Details added:
I started my preparation of GMAT earlier this year. I joined the gmat club and started answering questions posted in Q section. Through the advice provided on the forum, I purchased OG. and started attacking questions on the weekends. My studies could be sub-divided into the following sections.
Light work:My progress was extremely slow because of work and other activities. In the spring, my progress came to a complete halt as I had to travel for work. The studies did not resume until early october. I had finished my OG by october. Then, I scheduled my exam mid of october for the date of December 30, 09. So, that was the exam day.
During my OG studies, I kept track of the time by solving 10-15 questions at a time and checking the time elapsed. I was hitting approximately the time targets/question for the various sections recommended by OG.
Further, in Q, I was doing good in PS.
In V, I was doing well in RC>CR>SC during my OG practice sessions.
In GMAT Club, I tended to solve questions from the Q section. I somewhat avoided V largely because I thought I might remember answers when I actually take GMAT prep tests.
Moderate work:After scheduling my exam, my progress picked up momentum. On november 1, I took my first gmatprep from the downloaded version from mba.com. In that test, I skipped AWA and also took considerably long break to have tea between V & Q. My score was:
650 (Q46 V34).
This score was a considerable motivation for me as all I had studied thus far was from OG & GMAT club. With a baseline defined for my score, I also identified the following areas of weakness:
- combinatorics in Q
- SC and CR in V.
The following weekend, I took GMAT Club free math and verbal test. I found the Q to be very good; but V was somewhat easier and the explanations in V need work.
I ordered the following additional materials:
- powerscore CR Bible
-
mgmat math guide
-
mgmat SC strategy guide
After that began a period of intense preparation.
Intense prep:As I recd all the books, I kept attacking gmat club math tests. Anyway I kept making ~10 errors. So at first, I decided to attack
mgmat math guide review material. Combinatorics was now firmly nailed down for me. Number properties were also properly reviewed. Number properties come in very handy for DS. But there can also be techniques to remember these well. For example, odd/even= fraction always; but why?
odd=2m+1 and even= 2n (where m and n are integers)
odd/even = m/n+1/(2n). Even if m/n were integer, 1/2n can be never. Hence, the way to remember the formulae is also important.
Another example: sum of first n natural numbers = n(n+1)/2. But may be it is better to remember the general formula; sum of n numbers = n/2 times (first+last number).
But I digress.
I solved some of PS questions from
mgmat math guide; but got a little fed up with them. So, I never went to the DS questions in that guide.
My errors in gmat club math tests reduced somewhat due to my "rigorous" preparation in math. However, I can't say that my percentile scores during these tests were impressive. I was a little depressed due to that and posted a question asking the relevance of the percentile. Perhaps the moderators might consider only reporting the number of errors and not the percentile unless the test taker asks for the percentile. The percentile can be depressing. But the math tests do make you sweat. In fact at the risk of stretching a point, the brain (may be not t he
prodigy's) gets so much stimulated when one is taking the tests\reading through the explanation offered, it is actually possible to increase your BMR and may be lose a few pounds so that you can feast on those extra desserts during the holidays.
I call this a period of intense preparation because I was studying all weekends and every evening for a few hours. After starting to study powerscore CR bible and finishing the first few chapters, I went by the bible's recommendation that I should focus more on the most commonly occurring questions (strengthen, weaken, main point, resolve paradox and assumption). Those are the chapters I focused. I did not read the chapters such as identify the structure of the argument, etc. CR bible provides good tips. It, however, falls short of practice problems. There should be more at the end of each chapter.
I had not yet started SC strategy guide; but I registered on
mgmat and availed myself of the SC question bank and 6 CAT exams. When I took the question bank, I found myself making ~50% errors. During the thanksgiving holidays, I took another shot at gmatprep (installed from gmatprep1 downloaded from this forum). I found my score raised at 710 (Q49, V39).
Improvement came from combinatorics and number properties. Area of weakness was geometry. (=> reviewed
mgmat math guide again, especially focusing on slopes of parallel and perpendicular line, polygon properties such as parallelogram, rhombus, measure of angle inscribed in an arc, etc.)
Improvement in V had come from increased strength in CR. This was curious as it was not sustained in later attempts.
Buoyed by my excellent performance in gmatprep, I made the mistake of taking
mgmat cat 1 on the same day. I was appalled by the intensely difficult questions that
mgmat Q kept throwing at me. Verbal was equally brutal and I ended up with a miserable score of 590 (Q45, V27). This was hopelessly low and I could not believe it. On the same test day, I had my score dropped by almost 120 points. Nonetheless, I was really motivated by the consistent performance in Q. Scarred by my performance in V, I attacked SC strategy guide. However, time constraints did not enable me to get to the advanced topics covered in SC strategy guide.
After taking
mgmat cat 1, I followed up with one more gmat club math test; to my surprise I finished this test with 5 minutes to spare But the percentile was still not very impressive.
As December arrived, I took
mgmat CAT tests every weekend. CAT 2 and 3 were much better. In CAT 3, my score came within a very striking distance of the 7xx mark. However, V never went above 35.
In the week before my test, I ordered the yellow pad and marker from
mgmat. The remainder exams were taken with the pad and also the AWA not skipped.
For AWA, I used the material and template from this forum. I took a test every other day by simulating exact exam conditions. I followed suggestions from
mgmat forum regarding complete post-test-analysis
My scores had stabilized and the last test I took was
mgmat CAT and scored Q48 and V35.
So, I still had a few tests left to be done. Further, my performance in V actually fell from a peak of 39 down to mid-thirties. This was curious and I haven't found an explanation yet.
My gmat was on wednesday and I took my last test on the sunday. AFter that, I took no more tests to avoid fatigue.
Also, the final few tests I took, I also took timed breaks and ate only one banana per break.
Test-eveMy test was in a different town; so, I stayed in a nearby hotel. That evening, I actually walked over to the test center. It is essential to get all the logistics figured out before hand. This way, the only surprise in the test is the content itself and not the logistics.
I reviewed as much as I could before arriving in the town itself. In order to prevent further fatigue, decided to watch TV rather than studying.
When I reviewed for my test, I went through the
mgmat strategy guide for SC, power score CR (the end-of-chapter summaries) and math guide review sections.
Also reviewed the prepared templates for the AWA.
Test daytest was at 8 am. I took a few bananas with me.
When you go to the test center and are handed the yellow pad, the first thing that should be done is to jot down the time (for Q 5:66, 10:56,...........,35:6 and for V: 5:67,....40:6) and also put the grid down on the last few pages of the yellow pad. Also, if you can avoid it, do not change your yellow pad.
Also, as is suggested elsewhere, raise your hand as soon as the section is over and only when the admin shows up, hit yes for the break.
As I only ate banana during the breaks, I came back relatively fast for my next sections.
My AWA was helped substantially due to the fact that I had already a template ready to go.
From the second question onwards, Q did not give me any respite. But I actually enjoyed taking the test. Although, it has been suggested that one should never try to predict the level of difficulty of a question, it may actually help you and prevent silly errors. Only do not spend undue amount of time on this side guess activity.
For SC and CR, it is easy to get hung up on only 2 of 5 choices; but deciding the correct one is not so easy.
I went through the survey very fast and almost could not see the screen that shows the score. But was happy to get Q49 and V35 and 700!
Key take-away:
-It is very much possible to train for the GMAT.
-practicing in a simulated environment is critical. Also take the AWA. Might also consider investing the money to purchase the yellow workbook from
mgmat.
- analyze each question (right or wrong) in your exams. Spend atleast one day between practice tests reviewing the test and also the review material.
- purchase the books only recommended on this forum.
In the end (at the risk of sounding somewhat controversial), gmat might reflect your preparation rather than your abilities. If I had gone over the advanced SC topics from
mgmat strategy guide and the remainder chapters in powerscore CR, my score could have been even higher.
Thank you for your help folks. I will see many of you on admit-prep sections of this forum and some of you in my b-school.
Best wishes on achieving higher scores.
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30 Dec 2009, 10:33
