1.25 yrs prep 3 sleepless nights 2 failures & 1 Dream Score

Question

GMAT 1: 650 (Q49, V30)- Sep 16th, 2012

GMAT 2: 690 (Q49, V34)- July 1st, 2013

GMAT 3: 750 (Q50, V41)- Sep 17th, 2013

Pheww!! Done with GMAT Marathon finally-- 1.25 years of preparation, 3 sleepless nights, 2 failures and 1 dream score!

Would like to thank e-GMAT (Rajat, Payal, Shraddha and Chiranjeev).

Here's a breakdown:

GMAT 1--

Preparation lasted ~ 5 months..I was always decent at quant and from the start, was scoring 49-50 in Q on mocks but speed & letting go of questions remained an issue. Bunuel on GMATClub is great-- solve all his questions.. In Verbal, I was not aware of rules or logic..just practiced alot of questions-- lacked in speed and got stuck often. The first GMAT experience was nerve wracking-- primary focus was somehow to complete the test; wasn't sure of many answers esp. in Verbal esp. SC. Couldn't attempt the last 3-4 questions properly in both Quant and Verbal. The screen flashed a 650-- gutted;

GMAT 2--

Took a 2 months break but the GMAT score kept bothering me..knew that I will retake it. Couldn't start on my own so decided to enroll for classroom learning-- Joined Princeton Review Classes; Preparation~ 6 months. The faculty was great at PR, Delhi esp. the Verbal faculty; SC became my strong point and I achieved a 80-85% accuracy, CR improved marginally 70-80% accuracy however, RCs remained a problem- 55-65% accuracy and my timing was totally off; In hindsight, I might have over focused on the 1st 10 questions and ended up short of time.

Quant was the same even though I felt I had managed time better; Verbal- felt like I was doing pretty well and even started thinking of 40+ but kept getting behind on time which really messed up the last 10..submit- 690-

Low point in life. I have always been over-persistent with a cling on attitude and it is extremely difficult for me to let go of things. Started wondering whether the GMAC & the powers that be are conspiring against me and whether the GMAT is not for ppl lyk me..self doubt, inner demons, even the L word marked my thinking..was the accuracy reqd much higher than what I thought.. I deserved better maybe. My mocks seemed to suggest so..

GMAT 3--

Something within me jus kept me going..I couldn't stop now..690 thats not bad ppl said-- which made me feel worse..I shut myself down-- devised a study plan-- I knew it had to be Verbal which was setting me back..Quant had never been the issue even though I couldn't cross 49 both times..I decided to focus on the core issue -- VERBAL and I quit smoking..

Enrolled for e-GMAT- its different from most other courses-- inspite of the initial glitches, moved ahead with my prep..yes-- there is indeed a method to teaching CR & RC as demonstrated by e-GMAT--here are the main takeaways from the e-GMAT course--

-- SC- focus on the original sentence and error analysis. POE comes later and if the intended meaning is clear, u can breeze through this step.

-- CR- Pre- thinking helps u to structure the argument in your head; so that even if u can't guess correctly; u can identify the correct option during POE better

-- RC- Logical Structure, passage summaries and keywords help u understand the passage in the 1st go.

-- Last but not the least-- following the process for each and every question every single time; once ur done with the process- u move on, u save time

And never get bogged down-- I got a 50% on the e-GMAT Mini Test..e-GMAT workshops are great for practice and the analysis is unparalleled..

2 days before MGMAT repeat test - scored 770 and more importantly, could complete both sections well in time..Practice a variety of tests - U must try all the free sources including Veritas, Grockit, MGMAT, Edvento to name a few apart from the regular test series u take..monitor ur results n do in depth analysis and corrections on the same day.

Contrary to popular belief, took a paper on the day before the GMAT (had taken 2 papers the day before- 1 complete and 1 Quant); Wanted to be in qa mode and in rythm unlike previous 2 exams where I lazed around the day before the GMAT which made me even more nervous..I do recommend some light exercise a day before the GMAT as it helps get rid of the nervous energy -- did help me..just do everything u need to focus..

If Andy Murray could do it, .....decided to drive myself to the centre this time-- Quant was a breeze- kept monitoring time-- last question was super tough-- some weird series - could not make head or tail out of it..was unsure of only a few questions. Had Gatorade+ Crackle instead of Red Bull + Snickers this time-- more of a superstition thing..Verbal- in the break time I thought- these next few moments might well define what I end up doing with my life-- no stress- started off with 3 SCs n everything started falling in place-- couldn't have been more sure about the answers-- most of them-- I daresay if I could have completed the last 2-3 questions on Verbal, my score might have been even higher !! I would still take it...any day..!! New challenges beckon..

bb · Answer

Wow. Great score! Congratulations and thank you so much for sharing a debrief.

Posted from my mobile device.

fnumiamisburg · Answer

Congrats for gr8 score...consistent hard wrk man!!!!

Can u plz guide us for RC improvement..

gmathopeful25 · Answer

anujgupta10185,

Congrats on your score. I want to know you opinion on the difficulty on the quant problems on the actual test. I've heard that now people have to get less wrong to get the same raw score on quant. I wondering if it is because the actual test has less really hard quant problems or if people have all of a sudden just become better at answering quant problems. Let me know what you think. Great job!!!!

Edvento · Answer

Hi Anuj,

Congrats on your great score. This is a substantial improvement. 
I'm glad you found Edvento useful in your practice.

anujgupta10185in · Answer

@ fnumiamisburg-- Thanks :-D

..As far as the RC prep goes, my focus was on understanding the passage while reading it for the first time and try not to go back on the RC again. To read effectively, start reading slowly and form a logical structure in mind (your speed will automatically improve)..leave out factual details and concentrate on keywords such as but, although, however, nevertheless etc..these tell u theme of the passage and author's intended meaning. Try predicting what will come next and try to immerse urself into the passage by thinking of the issue at hand in terms of the author's eyes. Remember u need to know only 50-60% of the passage to answer all qs correctly. For the primary purpose/ main idea questions, make a summary of each passage, and then make a summary of all these passage summaries. Prethink the answer--Do this before u see the actual answers..POE will be really easy once u do this. U are sure to get 1, maybe 2 questions of such type. Hope this helps..

anujgupta10185in · Answer

@ lovelaw27..

Thanks..won't be able to say with surety obviously but I do believe that is the trend..if u r doing well on the test, post the 22-23rd question expect a few very tough problems. 
At the same time, if u will be taking the test soon, my suggestion would be to not think about such stuff..try and get as many right and try to complete all qs..

roygush · Answer

Inspiring! great score! congrats!

fnumiamisburg · Answer

Thanks Anujgupta,
M trying to work on RC following same strategies. Its just that, M taking too long to read a passage. i have just started my preparation 20 days back and there has been some improvement but m still very slow. it takes me around 10nmints to read a medium passage, nd thn 1 mints on each question and I guess its too much. and if passage is out of my field then it takes 15 mint(long passage)

vigneshraja · Answer

Super Cool Achievement Anuj !! inspired by your success !!

argha · Answer

Hi Anuj,

Firstly congrats on a great score and wish you the best for future.

Your suggestions on the different sections are really helpful.

Can you throw some light on whether you adopted any strategy to answer questions, both in verbal and quant ie. focus on first 15, get to a decent score and thereby try to maintain the score or anything else for that matter?

Regards

Argha

prsht · Answer

@anujgupta, Have you seen any concerns with regards to you applying to schools with 3 gmat attempts. I have a similar history. Are there schools that look down about so many attempts

anujgupta10185in · Answer

@ Argha..sorry for the late reply !! I have been busy with applications..

NO. I did adopt the strategy of focusing on the intitial 15 esp. in Verbal the first 2 times, moreover I have come to realize that human nature is such that even if u don't plan to, on the exam day, u tend to be extra cautious on the first 15 in Verbal (if thats not ur area of strength)

I would recommend u to treat each and every question the same-- give it due importance..devise a process and follow the same for each question-- nothing more nothing less !!

Hope this helps..

anujgupta10185in · Answer

@ PRSHT

Congrats on the awesome score..I believe u have taken the GMAT thrice..i think uptill 3 attempts should be fine if u have shown a constant score improvement and your average score is ok..

So diferent schools treat it differently..u need to check out the policies of each of these schools with the experts..

Best of luck for your apps..

argha · Answer

Anuj,

Thanks for your insight.

Regards

Argha

argha · Answer

Hi Anuj,

If I am not mistaken,you had scored 50 in eGmat verbal workshop.

Can you tell me what did you do to cover up and have that excellent final GMAT score?

How long did you have from the workshop day to your actual GMAT?

I have just finished my workshop and have scored 50. Though, the steps ahead are ahead, it would be great to hear from you on the fine tuning you did.

Regards

Argha

anujgupta10185in · Answer

@ Argha, 1st and foremost-- I think the questions in thr are tougher than most of the actual questions on the GMAT..so stop worrying !! Think ahead, think positive !!

But, sit down n do a thorough analysis of where u went wrong-- make sure u understand each n every question--deliberate on this..disect each question !!

Identify weak sections..Start working on these-- practice daily, for eg. I made it a point to solve 4-5 RCs a day no matter how tired I was..

Finally, make sure u r following the "PROCESS" on each n every single question-- apply this in mocks n see where u stand..I would recommend taking 15+ mocks before u take the GMAT..

argha · Answer

Anuj,

Thanks for the inspirational words...they do help;).

Yes currently I am doing the analysis from workshop. The irony is that my scores in all the eGmat assessment quizes are in excess of 90%(in all sections) but somehow in mocks I am faltering. Sticking to the prescribed process is really the key and I seem to be foregoing the same under timed environment and under pressure.

Can you tell me how much were you scoring in different mocks during your run up to your fantastic score of 750?

I have about 20 days left for my GMAT and have been taking MGMAT CATs and scoring around 660/680(V36/37). People say that the verbal in GMAT is tougher and one should reduce 3/4 points from MGMAT's verbal. I am yet to start on GmatPrep though.

I know that such comparisons can be really vague but just want to have an idea from your mock scores.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.

Argha

1.25 yrs prep 3 sleepless nights 2 failures & 1 Dream Score

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