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saidivyathota
Joined: 27 Jun 2020
Last visit: 03 May 2021
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 13
Location: India
Schools: IIMA PGPX'22 (I)
GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V37
05 Apr 2021, 06:32
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Hello everyone,
Just like a lot of you here, I decided to prepare for the GMAT myself. But I did not achieve my target score.
As an engineer, I did not have a problem with the Quant section. But I found the Verbal section very difficult. I am sure a lot of you can relate to this.
But things changed for me once I changed my approach to solving the GMAT Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning questions.
This is precisely why I am sharing my story with you here. I hope you get valuable takeaways from my GMAT journey.
I graduated as an IT engineer in 2015. Since then, I have been working with Ford Motor Company as a Software Analyst, IT Analyst, and Data Analyst. It has been almost six years now.
I am not much into the software side of it. I am more into the business aspect, which inspired me to pursue an MBA and not any other Master’s (MS) degree programs.
I had tried to get into the Indian School of Business (ISB) in 2018. That time I applied with my GRE score. I had a 316 on my GRE. I was not sure I could improve my score.
I did not get shortlisted for the interview round that year.
An MBA can accelerate your career, whichever company you are working in. I know for a fact that I belonged to the top 5 percentile of the students who graduated with me. But after that, if you need to move ahead in your career and wish to compete with your peers, a postgraduate degree is the way to go about it. That is if you wish to achieve your goals faster.
That is when I realized that I need to do an MBA. I started thinking about an MBA two years after my graduation, and the thought had stayed with me.
I started my GMAT preparation in March 2020. Honestly, I did not sincerely prepare for the GMAT then. I used to study just for the sake of it - 30 minutes or 1 hour every day.
But then, in June or July, I started to take my GMAT preparation seriously. I squeezed out the largest chunk of time out of my day, allocated all my household chores to specific time slots and got help from my parents and my family members. I utilized all my free time to prepare for the GMAT. Given this, I used to study for 5-6 hours during weekdays.
It is very difficult to allocate so much time to prepare for the GMAT. But you need the trigger point to get the motivation to sit and study for the exam.
One of my seniors at Ford had taken the GMAT last year. He was the one who actually motivated me to take my GMAT preparation seriously. He used to tell me how I will have to wait another year if I do not crack the GMAT this year. That was the trigger point for me. And in a month’s time, I gave the GMAT.
I feel that since I had prepared for the GRE earlier, it was slightly easier for me to prepare for the GMAT. I had taken the GRE in 2018 to apply to ISB. But my score (316) was way below the average GRE score that ISB considered.
I decided to take the GMAT and not the GRE because I felt that most of the B-schools preferred GMAT scores. I thought that submitting a GRE score might make me seem like someone who does not take their MBA/MS plans seriously.
Coming from an engineering background, I found the Quant section quite easy. I think that is the case with most of us who have done engineering.
But when it came to the Verbal section, I found all three sections - Sentence Correction (SC), Reading Comprehension (RC), and Critical Reasoning (CR) difficult. I was not aware of the techniques or the tactics I needed to use while solving a CR problem. I used to go and attempt the questions based on the background knowledge that I already had. This was during my first GMAT attempt. I had prepared by myself then.
I started practicing the questions on the GMAT Club. I also maintained an error log so that I can keep track of my mistakes. I had scored 680 on my mock tests. But I was not confident with the GMAT Verbal section. I gave the GMAT anyway and scored a 650.
My Verbal section score was very low. That is when I realized that I required professional help with GMAT Verbal. I reached out to Crackverbal for personal tutoring.
When I was preparing for the GMAT myself, I didn’t know the tips and tricks to solve the GMAT CR questions. Even when it came to SC, I had a lot of unanswered questions. Different people approach them differently.
My mentor helped me find answers to these questions. In SC, I learned the nuances such as the difference between ‘like’ and ‘such as’. In CR, my mentor taught me how to identify the question type and have a logical approach to answering such questions.
The approach was very different from what I had been following. I had a very random approach: I used to mark the answers based on what I felt was right at that point. But, Crackverbal introduced me to a more systematic approach.
My different approach to GMAT Verbal is what got me a GMAT 710 on my second attempt.
With respect to Quant, I would say that I worried a little less about it when compared to the first time I gave the GMAT. That could have probably helped as well.
This is my GMAT journey.
When you decide to take the GMAT, you will feel that you can prepare for it yourself and get a good score. But once you start your preparation, you will realize that it (especially Verbal for me) has more to it than what it may seem from the outside.
I hope my story helps you in some way.
I wish you guys all the very best for your GMAT preparation and MBA plans.
Hope everything goes well for you.
Regards,
Sai Divya
Just like a lot of you here, I decided to prepare for the GMAT myself. But I did not achieve my target score.
As an engineer, I did not have a problem with the Quant section. But I found the Verbal section very difficult. I am sure a lot of you can relate to this.
But things changed for me once I changed my approach to solving the GMAT Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning questions.
This is precisely why I am sharing my story with you here. I hope you get valuable takeaways from my GMAT journey.
I am an engineering graduate & I have been working with Ford Motor Company
I graduated as an IT engineer in 2015. Since then, I have been working with Ford Motor Company as a Software Analyst, IT Analyst, and Data Analyst. It has been almost six years now.
I am not much into the software side of it. I am more into the business aspect, which inspired me to pursue an MBA and not any other Master’s (MS) degree programs.
I had tried to get into the Indian School of Business (ISB) in 2018. That time I applied with my GRE score. I had a 316 on my GRE. I was not sure I could improve my score.
I did not get shortlisted for the interview round that year.
Why I decided to get an MBA now
An MBA can accelerate your career, whichever company you are working in. I know for a fact that I belonged to the top 5 percentile of the students who graduated with me. But after that, if you need to move ahead in your career and wish to compete with your peers, a postgraduate degree is the way to go about it. That is if you wish to achieve your goals faster.
That is when I realized that I need to do an MBA. I started thinking about an MBA two years after my graduation, and the thought had stayed with me.
Preparing for the GMAT is not easy
I started my GMAT preparation in March 2020. Honestly, I did not sincerely prepare for the GMAT then. I used to study just for the sake of it - 30 minutes or 1 hour every day.
But then, in June or July, I started to take my GMAT preparation seriously. I squeezed out the largest chunk of time out of my day, allocated all my household chores to specific time slots and got help from my parents and my family members. I utilized all my free time to prepare for the GMAT. Given this, I used to study for 5-6 hours during weekdays.
It is very difficult to allocate so much time to prepare for the GMAT. But you need the trigger point to get the motivation to sit and study for the exam.
One of my seniors at Ford had taken the GMAT last year. He was the one who actually motivated me to take my GMAT preparation seriously. He used to tell me how I will have to wait another year if I do not crack the GMAT this year. That was the trigger point for me. And in a month’s time, I gave the GMAT.
I had given the GRE in 2018 but I wanted to take the GMAT in 2020
I feel that since I had prepared for the GRE earlier, it was slightly easier for me to prepare for the GMAT. I had taken the GRE in 2018 to apply to ISB. But my score (316) was way below the average GRE score that ISB considered.
I decided to take the GMAT and not the GRE because I felt that most of the B-schools preferred GMAT scores. I thought that submitting a GRE score might make me seem like someone who does not take their MBA/MS plans seriously.
I took the GMAT twice
Coming from an engineering background, I found the Quant section quite easy. I think that is the case with most of us who have done engineering.
But when it came to the Verbal section, I found all three sections - Sentence Correction (SC), Reading Comprehension (RC), and Critical Reasoning (CR) difficult. I was not aware of the techniques or the tactics I needed to use while solving a CR problem. I used to go and attempt the questions based on the background knowledge that I already had. This was during my first GMAT attempt. I had prepared by myself then.
I started practicing the questions on the GMAT Club. I also maintained an error log so that I can keep track of my mistakes. I had scored 680 on my mock tests. But I was not confident with the GMAT Verbal section. I gave the GMAT anyway and scored a 650.
My Verbal section score was very low. That is when I realized that I required professional help with GMAT Verbal. I reached out to Crackverbal for personal tutoring.
Self prep vs. guided prep - the difference in approach
When I was preparing for the GMAT myself, I didn’t know the tips and tricks to solve the GMAT CR questions. Even when it came to SC, I had a lot of unanswered questions. Different people approach them differently.
My mentor helped me find answers to these questions. In SC, I learned the nuances such as the difference between ‘like’ and ‘such as’. In CR, my mentor taught me how to identify the question type and have a logical approach to answering such questions.
The approach was very different from what I had been following. I had a very random approach: I used to mark the answers based on what I felt was right at that point. But, Crackverbal introduced me to a more systematic approach.
GMAT 650 to GMAT 710 - What I did differently
My different approach to GMAT Verbal is what got me a GMAT 710 on my second attempt.
With respect to Quant, I would say that I worried a little less about it when compared to the first time I gave the GMAT. That could have probably helped as well.
This is my GMAT journey.
When you decide to take the GMAT, you will feel that you can prepare for it yourself and get a good score. But once you start your preparation, you will realize that it (especially Verbal for me) has more to it than what it may seem from the outside.
I hope my story helps you in some way.
I wish you guys all the very best for your GMAT preparation and MBA plans.
Hope everything goes well for you.
Regards,
Sai Divya
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