Scored a 740 !

Question

Splits: 740 -> V42,Q48, 5/8 on IR, 5/6 AWA Profile: 23 year old Indian, Male, Engineer working as an analytics consultant. Preparation: Starting out, I took mocks to diagnose where i stood and I was at the ~590-600 level. Joined GMAT classes at Jamboree Chennai (Nungambakkam branch). It was a 3 month program and was very structured, aided with concise material. Did not do a lot of self prep, but diligently attended the classes and was focused during them. 3 Months passed, and I got busy with work (Ideally should've taken a couple mocks and written my GMAT then). A couple of months later, I realized i had my deadlines approaching and so i just booked my exam giving myself a month's time. During this time, I just used the OG for verbal, and Jamboree's material for Quant. Took some mocks and got all kinds of scores from ~650-710. Finally wrote my GMAT (Was super hard ! More than any of my mocks) and got an unexpected 740 ! Was definitely not expecting more than a 700-720, But hey

And looking back, things i think that helped me: -> Knowing the right approach to SC questions save loads of time in Verbal. A lot of material is out there, but just attending Jamboree (Faculty - Srivatsan) classes was 80% work done (given you have a reasonable foundation in grammar). Also, I feel OG is all you mostly need if you've nailed down the approach, and taken enough timed tests. -> Approach to data sufficiency questions (Especially inequalities and equations related; I got 6-8 of these in my GMAT). Jamboree (Faculty- JaiGanesh) definitely helped me out here. My Quant score was also not that great, owing to my lack of prep. Quant definitely is a product of time/effort you put in (Unlike verbal where you can plateau easily). -> Completely relaxed during the exam, zero pressure. Can't stress this enough. -> I took the GMAT official mocks in the final week. I guess this was the right thing to do, since they are the most accurate predictors IMO. Thanks for reading !

philipssonicare · Answer

There are lots of posts where people are tracking a score in mocks and then score 30 points lower. It's always nice to see when they are 30 points higher.
Nice score, well done

Bismarck · Answer

Gauthamkailash

Nice score!
Best of luck for your applications.

Achuuuuuuu · Answer

Finally I see a post from someone who took the test in Chennai. Mine is scheduled for next Saturday and I'm beyond nervous, especially the part where you have mentioned that the actual test was Super hard!
 
Congrats on the score!

Posted from my mobile device

Gauthamkailash · Answer

Good Luck ! If it's the Pearson center in Nungambakkam, I would recommend you take a sweater as the AC gets cold there :D Btw, If the test gets harder it probably means you're on a good streak of right answers. Would advise not to give up at any moment however crappy you feel you've done.

nkin · Answer

740 is Awesome! Congrats Gauthamkailash ! Good tips as well. Surprised that you got as many as 6 questions on inequalities and equations though! Good luck with applications and I hope you get into your dream school!

GyMrAT · Answer

Congratulations!! excellent score!

Thanks for the debrief.

Lately, many have noted that the test was a lot harder than the GMAT Prep tests. I wonder whether GMAT has increased their average difficulty level. Anyways, you did pretty well, scoring more on our Actual test than on the mocks. Kudos!!

All the best for your applications!

Cheers,
GyM

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Congratulations on a wonderful score. Thanks for a very nice debrief.

You have mentioned  "Took some mocks and got all kinds of scores from ~650-710. Finally wrote my GMAT (Was super hard ! More than any of my mocks) and got an unexpected 740 !"

Your debrief is like solve the Paradox (CR) Question. According to me the GMAT did not suddenly get difficult. Since you were performing well you got difficult questions. Getting difficult questions on GMAT is sign of you performing well!! I hope you get the point I make!!  GyMrAT  - since you also raised this query, I hope this explanation helps]

You have mentioned that  " Knowing the right approach to SC questions save loads of time in Verbal."  - Could you share your strategy pls!!

Also you have mentioned that you gave official mocks during the last week? Could you please share how many? Generally it is recommended that one should not give more than one mock per week and not to give one just 2-3 days before the main exam. That's why I am checking with you.

All the best!!

Gauthamkailash · Answer

CAMANISHPARMAR  Thanks !

I took 4 mocks spaced with 3 day intervals, This is ~how it went - M1 *** M2 *** M3 *** M4 *** GMAT. 
M1 (650) and M2 (660) were the free Manhattan and Veritas mocks. M3 (710) and M4 (690) were the free GMAT official mocks. The way i tightly spaced my mocks were out of pressure. Many might suggest that it is not ideal to take so many mocks in a short time, since you don't considerably improve within 2 weeks. On a side-note, 3P mocks were definitely harder than the GMAT Prep mocks. And yes, i do suggest not doing any mocks (Or even any prep) in the last 2 days, to avoid mental fatigue.

Regarding the SC strategy, I highly recommend Jamboree (Faculty - Srivatsan) to practically learn these strategies. Not really trying to market Jamboree, Just my personal opinion . Strategies like:
1) Learning to eliminate answer options by scanning vertically, horizontally, using the famous 2-3 split method etc. This is mostly common sense, but the emphasis on "approach" should be there when you're practicing.
2) Before reading the full sentence, Look at the common places where errors are found: After the Comma, right before the comma, towards the end of the sentence.
3) Taking calculated risks when in doubt: Prefer active to passive, Idiomatic preferences, ALWAYS prefer the simpler sentence.
I've not gone through a lot of material to draw comparisons, But i have gone through the SC grail. Although it was comprehensive, I felt that would've been a waste of time relatively in my case. I still suggest it for those who don't have access to Jamboree.

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Thanks for your reply and sharing the details. Congratulations once again and wishing you all the very best for your admissions.

savwildeye · Answer

Gauthamkailash

Congratulations that's a really good score.

Good luck on your applications

Regards

Arro44 · Answer

Thanks for the additional details!

All the best for your applications, your GMAT score is above average for every school out there (including H/S/W) congrats!

Prateekj05 · Answer

Thanks for the debrief! Excellent score. I'm from Delhi, and I was about to join Jamboree, but then people warned me against doing so. But I think it depends from person to person. I wonder if the new GMAT has become harder than the earlier one

Gauthamkailash · Answer

Prateekj05

Jamboree has great, concise material. Covers almost exclusively ONLY GMAT ground, hence you can be sure that your prep is efficient if you follow their plan. 
But regarding faculty, I can only vouch for the ones in Chennai whose class I've attended.

Posted from my mobile device

kern760 · Answer

Your score range in mocks is pretty similar to mine, hopefully I score better in the actual exam as well.
Congrats on great score and thanks for sharing.

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Scored a 740 !

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