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Apr 3001:30 AM EDT
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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.
Apr 2912:30 AM EDT
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Learn how Kamakshi achieved a GMAT 675 with an impressive 96th %ile in Data Insights. Discover the unique methods and exam strategies that helped her excel in DI along with other sections for a balanced and high score.
May 0111:00 AM PDT
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Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!
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.
Hello World,
This is my first post here on gmatclub and I hope it adds to the universe of information present on this forum. I gave my first GMAT on 24th August, 21 (today) and scored a 750
Overall - 750 (98 percentile)
Quant - 49
Verbal - 44
IR - 7
Although, by all accounts the score is good, I felt I could've done better on quants (was hitting Q50 regularly in the mocks). But what is done is done, and I hope this score is competitive enough to land me a seat in a top 10 course. Without further ado, onto the debrief
1. Background:
I am a commerce graduate from India (have completed the Bachelors in Commerce and Chartered Accountancy course) and have also completed the CFA program (all three levels). I have been working fulltime (75 hour weeks) for the past 5 years and the study was restricted to weekends (if I'm lucky). From an academic perspective I had some knowhow about Quants (mainly arithmetic and stats) but everything else was rusty/ wiped off from my brain
2. Prep:
I had taken offline tutoring from a local prep provider in India from Dec 19 - Feb 20. Although, the course managed to refresh all the basics and teach some tricks, I found the overall experience lacking and decided to pursue the time tested method of self study. But alas, Covid struck India in March 20 and everything was on hold. Due the pandemic, I lost touch with GMAT and when I restarted my prep in June 21, I had to start from scratch.
The chronology of my prep is as under (Jun 21 onwards):
1. Basic prep, revision of concepts and solving topic specific questions from GMATclub (since I had exhausted the OG questions along with my offline prep)
2. 27 Jun: GMAT Prep 1 Exam - 680 (Q48, V35)
3. Focus on specific weaknesses. Quants I was struggling in inequalities, co-ordinate geometry and geometry. Verbal - Trickier SC and CR were a weak link.
4. 14 July: I had booked the exam for 24 Aug 21 and planned my studies according. I exhausted all my leaves and took a two week holiday prior to the exam. Focus during the holiday was to write as many mocks in as realistic conditions as possible. Prior to holiday focus on trickier concepts
5. 11 Aug: GMAT Prep 2 Exam - 740 (Q49, V41). Impact of focussed efforts visible in verbal, marginal improvement in Quants
6. 12 Aug: Princeton (free mock) - 720 (Q51, V39). Improvement in Quant, verbal regressed (maybe due to higher difficulty of questions)
7. 13 Aug: Manhattan (free mock) - 700 (Q45, V40). Manhattan was tougher compared to previous mocks. Princeton was marginally trickier than official mocks
9. 15 Aug: GMATclub - solved as many verbal CATs since it was free on account of Independence Day in India. Thank you GMATClub
10. 16 Aug: GMAT Prep 3 Exam - 730 (Q49, V40). Worried about Verbal since it has stagnated
11. 17 Aug: GMAT Prep 4 Exam - 750 (Q50, V41). Happy with the score, but progress is still marginal
12. 18 Aug: Veritas - 710 (Q50, V38). This was a tough exam, thought about quitting it midway. The questions were really unlike anything I had solved before. The score was a dampener
13. 19 Aug: GMAT Prep 5 Exam - 720 (Q49, V39). This was a real blow, since I was consoling myself for the previous mock by saying it was a tough exam, blah blah. But this was a wake up call
14. 20/ 21 Aug: Started solving the toughest questions GMAT club had to offer (700+, sorted on highest number of kudos). Didn't get many right, but learnt a lot in the mistakes I made. Special thanks to Bunuel bb generis for their questions. Even bigger thanks to GMATNinja and daagh for their accurate explanations. Videos by GMATNinja on youtube on CR and SC are a must watch. I learnt more in two days from their videos and explanations than I did in weeks of reading theory
15. 22 Aug: GMAT Prep 6 Exam - 770 (Q50, V45). Damn the two days paid off and how! Confident about the exam now with a day to go. Continued solving tough Verbal questions from GMAT, started getting more right than wrong. Kept learning from mistakes
16. 23 Aug: Did not do any heavy lifting. Solved a few questions and relaxed a lot. Slept early at 9 pm (usually 12 pm/ 1 am), but the nerves wouldn't let me. Managed to fall asleep by 11
D-Day:
Had a good nights sleep behind me. Woke up, maintained the regular routine of the last 2 weeks. Solved a few random questions to get the mind going (sort of like a warm up for the mind). Reached the test center 45 mins prior to exam start time. Checkin was smooth, no glitches with the exam module. Exam started at 12.15 pm (15 mins earlier than scheduled since I reached early and the system was available) and I went with the QVRA sequence (tried and tested). Finished quants, felt a little short of time towards the end (was second guessing myself in the earlier questions, which cost me). After the initial 5-10 questions, I got my rhythm back and it felt like writing just another mock. Took the optional break, ate an energy bar and a Gatorade (generally prefer Red Bull, but avoided it since I had read about a couple of bad experiences with Red Bull). Verbal was definitely smoother than Quants (thanks again to GMATNinja and daagh). Felt confident after the Verbal section and IR/ AWA was a mere formality. Got my score and proceeded to write this post
Some things I learned over my journey:
1. Theory is important, but even more important is its application. Focus on application, solve as many questions as you can. Get as many wrong as you can. You'll learn more from your mistakes. Try tougher questions, never settle in your comfort zone. When I started my prep, my target score was 720, but after the second mock, I upped my target to 750. Not hitting 750 motivated me to work harder and improve. I doubt I would've taken so much effort over the 2 weeks if I was comfortable with a target of 720.
2. Quants: No special tips, know the basics, apply the basics. Solve, solve and solve
3. Verbal: Have a strong understanding of the types of questions and how to approach them. The process of solving different types of questions is different and the approach makes a lot of difference, trust me. Before my odyssey of trick questions on 20/21 Aug, I had a generic approach. Reading the explanations by GMATNinja and learning from his videos helped me jump from V39 to V44 on the final exam
4. IR: Have no specific tips, solved all the questions from the mocks. Learn to use the online calculator provided in the official mocks. Helps a lot
5. AWA: I realised, AWA is the verbal representation of all the thought process that goes behind a "Weaken" CR question.
In conclusion, I owe a gargantuan debt of gratitude to GMATClub and all the experts/ moderators/ founders. I wouldn't have been able to do this without the treasure trove that is the GMATClub.
Thank you bb Bunuel GMATNinja daagh
This is my first post here on gmatclub and I hope it adds to the universe of information present on this forum. I gave my first GMAT on 24th August, 21 (today) and scored a 750
Overall - 750 (98 percentile)
Quant - 49
Verbal - 44
IR - 7
Although, by all accounts the score is good, I felt I could've done better on quants (was hitting Q50 regularly in the mocks). But what is done is done, and I hope this score is competitive enough to land me a seat in a top 10 course. Without further ado, onto the debrief
1. Background:
I am a commerce graduate from India (have completed the Bachelors in Commerce and Chartered Accountancy course) and have also completed the CFA program (all three levels). I have been working fulltime (75 hour weeks) for the past 5 years and the study was restricted to weekends (if I'm lucky). From an academic perspective I had some knowhow about Quants (mainly arithmetic and stats) but everything else was rusty/ wiped off from my brain
2. Prep:
I had taken offline tutoring from a local prep provider in India from Dec 19 - Feb 20. Although, the course managed to refresh all the basics and teach some tricks, I found the overall experience lacking and decided to pursue the time tested method of self study. But alas, Covid struck India in March 20 and everything was on hold. Due the pandemic, I lost touch with GMAT and when I restarted my prep in June 21, I had to start from scratch.
The chronology of my prep is as under (Jun 21 onwards):
1. Basic prep, revision of concepts and solving topic specific questions from GMATclub (since I had exhausted the OG questions along with my offline prep)
2. 27 Jun: GMAT Prep 1 Exam - 680 (Q48, V35)
3. Focus on specific weaknesses. Quants I was struggling in inequalities, co-ordinate geometry and geometry. Verbal - Trickier SC and CR were a weak link.
4. 14 July: I had booked the exam for 24 Aug 21 and planned my studies according. I exhausted all my leaves and took a two week holiday prior to the exam. Focus during the holiday was to write as many mocks in as realistic conditions as possible. Prior to holiday focus on trickier concepts
5. 11 Aug: GMAT Prep 2 Exam - 740 (Q49, V41). Impact of focussed efforts visible in verbal, marginal improvement in Quants
6. 12 Aug: Princeton (free mock) - 720 (Q51, V39). Improvement in Quant, verbal regressed (maybe due to higher difficulty of questions)
7. 13 Aug: Manhattan (free mock) - 700 (Q45, V40). Manhattan was tougher compared to previous mocks. Princeton was marginally trickier than official mocks
9. 15 Aug: GMATclub - solved as many verbal CATs since it was free on account of Independence Day in India. Thank you GMATClub
10. 16 Aug: GMAT Prep 3 Exam - 730 (Q49, V40). Worried about Verbal since it has stagnated
11. 17 Aug: GMAT Prep 4 Exam - 750 (Q50, V41). Happy with the score, but progress is still marginal
12. 18 Aug: Veritas - 710 (Q50, V38). This was a tough exam, thought about quitting it midway. The questions were really unlike anything I had solved before. The score was a dampener
13. 19 Aug: GMAT Prep 5 Exam - 720 (Q49, V39). This was a real blow, since I was consoling myself for the previous mock by saying it was a tough exam, blah blah. But this was a wake up call
14. 20/ 21 Aug: Started solving the toughest questions GMAT club had to offer (700+, sorted on highest number of kudos). Didn't get many right, but learnt a lot in the mistakes I made. Special thanks to Bunuel bb generis for their questions. Even bigger thanks to GMATNinja and daagh for their accurate explanations. Videos by GMATNinja on youtube on CR and SC are a must watch. I learnt more in two days from their videos and explanations than I did in weeks of reading theory
15. 22 Aug: GMAT Prep 6 Exam - 770 (Q50, V45). Damn the two days paid off and how! Confident about the exam now with a day to go. Continued solving tough Verbal questions from GMAT, started getting more right than wrong. Kept learning from mistakes
16. 23 Aug: Did not do any heavy lifting. Solved a few questions and relaxed a lot. Slept early at 9 pm (usually 12 pm/ 1 am), but the nerves wouldn't let me. Managed to fall asleep by 11
D-Day:
Had a good nights sleep behind me. Woke up, maintained the regular routine of the last 2 weeks. Solved a few random questions to get the mind going (sort of like a warm up for the mind). Reached the test center 45 mins prior to exam start time. Checkin was smooth, no glitches with the exam module. Exam started at 12.15 pm (15 mins earlier than scheduled since I reached early and the system was available) and I went with the QVRA sequence (tried and tested). Finished quants, felt a little short of time towards the end (was second guessing myself in the earlier questions, which cost me). After the initial 5-10 questions, I got my rhythm back and it felt like writing just another mock. Took the optional break, ate an energy bar and a Gatorade (generally prefer Red Bull, but avoided it since I had read about a couple of bad experiences with Red Bull). Verbal was definitely smoother than Quants (thanks again to GMATNinja and daagh). Felt confident after the Verbal section and IR/ AWA was a mere formality. Got my score and proceeded to write this post
Some things I learned over my journey:
1. Theory is important, but even more important is its application. Focus on application, solve as many questions as you can. Get as many wrong as you can. You'll learn more from your mistakes. Try tougher questions, never settle in your comfort zone. When I started my prep, my target score was 720, but after the second mock, I upped my target to 750. Not hitting 750 motivated me to work harder and improve. I doubt I would've taken so much effort over the 2 weeks if I was comfortable with a target of 720.
2. Quants: No special tips, know the basics, apply the basics. Solve, solve and solve
3. Verbal: Have a strong understanding of the types of questions and how to approach them. The process of solving different types of questions is different and the approach makes a lot of difference, trust me. Before my odyssey of trick questions on 20/21 Aug, I had a generic approach. Reading the explanations by GMATNinja and learning from his videos helped me jump from V39 to V44 on the final exam
4. IR: Have no specific tips, solved all the questions from the mocks. Learn to use the online calculator provided in the official mocks. Helps a lot
5. AWA: I realised, AWA is the verbal representation of all the thought process that goes behind a "Weaken" CR question.
In conclusion, I owe a gargantuan debt of gratitude to GMATClub and all the experts/ moderators/ founders. I wouldn't have been able to do this without the treasure trove that is the GMATClub.
Thank you bb Bunuel GMATNinja daagh
24 Aug 2021, 05:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi KBob, Awesome! Looks like you got your scores just in time for R1. What are your career aspirations and which schools are you targetting? i am pretty sure that with 3 CFA levels and a 750, your apps are destined to stand out. By the way, did you always chose topic wise questions sorted by kudos? how many from each topic would you roughly solve?
24 Aug 2021, 06:04
Kudos
Bookmarks
GMATaxe001
The way I would go about it was, learn about a topic from explanations/ videos/ theory (for example - Weaken the conclusion), then sort by Kudos (highest first); and solve 5-10 questions. Then depending upon accuracy would solve more if I feel I still haven't mastered it or move on to the next topic if I am sufficiently convinced about my understanding. I realised that trickier questions, generally tend to receive higher kudos
