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spudnik
Joined: 27 May 2014
Last visit: 16 Nov 2016
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 38
Schools: Stanford '18 (I) Sloan '19 (II) Tuck '19 (I)
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V37
GMAT 2: 680 Q48 V34
GMAT 3: 730 Q50 V40
GPA: 4
23 Nov 2015, 22:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Today I took my GMAT for the third time and scored a 730 (Q50 V40).
My background:
I am a senior research scientist working for a top 5 CPG Company in US with grad school + 4 years work experience. Also, I am a non-native English speaker.
The first two GMATs:
I took my first GMAT in June 2014 with average preparation and got a 690 (Q48 V37). I only used OG13 and took two GMATPrep tests (Scored 660 and 680). I wasn't too serious about B-school and just wanted to attempt the test.
Earlier this year I got serious about going to B-school and decided to retake the GMAT. My original plan was to take it in March 2015 but I couldn't because of my intense workload. Finally decided to take a date in August 2015 and started studying in mid-May. My friend, who had recently taken the GMAT gave me his Official Verbal and Quant guides and the Manhattan Verbal guides. I started going through the the guides and started solving related problems. For quant, I also used the GMAT Club Math Book (thanks Bunuel!!
) and briefly went through the Ultimate Grammar book (thanks BB! ) I also took many of the free tests and was scoring between 660 and 720. I was feeling comfortable with Quant but Verbal was giving me a headache. I practiced numerous problems and thought I was ready. I was targeting 720+ (after talking to several students and admissions officers at the MBA tour, I was convinced that anything above 700 doesn't make a huge difference. Above 720, the benefit pretty much follows the law of diminishing returns).
On test day, for some reason I was feeling nervous. I started the exam pretty well - the essay and IR sections went pretty well. I started quant and the questions were getting tougher, which was good. When I started Verbal, I was stumped by the first couple of questions. But after that, I got back on track and was able to tackle the remaining questions. The difficulty level seemed to be on the higher side but I wasn't sure. After the test, I hit the score button and saw a dismal 680
. I was really bummed. How could my score be lower than my previous one, especially after I had practiced more for this test. I did not cancel the score since I didn't want the schools to see a "C" on my report. And then, next month GMAC announces that it will not show "C" for cancelled scores! Just my luck!!! 
Post assessment:
I ordered the the enhanced score reports for both tests and consistently saw that I had scored poorly on the sentence correction and comprehension sections. On the quant side, I was poor on data sufficiency. This was consistent with what I was seeing on my practice tests but just a lot more intensified on the actual GMATs. This just made me upset and angry at the same time. I had lost all my confidence and my mind was filled with painful thoughts of never being able to crack the GMAT. I contemplated applying using my 690 and started working on my essays for a while. Then one day early September, I thought of the GMAT again and decided to retake it. Thought of it as a silver bullet to enhance the other aspects of my application. It was time for blitzkrieg!
Prep:
My workload was pretty intense but I had to make time for studying. I came up with a very detailed plan to study for at least two hours four days a week. Saturdays would be test days and Sundays would be revision days. All this studying was making me into a couch potato and so I also joined a workout gym class. Exercise would help me keep my mind sharp and divert my mind from work and GMAT. Since Verbal was my weakest link, I decided to enroll for the e-GMAT Verbal online course. I was really skeptical about taking any courses at the beginning. I was adamant to ask for help and figured I could tackle everything all by myself. However, some times, I find it really difficult to stay motivated continue to study hard; especially after a long day at work. The e-GMAT coursework would be systematic and would keep me honest to my schedule. I decided to spend 90% of my time on verbal and 10% on GMAT. Essay and IR would be revised one week before the exam. This strategy worked well for me.
I was consistently solving a mix of verbal questions and I was tracking my mistakes. Use the error tracker available on this website. I would do a root cause analysis of all the mistakes I made that day itself and would revise it the following morning while going to work. This continued for several weeks and I could see a substantial improvement on my performance. Sure, I was making silly mistakes but those also started reducing towards the end. Another issue was that I was not fully concentrating and understanding the question; I was more inclined to just solve the problem and move to the next one ASAP. This was clearly not helping. I learnt to relax and spend 20 seconds on just understanding the question and what's being asked.
The e-GMAT study material proved extremely valuable. All the concepts were explained in a simple and effective manner. Being a non-native English speaker, some concepts were new for me and getting things explained like I am a 5 year old really helped. I was familiar with some other concepts and skimmed over those sections relatively quickly. Overall, I must commend them for their well-laid out course. Through e-GMAT, I got access to GMAT Club tests and 800Score. I took 8 GMATClub tests, two 800Score tests and 2 GMAT Prep Exam Pack tests. The GMAT Club tests are more difficult than the actual GMAT. I consistently scored between 45 and 48 on my quant, and between 29 and 38 on my verbal. Knowing that these tests are difficult, I did not let them shatter my confidence. On the 800Score tests, I scored 730 and 740; GMAT Prep exams - 710, 720.
Before test day and test day:
I revised Chineseburned's notes for the AWA section and practiced some IR questions using the GMAT prep software. I revised all the math formulas and went over my Verbal notes. I tried hard to stay calm and not get too excited or nervous. I ate a heavy meal and went to bed early.
On test day, I had some time in the morning to quickly go over my verbal notes. I had a heavy breakfast and went to the exam center. I had carried a banana, snickers and gatorade. Pumping my brain with glucose during the breaks has always helped me. I started the exam and tackled the essay. The IR section was a bit challenging and I felt a bit short of time towards the end. Quant started off pretty well and I could see a substantial increase in the level of difficulty. Started the verbal section with a very calm mind. Took a few deep breaths during the one minute before the test starts. I gave enough time to read the question properly and understand it before looking at the answer choices. The questions got really tough towards the end and I struggled with them. I think I got some of them wrong. But I had to focus and do my best. Towards the end, I fell a little short of time. If I had a few more minutes, I would have been able to answer the last 3-4 questions more comfortably. I finished the section with 10 seconds remaining. I thought I had done well but wasn't sure about the last few questions on the verbal section. I hit the score button and was delighted to see a 730! All my hard work and sacrifices had paid off. The GMAT was done and with a good score. I felt I could have gone higher 20 points had I had a few more minutes. But what's done is done.
Hope my experience is helpful to some of you. Don't lose your confidence and don't lose hope. Identify your weaknesses and attack them consistently. Create a timeline and FOLLOW IT!! Learn the art of patience and time management.
Now it's time for me to finish my essays. Good luck to every one attempting their GMATs.
Cheers,
Spudnik
My background:
I am a senior research scientist working for a top 5 CPG Company in US with grad school + 4 years work experience. Also, I am a non-native English speaker.
The first two GMATs:
I took my first GMAT in June 2014 with average preparation and got a 690 (Q48 V37). I only used OG13 and took two GMATPrep tests (Scored 660 and 680). I wasn't too serious about B-school and just wanted to attempt the test.
Earlier this year I got serious about going to B-school and decided to retake the GMAT. My original plan was to take it in March 2015 but I couldn't because of my intense workload. Finally decided to take a date in August 2015 and started studying in mid-May. My friend, who had recently taken the GMAT gave me his Official Verbal and Quant guides and the Manhattan Verbal guides. I started going through the the guides and started solving related problems. For quant, I also used the GMAT Club Math Book (thanks Bunuel!!
) and briefly went through the Ultimate Grammar book (thanks BB! ) I also took many of the free tests and was scoring between 660 and 720. I was feeling comfortable with Quant but Verbal was giving me a headache. I practiced numerous problems and thought I was ready. I was targeting 720+ (after talking to several students and admissions officers at the MBA tour, I was convinced that anything above 700 doesn't make a huge difference. Above 720, the benefit pretty much follows the law of diminishing returns).On test day, for some reason I was feeling nervous. I started the exam pretty well - the essay and IR sections went pretty well. I started quant and the questions were getting tougher, which was good. When I started Verbal, I was stumped by the first couple of questions. But after that, I got back on track and was able to tackle the remaining questions. The difficulty level seemed to be on the higher side but I wasn't sure. After the test, I hit the score button and saw a dismal 680
. I was really bummed. How could my score be lower than my previous one, especially after I had practiced more for this test. I did not cancel the score since I didn't want the schools to see a "C" on my report. And then, next month GMAC announces that it will not show "C" for cancelled scores! Just my luck!!! Post assessment:
I ordered the the enhanced score reports for both tests and consistently saw that I had scored poorly on the sentence correction and comprehension sections. On the quant side, I was poor on data sufficiency. This was consistent with what I was seeing on my practice tests but just a lot more intensified on the actual GMATs. This just made me upset and angry at the same time. I had lost all my confidence and my mind was filled with painful thoughts of never being able to crack the GMAT. I contemplated applying using my 690 and started working on my essays for a while. Then one day early September, I thought of the GMAT again and decided to retake it. Thought of it as a silver bullet to enhance the other aspects of my application. It was time for blitzkrieg!
Prep:
My workload was pretty intense but I had to make time for studying. I came up with a very detailed plan to study for at least two hours four days a week. Saturdays would be test days and Sundays would be revision days. All this studying was making me into a couch potato and so I also joined a workout gym class. Exercise would help me keep my mind sharp and divert my mind from work and GMAT. Since Verbal was my weakest link, I decided to enroll for the e-GMAT Verbal online course. I was really skeptical about taking any courses at the beginning. I was adamant to ask for help and figured I could tackle everything all by myself. However, some times, I find it really difficult to stay motivated continue to study hard; especially after a long day at work. The e-GMAT coursework would be systematic and would keep me honest to my schedule. I decided to spend 90% of my time on verbal and 10% on GMAT. Essay and IR would be revised one week before the exam. This strategy worked well for me.
I was consistently solving a mix of verbal questions and I was tracking my mistakes. Use the error tracker available on this website. I would do a root cause analysis of all the mistakes I made that day itself and would revise it the following morning while going to work. This continued for several weeks and I could see a substantial improvement on my performance. Sure, I was making silly mistakes but those also started reducing towards the end. Another issue was that I was not fully concentrating and understanding the question; I was more inclined to just solve the problem and move to the next one ASAP. This was clearly not helping. I learnt to relax and spend 20 seconds on just understanding the question and what's being asked.
The e-GMAT study material proved extremely valuable. All the concepts were explained in a simple and effective manner. Being a non-native English speaker, some concepts were new for me and getting things explained like I am a 5 year old really helped. I was familiar with some other concepts and skimmed over those sections relatively quickly. Overall, I must commend them for their well-laid out course. Through e-GMAT, I got access to GMAT Club tests and 800Score. I took 8 GMATClub tests, two 800Score tests and 2 GMAT Prep Exam Pack tests. The GMAT Club tests are more difficult than the actual GMAT. I consistently scored between 45 and 48 on my quant, and between 29 and 38 on my verbal. Knowing that these tests are difficult, I did not let them shatter my confidence. On the 800Score tests, I scored 730 and 740; GMAT Prep exams - 710, 720.
Before test day and test day:
I revised Chineseburned's notes for the AWA section and practiced some IR questions using the GMAT prep software. I revised all the math formulas and went over my Verbal notes. I tried hard to stay calm and not get too excited or nervous. I ate a heavy meal and went to bed early.
On test day, I had some time in the morning to quickly go over my verbal notes. I had a heavy breakfast and went to the exam center. I had carried a banana, snickers and gatorade. Pumping my brain with glucose during the breaks has always helped me. I started the exam and tackled the essay. The IR section was a bit challenging and I felt a bit short of time towards the end. Quant started off pretty well and I could see a substantial increase in the level of difficulty. Started the verbal section with a very calm mind. Took a few deep breaths during the one minute before the test starts. I gave enough time to read the question properly and understand it before looking at the answer choices. The questions got really tough towards the end and I struggled with them. I think I got some of them wrong. But I had to focus and do my best. Towards the end, I fell a little short of time. If I had a few more minutes, I would have been able to answer the last 3-4 questions more comfortably. I finished the section with 10 seconds remaining. I thought I had done well but wasn't sure about the last few questions on the verbal section. I hit the score button and was delighted to see a 730! All my hard work and sacrifices had paid off. The GMAT was done and with a good score. I felt I could have gone higher 20 points had I had a few more minutes. But what's done is done.
Hope my experience is helpful to some of you. Don't lose your confidence and don't lose hope. Identify your weaknesses and attack them consistently. Create a timeline and FOLLOW IT!! Learn the art of patience and time management.
Now it's time for me to finish my essays. Good luck to every one attempting their GMATs.
Cheers,
Spudnik
28 Nov 2015, 14:28
Kudos
Bookmarks
Great to see that your perseverance pay off! Managing work and study time can definitely be a challenge. However, earning a 730 was well worth it. Congrats!
28 Nov 2015, 23:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
Q50, V40 is an excellent split. I am glad that e-GMAT could help you achieve your target score. I am also glad that you decided to "have a life" by joining a gym. Most people don't realize that you need to balance your study and life to do well on the GMAT. Which schools are you applying to?
Congratulations overall and good luck!!
-Rajat
Congratulations overall and good luck!!
-Rajat
