 on the two tests. Well, that was it. I got my appointment fixed for the 26th of Sep, and got down to the real prep stages. Bought a laptop, and got an internet connection. I was sure I would need these for my preparations. Preparing on paper for a test that you are going to take on a computer is downright ludicrous, if you ask me. Because I had taken two full lengths at the very outset (Plus the other GMATPrep sectional tests and the accuracy rates of my GMATClub answers), I could analyze and target my specific weaknesses. The GMATClub forums were particularly beneficial as far as this part of my preps was concerned. Almost 70 â€“ 75% of my serious prep notes are from discussions to the questions discussed on the forums. GMATClub was my main source for study material! I referred to books only as an additional reference, when I needed more data about a point that was mentioned on one of the discussions. The second month was lukewarm in terms of preps, I even took a break and took a trek to the highest point in West Bengal, and got to see a front-row view of Kanchenjunga ( https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=35892 ). I returned and took a Kaplan full length and scored 630. Got scared to s*** and finally got down to some serious work. Next month was â€“ back from work on time. An hours rest. Back to studies. Took another Kaplan full-length at the beginning of the 3rd month and scored 610. At that point, I was basically at the end of my tether. Cut down on sleep to almost 4 hours on average most of the days. 10 days before the GMAT, I applied for leave and studied at home. Focus: Quants. During the entire period that I had prepared, Quants preps accounted for only around 20% of my time. Kevincan probably noticed that I started vandalizing some of his problems. Many apologies for the mayhem on many of your recent posts. D-Day (- 1): I had to travel to a different location from where I am based at the moment, and elected to travel a day earlier. Reached the place early on Monday and reconnoitered the location of the test centre. I was on my own and did not want last minute glitches on G-Day. Took a last, and final full length from Kaplan and scored 640. Went through my error logs one last time. Slept early. D-Day: It was predicted by the meteorological department that a cyclone would hit the coastline that day. My test location is pretty close by, and I was a little apprehensive about the possible consequences, but the cyclone changed course the night before, and all I got was a windy day. I reached the test centre about three-quarters of an hour before the scheduled appointment time. They were very friendly (which helped soothe my frayed nerves). The AWA essays were pretty easy â€“ the Analysis of an Issue was something about Environmental controls, and the Analysis of an Argument was about a managerâ€™s suggestion for some organizational changes. On both the essays, I took about 5 minutes to decide what I would write about. Next 15 minutes were spent typing in the first cut. Last 10 minutes - proof reading, corrections plus additions and deletions from the essays. The Math section was pretty much in line with the GMATPrep test levels, and I didnâ€™t get too many tricky questions. That made me a little nervous, but I shrugged it off and continued. Finished this section with around 5 minutes to go. The Verbals also seemed to be pretty simple. Apparently I made more mistakes than I had hoped, but it still is not too bad. Iâ€™m sure I mucked up on RC and CR, because I was sure of the answer for most SC questions. Anyway, Iâ€™m not going to b**** on this, coz I still think its an okay score. Finished this section with around 25 minutes to go. Did a fist punch when I saw the score. Been jumping around and grinning like mad since then. In hindsight, I am a little disappointed with the Verbal score. But 41 is pretty respectable, isn't it? Happy about the Quants though. The next battle: Now for the schools. Suggestions are invited (rather, requested), though I am about to prepare a shortlist of my own. I knew I was not going to make it this year, so I did not enter any course at the prompt. As of now, all I have is my rough score. Iâ€™m planning to join a course next year fall with 4 years of work experience. I need a scholarship AND a loan to get through the course. Prep material: GMATClub Kaplan Premier 2006 Kaplan Verbal Workbook Novaâ€™s GMAT Practice Test scores: GMATPrep #1 â€“ 710 GMATPrep #2 â€“ 730 Kaplan #1 â€“ 630 Kaplan #2 â€“ 610 Kaplan #3 â€“ 640

Forgot to say - AWESOME JOB Paddyboy

congrats on such an awesome score!!!!! and big thanks for all your posts . time to celebrate

PaddyBoy: Wonderful effort there.. Was away from the forum for a day..... You deserve that

U achieve it ! :D.... Fantastic score :D Congratulations .... One shot and at the middle :D Bravo ! It turns to be a good week for all attempters ... Good luck for the next steps

Way to go paddyboy , great score . Good luck with your apps ..

Sure, Necromonger... Will keep that in mind Thanks a lot, and I liked your blog! Its really good! ps_dahiya, you are another of my gurus thanks! And all others, thanks yet again!

kind of late, but CONGRATS!!! excellent scores just keep on coming here!!! good luck in the future, wherever you decide to go!!!

The end of procrastination - 730 (Q 49, V 41) : Share GMAT Experience

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The end of procrastination - 730 (Q 49, V 41)

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