Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2912:30 AM EDT
-01:30 AM EDT
Learn how Kamakshi achieved a GMAT 675 with an impressive 96th %ile in Data Insights. Discover the unique methods and exam strategies that helped her excel in DI along with other sections for a balanced and high score.
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.
May 0111:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!
May 0306:30 AM PDT
-08:30 AM PDT
Verbal trouble on GMAT? Fix it NOW! Join Sunita Singhvi for a focused webinar on actionable strategies to boost your Verbal score and take your performance to the next level.
Edoardo1999
Joined: 01 Dec 2020
Last visit: 05 Jul 2021
Posts: 4
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 62
Schools: LSE MFin "22 (S)
GMAT 1: 690 Q48 V36
Updated on: 22 Mar 2021, 17:08
Originally posted by Edoardo1999 on 22 Mar 2021, 16:45.
Last edited by Edoardo1999 on 22 Mar 2021, 17:08, edited 3 times in total.
Last edited by Edoardo1999 on 22 Mar 2021, 17:08, edited 3 times in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
I took the GMAT for the second time just a week ago and I finally got a good score (690), with subscores Quant 48 and Verbal 36. My target (maybe a bit too ambitious) at the beginning was 720 and therefore I'm not completely satisfied about the result in general, but that's not why I'm sharing my experience. However, 690 is still a good score which could get me into some good MSc in Finance as well (I'm currently applying for 4 different Msc in Finance around Europe). The reason for which I'm sharing my experience is because I'm really convinced that my experience is really a clear example of how the calm and the control of your mind and your attitude could make a considerable difference when you take the GMAT. Starting from the beginning, I first planned to do the GMAT in the autumn of 2020 while I was doing my Erasmus in Belgium (I'm an italian studying in Italy the bachelor). After the first months of fun in Erasmus, I started entering in the right mood with my university's studies and I began practising for the GMAT (basically doing random answers on the Official Guide). Then, i decided to book the GMAT for the 14 of December (i wanted to do it before Christmas at all cost). My first official simulation I got 690 and I was super exited and sure that with some weeks more of the same basic method of study I could easily achieve 720/730 ( first big mistake). That standard set in my mind, the stress really began to come up when I saw that doing other simulations my score didn't improve ( on the contrary ... I scored even a 620 just a week before my first exam) and I was completely destroyed by the fact that I was avoiding to go out with friends and to study for my University'courses and I didn't see any progress. The days right before the exam I was keeping to do a lot of questions without a logic ( just dividing by DS, PS , CR, SC and RC) and my mind was just so full of stress and I this really did not help me. The day before the exam I did not sleep a lot (the biggest mistake that any GMAT taker can ever take in my opinion) and I arrived at the test center in Bruxelles already tired and not motivated. I started with the Verbal part ( a factor that I absolutely suggest if you are not very confident in English because the pace of the verbal part is in my opinion way easier to face at the beginning of your test and not after the Quant part) and then in the Quant part my brain basically stopped to work at a certain point for the tiredness. Result: 35 verbal and 41 Quant (In my first simulation i got a 47 of Quant...).
That episode, analyzed ex post the day after, really made me change my approach with everything ( I'm a very optimistic and not usually stressed person by nature and I was so angry that the GMAT drove me crazy). I started doing everything with a more chilled mood, I faced my University exams in January really out of stress, I enjoyed the last weeks of the Erasmus with my friends and then I went back to Italy at the beginning of Febrary... Target: retake the GMAT before the end of February. At the end, I booked for the 15 of March ( the last date useful for applying to Bocconi, one of my application's choices). Since the beginning of my re-preparation, I changed my approach trying to focus more on the different subcategories (e.g. I started doing Geometry at 600-700 level here on Gmat Club, then I went to 700's level and so on with the other subcategories, both for Quant and Verbal). By the way, GMAT Club has been an incredible resource for me and really helped me out in my second attempt (my preparation was completely self-made without additional courses and I spent almost 80% of my preparation time on this fantastic forum). Another factor that really helped me to understand a bit of the GMAT's crazy logic is a fantastic set of videos (found again through GMAT Club) about the 6 process-skills that you can apply in the Gmat (Check them out if don't know their existence because they really change one's vision of some problems and made me avoid many silly mistakes... especially considering all possible cases in those fantastic 700-level tricky DS questions).
Anyway, two weeks before taking again the exam I felt that my different preparation was way better than the first time's, I was without any other thought in my mind and I decided to start doing simulations again (some of the Official simulations and some bought from other sources) ...result: same scores of the first time's simulations (660, 680, 640,...). I was completely pissed by this thing and the time was running. Two days before the exam I understood the most important thing: it was completely useless panicking, doing more and more questions (despite the fact that Bunuel's ones are the best)... what I had to do was trust my increased (at least in my mind) comprehension of the GMAT logic (especially in the Quantitative part), relax and most important...sleep as much as possible. I slept something like 20 hours in the last two days before the exam ( I booked the exam at 12:30 pm on purpose) and I went to the Test Center in Milan really chilled and sure of myself. Result: 690 with 48 Quantitative.
As I said, my experience is not about a fantastic journey in which I did an amazing 130 point-increase in 2 months, but just a proof of how the mindset and the control of yourself can turn out to make a big difference in a difficult exam such as the GMAT.
So, basically ex-post I think that the main takeways I've had from my experience ( and which I hope may be useful to other users of this fantastic forum) are:
-don't panic... you're not going to risk your life fighting against a lion in the test center
-consider your brain as an athlete consider his/her body before a game... train as hard as possible the months before but make your brain have some rest the days before (sleep, sleep as much as you can)
-trust the timing of your life (this is a sentence I found in a profile of an expert here on GMAT Club, I don't remember the name.. you're too many and all too prepared) and I really think is a good takeway... we're not all equal, some need some time more to prepare things, some other may even think to stop preparing and take a year of break after the Bachelor in order to prepare the GMAT before applying to a Master, ecc. Have a (ambititious) vision of your life and your academic path but don't panic if it's not the same as your friends's, people's you consider an example, ....
-Last but not least, use cleverly this amazing forum ... I'm really convinced that an average skilled-student with a lot of commitment and willingness to do ( as I see myself) with a well-structured study plan can achieve a really good result (even above 700) in 3 months just using Gmat Club Question Banks and reviewing the Error-log periodically.
Adieu GMAT ( I don't know if we will see each other again... I hope not sincerly)
P.S. If someone proposed a crowdfunding for a real 10 meters- high Bunuel statue somewhere in the world I would contribute for sure... that man is just the best and I really want to thank him (on behalf of everyone) for the massive work that he does daily (when I logged in the Forum and I spent even 7-8 hours consequently practising he was almost always online and he really was of company in a certain way).
Cheers,
Edo
That episode, analyzed ex post the day after, really made me change my approach with everything ( I'm a very optimistic and not usually stressed person by nature and I was so angry that the GMAT drove me crazy). I started doing everything with a more chilled mood, I faced my University exams in January really out of stress, I enjoyed the last weeks of the Erasmus with my friends and then I went back to Italy at the beginning of Febrary... Target: retake the GMAT before the end of February. At the end, I booked for the 15 of March ( the last date useful for applying to Bocconi, one of my application's choices). Since the beginning of my re-preparation, I changed my approach trying to focus more on the different subcategories (e.g. I started doing Geometry at 600-700 level here on Gmat Club, then I went to 700's level and so on with the other subcategories, both for Quant and Verbal). By the way, GMAT Club has been an incredible resource for me and really helped me out in my second attempt (my preparation was completely self-made without additional courses and I spent almost 80% of my preparation time on this fantastic forum). Another factor that really helped me to understand a bit of the GMAT's crazy logic is a fantastic set of videos (found again through GMAT Club) about the 6 process-skills that you can apply in the Gmat (Check them out if don't know their existence because they really change one's vision of some problems and made me avoid many silly mistakes... especially considering all possible cases in those fantastic 700-level tricky DS questions).
Anyway, two weeks before taking again the exam I felt that my different preparation was way better than the first time's, I was without any other thought in my mind and I decided to start doing simulations again (some of the Official simulations and some bought from other sources) ...result: same scores of the first time's simulations (660, 680, 640,...). I was completely pissed by this thing and the time was running. Two days before the exam I understood the most important thing: it was completely useless panicking, doing more and more questions (despite the fact that Bunuel's ones are the best)... what I had to do was trust my increased (at least in my mind) comprehension of the GMAT logic (especially in the Quantitative part), relax and most important...sleep as much as possible. I slept something like 20 hours in the last two days before the exam ( I booked the exam at 12:30 pm on purpose) and I went to the Test Center in Milan really chilled and sure of myself. Result: 690 with 48 Quantitative.
As I said, my experience is not about a fantastic journey in which I did an amazing 130 point-increase in 2 months, but just a proof of how the mindset and the control of yourself can turn out to make a big difference in a difficult exam such as the GMAT.
So, basically ex-post I think that the main takeways I've had from my experience ( and which I hope may be useful to other users of this fantastic forum) are:
-don't panic... you're not going to risk your life fighting against a lion in the test center
-consider your brain as an athlete consider his/her body before a game... train as hard as possible the months before but make your brain have some rest the days before (sleep, sleep as much as you can)
-trust the timing of your life (this is a sentence I found in a profile of an expert here on GMAT Club, I don't remember the name.. you're too many and all too prepared) and I really think is a good takeway... we're not all equal, some need some time more to prepare things, some other may even think to stop preparing and take a year of break after the Bachelor in order to prepare the GMAT before applying to a Master, ecc. Have a (ambititious) vision of your life and your academic path but don't panic if it's not the same as your friends's, people's you consider an example, ....
-Last but not least, use cleverly this amazing forum ... I'm really convinced that an average skilled-student with a lot of commitment and willingness to do ( as I see myself) with a well-structured study plan can achieve a really good result (even above 700) in 3 months just using Gmat Club Question Banks and reviewing the Error-log periodically.
Adieu GMAT ( I don't know if we will see each other again... I hope not sincerly)
P.S. If someone proposed a crowdfunding for a real 10 meters- high Bunuel statue somewhere in the world I would contribute for sure... that man is just the best and I really want to thank him (on behalf of everyone) for the massive work that he does daily (when I logged in the Forum and I spent even 7-8 hours consequently practising he was almost always online and he really was of company in a certain way).
Cheers,
Edo
22 Mar 2021, 17:01
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Edoardo1999,
Congrats on a great score! Good luck with things moving forward.
Congrats on a great score! Good luck with things moving forward.
22 Mar 2021, 18:43
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations !! 
and thanks for the advice , I am giving my gmat this week and hopefully the stress doesnt take me
and thanks for the advice , I am giving my gmat this week and hopefully the stress doesnt take me 
