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May 0111:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!
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 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.
I woke up one day in late June, realizing that for the past 3 months, I studied at most 2 hours for my GMAT, and my exam was end of June. I could blame it on the 100+ hours/week job, the chaos associated with the pandemic, and many other reasons.
Or I can choose to do something about it. The title obviously spoils it: I was able to do something about it and get score I need. Hence I just want to share my last ditch strategy. I hope it will help someone who's in a similar situation.
A few things I realized at that moment:
-There's 0% chance I'd get the score I need in June. But I have to nail GMAT latest by early Aug. That gave me exactly 7 weeks.
-There's no time to practice IR or AWA
-There's no time for a comprehensive concept study
So my strategy was :
Step 1: Schedule another 2 exams in a row: 1 in mid July, and 1 in early Aug.
Step 2: Take all 6 official mock in a matter of 3 days, without IR or AWA. This may sound crazy, but it was the single thing that helped me the most, for several reasons:
1.Through this exercise, I understood the test format very well
2. I understood my current level of performance: I got from 700-750, that means I have a realistic shot of getting the score I need (my goal was 730), provided that I can improve my weak areas. My verbal was fine (42-45), but my quant was fluctuating.
3. I understood my weak areas in details: I did a scatter plot of all the 402 answers into areas, i.e., quant\geometry\equilateral triangle, and into right/wrong categories. So I got not only the distribution of the questions, but also my performance in the particular areas.
In hindsight, I think I should've done 4 instead of 6, and taken the last 2 mocks just before taking the real exams.
Step 3: from Step 2.3, I narrowed down to 7-8 problem areas. I dedicated a day each to practice medium/hard questions in that area. I got ~3 hours a day to practice, so I was able to do and review ~60 questions. I used the search feature in the wiley question banks to find specific problems to solve: for example, I searched "triangle" to find triangle problems to solve. If I ran out of questions in the test banks, I searched on GMAT club as well.
Step 4: My first real exam: I chose the Q>V>IR>AWA order. The quant section went fine. So did 1/3 of the verbal section. I realized I got a big problem only when I saw that I had 35 mins for 24 questions left. I panicked and had to skip 4 or 5 questions. I also flunked the IR and AWA.
So I was not surprised when I got a 710 (Q49 V38 IR 4). But the verbal score caught me off guard. Now I know the key issue: it was not really knowledge gap, but the fact that it took me much longer to solve problems in real exam, particularly the CRs/SCs problem in Verbal.
Step 5: With the knowledge from my first exam, I spent the 2 weeks in between the 1st and 2nd exam focusing on solving verbal questions quickly. I solved all the CRs/SCs questions in OG 21, verbal review, and Advanced Questions. I didn't do RC because I was doing ok there (and there's very little room to improve RC in short amount of time). Then I thought I was ready to go again, and went ahead with the 2nd exam in mid-July.
But something was wrong that morning, I felt so anxious, I got vertigo and even forgot my phone on the receptionist's table. I chose the same order (Q>V>IR>AWA), but in the first few minutes I couldn't make any sense of the questions (for example, I tried to simplify a complicated equation in 5 minutes when substituting the given x value would solve it in ~20 secs). By the time I recovered, it was too late. I also got the same issue with timing. I ended up with the same score, but this time with lower quant (47), and also a disappointing IR/AWA .
Step 6: I was so angry with myself. It was only then I realized test taking skill is equally important, if not more important, than plugging the knowledge gap. With 3 weeks till my last exam, I focused exclusively on solving big test taking problems:
-Problem 1: Anxiety - I noticed that I always struggle in the first few mins of the exam, even in exam 1. So the first thing I decided to change was the order of the test. I went with the AWA first. Because AWA is not counted in the total score. I could afford to lose a few mins there.
I also decided not to take any coffee/energy drink. The adrenaline was more than enough to keep me awake. Coffee/energy drink only brought unwanted anxiety.
I also chose not to use the earphones. I found that not hearing background noise actually increased my anxiety.
-Problem 2: Timing:
a. Quant/Verbal: when I did mock test, I was able to monitor the time remained. But when I did the real exam, due to the stress, I always found it difficult to keep track of the time.I usually spent too much time on the first few questions, and didn't have enough time to properly solve the rest.
I tried the yellow pad technique, but it didn't really work. So I developed a technique of my own. I called it the 10 in 15 technique. Basically, I practiced solving 10 medium/hard questions in 15 mins for verbal/quant, and aimed to solve the first 10 questions in the real exam in <15 mins, so that I have more breathing room for the rest of the section, even if that means guessing/skipping a question or two.
I did a number of medium/hard questions (again, all from official prep sources, I tried 3rd-party questions but I found that they focused too much on "tricks"). And instead of looking for right/wrong answers, I looked for the types of questions that take me >2 mins to solve. Then I tried to find quicker ways to solve them (thanks GMAT club for this!!).
b. IR: I flunked IR in first 2 real exams because I found it very difficult to solve the MSRs questions in time. So I decided that I will skip 2 more difficult questions out of the 3 MSRs questions without wasting a second there.
-Problem 3: AWA: I score only 5 in the previous exams. I read Chineseburned guide and found that it was an excellent approach.
I practice intensively for 2 of the 3 remaining weeks. Towards the end of my prep, I could solve 10 M/H Q/V questions in 12-14 mins. After that, I decided to relax, and took it easy. As luck would have it, I was also able to reschedule my 3rd exam from Friday to Saturday, giving me a little rest from my daily job.
Finally, I went for my final GMAT exam. I got a solid 8 hours of sleep the night before. I dressed very casually, and drank some coconut juice 30 mins before the exam to bring my sugar level up.
I started the exam with AWA. As expected, my brain didn't work for a few minutes, but I was prepared: I used that unproductive time to write the intro and the conclusion, since they're no-brainer. Once I recovered, I started writing the main paragraphs.
Then it's IR, I got MSR as the first question, I immediately skipped it, solved the next few questions, and skipped another MSR question, I finished the IR section just in time.
The IR section really helped me warm up. And with the training kicking in, I finished the first 10 questions in Q almost exactly 15 mins. Having that extra 5 mins really helped calm me down, and I was able to get through the section without a hitch. Similarly, the 3-min extra time in verbal was equally useful. In fact, the only times I looked at the clock were when I finished the 10th questions, and when I got ~10 mins left. I didn't have to worry about the clock at all.
I submitted the last verbal question with around 28 secs to spare. Then came the moment of truth: I got 760: Q50 V44 IR 7 (and AWA of 6 -- result came just this morning). Needless to say I was over the moon.
So, there you have it: I was able to get 760 in 7 weeks, from scratch, without tutor and prep course.
In summary, my biggest takeaways from this journey is, if you're short on prep time:
1. Take several mock tests and scrutinize the results to identify weak areas.
2. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize: Focus on the types of problems that appear the most AND the ones that you're struggle with the most. If you get 80% of geometry questions right, move on.
3. Take a test as soon as possible: your performance in real test may be very different from that in mock tests. Managing the anxiety and time spent per question is absolutely crucial
Or I can choose to do something about it. The title obviously spoils it: I was able to do something about it and get score I need. Hence I just want to share my last ditch strategy. I hope it will help someone who's in a similar situation.
A few things I realized at that moment:
-There's 0% chance I'd get the score I need in June. But I have to nail GMAT latest by early Aug. That gave me exactly 7 weeks.
-There's no time to practice IR or AWA
-There's no time for a comprehensive concept study
So my strategy was :
Step 1: Schedule another 2 exams in a row: 1 in mid July, and 1 in early Aug.
Step 2: Take all 6 official mock in a matter of 3 days, without IR or AWA. This may sound crazy, but it was the single thing that helped me the most, for several reasons:
1.Through this exercise, I understood the test format very well
2. I understood my current level of performance: I got from 700-750, that means I have a realistic shot of getting the score I need (my goal was 730), provided that I can improve my weak areas. My verbal was fine (42-45), but my quant was fluctuating.
3. I understood my weak areas in details: I did a scatter plot of all the 402 answers into areas, i.e., quant\geometry\equilateral triangle, and into right/wrong categories. So I got not only the distribution of the questions, but also my performance in the particular areas.
In hindsight, I think I should've done 4 instead of 6, and taken the last 2 mocks just before taking the real exams.
Step 3: from Step 2.3, I narrowed down to 7-8 problem areas. I dedicated a day each to practice medium/hard questions in that area. I got ~3 hours a day to practice, so I was able to do and review ~60 questions. I used the search feature in the wiley question banks to find specific problems to solve: for example, I searched "triangle" to find triangle problems to solve. If I ran out of questions in the test banks, I searched on GMAT club as well.
Step 4: My first real exam: I chose the Q>V>IR>AWA order. The quant section went fine. So did 1/3 of the verbal section. I realized I got a big problem only when I saw that I had 35 mins for 24 questions left. I panicked and had to skip 4 or 5 questions. I also flunked the IR and AWA.
So I was not surprised when I got a 710 (Q49 V38 IR 4). But the verbal score caught me off guard. Now I know the key issue: it was not really knowledge gap, but the fact that it took me much longer to solve problems in real exam, particularly the CRs/SCs problem in Verbal.
Step 5: With the knowledge from my first exam, I spent the 2 weeks in between the 1st and 2nd exam focusing on solving verbal questions quickly. I solved all the CRs/SCs questions in OG 21, verbal review, and Advanced Questions. I didn't do RC because I was doing ok there (and there's very little room to improve RC in short amount of time). Then I thought I was ready to go again, and went ahead with the 2nd exam in mid-July.
But something was wrong that morning, I felt so anxious, I got vertigo and even forgot my phone on the receptionist's table. I chose the same order (Q>V>IR>AWA), but in the first few minutes I couldn't make any sense of the questions (for example, I tried to simplify a complicated equation in 5 minutes when substituting the given x value would solve it in ~20 secs). By the time I recovered, it was too late. I also got the same issue with timing. I ended up with the same score, but this time with lower quant (47), and also a disappointing IR/AWA .
Step 6: I was so angry with myself. It was only then I realized test taking skill is equally important, if not more important, than plugging the knowledge gap. With 3 weeks till my last exam, I focused exclusively on solving big test taking problems:
-Problem 1: Anxiety - I noticed that I always struggle in the first few mins of the exam, even in exam 1. So the first thing I decided to change was the order of the test. I went with the AWA first. Because AWA is not counted in the total score. I could afford to lose a few mins there.
I also decided not to take any coffee/energy drink. The adrenaline was more than enough to keep me awake. Coffee/energy drink only brought unwanted anxiety.
I also chose not to use the earphones. I found that not hearing background noise actually increased my anxiety.
-Problem 2: Timing:
a. Quant/Verbal: when I did mock test, I was able to monitor the time remained. But when I did the real exam, due to the stress, I always found it difficult to keep track of the time.I usually spent too much time on the first few questions, and didn't have enough time to properly solve the rest.
I tried the yellow pad technique, but it didn't really work. So I developed a technique of my own. I called it the 10 in 15 technique. Basically, I practiced solving 10 medium/hard questions in 15 mins for verbal/quant, and aimed to solve the first 10 questions in the real exam in <15 mins, so that I have more breathing room for the rest of the section, even if that means guessing/skipping a question or two.
I did a number of medium/hard questions (again, all from official prep sources, I tried 3rd-party questions but I found that they focused too much on "tricks"). And instead of looking for right/wrong answers, I looked for the types of questions that take me >2 mins to solve. Then I tried to find quicker ways to solve them (thanks GMAT club for this!!).
b. IR: I flunked IR in first 2 real exams because I found it very difficult to solve the MSRs questions in time. So I decided that I will skip 2 more difficult questions out of the 3 MSRs questions without wasting a second there.
-Problem 3: AWA: I score only 5 in the previous exams. I read Chineseburned guide and found that it was an excellent approach.
I practice intensively for 2 of the 3 remaining weeks. Towards the end of my prep, I could solve 10 M/H Q/V questions in 12-14 mins. After that, I decided to relax, and took it easy. As luck would have it, I was also able to reschedule my 3rd exam from Friday to Saturday, giving me a little rest from my daily job.
Finally, I went for my final GMAT exam. I got a solid 8 hours of sleep the night before. I dressed very casually, and drank some coconut juice 30 mins before the exam to bring my sugar level up.
I started the exam with AWA. As expected, my brain didn't work for a few minutes, but I was prepared: I used that unproductive time to write the intro and the conclusion, since they're no-brainer. Once I recovered, I started writing the main paragraphs.
Then it's IR, I got MSR as the first question, I immediately skipped it, solved the next few questions, and skipped another MSR question, I finished the IR section just in time.
The IR section really helped me warm up. And with the training kicking in, I finished the first 10 questions in Q almost exactly 15 mins. Having that extra 5 mins really helped calm me down, and I was able to get through the section without a hitch. Similarly, the 3-min extra time in verbal was equally useful. In fact, the only times I looked at the clock were when I finished the 10th questions, and when I got ~10 mins left. I didn't have to worry about the clock at all.
I submitted the last verbal question with around 28 secs to spare. Then came the moment of truth: I got 760: Q50 V44 IR 7 (and AWA of 6 -- result came just this morning). Needless to say I was over the moon.
So, there you have it: I was able to get 760 in 7 weeks, from scratch, without tutor and prep course.
In summary, my biggest takeaways from this journey is, if you're short on prep time:
1. Take several mock tests and scrutinize the results to identify weak areas.
2. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize: Focus on the types of problems that appear the most AND the ones that you're struggle with the most. If you get 80% of geometry questions right, move on.
3. Take a test as soon as possible: your performance in real test may be very different from that in mock tests. Managing the anxiety and time spent per question is absolutely crucial
12 Aug 2020, 03:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations for 760! Quite interesting strategy to spend 15 mins on first 10 questions in Quant. The first 10 Quant questions are important so some people spend more time on them. Yes, stress can make time tracking difficult during the exam. How many / how often did you take tests before your retake. Thanks for the debrief!
12 Aug 2020, 03:39
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minhnvo
Hi,
Congrats on your great score. what resources you used for quant questions?
Thanks.
