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slk00
Joined: 06 Jan 2023
Last visit: 19 Feb 2025
Posts: 169
Given Kudos: 127
Location: India
Concentration: International Business, Technology
Schools: Booth (Chicago) (D) ESSEC (A) HEC (M) Duke Fuqua (A$) Kellogg MiM "26 (D) INSEAD MiM "26 (D)
GMAT 1: 530 Q40 V21
GMAT 2: 720 Q47 V42
GPA: 4
WE:Information Technology (Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals)
Schools: Booth (Chicago) (D) ESSEC (A) HEC (M) Duke Fuqua (A$) Kellogg MiM "26 (D) INSEAD MiM "26 (D)
GMAT 2: 720 Q47 V42
Posts: 169
16 Oct 2023, 06:24
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi all,
Pardon me. This is going to be a pretty long debrief. I've dreamt every moment of being able to write one of my own, every single time I read one of these written by other people, although I never thought I'd be able to get here.
Before I begin, here's the debrief of my first attempt, for some background :
https://gmatclub.com/forum/530-on-offic ... l#p3264869
I'm a Software Developer in Healthcare industry working for an MNC, with a degree in computer science. I graduated last year, and I was pretty happy and excited with where I landed my job. However, I didn't enjoy my work as much as I thought I would. I love my job, but something was missing - perhaps something that has got to do with how much of a talkative person I am in real life but did very little at my job. I love interacting with different people, but I did not have to go any further than talk to my teammates (mind you - I work on the back end of our application, very minimal interaction outside of my team), and it clicked. I had to switch places in my career.
I've always enjoyed taking responsibilities and being in situations that really challenged my decision making skills, since I was in school. Hence, applying to business school was the right choice for me. That's when I decided to write the GMAT. My aim was in the range 650-680, since my target schools are ESSEC, INSEAD for MiM programme, and they have a very big focus on the profile, GMAT is just a selection criteria.
For my first attempt, I enrolled into an institution, and it didn't help me a lot because they primarily focused on CAT, and I didn't feel like the tutors were very helpful with their way of training the way one should be trained for GMAT. The questions in the material didn't use the same language, the mocks were way off and more difficult, and it just demotivated me. I decided to solve questions from the material just to boost my confidence of being able to solve hard questions. Little did I know, the GMAT wasn't such a simple exam. I studied day in day out, 5 hours a day on weekdays (before and after work) and 16 hours combined on both days of the weekend. I wasn't wasting a single minute.
Things I did wrong:
My first exam was a disaster. 530 with a Q40, V21 split, even though I had seen a range of different scores with the Princeton. Very inaccurate measure. I followed a couple of bad practices, like the ones listed above. I had started to feel burnt out by the time it was exam day, and I "JUST WANTED TO BE DONE WITH IT".
Leading up to the exam day I was not only scared, but I also kept telling myself I wouldn't have enough time while also working for the second attempt, so I need to be done with just the first attempt. I added pressure upon myself. Horrible mistake. Performance anxiety also kicked in. The test centre experience was absolutely smooth, it was my own anxiety that messed up any opportunities of me scoring higher. Not only was my approach to problems unclear, even if I wasn't at the level of scoring an absolutely high score, I ruined whatever I could by worrying about everything else too much.
Note that I didn't cancel my score.
Devastated but having to face it, I scheduled my second attempt after going home. October 16, '23. This time, I knew I had to switch gears, and study smart, not hard.
Things I did:
Mock scores (every weekend)
I was happy about quant, but worried about verbal because there was very minimal improvement. My last mock was a week before actual exam.
Through the last 7 days I focused over my weak areas, and strengthened my verbal even further. Solved forum quizzes, and most importantly, RELAXED (v v important)!
Result : today
720 (V42, Q47, IR6)
(Little disappointed with Quant but VERBAL??!???)
Overall;
ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON!
Sat on my chair and cried for a few seconds after the exam (almost forgot to accept scores lol)
Done for now! I wish you all the best!
Thank you GMAT club! Onto applications now.
Posted from my mobile device
Pardon me. This is going to be a pretty long debrief. I've dreamt every moment of being able to write one of my own, every single time I read one of these written by other people, although I never thought I'd be able to get here.
Before I begin, here's the debrief of my first attempt, for some background :
https://gmatclub.com/forum/530-on-offic ... l#p3264869
I'm a Software Developer in Healthcare industry working for an MNC, with a degree in computer science. I graduated last year, and I was pretty happy and excited with where I landed my job. However, I didn't enjoy my work as much as I thought I would. I love my job, but something was missing - perhaps something that has got to do with how much of a talkative person I am in real life but did very little at my job. I love interacting with different people, but I did not have to go any further than talk to my teammates (mind you - I work on the back end of our application, very minimal interaction outside of my team), and it clicked. I had to switch places in my career.
I've always enjoyed taking responsibilities and being in situations that really challenged my decision making skills, since I was in school. Hence, applying to business school was the right choice for me. That's when I decided to write the GMAT. My aim was in the range 650-680, since my target schools are ESSEC, INSEAD for MiM programme, and they have a very big focus on the profile, GMAT is just a selection criteria.
For my first attempt, I enrolled into an institution, and it didn't help me a lot because they primarily focused on CAT, and I didn't feel like the tutors were very helpful with their way of training the way one should be trained for GMAT. The questions in the material didn't use the same language, the mocks were way off and more difficult, and it just demotivated me. I decided to solve questions from the material just to boost my confidence of being able to solve hard questions. Little did I know, the GMAT wasn't such a simple exam. I studied day in day out, 5 hours a day on weekdays (before and after work) and 16 hours combined on both days of the weekend. I wasn't wasting a single minute.
Things I did wrong:
- • Took unrealistic Mocks (from the specific institution)
• Exhausted my official material, while seeing no improvement
• Scheduled my exam before seeing consistency in my mock scores hoping it would motivate me to finish studying by the exam day
• Followed no strategies to solve it under the time mark, and with the right approach
• Started prep without a diagnostic test to analyse where my weak areas lie, took less mocks at the beginning of my preparation overall, and more just a few days before my actual exam
• Read too many negative reviews about exam/test centre experience
My first exam was a disaster. 530 with a Q40, V21 split, even though I had seen a range of different scores with the Princeton. Very inaccurate measure. I followed a couple of bad practices, like the ones listed above. I had started to feel burnt out by the time it was exam day, and I "JUST WANTED TO BE DONE WITH IT".
Leading up to the exam day I was not only scared, but I also kept telling myself I wouldn't have enough time while also working for the second attempt, so I need to be done with just the first attempt. I added pressure upon myself. Horrible mistake. Performance anxiety also kicked in. The test centre experience was absolutely smooth, it was my own anxiety that messed up any opportunities of me scoring higher. Not only was my approach to problems unclear, even if I wasn't at the level of scoring an absolutely high score, I ruined whatever I could by worrying about everything else too much.
Note that I didn't cancel my score.
Devastated but having to face it, I scheduled my second attempt after going home. October 16, '23. This time, I knew I had to switch gears, and study smart, not hard.
Things I did:
- • Buy MGMAT ed 7 ( I'd totally suggest the previous edition but certain books in this edition were out of stock in my country so I had to order the latest)
• the holy grail : SMASHED the subscribe button to GMATNinja and followed their strategy for SC, eyes closed. Their simple "don't remember too many rules that aren't even rules" was not only less intimidating, it was an absolute life saviour. I also found their RC REALLY HELPFUL.
• Claimed the TTP 10 day trial reward; solved the tests they had for topics I found weak.
• Also claimed the forum quiz and solved Only OFFICIAL questions, for the levels I wanted. I didn't try to solve questions of harder levels, I basically wanted to strengthen my basics.
• For the final day, made some notes on CR, went through Slingfox's SC notes.
Mock scores (every weekend)
- MGMAT1: 610
MGMAT2: 630 Q44 V32
MGMAT3: 630 (taken a day after 2) (same split)
MGMAT4: 640 (disappointed that I took it a week after but saw little improvement) Q45 V32
Official Mock 2 ( I had saved it in case of my re- attempt) 680 Q49 V 34
I was happy about quant, but worried about verbal because there was very minimal improvement. My last mock was a week before actual exam.
Through the last 7 days I focused over my weak areas, and strengthened my verbal even further. Solved forum quizzes, and most importantly, RELAXED (v v important)!
Result : today
720 (V42, Q47, IR6)
(Little disappointed with Quant but VERBAL??!???)
Overall;
ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON!
Sat on my chair and cried for a few seconds after the exam (almost forgot to accept scores lol)
Done for now! I wish you all the best!
Thank you GMAT club! Onto applications now.
Posted from my mobile device
16 Oct 2023, 07:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
slk00
Reading through your journey was inspiring. The dedication, perseverance, and strategic shifts you made between your first and second attempts clearly paid off in a big way. Congratulations on your remarkable score improvement! Your story is a testament to the fact that with the right mindset and resources, one can overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Best wishes as you move forward with your applications.
16 Oct 2023, 08:49
Kudos
Bookmarks
Gratz on the 720. All the best going forward.
-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
For anyone reading this, I'm a NON native. So, if I can, ANYONE (with the right approach, attitude and determination) CAN!
