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bgpower
Joined: 03 Aug 2011
Last visit: 14 Mar 2017
Posts: 267
Given Kudos: 916
Concentration: Strategy, Finance
Schools: CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (D) Haas '19 (A) Kellogg '19 Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (D) Booth '19 (A) Sloan '19 (D)
GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V34
GMAT 2: 700 Q42 V44
GMAT 3: 680 Q44 V39
GMAT 4: 740 Q49 V41
GPA: 3.7
WE:Project Management (Energy)
Products:
Schools: CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (D) Haas '19 (A) Kellogg '19 Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (D) Booth '19 (A) Sloan '19 (D)
GMAT 4: 740 Q49 V41
Posts: 267
13 Nov 2014, 07:13
Kudos
Bookmarks
I had to tell someone..., after my GMAT was the best kept secret. Though I had hoped to contribute with another success story, but one day this will happen as well.
Well, today I bombed my GMAT and got a 700 (q41, v44) and I am kind of disappointed and happy in the same time. I had got some pretty decent test results in the last 2 months:
- 750 (q47, v46) - on the GMATPill practice test 1 - 10/8/14
- 750 (q47, v45) - on the GMATPill practice test 2 - 10/10/14
- 740 (q49, v41) - on the official GMATPrep (Retake after more than 2 months) - 10/13/14
- 700 (q48, v38) - on the official GMATPrep (New exam) - 10/14/14
- 730 (q49, v41) - on the official GMATPrep - 11/10/14
- 740 (q50, v40) - on the official GMATPrep (New exam) - 11/11/14
One thing quite obvious is - I underperformed on Quant by between 7 and 9 points (referring just to official CAT's), but by achieving v44 I also improved on my best Verbal result by 3 points. If I would have had my normal quant performance, I would have easily got a 750.
Let me just tell you what happened. Until the 18-19th Quant question I was right on track, I think I even got some very hard questions as well. I was about right on time, when I was hit by a very difficult probability question. Tried to fight it, but I still remember this moment in which I saw in the right top corner 20 of 37 questions, while I had some 33 minutes remaining. And I panicked... This is something I cannot explain until this very moment. I have completed some 12-14 full CAT's and I know what information the test interface gives me. But I completely blocked out and panicked as I thought I have 20 more questions to solve in 33 minutes, which meant I was 6-7 minutes behind. If you step back for a second, you'll see I actually had just 17 more questions to complete at that time, which meant I was a mere minute behind (within the normal window), but could not realize this. Until realizing this, I had rushed 4-5 questions. I could not solve the simplest possible equations as 2d+5=1/2d. Another 3-4 questions later I had just reached such a low difficulty of the questions that I had clearly destroyed my good performance from the first 18-19 questions. I knew it was over... Good at least that I had the mental strength to concentrate one last time for the Verbal part. And it was worth it.
Well, I sat for the GMAT 2 years ago in Dec 2012 (640, q44, v34) I still decided to give my 2 cents here. I will certainly add to the list, once I sit for the exam again in a month.
1. Practice only with official material. Practice all the questions again and again, till you know how to solve them - Don't waste your time on problems that are artificially difficult. The GMAT problems are easy, but complex. They rely on tricks and smart moves (as in chess), but don't necessarily expect you to know any fancy formulas. That's why I don't believe in practicing with extra hard questions. Better to know the easy thing by heart (that well) than to know something that no one will ask you about.
2. It just takes time. Last time, I used the Manhattan GMAT series, this time I utilized the entire GMATPill package. It always takes time, but using a video course worked much better for me. It's easy, it's more time efficient. And GMATPill has several advantages, which I will address in my separate thread later. But be sure - THERE IS NO SHORTCUT. I firmly believe that the test expects your dedication over several months. Of course, some people may have put in those efforts before (engineers, etc.), but normally, if you haven't had maths for some time, it will take time. Even as someone that prepared for the exam for the second time, it took me from June to November, some 4,5 months to feel confident that I can smash it, though at moments I also was very busy from my job.
3. While 80% of the score is your preparation, the remaining 20% of the score are your NERVES. Relax, it's just a test... And I can tell you, just a few weeks back I lost a class mate of mine. And that's what I thought the entire day today. There are many more important things than the GMAT or the MBA. Give your best, be confident, but don't forget, this is very much luxury problem we are talking about. Your live does NOT depend on getting a 700 or a 750. NEVER FORGET THIS.
4. Also never forget, it is well worth it to try a comeback within the exam. Never give up. Quite often we expect certain question types to appear in order to signal us that we are doing well. This is a MYTH. Forget about it. Try to do your job on every question and you'll see, you'll get to good score. In Verbal I saw a boldface in my second but last question...
5. Finally, remember that the smart people don't judge you solely on a test score or any brand you have on the resume. And adcoms are smart. Basically all people at top business schools are of the smartest, so try to always show your personality, who you are, communicate why you love this particular school. Then the score doesn't matter that much. Any score within the range 680 and 780 will do the work...
Well, it's a very random post, but I hope you'll be able to extract at least something useful from it.
And expect another one, within 31 days... I will certainly be back.
Feel free to reach out with any questions...
Well, today I bombed my GMAT and got a 700 (q41, v44) and I am kind of disappointed and happy in the same time. I had got some pretty decent test results in the last 2 months:
- 750 (q47, v46) - on the GMATPill practice test 1 - 10/8/14
- 750 (q47, v45) - on the GMATPill practice test 2 - 10/10/14
- 740 (q49, v41) - on the official GMATPrep (Retake after more than 2 months) - 10/13/14
- 700 (q48, v38) - on the official GMATPrep (New exam) - 10/14/14
- 730 (q49, v41) - on the official GMATPrep - 11/10/14
- 740 (q50, v40) - on the official GMATPrep (New exam) - 11/11/14
One thing quite obvious is - I underperformed on Quant by between 7 and 9 points (referring just to official CAT's), but by achieving v44 I also improved on my best Verbal result by 3 points. If I would have had my normal quant performance, I would have easily got a 750.
Let me just tell you what happened. Until the 18-19th Quant question I was right on track, I think I even got some very hard questions as well. I was about right on time, when I was hit by a very difficult probability question. Tried to fight it, but I still remember this moment in which I saw in the right top corner 20 of 37 questions, while I had some 33 minutes remaining. And I panicked... This is something I cannot explain until this very moment. I have completed some 12-14 full CAT's and I know what information the test interface gives me. But I completely blocked out and panicked as I thought I have 20 more questions to solve in 33 minutes, which meant I was 6-7 minutes behind. If you step back for a second, you'll see I actually had just 17 more questions to complete at that time, which meant I was a mere minute behind (within the normal window), but could not realize this. Until realizing this, I had rushed 4-5 questions. I could not solve the simplest possible equations as 2d+5=1/2d. Another 3-4 questions later I had just reached such a low difficulty of the questions that I had clearly destroyed my good performance from the first 18-19 questions. I knew it was over... Good at least that I had the mental strength to concentrate one last time for the Verbal part. And it was worth it.
Well, I sat for the GMAT 2 years ago in Dec 2012 (640, q44, v34) I still decided to give my 2 cents here. I will certainly add to the list, once I sit for the exam again in a month.
1. Practice only with official material. Practice all the questions again and again, till you know how to solve them - Don't waste your time on problems that are artificially difficult. The GMAT problems are easy, but complex. They rely on tricks and smart moves (as in chess), but don't necessarily expect you to know any fancy formulas. That's why I don't believe in practicing with extra hard questions. Better to know the easy thing by heart (that well) than to know something that no one will ask you about.
2. It just takes time. Last time, I used the Manhattan GMAT series, this time I utilized the entire GMATPill package. It always takes time, but using a video course worked much better for me. It's easy, it's more time efficient. And GMATPill has several advantages, which I will address in my separate thread later. But be sure - THERE IS NO SHORTCUT. I firmly believe that the test expects your dedication over several months. Of course, some people may have put in those efforts before (engineers, etc.), but normally, if you haven't had maths for some time, it will take time. Even as someone that prepared for the exam for the second time, it took me from June to November, some 4,5 months to feel confident that I can smash it, though at moments I also was very busy from my job.
3. While 80% of the score is your preparation, the remaining 20% of the score are your NERVES. Relax, it's just a test... And I can tell you, just a few weeks back I lost a class mate of mine. And that's what I thought the entire day today. There are many more important things than the GMAT or the MBA. Give your best, be confident, but don't forget, this is very much luxury problem we are talking about. Your live does NOT depend on getting a 700 or a 750. NEVER FORGET THIS.
4. Also never forget, it is well worth it to try a comeback within the exam. Never give up. Quite often we expect certain question types to appear in order to signal us that we are doing well. This is a MYTH. Forget about it. Try to do your job on every question and you'll see, you'll get to good score. In Verbal I saw a boldface in my second but last question...
5. Finally, remember that the smart people don't judge you solely on a test score or any brand you have on the resume. And adcoms are smart. Basically all people at top business schools are of the smartest, so try to always show your personality, who you are, communicate why you love this particular school. Then the score doesn't matter that much. Any score within the range 680 and 780 will do the work...
Well, it's a very random post, but I hope you'll be able to extract at least something useful from it.
And expect another one, within 31 days... I will certainly be back.
Feel free to reach out with any questions...
30 Nov 2014, 10:46
Kudos
Bookmarks
bgpower - Some great insights and points.
We are rooting for you! Keep at it! Glad we were able to help you increase your confidence. Keep us posted!
We are rooting for you! Keep at it! Glad we were able to help you increase your confidence. Keep us posted!
bgpower
Joined: 03 Aug 2011
Last visit: 14 Mar 2017
Posts: 267
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 916
Concentration: Strategy, Finance
Schools: CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (D) Haas '19 (A) Kellogg '19 Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (D) Booth '19 (A) Sloan '19 (D)
GMAT 1: 640 Q44 V34
GMAT 2: 700 Q42 V44
GMAT 3: 680 Q44 V39
GMAT 4: 740 Q49 V41
GPA: 3.7
WE:Project Management (Energy)
Products:
Schools: CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (D) Haas '19 (A) Kellogg '19 Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (D) Booth '19 (A) Sloan '19 (D)
GMAT 4: 740 Q49 V41
Posts: 267
Kudos:
119
06 Sep 2015, 23:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
It wasn't a success story, but 5 days ago... it became one!
In order to close the loop, here is how my GMAT story ends - 740 debrief
Good luck to all test takers!
In order to close the loop, here is how my GMAT story ends - 740 debrief
Good luck to all test takers!
