Enhanced GMAT - 760 V45/Q49, IR 8

Question

Hey All, Just gave my GMAT Enhanced. Got a 760 (V45/Q49). Overall the experience was superb, proctor was very friendly and quick checkins. Could leave for my break and keep a glass of water. Also refilled the glass each break. I gave my GMAT on Big Sur and had no problems whatsoever, so can rest easy on that. As backup, I also had Windows on Parallels (free 14 day trial), but didn't need it. Overall, the exam was farrrr more difficult than any of the mocks. In Verbal, the RC passages were much more dense than any I've practised, crazy technical. I'm lucky in a way it covered topics I somewhat knew, but just so much jargon. Even the CR and SC were more difficult. My very first question was a fairly difficult boldface that took me 3 mins without warmup from an easy start. Compared to my V45, my mock verbal scores have ranged from V47-49 with 1-3 mistakes. The Quant was also super difficult. I must have got at-least 7 coordinate geometry questions. The very first question was a difficult weighted average. I barely finished the paper on time, had to guess on last 2. Also gave up on a couple other questions. I didn't see a single combination, one of my strongest topics. All-in-all, the topics tested and the kind of questions were very different from any of my mocks. For context, I typically finished mocks with some time left, last one with 9 mins left. IR was fine, got an 8. Not much to say, but again I'd rate it as a bit harder and more lengthy. I think I bombed my essay as I had barely prepared for it. And didn't like the topic, but it is what it is. Don't think colleges care too much as long as I get a 4.5. Fingers crossed. Also in essay, shift sometimes selects previous text and overwrites

And undo doesn't work. With regards to my preparation since late January, in the rough order I used them: - Target Test Prep - Amazing course, both Verbal and Quant. 10/10. I think I finished 82%-ish over my first 2.5 months. Did 100% of Verbal, and skipped several Easy exams in Quant. The entire team's super approachable on chat as well, with all my random queries or advice requested. MartyTargetTestPrep specifically has given me great advice, both on chat and in his blog, debrief and other articles he shared. - GMATNinja & GMATClub - Also absolutely amazing and a must. I saw most of GMATNinja's videos and did a crazy amount of Verbal questions here, more on that later. Shoutout to Bunuel (legend!), mcelroytutoring , Brian, Brent, Karishma, and the others - you know who you are. Thank you for all your amazing explanations. - The 3 OG Guides & Advanced Questions - Did nearly all of them. Again, a must do to get used to language and identify the kind of mistakes you are prone to doing under time pressure. For example, I learnt I always forget to divide semicircle's area by 2 xD Now I do. It's a great way to revise after TTP. - GMAT Prep Exams - Did all 6, typically 1/week. Scores ranged between 760-780. Absolutely critical to get used to the format. - GMAT Club Tests - I think I did 12, really helpful but I thought it was a tad too difficult. I ranged between Q49-50. In retrospect, should have done many more haha, the Quant maybe more representative than the GMATPrep Exams... - Verbal Questions in GMATClub - Sorted by Source: GMATPrep - Did all the 600-800 difficulty SC questions and all the 700+ CR questions. My exam got delayed twice because of the Enhanced launch delay. Took the time to reallyyy drill in SC and CR. The expert answers help a ton in ensuring you know everything that's happening. Also helps you a lot in speeding up and identifying easy eliminations, or tested nuances. I think I've covered everything.The most critical advice I can offer, regardless of what medium you use to study, maintain an error log! Mine's just a word Doc with random facts, questions, formulas, tricks, advice, mistakes, etc. Last 3 days before the actual exam and 1 day before each mock, I just went through them and progressively kept deleting stuff I was sure of (kept the original). By the end of it, I could go through both Verbal and Quant in half an hour. Really helps to ensure you retain the key learnings/tricks you pick up over an extended period. --- My mock scores ranged from 760-780, so I guess I'm on target. But I'm not too happy with my score, was hoping was a 780. There were 2 major **** I did: 1. My laptop died in Verbal in the last 5 mins!!! Took off the charger during room check and forgot to reconnect. Rushed and did so, and luckily the exam continued but with time lost (1-1.5 mins). Consequently, had to guess on 1 Verbal (some CR) and lost my flow on the last 3 questions. 2. Someone messed with the AC and I never checked. Damn thing was on 19 with swing on. I was literally shivering during Quant (I did Verbal-Quant-IR) and shut the AC during the break before IR. I wish the 16 day period wasn't there. I would love to do another attempt, but don't really want to revise and study more haha. I do feel the Quant was super super difficult and concentrated on topics I don't like that much (Coord Geo) and ignored topics I like (Combinations 0 questions, barely any number properties, speed, rate, triangles, circles).. Experts, do you think it's worth the effort if I could potentially push to 780? Centers are also most probably opening again from next week! Thanks for reading!

Edit: Got the same score at center lol. Debrief here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/second-attem ... l#p2795593

bb · Answer

Wow. Awesome score!

Thank you so much for the debrief and congratulations!!!

PS. We would love to do a YouTube live panel with a couple of the people who are brave enough to take GMAT online in Hanst this week. I will send you a PM. 😬😎

Posted from my mobile device

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Nice job! How fun it is to see you knock it out of the park.

That said, OMG, the charger and the AC issues are makin' me crazy. That could be your 780 right there.

Regarding retaking, it seems likely that you'd score 780 without those issues and, perhaps, with just a bit more practice. So, whether retaking makes sense depends on what someone with some expertise in admissions (which is not I) thinks about how a 780 would affect your application.

Anyway, congrats.

warrior1991 · Answer

Congratulations Ved. Nicely written. All the best for applications.

GMATaxe001 · Answer

Hi  ved02  congratulations on the great score. I am sure you wont need a 780 given the 760 and your strong background.

I have a question about TTP. After completing 82%, or in parallel, did you also practice Quant from GMATclub or TTP was your only source? Approx how many tests on average did you take per day from ttp?

ved02 · Answer

GMATaxe001  thanks!

I think I spent 3 hrs or so per day on average, with more on weekends. Did take break days though, and was travelling for 3 weeks in I think late Feb-early March, when I barely got anything done. Tests-wise, property of numbers took me the longest by far, also redid my error log for it. But I rushed through some topics I was naturally good at, such as word problems and Speed/Rate. Geometry also took a while.

As in my earlier mocks (1 and 2), I made a bunch of stupid mistakes and was slow, I decided to rush through the OG math, was doing 100/day (30-40/day timed at roughly 30 mins for 20 questions. Then did the GMAT Advanced timed at around 25-30 mins for 10 questions, did them 20-30/day. Also did 10 or so GMATClub tests prior to OG - This I'd recommend do after OG.

Good thing with doing so many questions is, don't really have to revise theory. As you'd be doing it when you make mistakes. Any question you are stuck on or just have any doubts, search on Google and open the first GMATClub link for an awesome explanation. And maintain an error log or doc, where you note down all learnings.

ved02 · Answer

GMATaxe001  thanks!

MartyTargetTestPrep  thanks again! Yeah the AC and laptop potentially blocking a 770-780 is annoying. I think I shall register for an offline center exam on 1st June and leave it to chance - If lockdown's extended, I won't do another attempt. In the 5 days I have in hand, I'll do 2-3 GMATClub-Quant and LSAT tests.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Also, visualize scoring 780, 790, and 800. Visualize seeing each of those numbers on the screen after your test. Get used to the idea of scoring within that range.

By doing so, you can set up your unconscious aspects for success. Then things like the charger and AC issues will be less likely to happen, and any sort of random stuff that happens will tend to go in the direction of your hitting your goal score.

ved02 · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep Will do, just registered. Will let you know how it goes.

TheGraceful · Answer

..Congratulations  ved02  ....!!

Nicely written.
All the best for your dream of achieving 780 or more and of course for your applications.

Thanks.

zhanbo · Answer

780 (or 790, 800) can really distinguish you. Wish you great success in the second take!

ved02 · Answer

Thanks a lot zhanbo and TheGraceful !

GMATNinja · Answer

You took your GMAT on Big Sur?! We're all insanely jealous.

Congratulations on the exceptional score, and thank you for the shout out and the killer debrief! If you think you might be able to get a 770 or 780, it wouldn't hurt to do a low-pressure retake, even with very little extra prep. I don't think it'll move the needle all that much in the admissions process, but if you can do it with minimal investment, it's worth the shot. But you definitely don't want to kill yourself over 10 or 20 more points once you're already dancing around with a 760. Good luck with your applications, and let us know where you land!

sp24 · Answer

Hi  ved02 ,

Congrats on your twin 760s!

Coming here straight from your Youtube Live debrief. You mentioned getting a fine tip marker for your physical whiteboard helped a lot during the online GMAT. Any specific brand/make you would recommend (available in India - Retail/Amazon)? I did get a few fine tipped ones but none of them dry-erase as well as the thicker ones.

Posting here instead of PM, so more people could benefit in the future as well.

All the best for your apps!

Cheers,
Sid.

PS: Was your Big Sur Mac an M1 or Intel?

GMATaxe001 · Answer

There you go https://gmatclub.com/forum/online-gmat- ... l#p2634409

ved02 · Answer

sp24 , thanks!

GMATaxe001 covered it well. But I will just list the whiteboard & markers I ended up using: Whiteboard: (500 INR) https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08Q7R ... UTF8&psc=1 It's on the smaller side. But I found it more comfortable as the laptop's closer and makes reading etc much easier, less chances of errors too. Duster: (2 for 198 INR) - Kept a fresh one for the actual exam. https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08FF7 ... UTF8&psc=1 Markers: (4 for 2300 INR, though there are better deals available. I ordered too late and didn't have an option but to go with this. It ended up coming a week or two later than indicated, but Enhanced GMAT also got delayed, so didn't matter much.) https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00I8O ... UTF8&psc=1 Alternately, this one's significantly fatter, but could go with this too: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B000J6 ... UTF8&psc=1 Black and blue are fine. Red and green leave some residue behind. Or this one (haven't tried myself, it was out of stock as well, so I chose to order the Ultra Fines.): https://www.amazon.in/Expo-Erase-Marker ... ice&sr=1-2 And Bonus: These coffee shots are superb: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B084Z3 ... UTF8&psc=1

sp24 · Answer

Thanks a lot  ved02 !

I did notice the Expos being recommended in multiple places, but was hoping there would be some rare undiscovered fine tipped options available locally on Amazon (Expo seems to be an import).

I was using good ol’ black coffee, but I’ll give these shots a shot!

Cheers,
Sid.

Posted from my mobile device

ved02 · Answer

Hey Sid,
Unfortunately don’t think there are any thin local ones in India. So the eta for the delivery from US was 3 weeks and I was worried it won’t come in time. Also, the local one are pretty cheap, so I ordered 3-4 promising ones. All were pretty bad - pretty thick and erasing was a pain. Ad Gel Softline was ok, but the Staedler’s are better. Expo blows them both - ultra thin + perfect erase in one go.

Posted from my mobile device

wolfman · Answer

Hey ved02 , is it necessary (asked to or need to, either) to unplug the charger for room check? My laptop does not have any battery back up

and if my mac charger gets slightly removed, the laptop goes off. I am confident that it won't be a problem as it hasn't been during my mocks unless I HAVE to remove the charger. Also, basis your debrief is losing internet/power same as forefitting the test? Doesn't it count towards technical issues? Appreciate your input

ved02 · Answer

wolfman  Sorry for the late reply, hope it's still useful.

You don't necessarily have to take out the power cord, but in the room check they make you show below the table and corners. So may be a bit unwieldy with the wire on, but should be doable. Maybe try using the long cord extension, just in case.

I think losing internet/power, should lead to the proctor pausing. In my case, it didn't. But I don't think they should cancel. If they do, then they'll most likely give you a voucher for another attempt.

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