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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.
25 Jul 2014, 10:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
I have been following this forum for the past 2-3 months and I thought finally I should contribute back something to this forum. My score is not stratospheric but a modest 710 . I hope the lessons that I learnt could help others. I had given my GMAT 5 years ago but due to personal reasons somehow I never ended up applying to B-school. So when the 5 years were up I decided to give it another try again. I had scored a 670 back in 2008.
My preparation material.
1) OG 13
2) OG 13 Verbal
3) GMATClub tests
4) GMATclub Quant and Verbal book (absolute must) .
5) MGMAT books I bought online and the tests that come with them.
6) Veritas verbal videos from Youtube.
7) Kaplan Premier ( More on this later)
Month 1
Started with Paper diagnostic test of the OG 13 . Scored something like a 610 and was a little humbled as I expected I could score more. I realized that the difficulty in the quant section had shot up over the years as I did not remember it being like this in 2008. Maybe other members can comment if they feel the same way.Started my Prep with Kaplan as honestly felt they were quite easy and I did not feel I was really improving or going anywhere. I always came back to bb's post on GMAT Study plan and tried to model on it as best as I could . I have been working in Engineering now 9 years and didn't think I would have the mental focus to persevere through the full 3 months and be able to get a good score. I quickly started to get attracted to the quant questions at the GMATclub forums as compared to those on Kaplan . Dutifully tried to go though Bunuel's post and then realized they were really hard. I was demotivated a little to begin with as I felt that I had written a different version of the test 5 years back but my problem was perhaps I was trying only the 700 questions.
Gave MGMAT test1 - 610
Month 2
I ended up buying the GMAT club tests . Probably one of the best decisions for my prep. I lost a bit of time due to work commitments this month . But I tried my best to work on the GMATClub Tests in the QUIZ mode.Gave MGMAT test 2 - 600
Month 3
Gave MGMAT test 3 - 600. I knew I was getting better but scores were showing something else.
GMATPrep1 : 690 : This gave me some confidence.
Gave MGMAT test 4 - 610. I lost it at this point. Bit of panic set in and I considered about moving the test date to a later date but in the end did not do so as all the dates were way in to the future.
BIG DAY
Relax and be cool. Again the advice from bb helped me a lot knowing that no one sleeps well before the test .
IR and AWA were OK. Prepare on these 2 sections.It is easy to get caught out as we focus on Q and V.
I lost 1 minute on my Quant when I came back from my break but the key was not to panic !!! It is very easy to lose yourself in such situations just be calm and give the test. The full length practice tests help you as you will learn about yourself if you take them seriously. Otherwise the test was uneventful I realized that towards the end I was losing time and had to rush the last 4 questions in the quant section.I could make out the questions were getting tougher but I guess I got some wrong and some right.
Verbal was just a steady timed approach with my concentration levels now dropping but I realized in my mock tests it is the Verbal section which determines our final score as even if I do a fantastic quant section but lose it in my Verbal I will get a low score. Keep this in mind specially towards the end as its starts to get quite taxing. When I clicked the screens I couldn't believe when I saw the score !!
What worked for me.
1) MGMAT books on SC is good if you can manage the time. MGMAT Foundations of Math helped me also.
2) Try the Veritas SC videos from Youtube . They were really helpful. I am not allowed to post links so I cant post them here but they are easy to find.
3) Use the Kaplan CR videos again available on Youtube.
4) GMAT Club Quant book
is a Bible. Every single word and page is important and has meaning which you will come to know only when you have solved enough problems. When I started in month 1 I did not realize how amazing the book is only in Month 3 when I finished i understood its value. Try to get the GMATclub tests as they are the most important investment in your GMAT journey. I usually ran them in QUIZ mode taking 10-15 questions on the weekdays also. At the end I made an addendum to the GMATClub Quant book just one page which was specific to me and used only those 2 in the last days before GMAT.
5) I used the OG for some of the questions but honestly I couldn't go through all the questions in the OG. Try to find if you can use shorter methods to solve the OG problems than given there .
6) GMAT Club Verbal book is also really good but I would couple it with the MGMAT SC book.
7) bb's collection of posts on The BIG Day and Final Thoughts .
8) As any experienced Project Manager would tell you plan for some down time in your study schedule as something will surely go wrong making you loose some days or even weeks.
9) Buy the Test simulation Booklet and the Marker for your tests.
10) GMATPrep Tests : The closest thing to the GMAT.
What did not work for me.
1) Manhattan Advanced Quant is a bit of overkill I feel. The problems are too hard and i don't think GMAT is trying to test you on those kind of questions.There is not point in trying hard problems for the sake of trying to solve them.
2) Kaplan : I dont have anything against Kaplan and I know they are a great company for ages but unfortunately it did not help me at all. At least the avoid the quant section. I did not even end up taking the tests as I could have used my time taking the MGMATs as they were tougher .
3) MGMAT CATs:
They were the reason which led to my panic in my 3rd month. The scores just don't make sense I only scored a 610 and 600 in my 3 months !! The problems in Quant and Verbal were good but I felt somehow their scoring algorithm was weird and sent me in to panic mode !!! Use them by all means but I would be weary of them . They are helpful but don't take the scores too much to heart. One week ago I wish some one had told me the same. GMAT Prep 1 gave me a 690 and I scored a 710.
Once again I hope this post is of help to even one of you out there still to write your GMAT. Don't lose hope it seems quite daunting but its sweet on the other side . Just put your head down and put in the hours and you will be able to get a good score. I had a lot of distractions and could have done better with more effort but we all have only that much time and I am happy with my modest score.
Once I am able to I will update the links.Feel free to let me know what you think.
My preparation material.
1) OG 13
2) OG 13 Verbal
3) GMATClub tests
4) GMATclub Quant and Verbal book (absolute must) .
5) MGMAT books I bought online and the tests that come with them.
6) Veritas verbal videos from Youtube.
7) Kaplan Premier ( More on this later)
Month 1
Started with Paper diagnostic test of the OG 13 . Scored something like a 610 and was a little humbled as I expected I could score more. I realized that the difficulty in the quant section had shot up over the years as I did not remember it being like this in 2008. Maybe other members can comment if they feel the same way.Started my Prep with Kaplan as honestly felt they were quite easy and I did not feel I was really improving or going anywhere. I always came back to bb's post on GMAT Study plan and tried to model on it as best as I could . I have been working in Engineering now 9 years and didn't think I would have the mental focus to persevere through the full 3 months and be able to get a good score. I quickly started to get attracted to the quant questions at the GMATclub forums as compared to those on Kaplan . Dutifully tried to go though Bunuel's post and then realized they were really hard. I was demotivated a little to begin with as I felt that I had written a different version of the test 5 years back but my problem was perhaps I was trying only the 700 questions.
Gave MGMAT test1 - 610
Month 2
I ended up buying the GMAT club tests . Probably one of the best decisions for my prep. I lost a bit of time due to work commitments this month . But I tried my best to work on the GMATClub Tests in the QUIZ mode.Gave MGMAT test 2 - 600
Month 3
Gave MGMAT test 3 - 600. I knew I was getting better but scores were showing something else.
GMATPrep1 : 690 : This gave me some confidence.
Gave MGMAT test 4 - 610. I lost it at this point. Bit of panic set in and I considered about moving the test date to a later date but in the end did not do so as all the dates were way in to the future.
BIG DAY
Relax and be cool. Again the advice from bb helped me a lot knowing that no one sleeps well before the test .
IR and AWA were OK. Prepare on these 2 sections.It is easy to get caught out as we focus on Q and V.
I lost 1 minute on my Quant when I came back from my break but the key was not to panic !!! It is very easy to lose yourself in such situations just be calm and give the test. The full length practice tests help you as you will learn about yourself if you take them seriously. Otherwise the test was uneventful I realized that towards the end I was losing time and had to rush the last 4 questions in the quant section.I could make out the questions were getting tougher but I guess I got some wrong and some right.
Verbal was just a steady timed approach with my concentration levels now dropping but I realized in my mock tests it is the Verbal section which determines our final score as even if I do a fantastic quant section but lose it in my Verbal I will get a low score. Keep this in mind specially towards the end as its starts to get quite taxing. When I clicked the screens I couldn't believe when I saw the score !!
What worked for me.
1) MGMAT books on SC is good if you can manage the time. MGMAT Foundations of Math helped me also.
2) Try the Veritas SC videos from Youtube . They were really helpful. I am not allowed to post links so I cant post them here but they are easy to find.
3) Use the Kaplan CR videos again available on Youtube.
4) GMAT Club Quant book
is a Bible. Every single word and page is important and has meaning which you will come to know only when you have solved enough problems. When I started in month 1 I did not realize how amazing the book is only in Month 3 when I finished i understood its value. Try to get the GMATclub tests as they are the most important investment in your GMAT journey. I usually ran them in QUIZ mode taking 10-15 questions on the weekdays also. At the end I made an addendum to the GMATClub Quant book just one page which was specific to me and used only those 2 in the last days before GMAT. 5) I used the OG for some of the questions but honestly I couldn't go through all the questions in the OG. Try to find if you can use shorter methods to solve the OG problems than given there .
6) GMAT Club Verbal book is also really good but I would couple it with the MGMAT SC book.
7) bb's collection of posts on The BIG Day and Final Thoughts .
8) As any experienced Project Manager would tell you plan for some down time in your study schedule as something will surely go wrong making you loose some days or even weeks.
9) Buy the Test simulation Booklet and the Marker for your tests.
10) GMATPrep Tests : The closest thing to the GMAT.
What did not work for me.
1) Manhattan Advanced Quant is a bit of overkill I feel. The problems are too hard and i don't think GMAT is trying to test you on those kind of questions.There is not point in trying hard problems for the sake of trying to solve them.
2) Kaplan : I dont have anything against Kaplan and I know they are a great company for ages but unfortunately it did not help me at all. At least the avoid the quant section. I did not even end up taking the tests as I could have used my time taking the MGMATs as they were tougher .
3) MGMAT CATs:
They were the reason which led to my panic in my 3rd month. The scores just don't make sense I only scored a 610 and 600 in my 3 months !! The problems in Quant and Verbal were good but I felt somehow their scoring algorithm was weird and sent me in to panic mode !!! Use them by all means but I would be weary of them . They are helpful but don't take the scores too much to heart. One week ago I wish some one had told me the same. GMAT Prep 1 gave me a 690 and I scored a 710. Once again I hope this post is of help to even one of you out there still to write your GMAT. Don't lose hope it seems quite daunting but its sweet on the other side . Just put your head down and put in the hours and you will be able to get a good score. I had a lot of distractions and could have done better with more effort but we all have only that much time and I am happy with my modest score.
Once I am able to I will update the links.Feel free to let me know what you think.
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