E-GMAT : Structured plan to go from 625 to 695 GFE within 2 months

Question

This year I was planning to give my GMAT for the first time, but I realized that I cannot do it alone because of my hectic work schedule. I needed a resource with a clear schedule of what the next 2-3 months were going to look like.

That’s when I found E-GMAT’s sample resources, where all their courses were visible and I was able to make sure that there is a structured course, with all topics covered for a GMAT focus edition if I were to choose this resource. 
Secondly, I looked at the price which was also a factor for me. I was not looking for a cheap course, but one which offered value for money and is not exorbitantly priced. E-GMAT passed this test as well.

After a month of researching and looking at the free/sample resources of various coaching centres, I was able to finalize E-GMAT, and in hindsight, this proved to be a great decision for me, and here’s three specific reasons why: 
 
 Last Mile Push (LMP): I was a part of their LMP program which assigned a personal mentor to each student (with only 10-15 student per mentor, which is a great ratio). My mentor, Rida, helped me to make a step-by-step plan as per my target score, targeted GMAT date while analysing my strengths and weaknesses based on my Diagnostic mock. She also helped me remain accountable and dedicated to the plan, with regular check-ins and supported me during my last week of prep by Mock Analyses and Weak-spot correction. 
 Personalized, Adaptive, Course Engine (P.A.C.E) enabled Quant Course: This feature suggests which topics you can skip based on the Diagnostic Test. For these topics you can jump straight to the Quizzes, saving you a ton of time on the most time-intensive section! 
 Cementing Stage i.e. after the concept giving 5 tests (2 Medium, 3 Hard) really help to "cement" the specifics of the concept so that you do not forget it even if you come back to it after a month.

Here are some of the habits that helped me get a great score in such a short span of time: 
 
 Quant: Was already a strong point, so my mentors suggested that I start my preparation with this section, which’ll help me once I get to DI. One piece of advice here, even if you have strong quant, do not take this lightly because a couple of good sectional scores should not amount to you believing that you can solve the entire question bank. Spend time on it, go through all important concepts and some of their practice questions at least once, and then give sectional tests to solidify your prep or work on your mistakes. 
 Verbal: Can be scary initially, but what can help you get there is learning how to read slowly and reading only once. I had this challenge initially, but once I inculcated this habit, 30-40% of the questions took half the time, and this proportion only increased with time. 
 DI: The behemoth in terms of the time that is required to completely finish the section, which is where largely Time Management helped me increase my score, which is to put in milestones for yourself that you follow for each mock and therefore, effortlessly take to the exam. For example, I decided that I will spend a maximum of 13 minutes on the first five questions, and then 12 minutes on the next 5 questions, followed by the rest of the time on the next 10 questions. This is because you usually are getting started, and building up a rhythm initially and can get stuck on one question that can negatively impact your entire question. 
 In addition to this, attempt mocks from the official website, give one mock early into your preparation, and then you can use the mocks provided by E-GMAT but the rest of the official mocks should be given closer to your exam so that you can emulate these habits better on your exam day and be more in touch with the official question bank to help you solve for these questions faster.  
 The one thing I struggled with till the very last day of the prep and Rida helped me overcome was – LETTING A QUESTION GO, don’t get too attached or think you are about to solve it when it has been 2.5-3 minutes already on that question. Let it go, do not think about it again.
GMAT is an exam of practice, it is not rocket science, with each additional weak of practice, you keep increasing your score 10 points at a time. All the best!

RishS94 · Answer

ongrats on great score Akshara! Will you provide some comparison between SigmaX mocks vs Official mocks?

AksharaSharma123 · Answer

Yes, the Sigma X mocks are slightly on the tougher side but if you keep that in mind, and try to score accordingly, you will see an improvement in your score in the official mocks. 
My advice would be to give as many official mocks as possible as they are the closest to the actual exam.

nafuzzz · Answer

Congratulations on your score! and thank you for sharing your story, it was really helpful!

anish777 · Answer

Hi Akshara

Did you follow only E-GMAT for your preparation or you were following the questions from GMAT club as well during your preparation?

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E-GMAT : Structured plan to go from 625 to 695 GFE within 2 months

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