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Apr 3001:30 AM EDT
-02:30 AM EDT
At one point, she believed GMAT wasn’t for her. After scoring 595, self-doubt crept in and she questioned her potential. But instead of quitting, she made the right strategic changes. The result? A remarkable comeback to 695. Check out how Saakshi did it.
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Hey guys,
I am also done with GMAT, got over it last Monday (the 11th of Nov, in the evening session - 5pm) with a 730/ AWA - awaited (since received - 5.5), in my first and last attempt, well at least for next 5 years. I am on oldie, 38, a corporate banker turned entrepreneur running a financial consulting unit in Delhi, India. I have not really thought of any school as yet. GMAT was/is only to be an enabler in case I plan to go for any sloan fellow programme in future.
730 is not such a great score with so many 750+ around. I think (and regret) that I could have done better surely in quant because I finished with almost 5 minutes to spare. Obviously I unnecessary rushed the exam and considering that there was absolutely nothing in the test that I found difficult to handle, my lower quant is all because of the unnecessary haste.
Here is what I would like to tell to people like me basis what worked for me and what I learned from my mistakes:
- Don't over strategize. It is good to read debriefs to get you started and refuel your enthusiasm but beyond a point, you should not necessarily follow others. Nobody knows you and what really works for you. If you, like me, are habitual of starting it at the 11th hour, your plans will differ from others. You can't change yourself (especially if you are 30+; in my case, I am more a 40- than 30+) and may be, there is no need also. May be, you can leave the IR for the last 1 or 2 days and AWA for the last day. May be you have the habit of studying till the very last hour. I mean the only rules are that everybody is different and there are no fixed rules.
- When you score 40 to 43 out of 50 on the last 50 questions in OGs, you start focusing more and more on tougher questions to improve it while what you should really try is to avoid making silly mistakes. Simply put, beyond a certain level, we should target 100% accuracy before we start looking for even tougher questions. For me Quant test was easier than I thought, I finished early also, but see I got 48 (76 percentile!
)only in Quant . I got the 'strategy' wrong.
- Keep in mind that RC and CR are two sides of the same coin. In fact, you should look at CR as a smaller passage. The two should be prepared accordingly. And as far as importance of understanding the meaning goes, SC is also no different.
That is all. There is a lengthy Post Script also but that is pure vanity.
I have two queries also if anybody can help:
1. Just out of curiosity, how good is 730; Ok I am not a 25 year old applying to Stanford, Harvard, etc for the regular MBA program. But if I were, what would have been my odds. Would I have survived the cut off?
2. I know of SF program of Stanford, MIT, LBS and one such program of NTU, Singapore also befitting experienced professionals. Can any body of you add to this list? Actually, SF programs are good quality education but 90% of the class return to the same old organization in the same old role whatever that indicates. I am into financial services and want to remain in this field. But I do expect that after spending some 170K dollars, I should have more options in terms of organizations and roles even if there is no increment in earnings.
Best
----------------------------
1. I studied for one month - starting early Oct till the date of exam, about 4 to 6 hours for first 2-3 weeks and 8 hours thereafter. Had actually scheduled the test for the 1st Nov but rescheduled it around 25th Oct to 11th Nov.
2. I, as I did in my student days, and because I could not change myself, delayed, delayed and delayed studying and then slogged it in the last month with number of hours increasing as the exam date approached. I studied till the very last moment much against what wise people say but had no option.
3. Stuff used: MGMAT Strategy guides, including IR which I bought (the most economical kindle addition - for less than 8 dollar) to get access to mock tests; OGs 11 & 13; Verbal and quant OG 2nd edition; Bunuel's quant problems; e-gmat sentence correction; and one RC book I caught hold on internet (20 minutes a day kinda title, it is not written for GMAT but as a general book on RC). I gave only 3 mocks, all during the last week, including one of the two free mocks we get from GMAC, on the penultimate date. My score was 770/710 (MGMAT's - both un-timed, without IR so don't mean much) and 760 (GMAC, timed with IR - score 4)
4. I touched IR only on 10th Nov-13; I knew it is not at all important for me or the programs I might be targeting. So planned on attending 8 questions properly, including, preferably, 3 from multiple source reasoning, hoping to get all of them correct and guessing the rest if required. I actually had to guess 1 only. I practiced only what came with OG13 and kept in mind that to get one question correct, I need to get all its part correct.
5. In AWA, I went one step beyond the Grandmaster 'Chineseburned'. I spent a couple of hours only on the exam day on AWA, devised a 70 word para (conclusion), a 'universal fit' independent of the subject argument, and similarly a 40 word 2nd para, mugged it up and wrote 20-30 times. This together with re-phrasing of argument enabled me to complete 140-50 words, with all those crucially important words inserted into it, in about 10 minutes, giving me 20 minutes to write a real critique on the argument. So at least, time was not a problem. But who knows, it can bomb also especially because of the typo induced spelling mistakes. So let's wait for the result. However, like IR, AWA score also is not so important for me. Addendum (15-Nov-2013) - AWA score since received (5.5).
I am also done with GMAT, got over it last Monday (the 11th of Nov, in the evening session - 5pm) with a 730/ AWA - awaited (since received - 5.5), in my first and last attempt, well at least for next 5 years. I am on oldie, 38, a corporate banker turned entrepreneur running a financial consulting unit in Delhi, India. I have not really thought of any school as yet. GMAT was/is only to be an enabler in case I plan to go for any sloan fellow programme in future.
730 is not such a great score with so many 750+ around. I think (and regret) that I could have done better surely in quant because I finished with almost 5 minutes to spare. Obviously I unnecessary rushed the exam and considering that there was absolutely nothing in the test that I found difficult to handle, my lower quant is all because of the unnecessary haste.
Here is what I would like to tell to people like me basis what worked for me and what I learned from my mistakes:
- Don't over strategize. It is good to read debriefs to get you started and refuel your enthusiasm but beyond a point, you should not necessarily follow others. Nobody knows you and what really works for you. If you, like me, are habitual of starting it at the 11th hour, your plans will differ from others. You can't change yourself (especially if you are 30+; in my case, I am more a 40- than 30+) and may be, there is no need also. May be, you can leave the IR for the last 1 or 2 days and AWA for the last day. May be you have the habit of studying till the very last hour. I mean the only rules are that everybody is different and there are no fixed rules.
- When you score 40 to 43 out of 50 on the last 50 questions in OGs, you start focusing more and more on tougher questions to improve it while what you should really try is to avoid making silly mistakes. Simply put, beyond a certain level, we should target 100% accuracy before we start looking for even tougher questions. For me Quant test was easier than I thought, I finished early also, but see I got 48 (76 percentile!
)only in Quant . I got the 'strategy' wrong. - Keep in mind that RC and CR are two sides of the same coin. In fact, you should look at CR as a smaller passage. The two should be prepared accordingly. And as far as importance of understanding the meaning goes, SC is also no different.
That is all. There is a lengthy Post Script also but that is pure vanity.
I have two queries also if anybody can help:
1. Just out of curiosity, how good is 730; Ok I am not a 25 year old applying to Stanford, Harvard, etc for the regular MBA program. But if I were, what would have been my odds. Would I have survived the cut off?
2. I know of SF program of Stanford, MIT, LBS and one such program of NTU, Singapore also befitting experienced professionals. Can any body of you add to this list? Actually, SF programs are good quality education but 90% of the class return to the same old organization in the same old role whatever that indicates. I am into financial services and want to remain in this field. But I do expect that after spending some 170K dollars, I should have more options in terms of organizations and roles even if there is no increment in earnings.
Best
----------------------------
Post script: The all important question of 'Strategy'
1. I studied for one month - starting early Oct till the date of exam, about 4 to 6 hours for first 2-3 weeks and 8 hours thereafter. Had actually scheduled the test for the 1st Nov but rescheduled it around 25th Oct to 11th Nov.
2. I, as I did in my student days, and because I could not change myself, delayed, delayed and delayed studying and then slogged it in the last month with number of hours increasing as the exam date approached. I studied till the very last moment much against what wise people say but had no option.
3. Stuff used: MGMAT Strategy guides, including IR which I bought (the most economical kindle addition - for less than 8 dollar) to get access to mock tests; OGs 11 & 13; Verbal and quant OG 2nd edition; Bunuel's quant problems; e-gmat sentence correction; and one RC book I caught hold on internet (20 minutes a day kinda title, it is not written for GMAT but as a general book on RC). I gave only 3 mocks, all during the last week, including one of the two free mocks we get from GMAC, on the penultimate date. My score was 770/710 (MGMAT's - both un-timed, without IR so don't mean much) and 760 (GMAC, timed with IR - score 4)
4. I touched IR only on 10th Nov-13; I knew it is not at all important for me or the programs I might be targeting. So planned on attending 8 questions properly, including, preferably, 3 from multiple source reasoning, hoping to get all of them correct and guessing the rest if required. I actually had to guess 1 only. I practiced only what came with OG13 and kept in mind that to get one question correct, I need to get all its part correct.
5. In AWA, I went one step beyond the Grandmaster 'Chineseburned'. I spent a couple of hours only on the exam day on AWA, devised a 70 word para (conclusion), a 'universal fit' independent of the subject argument, and similarly a 40 word 2nd para, mugged it up and wrote 20-30 times. This together with re-phrasing of argument enabled me to complete 140-50 words, with all those crucially important words inserted into it, in about 10 minutes, giving me 20 minutes to write a real critique on the argument. So at least, time was not a problem. But who knows, it can bomb also especially because of the typo induced spelling mistakes. So let's wait for the result. However, like IR, AWA score also is not so important for me. Addendum (15-Nov-2013) - AWA score since received (5.5).
13 Nov 2013, 23:32
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Thank you for posting and sharing:
1) 730 is a solid score for HBS and Stanford - that's their average and they won't bother or worry with the score being too night/too low. It is just right
2) The Executive MBA or Sloan program at Stanford would be probably the best fit and honestly the only options. There is quite a bit of difference though between traditional EMBA's and Sloan. I highly recommend the Sloan program at GSB - I have known at least one alum and he could not stop talking about it.
Congratulations! Hope you can take it easy for an hour or so before jumping into the applications
P.S. Amazing score for a 38 year old! I am serious. It is tough to retain, let alone master new concepts, as age gains on us.
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