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17 Mar 2021, 08:48
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Hi everyone,
I am Soham. I took the GMAT and scored a 730.
I hope you come across this post at the right time so that you do not have to make the same errors as I did.
Here is a brief on my GMAT journey.
I am an engineer by training. I did my undergraduate degree at VIT University. I graduated in 2017. Right after that, I joined as an analyst in a company with its office in Bangalore. I was focussing on industry analysis of private equity-funded oil and gas companies operating in the US.
While I was working, I felt that there were a lot of unanswered questions professionally and personally. It was then that I realized that an MBA might be the right choice for me.
I wanted to delve deeper and understand why organizations make certain decisions and how they do it. I lacked a lot of understanding.
So, that is when I decided to take the GMAT and apply to the Indian School of Business (ISB).
My cousin is an ISB graduate.
I saw the drastic change in him right after he did his MBA. The change was with respect to both, professional and personal standpoint.
The way he carried himself, the confidence, the structured way in which he formulated his arguments, those were the kind of things that I really wanted.
So, this was also a motivating factor for me to do an MBA.
I gave the GMAT once in 2016.
I just went through the official guide (OG) and solved some of the mock papers there. I didn't even do that diligently.
I gave the exam and I scored a 650. I realized it was an average or a below-average score.
When I decided to do an MBA, the first thing I did, like many other GMAT and MBA aspirants, was thorough research.
More than Google, I actually utilized YouTube. I saw a lot of videos and initially, I couldn’t get some of the GMAT concepts that were being taught. But, then I came across CrackVerbal. And when I went through their videos, I just thought about why I didn’t think of these concepts of approaches earlier. I found them very interesting.
I also went through their success stories. I was like, “If this person can do it, I can do it as well.”
And since I was in Bangalore, I just showed up at CrackVerbal one day and in a couple of days, I signed up for their Verbal Sessions. I was confident with my Quant skills.
I believe that, as engineers, we are not really worried about the Quant section on the GMAT but the Verbal section worries us a lot.
The best thing about taking help from experts was getting clarity on why I need to take the GMAT. I just looked at it as an entrance exam to get into a B-school. But each section on the GMAT was way more than that.
If you consider Reading Comprehension (RC) on the GMAT, you will realize that it is very similar to the case studies that you read when you are doing an MBA. So, the GMAT RC section trains you to get the summary of the passages and understand the key points.
Similarly, when it comes to Sentence Correction (SC), it is all about framing the right sentences. This is important for everyone to even have a decent conversation.
And Critical Reasoning (CR) on the GMAT, according to me, is the most important section of the exam.
Once I understood the meaning of the exam, everything fell in place.
The way I could break down everything logically this time worked for me and made a lot of sense. Especially when it came to GMAT CR, I could understand it and get the right answer quickly. For example, If there are three variables, and one of them is wrong, we need to negate that. I started looking at it from a mathematical perspective and it was much easier.
I would like to mention that the LIVE Classes I attended at CrackVerbal really helped me. I think it is also about how the course is delivered. Though it was not a one-on-one session, in the Live classes I felt like it was very personal. And, that made my prep effective. That was a huge advantage and CrackVerbal really helped me go from V24 to V36.
After the classes ended, I took some time to delve deeper and take mock tests.
I scored a 680 first and then it started going up.
I got a 710, 720 and then a 740.
Then it went down to 690.
But since I had crossed the 700-mark thrice, I decided to give the exam.
Right before I was supposed to take the GMAT, I broke my leg. And, I had to fly back home. I had to undergo surgery and I just had 7 days until the exam.
But, I was in a flow and I didn’t want to reschedule the exam.
So, I went in a wheelchair and took the exam. I scored a 730!
I was really happy to see that score. I was delighted and I was happy that I don’t have to take it again.
I realized that the first time I took the exam, I was very nervous. I believe that will change everything.
To a certain extent, I think that since my leg was fractured, I was focussing on my leg and I did not have the time to worry. I took one question at a time and that strategy really worked for me.
As you must have read by now, I was not in a perfect state to take the GMAT. I took it anyway. But when I saw the score, it just became perfect.
It is all the things I did before the exam day that actually made the difference. And it started with understanding the exam. If you don’t know the ‘why’, you wouldn’t know how to approach it. It can be anything.
Thanks a lot to CrackVerbal and the mentors there for guiding me through the entire GMAT process and also for helping me with my ISB Application.
A lot of success stories inspired me and helped me stay motivated. Similarly, I hope you find something that is of help from my GMAT journey.
All the best!
Regards,
Soham
I am Soham. I took the GMAT and scored a 730.
I hope you come across this post at the right time so that you do not have to make the same errors as I did.
Here is a brief on my GMAT journey.
Background
I am an engineer by training. I did my undergraduate degree at VIT University. I graduated in 2017. Right after that, I joined as an analyst in a company with its office in Bangalore. I was focussing on industry analysis of private equity-funded oil and gas companies operating in the US.
While I was working, I felt that there were a lot of unanswered questions professionally and personally. It was then that I realized that an MBA might be the right choice for me.
I wanted to delve deeper and understand why organizations make certain decisions and how they do it. I lacked a lot of understanding.
So, that is when I decided to take the GMAT and apply to the Indian School of Business (ISB).
The Inspiration
My cousin is an ISB graduate.
I saw the drastic change in him right after he did his MBA. The change was with respect to both, professional and personal standpoint.
The way he carried himself, the confidence, the structured way in which he formulated his arguments, those were the kind of things that I really wanted.
So, this was also a motivating factor for me to do an MBA.
My First GMAT Experience
I gave the GMAT once in 2016.
I just went through the official guide (OG) and solved some of the mock papers there. I didn't even do that diligently.
I gave the exam and I scored a 650. I realized it was an average or a below-average score.
How My GMAT Preparation Changed Once I Actually Decided To Take the GMAT
When I decided to do an MBA, the first thing I did, like many other GMAT and MBA aspirants, was thorough research.
More than Google, I actually utilized YouTube. I saw a lot of videos and initially, I couldn’t get some of the GMAT concepts that were being taught. But, then I came across CrackVerbal. And when I went through their videos, I just thought about why I didn’t think of these concepts of approaches earlier. I found them very interesting.
I also went through their success stories. I was like, “If this person can do it, I can do it as well.”
And since I was in Bangalore, I just showed up at CrackVerbal one day and in a couple of days, I signed up for their Verbal Sessions. I was confident with my Quant skills.
I believe that, as engineers, we are not really worried about the Quant section on the GMAT but the Verbal section worries us a lot.
How I Changed the Way I Approached GMAT
The best thing about taking help from experts was getting clarity on why I need to take the GMAT. I just looked at it as an entrance exam to get into a B-school. But each section on the GMAT was way more than that.
If you consider Reading Comprehension (RC) on the GMAT, you will realize that it is very similar to the case studies that you read when you are doing an MBA. So, the GMAT RC section trains you to get the summary of the passages and understand the key points.
Similarly, when it comes to Sentence Correction (SC), it is all about framing the right sentences. This is important for everyone to even have a decent conversation.
And Critical Reasoning (CR) on the GMAT, according to me, is the most important section of the exam.
Once I understood the meaning of the exam, everything fell in place.
The way I could break down everything logically this time worked for me and made a lot of sense. Especially when it came to GMAT CR, I could understand it and get the right answer quickly. For example, If there are three variables, and one of them is wrong, we need to negate that. I started looking at it from a mathematical perspective and it was much easier.
I would like to mention that the LIVE Classes I attended at CrackVerbal really helped me. I think it is also about how the course is delivered. Though it was not a one-on-one session, in the Live classes I felt like it was very personal. And, that made my prep effective. That was a huge advantage and CrackVerbal really helped me go from V24 to V36.
Taking the Mock Tests
After the classes ended, I took some time to delve deeper and take mock tests.
I scored a 680 first and then it started going up.
I got a 710, 720 and then a 740.
Then it went down to 690.
But since I had crossed the 700-mark thrice, I decided to give the exam.
I took the GMAT with a Broken Leg
Right before I was supposed to take the GMAT, I broke my leg. And, I had to fly back home. I had to undergo surgery and I just had 7 days until the exam.
But, I was in a flow and I didn’t want to reschedule the exam.
So, I went in a wheelchair and took the exam. I scored a 730!
I was really happy to see that score. I was delighted and I was happy that I don’t have to take it again.
I realized that the first time I took the exam, I was very nervous. I believe that will change everything.
To a certain extent, I think that since my leg was fractured, I was focussing on my leg and I did not have the time to worry. I took one question at a time and that strategy really worked for me.
My Learnings
- 1. Be it any exam, try to understand why it is there in the first place. This will make a huge difference to the way you approach it.
2. Don't be nervous. Try to take one question at a time and answer it. Don’t worry about the rest of them.
3. Your performance on the first GMAT question does not determine your entire exam performance. GMAT is an adaptive exam and it is okay even if you get the first answer wrong.
As you must have read by now, I was not in a perfect state to take the GMAT. I took it anyway. But when I saw the score, it just became perfect.
It is all the things I did before the exam day that actually made the difference. And it started with understanding the exam. If you don’t know the ‘why’, you wouldn’t know how to approach it. It can be anything.
Thanks a lot to CrackVerbal and the mentors there for guiding me through the entire GMAT process and also for helping me with my ISB Application.
A lot of success stories inspired me and helped me stay motivated. Similarly, I hope you find something that is of help from my GMAT journey.
All the best!
Regards,
Soham
18 Mar 2021, 11:25
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations, Soham, and thank you for sharing. I was going to suggest that you leave a review for CrackVerbal, but I keep getting a 404 error when I click on the link, so what can you do? I especially enjoyed the second point you made at the end, to focus on the question right there on the screen, not on any other nonsense about the test or attached to the test. This is one of the "secrets" to performing your best on the GMAT™. I suppose your debrief will have to serve as a testimony to the efficacy of the CrackVerbal program. For my part, I always enjoy reading responses from the team in the forums. They tend to be on point, just long enough to get to the pith of the matter.
Good luck to you on the next step of your journey.
- Andrew
Good luck to you on the next step of your journey.
- Andrew
TheUltimateWinner
Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Last visit: 16 Apr 2026
Posts: 2,465
Given Kudos: 1,990
Concentration: Finance, Technology
Schools: Harvard '24 Judge '23 LBS '24 McCombs '24 Mendoza Tepper '24 Ross '24 Cox Marshall '24 Fisher Kelley '24 Jones McDonough '24 Owen '24 Terry BU Simon '24 Katz GWU Mason Babson Gabelli Foster '24 Goizueta '24 Scheller Stern '23 CBS '23 Booth '23 Haas '25 Wharton '25 Stanford '26 Johnson'23 Fuqua '23 Kellogg '23 Kenan-Flagler'23 INSEAD Aug 22 intake Olin '23 Said '23 Sloan '23 Carey Arizona "22 Yale '23 UC Davis Madison '23 Anderson '23 Carroll Carlson '23 Darden '23
Schools: Harvard '24 Judge '23 LBS '24 McCombs '24 Mendoza Tepper '24 Ross '24 Cox Marshall '24 Fisher Kelley '24 Jones McDonough '24 Owen '24 Terry BU Simon '24 Katz GWU Mason Babson Gabelli Foster '24 Goizueta '24 Scheller Stern '23 CBS '23 Booth '23 Haas '25 Wharton '25 Stanford '26 Johnson'23 Fuqua '23 Kellogg '23 Kenan-Flagler'23 INSEAD Aug 22 intake Olin '23 Said '23 Sloan '23 Carey Arizona "22 Yale '23 UC Davis Madison '23 Anderson '23 Carroll Carlson '23 Darden '23
Posts: 2,465
19 Mar 2021, 10:28
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Sohamroy
mathematical perspective?
Congrats for the nice score. All the best for the next step.
Could you share the process how do you solve the question with mathematical perspective, please?
