Curtains: My GMAT journey ends!

[Crash_test_dummy]

The prelude...

Yup. it`s over! And the final scorecard reads as follows:

Quant: 48 (86 percentile)
Verbal: 42 (96 percentile)
Overall: 730 (97 percentile)


(if you`re looking for a cut-the-crap version, go straight to paragraph 3)

The thinker...

I didn`t put in my score in the title of the thread coz a person with the real zeal to learn from other ppl's experience would focus not on how much someone scored, but on what lessons he/she has to offer (i'm sober today!). I have mixed feelings about my score. i fell short of my aspirational dream score of 750+, but i guess there's a reason why they call it "aspirational" and "dream" score in the first place!! I'm also a little surprised: does a 48 in math imply just an 86 percentile?? i thought it would be closer to 93-94 or something. I tried to think about it in different ways, but couldnt figure out how they arrived at a 730. Anyways, no point trying to untangle the scoring logic now, its over and it`s 730 anyways! I'm not really sure how much do "My experiences with GMAT" threads serve for the audience...i personally havnt benefited much from them. I've started a new thread nevertheless coz i intend to use it as a place to reflect on ALL of my GMAT related experiences, both academic and personal...maybe someone could benefit from reading the various topics on which i have some first hand experience.

Who you?

First, a lil about the conceited me. i`m the typical I-sucked-at-CAT-so-I-turned-to-GMAT candidate. i`d have loved to crack the CAT and get into an IIM, but seriously, i know myself and i know i dont have the sincerity or the committment in me to make it thru CAT (i say "what-the-hell" and grab a beer when i cant solve a CAT problem, i think that really sums up the attitude!). I took the CAT two years ago and i scored an 87 percentile, and subsequently rejected an admit to FORE coz i wasn`t sure if i wanted to do an MBA; i rejected an admit to sydenham last year coz i thot i was better than that. yeah right! Took the CAT again this year and almost fell asleep in the middle of it coz i couldnt even understand most questions in DI...i'd be surprised if my score crossed the single digits in CAT! To be very honest, GMAT was my plan-B. I'm having a pretty crappy time career wise too. Have been working for almost 18 months now and havnt yet figured out what i wanna do with my life, though MBA seems close to taking me to where i think i MIGHT wanna be...hence the GMAT! Education wise, i`m an engineer from mumbai univ...just managed to scrape past and complete my engineering god-knows-how. And Why'm i telling this to y'all? Coz if a "guy-like-me" can score a 730, you can pretty realistically estimate your own scores by assessing how much higher or lower you are in the academic food chain as compared to me!

How long did i prepare?

I cant really say when i actually BEGAN preparing for the GMAT. having attempted the CAT, i already had a feel of how to go about dealig with an exam like this, but that`s about it. although technically, TECHNICALLY, i bought my prep material about 5 months back, in all honesty i must admit that 95% of my actual preparation happened in the last 3 weeks. On the whole, i can safely say i prepared for about 4 weeks (last 3 weeks properly + one week for all the negligibly small sporadic bursts of studies in the last 4 months). Even if it appears as though i studied for several months, the truth is, i couldn`t recall anythikng of what i had studied more than 4 weeks ago. in fact, just to get a feel of how much i had retained from the past, i took a test that i had taken 2 months ago and made the exact same mistakes AND a few more! so 4 weeks it is then!


How did i go about preparing?

I got hold of a sample paper test booklet from IMS. Started off by taking the full length on-paper test, and i scored a 600. I analyzed the results for 2 full days. asked myself questions like: what went wrong? why did it go wrong? was getting it right within my control? was it an "unforced error"? what can i do about getting it right the next time around? what are the categories in which i made errors? which areas am i strong in, which ones am i weak in? I wrote down all my answers to these questoions and flagged off my GMAT prep. took another test after a week or so, and analyzed the results again. asked myself another set of questions: is there a pattern in my errors? did i improve on the mistakes i made the last time? what does the revised set of strengths and weaknesses look like? any repeats? etc etc.
I followed a basic recursive strategy after that. Take a test, analyze results, work on the weak areas, take another test and look at the new results in the light of improvements and deteriorations as compared to the previous test. Carried on and on with this strategy until i started to see an improving trend in my confidence levels and my scores.

Where did i prepare from?

I was very focussed about what i wanted and what i didn`t want. I wanted challenging problems with variety, ones that go beyond the basic concepts. What i didn`t want was the regular american junta stuff...the so called "strategies that can help u crack the GMAT" etc etc. if you go about searching for material, you`ll get lots of it on the net. but not all of it makes the mark. in fact, most of the material around caters to the aam junta of US, those who aim to score 620-670 and have rusty fundas. So finally i decided to study from just four sources and be selective of what to study from those sources.

1. Princeton Review--solved only bin 3 and bin 4. took 3 full tests from the CD. Glanced thru the AWA explanation on the last day. skipped the explanations and lessons.
2. Official guide 10th ed.-- solved CR, PS, RC, and SC. skipped DS.
3. Kaplan 800-- solved SC, DS, PS. skipped RC and CR.
4. Kaplan CD (pirated the CD, did not buy the book)-- took all 4 full length tests and the section-wise tests. skipped the irritating "lessons".
soled a few problems from barron`s but abandoned it soon after.
I did get desparate for material sometime in the middle of my preparation. i found myself running around to get hold of JJs, IMS, Kaplan, Manhattan, Arco, and what not. then i decided not to confuse myself with too much material and stay focussed on what i have at hand. Its really not about the quantity of material you prepare from, it`s about how you utilize whatever you have.
I hardly prepared for verbal...i focussed mainly on quant. i was always pretty confident abt verbal...my maths was always a lil shaky though. verbal was more of instinct than preparation.
i plan to make a more detailed post later about my assessment of the various prep material.

Independence Day...

I was in the dreaded 5-9pm slot. but come to think of it, i liked the timing. if i was gonna take the whole day off anyways, why not take it as late in the day as possible so that i get the mornings to prepare and revise! had i been in the morning 9-1 slot, i`m sure i`d be half asleep during the test...i just cant wake up early in the mornings! I had a good lunch in the afternoon and was all set to take the GMAT when i noticed i was breaking into a yawn. Alarm bells rang when i actually started feeling sleepy around 2pm. 3 hours to go and i`m already sleepy, this cant be good. When i couldn`t control it anymore, i actually decided to take a nap from 2 to 3. it really helped. When i woke up, my room mate offered me a solution to kick the sleep off: VODKA!! At first i was like....NO WAY dude. He then recollected how he`d done the same before his GRE (he`d scored a 2380 out of 2400 in his days btw!) I must have been crazy to do this, but as i soon realized, it works!! Took a strong shot of "white mischief" and heyllow there...i`m as awake as a vampire at midnight!
(i strongly discourage anyone from trying this out themselves on their GMAT day!)

I stay in andheri west and my center was in andheri east. i congratulated myself for the rare punctuality when i got into an auto at 3:10. Aah, more than an hour, plenty of time...i said to myself. an hour and 15 mins later, i was wading thru a traffic jam on foot. Mumbaikars, please beware of the traffic at saki naka. it`s hellish. i got so tired and hassled by the time i reached the center that i had to take a nice long wash before i could get back in spirits.
i`d taken a full length test on the previous evening from 5-9 just for a reality check...kinda like a dress rehersal. and i`d got a 730 in that test. 24 hours later, i pressed the "view score" button and the same score popped up and i was like...eh? am i stuck in a time warp or something?? i had a puzzled confused look on my face when i came out. i was part satisfied, part disappointed, part confused and part stunned! Anyways, doesn`t matter what happened anymore. it`s over and i`m glad it is.

In conclusion...

Finding this forum was probably the most important part of my GMAT experience. Observing ppl`s strategies, their approaches and getting hints and suggestions from some of them, learning from their mistakes and experiences were central to my preparation. thanks to everyone, zombie, psychoD et al. for everything.

i intend to elaborate some more on some of the topics that i havnt written much abt later sometime....will try and document my apping process if possible. do come back for more i`d be glad to help out if anyone needs some help.

Curtains on GMAT-05

[Psychodementia]

Bhai aapne toh subject line se darra hi diya. For a moment mera dil baith gaya thinking that kuch gadbad ho gaya.........

Congrats !! 730 is an awesome score and I don't need to freaking tell that to you

Good to see people posting their experience. You validate the point that a 700+ scores can be achieved with proper prep.

Arun

PS: Academic food chain ? LOL !!

[vivekrishiv]

Arun,

Can you please guide me as how to go through in th run-up to the MH CET considering am on OMH candidate and am aimimg for JBIMS only.

Krish

[uRmad]

Seriously, thats one helluva thread title m8.....Made me go thro' the whole post....One awesome post that...Always a pleasure to read such detailed experiences...Congratulations

@vivek Is it SO tough to decipher what this thread is about and what your query is about

[BuddhaMind]

Congrats!Wonderful initiative Crash. Do write in abt the methods and strategies u adopted for the indiv. sections and the reasons behind em.Also something more abt the app process.
ATB

[Crash_test_dummy]

Thanks everyone! yeah, i agree the title is a lil "hat ke". i didn`t intent to grab air-time thru the title...i just didn`t wanna put a lame "my experiences" title, or a title broadcasting my score to the world.

yeah buddha, i`ll be writing in some more...maybe in my lunch break or after work today. cya then. Thanks again everyone!

[Crash_test_dummy]

"The devil lies in the details" -- Pamela Anderson

Okay maybe not pam, but someone else with big brains definitely said that. And he/she was definitely right. In this post i wanna speak about the tiny-miny details that make a big difference on the test day. These details are so tiny, i often ignored them during preparation, but its these small details that sometimes make big differences. so i`ll rant about those now.

Leave your baggage behind:

It sure runs in our materialistically-deprived blood to carry everything we need with us to the test center. The americans think the opposite. They say, "hey i`m payin' ya 225 bucks, so YOU gimme 'em pencils n stuff" (the accent is for emphasis). So while daddy might make you double check if you`re carring two "sharp" pencils and your "lucky pen" (that you used in your 10th standard board
exams and got first prize n shit) and what not, just remember, the only thing you`re gonna be taking inside is your clothes (so just double check if your wearing clothes and that`ll be all!). they wont let u take in your pens, pencils, sharpeners, water bottles, nothing at all! just your passport. So dont turn up like a boy-scout on a camping trip. travel light.

Pencils, not pens:

Okay, so if you`ve been using a pen to do your scratch work, you wont be getting any at the test center. it`s pencils only. I was so used to doing my stuff with gel-pens that i found it hard to switch to pencils suddenly. Any amount of requesting wont get u a pen, so dont bother. No sharpeners either. I took a last shot by complaining that those stoopid pencils break and get blunt. the admin promptly handed me 15 pencils and said, raise your hand if you need more (who's yo daddy!). Towards the end of my essay section, i asked the supervisor for a rubber before starting quant. He said, "you mean eraser?". i mentally said "NO, A RUBBER JACKASS. There`s a five minute break coming up and dont you see that chick is totally checking me out". i physically said, "oh yes sir, an ERASER of course."

Scratch paper:

I seriously, positively, and whole-heartedly HATE coloured paper. And as if using pencils wasn`t punishment enuff, they gave me this dark pink colored rough paper.now light gray suits might be good camoflauge gear for snipers in a pink background, but it doesn`t really help a gmatter who`s already stressed out looking at a computer screen for 4 hours. And if you`re color blind, just stay home and watch TV. oh and no writing pads either.

Food:

I`ve always wondered, why do people eat during breaks?? i mean, do u feel the urge to eat chocolates after reading the newspaper for an hour? do you feel you need glucose after typing a 4 paragraph email to someone? does your body feel sapped of physical energy and need urgent calorie supplements after you brainstormed at a "status meeting" at work? well then why would you need to eat during the precious blink-and-its-over 5 minute break between sections?? just becoz it`s GMAT...or becoz everyone else does so? Be prepared to make the best possible use of the break; dont waste time stuffing your face unless you`re seriously starved. dont fill your tank either; u`re already sitting in a cold room pressed against time and quant...the last thing you need is a bonus pressure.

ID Cards:

"No passport, No GMAT" -- Sweet sounding chick at prometric, Gurgaon.

Carry your passport, and also an alternative id, driving licence would do. Also
required is the confirmation letter you receive from prometric, or a printout of
the email they send you. i took a printout of the mail, with all the yahoo frills on it: the admin was a lil amused to see a folder called "crap" among my yahoo folders.

Stamina/commuting:

It`d be a good idea to check out the place in advance. i dismissed the idea when someone suggested it to me, and as a result i ended up reaching the center almost late! Spend minimum possible energy on commuting and other activities before the exam coz when you`re writing a 4 hour test, every bit of stamina counts. It`d be pretty bad if you felt tired half way thru the test just coz u decided it was a good idea to dust the appartment in the afternoon or go to the gym in the morning. Try to be as least tired as possible before the test, coz u`re gonna be sapped to the max during the test anyways.

Filling out the forms:

Before writing the test, there is a small form to be filled. it`s not very important, so dont spend so much time on it. Before you start the test, you`re supposed to fill in the list of 5 univs u wanna apply to. if you`re sure abt the univs, go ahead and fill it quick. They`ll tell you that you HAVE TO fill in the univs before the test. There is a provision that if your univ code doesn`t appear in the list or if u screw up in selection (like i did, more on that later!), you can fill it up manually in a paper form after the test. use this facility. You could say you couldn`t locate he univ you wanted or pressed the finish button by mistake etc, and they`ll give u the form at the end of the test

Strech your breaks:

This is funny: after each section, the screen says, "you can take a break now or coninue to next section". if you dont specify within 2 mins whether u wanna take a break, u`re automatically given a break. i waited for 1 min and 55 seconds before clicking on "take the break". that makes it a 7 min break. i`m not sure if you`re allowed to do this though. i did.


Come back on time:

Officially, the time starts on the next section immediately after 5 mins, whether or not you return. but the test admin has the authority to control it. i exceeded my first break by a minute and the admin said, "u`ve exceeded, but i`ve kept it on pause for you. i wont do it the next time". i said thanks and sorry. U might not get such a nice admin.

Watch where you click:

There are some very dangerous buttons on the screen, such as "test quit", "section exit" and "cancel scores". Avoid stray clicks, you might actually hit the target for once!

Noise:

ppl have complained of noisy test takers and disturbances from the admins. i didn`t experience any such thing. the test center has a series of cubicles and there was pin drop silence. you can be a prick if someone`s noisy and complain. they give u an option of two types of ear plugs: one will make u feel like you`re a kamakazi pilot and the other will make u feel like there are earthworms in your ears. i didn`t find either necessary. i did smuggle in some cotton, didn`t need that either.

Allrighty then...that`s it i guess. I dont know if anyone will give a tiny rat`s behind to all this, but as i said earlier, this is a place for me to record every single experience i`ve had at the GMAT. there`s more where this came from!

[ketanm]

wow.. amazing scores.. Crash bhai.. you really crushed the GMAT


Congratulations..

Ketan

[shekhar]

impressive to say the least mr. crash. you fully justify your 42 in verbal. i liked the structure & the smooth flow of your writing. CONGRATS once again on your score. I would be speculating on your AWA score. My take : 5.5
btw, what could be the score like with the combination q:50 , v: 42 ?

working on my writng to put the thoughts as lucidly as crash. thinking of re-taking GMAT when i feel i've done that. aim- q : 51 , v : 43. what score this?

PsychoD is another one helluva of a writer. salute to both of you

looking forward to your posts mr. crash.

ciao
cheers!!

[better4worse]

Congrats buddy !
ROCKING stuff !

Better4worse
(PS :Also .... amazing pseudo/nick name.)