[Elrond]

hey CTD,

best goddamn post on actual GMAT experience I have seen till date!!

Hmmm... the stretch break was a good one... I did that too.... In fact, I streatched it a bit further by doing this: click on the chosen answer option of the last question, then click next but do not click confirm. Now use the time to relax or stretch you fingers or whatever else you might want to do for the rest of the time until the section time ends. At this point you can still confirm the answer. After this, when the 2-minute timer starts , just walk off without selecting anything. the system will give you a break by default. viola, you now have an official 7 minute break. disclaimer: Folks, try this at your own peril.

And yes, gray lead on pink paper is a pain for the eyes. I ended up not using even the front face of the first page of the scratch paper booklet. Hope things will be better after 17 more days with tablets and stylus and what not.

Cheers
-S

[Crash_test_dummy]

Thanks once again everyone!

@ shekhar: Thanks for the nice things you had to say abt the writing and stuff, i hope your AWA prediction comes true...will let u know as soon as i receive my official scorecard! Yeah i know, if i had a quant score at par with you guys, i`d have zoomed to around 750...but quant has always been a lil shaky or me. i was slightly disappointed that i couldn`t make a 50 on quant (which is supposed to be the "easy" part for most guys here at PG!) and even more surprised that i got an 86 percentile on quant...broke my heart! i`m an engineer and we`re supposed to be good on quant..damn!

okay seriously dude, you really dont need to take the GMAT again. Unless your new scores are absolutely mind blowing, like 780 and stuff, a 730 is as good as a 720 or a 740. that`s becoz univs look at scores as indicative of which brakcet of ability you fall into. For example, a score of 600-650 would tell them that you`re the slightly below average kinda person in terms of aptitude (it wont make much of a difference to their assessment whether you`re a 620 or 630 WITHIN that group); a 650-700 is the above average group (here, 660=670, but 650 not equal to 690!); 700-750: exceptional (730=740); and 750+: extra super best . So thru a 730, you have already secured a position in their "favourites" folder....now dont mess around with that! it would be disastrous if you scored below your existing score and it wont be worth it unless you score a 760+. so chill...if you want the kicks, pick out a CD from your prep material and take a full test again!


@better4worse: thanks dude, i like your signature...smells like teen spirit happens to be an all time fav of mine.


@Elrond: i completed my essys with 45 seconds to spare; completed my quant with 9 seconds to spare; and completed verbal with 1.5 mins to spare...I couldn`t take the leisure time on the last questions u know!! I did think abt letting the 2 mins expire, but didn`t have the courage to walk away from the screen...what if there were more prompts after that! i`m quite apprehensive about the stylus and stuff too.

okay i seem to have some freee time in office today, might post some time again!

[shekhar]

Originally Posted by Crash_test_dummy

Thanks once again everyone!

@ shekhar: Thanks for the nice things you had to say abt the writing and stuff, i hope your AWA prediction comes true...will let u know as soon as i receive my official scorecard! Yeah i know, if i had a quant score at par with you guys, i`d have zoomed to around 750...but quant has always been a lil shaky or me. i was slightly disappointed that i couldn`t make a 50 on quant (which is supposed to be the "easy" part for most guys here at PG!) and even more surprised that i got an 86 percentile on quant...broke my heart! i`m an engineer and we`re supposed to be good on quant..damn!

okay seriously dude, you really dont need to take the GMAT again. Unless your new scores are absolutely mind blowing, like 780 and stuff, a 730 is as good as a 720 or a 740. that`s becoz univs look at scores as indicative of which brakcet of ability you fall into. For example, a score of 600-650 would tell them that you`re the slightly below average kinda person in terms of aptitude (it wont make much of a difference to their assessment whether you`re a 620 or 630 WITHIN that group); a 650-700 is the above average group (here, 660=670, but 650 not equal to 690!); 700-750: exceptional (730=740); and 750+: extra super best . So thru a 730, you have already secured a position in their "favourites" folder....now dont mess around with that! it would be disastrous if you scored below your existing score and it wont be worth it unless you score a 760+. so chill...if you want the kicks, pick out a CD from your prep material and take a full test again!

hmmm..very right. i'll not take GMAT again. it was just a random thought which now i've chucked away for good.
btw, are you applying for fall-2006? which schools are on your radar? you must be a 2004 engg. passout..right??

[crazyfootballer]

Hey Crashtestdummy

Congratulations!!!

Great posts on this thread. Its not usual prep material written in these posts but your experience which was good.

Keep us informed abt your app process and where you land up.

[Crash_test_dummy]

Originally Posted by crazyfootballer

Hey Crashtestdummy

Congratulations!!!

Great posts on this thread. Its not usual prep material written in these posts but your experience which was good.

Keep us informed abt your app process and where you land up.

thanks for brining back my thread to life...i had almost forgotten about it and now that it`s back, it reminds me that i had to post some more stuff here abt my prep material etc. coming soon!

well the app process is way way way off track coz of several stoopid reasons....(more on that later). i dont know if i can make it to the r2 deadlines, i might be forced to go for fall 2007 in case i dont manage to make it by jan 10th...lets see. it`s a race against time, and i`m doing nights these days to catch up with the essay work. i`ve teamed up with a councellor from IMS to speed up things...i wouldn`t have gone for apping support if i had time at hand...majboori hai! will keep u guys updated on where i`m apping.

[naveenpg]

Man,
First , congrats on that great score.
I really hope you are not a software engineer , They all suck ( including me ) . If you are not a SWE, that might just make ur life easy when applying for schools.

[Sherlock Holmes]

hey gr8 scores Crash!!!

Will u be applying to US B-schools this year itself for batches starting 2006 or wait till 2007

is it possible for guys with 2 years of work-ex to get an admit in top US B-Schools?

I am a computer engineer graduated 2005 and have 4 months of work-ex. When do you think is the right time for me to give GMAT and apply to US univs???

cheers,
SH

[hector2005]

Guys,I'm relatively new to this site.Recently,appeared in GMAT & coudn't do well.I'm including my profile.Can you all please tell me whether I'll get an interview call from ISB or AIM Manila or Great Lakes,Chennai with this profile.

GMAT :610

Work Ex: 4 years as production engineer.

BE % : 73

it'll be a great help if any of you can tell me the probability of getting interview calls with this profile & scores.

[Crash_test_dummy]

A disappointing conclusion to a promising start...i am NOT applying for fall 2006 :whatthat:

it all started off well with a good gmat score, but as i later realized, there are a lot more factors involved in this game that need some more work from my side.

I have analyzed some aspects of my situation...and i`m using the following list as a reflection of my present shortcomings and a "to-do" list over the coming year, in order to strengthen my application for fall 2007 and gain some professional and personal development in the coming year.

1. Build up on work exp:

While a good gmat score does compensate for lower work ex, but i dont know if a 730 can make someone forget that i have just 18 months of work ex.

Action to be taken: there`s really nothing i can do abt this right now...i`ll just let time pass and watch this number increase to 30 months when i apply next!

2. Dont Rush things up:

while it is still possible to put together an application for round 2, i`m not sure if i`ll be doing justice to my app by rushing things up and assembling a hotch-poch package...that`s not the right way to do this. i need to devote a lot more time to the application, and that`s not possible as of now. a primary draft of my essays is almost ready, but there`s a lot of tweeking and refining to be done. dont know if one - two weeks are enuff for that.

Action to be taken: Devote a good amount of time at regular intervals over the next few months....revise, revise, revise...polish it till u can see yr face in it!!

3. Apply Early:

one place i screwed up bigtime this year was starting late on my apping. i shud have started well in time...i havnt started working on the essays of some univs with jan first week deadlines, and ppl have already started receiving admits from these univs! that`s scary.

Action to be taken: apply as early as possible, ages in advance if need be. that would also help maximize my chances of a scholarship if i play my cards right. i MUST complete all apping by october next year. that shouldn`t be tough.

4. Work on recos:

My recommenders weren`t very pleased that i asked them for reccos at such short notice. i should have given them much more time to come up with something nice. one of my recommender is a wharton alumnus...his word can take me places. he`s a lil pissed right now when i told him the deadline is in jan first week.

Action to be taken: repair relations, do some damange control, increase visibility in front of seniors, get your first name on their tongues (thinking of changing my name to something easier...like "Joe" or something!), some ass kissing would help. if things dont seem to be going another with these guys...find another recommendor ("ditch the bitch," as Puff Daddy would say!). Turn up with flowers at previous workplace. By whatever means, make sure a good reco comes thru before august 2006.

5. Get a life:

all i`ve been doing for as long as i can remember is studying for gmat...or researching b schools...or worrying about apping...getting nightmares about rejection...etc etc. i need to do some stuff for personal satisfaction and stuff that`ll ultimately also gimme something to speak abt...i`m considering doing that course in child councelling at TISS, appeals a lot to me. i should extend my "travelling experience" beyond my annual trips to my grandparents' hometown. everyone around me has been telling me how i`m getting "older" and i should do an mba as soon as possible. 25 might be an "old" age to study in india...but 25 IS NOT OLD damnit! i gotta drown the voices around me.

Action to be taken: quit thinking, and start acting! i gotta go enroll in that course, and make myself proud. A little partying might not hurt either. get rid of mrs. sharma, verma, and co.

6. Social work:

this one`s not for the application alone...some sincere hardcore social work is something i`ve been itching to do for a while, but all i`ve ever done on weekends is watch tv, drink beer, and play that stoopid monster truck collission game.

Action to be taken: get my hands dirty...jump right into the thick of action, and go enrich myself with some real life street experience. will not hurt the admission process either.

7. Substantiate my goals:

i`m an engineer by education, i work in operations of a small company, and i wanna be a wall street pro dealing in derivatives and taking positions in world currency and interest rate markets. far shot i must say...my dad doesn`t beleive i can do it, why would the admission guys beleive it! makes me sound like all the kids who wanna be "fighter pilots" at 5, and are cramming up java code for their american masters at 22.

Action to be taken: substantiate my goals thru some good, rigorous course in finance. the CFA adnmissions are now open for level one. go register. will at least keep my idle mind busy AND give some credibility to my finance dreams. will also help me land a juicy internship or something during summers while in MBA.

8. Get some work done:

Although i`ve started some innovative things at my company, most of these things are in the initial stages. there`s lots of small small things i`ve done but no real achievement to speak of.

Action to be taken: setup at least two initiatives at work in the next 6-8 months. get concrete and quantifiable results from what i do. the small size of the company and my dominant profile affords me the chance to innovate at will.

9. Stop living an MBA-centric life:

there`s more to life than an MBA and a GMAT etc etc. my every thought and action these days has an mba inclination to it. i`m starting to look at MBA as a solution to all of life`s problems. i know that`s not gonna happen.

Action to be taken: MBA is just gonna consolidate whatever i know already...it`s not gonna be a magic wand to transform my life and rid me of all troubles and struggles in life. i must focus more on career and life issues than a 21 month stay at some campus.

10. Live a Dream:

i`ve always wanted to try my hand at entrepreneurship...why not now? will i have the balls to take the risk after spending 25 lakhs on an MBA? no. i`ll go for the highest paying corporate job and get old in an executive suit. what`s the right time to give this dream a shot? RIGHT NOW.

Action to be taken: do a feasibility study on entrepreneurial prospects...network a lil, find the right ppl, and if things work out..just do it. ps: dont be rash and unreasonable.

hmm...so much to do. i wonder if this is gonna be the start of something substantial or just another one of my "new year resolution" wishlist. i just thot putting it down on my thread and looking at it once in a while will at least make me feel guilty about not following it...lets see how things work out..will keep posting on this thread. cya.

[nucliomaniac]

great score dude , congratulations .

i dont know if its only me , but you strongly remind me of "the catcher in the rye" by jd salinger.



but great score dude .

best of luck for your applications and stuff

yash