gmat 610. sharing some thoughts.

[andy_pd]

Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
reason being i did put in a lot of effort but messed it all up on d day.
Biggest piece of advise i can give is DONT PANIC during the exm.

Heres my story.

Was average in Math . used to get scaled scores of around 40 in mock tests.Got 45 on actual test.

Was good in verbal . used to get more than 40 (and always more than quant) in mock tests. Got 29 on actual test and feel miserable about it.

Awa score is 5.5.

Have 4 years of solid work exp in I.T.
Will get good recommndation letters too.
Gpa is low. Between 2.5 and 3.
Need a good gmat score to overcome gpa.

I know my verbal score does not reflect my true potential so i plan to give the gmat 1 more time.

But before that i want to share my exp and get some thoughts in return.

1) I was working full time . Took 2 month leave. 1 month paid and 1 month unpaid.

--I realise i put too much pressure on myself . Would advise ppl not to take more than 15 days leave before the exam. Especially if you are working. As far as possible keep your gmat plans to yourself.

2) Took a date and started preparing. i think this is a wrong approach.

--Don't rush . Start preparing slowly. Once you become comfortable with all question types and feel ready to put in a slog for the last mile take a date.
take a date 30-45 days in the future and get 10 - 15 days leave before the exam.

3) Eat OG (all three books ) and Kaplan (premier edition).

--i did this. Was good in PS, DS , CR , RC . Used to get around 85-90% correct in practice material.But missed out on 1 crucial factor. Manhattan SC. Do go through it for better understanding of SC.

I never got the hang of SC . used to get 70-75 % correct purely on gut feel. I felt i could manage gmat with this since only SC was weak . Completely wrong.

You have to learn all the common error types by heart.
Have a strategy to test all common error types against the qs.
Initially you will take a lot of time but I blv you can internalise this process only through practice and still solve a qs quickly.

4) Used to get stuck in math.

--More often than not your ego gets in between. Being an engineer you cant fathom how you cant solve such easy looking questions. Advice is to learn tips from Kaplan . try to solve a question within 2 mins. if not get the options down to 2 and guess. move on. dont fret. there will be many easy questions down the lane which you can definitely solve. I practised a lot for this . luckily i did not get stuck on the d day.

5) i never got stuck in verbal. but my d day exp was horrible.

-- Wrote 2 excellant essays. math was a breeze, din get stuck. verbal was my strong point. was feeling happy.

Here is what happened.

Got 3 extremely tough sc qs in a line. couldnt understnd whether the qs were right or wrong and all options looked right. Gut feel . Use it only after you have gone thru a process for sc . Not as your first mode of attack.
took a lot of time. finally guessed in each. 4th was a easy CR . 5th was a very tough CR. fumbled on it. 6th was an awful , tough RC . got thru it barely.

Questions attempted 9 . Time lost 25 mins. sure of only 3-5 qs.
Panicked big time . couldnt think straight for any question after that.
Dont make this mistake .

--Learn to manage your time. And dont let previous qs affect you. easier said than done i know. I realise that even if i had guessed thru remaining SC and just concentrated on CR and RC which were my strong points i could have scored more.

6) Dont work yourself up 1-2 days before the exm. you will burn yourself up. relax. go thru what you know. dont touch anything new.


Do let me know what you think about this. Any tips for SC will also help. i plan to do Manhattan and 1000 SC. will take a date after i am sure about my comfort level. hopefully will give it in dec before its too late for 2008 deadlines.

now i have to get back to work and clear this pile of backlog which has accumulated over last 2 months.

so thats it. do well on you exms . may the force be with you.

[Kiran_Mannava]

Thanks for putting your experience.
A failure story also gives better way to success.


I doesn't mean to say that you have failed.

I am also planning to take the test in December '07.

[pinkii]

My GMAT is on Friday
How many Qs did you find similar to OG in ur GMAT?
plzzzzzz reply

Originally Posted by andy_pd

Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
may the force be with you.

[andy_pd]

Questions in actual gmat are very similar ( but are not the same or repeated ) to the ones in OG. But the difficulty level of verbal in the actual test was more difficult than what i saw in OG.

I think if you have done OG + Kaplan thoroughly and practised enough material, you should be fine.

All the best pinkii.

[amit9921]

i m plannin to gmat sometime in march... nd i was abt to do all the dont's u mentioned (like takin a months vacation .. takin a date fist nd den start preparing..)..

ur post has definitely made me rethink abt it..

thnks d post was really helpful..

regards,
amit

[pinkii]

Scored 640 in GMAT
QA49
VA 29
Wt to do

Originally Posted by amit9921

i m plannin to gmat sometime in march... nd i was abt to do all the dont's u mentioned (like takin a months vacation .. takin a date fist nd den start preparing..)..

ur post has definitely made me rethink abt it..

thnks d post was really helpful..

regards,
amit

[desury]

Hi,

I just gave my gmat, got a miserable score of 650:
V 32
Q 48.

My profile is:

Work Exp : Will complete 4 yrs in IT (3 years as Tester, Test Designer in Infy) and 1 Yr as Business Analyst.
Acads: 2.5 -3 gpa,
extra curriculars: few business plans and start ups proposed.

I would be grateful if you can evaluate my profile and let me know of my chances in US B Schools.

Thanks and Regards,

Deepak.

[ashwinkgopal]

A word of caution Amit,
Different things work out for different people. For some, the very idea of an approaching GMAT can fire them to prepare in full swing. In such a case, I suggest you take a date and then you'll definitely get into the mood. If you do not like this idea, prepare fully and take GMAT ASAP coz after sometime, you'll grow bored n sick of it...
All the best.
Ashwin

[sharmilaca]

Hi,
I am giving my GMAT on the 30th Nov and want to give some mock tests before the
exam, can you pls let me know where can ii give mock test (not necessarily free)

Regards
Sharmila

Originally Posted by andy_pd

Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
reason being i did put in a lot of effort but messed it all up on d day.
Biggest piece of advise i can give is DONT PANIC during the exm.

Heres my story.

Was average in Math . used to get scaled scores of around 40 in mock tests.Got 45 on actual test.

Was good in verbal . used to get more than 40 (and always more than quant) in mock tests. Got 29 on actual test and feel miserable about it.

Awa score is 5.5.

Have 4 years of solid work exp in I.T.
Will get good recommndation letters too.
Gpa is low. Between 2.5 and 3.
Need a good gmat score to overcome gpa.

I know my verbal score does not reflect my true potential so i plan to give the gmat 1 more time.

But before that i want to share my exp and get some thoughts in return.

1) I was working full time . Took 2 month leave. 1 month paid and 1 month unpaid.

--I realise i put too much pressure on myself . Would advise ppl not to take more than 15 days leave before the exam. Especially if you are working. As far as possible keep your gmat plans to yourself.

2) Took a date and started preparing. i think this is a wrong approach.

--Don't rush . Start preparing slowly. Once you become comfortable with all question types and feel ready to put in a slog for the last mile take a date.
take a date 30-45 days in the future and get 10 - 15 days leave before the exam.

3) Eat OG (all three books ) and Kaplan (premier edition).

--i did this. Was good in PS, DS , CR , RC . Used to get around 85-90% correct in practice material.But missed out on 1 crucial factor. Manhattan SC. Do go through it for better understanding of SC.

I never got the hang of SC . used to get 70-75 % correct purely on gut feel. I felt i could manage gmat with this since only SC was weak . Completely wrong.

You have to learn all the common error types by heart.
Have a strategy to test all common error types against the qs.
Initially you will take a lot of time but I blv you can internalise this process only through practice and still solve a qs quickly.

4) Used to get stuck in math.

--More often than not your ego gets in between. Being an engineer you cant fathom how you cant solve such easy looking questions. Advice is to learn tips from Kaplan . try to solve a question within 2 mins. if not get the options down to 2 and guess. move on. dont fret. there will be many easy questions down the lane which you can definitely solve. I practised a lot for this . luckily i did not get stuck on the d day.

5) i never got stuck in verbal. but my d day exp was horrible.

-- Wrote 2 excellant essays. math was a breeze, din get stuck. verbal was my strong point. was feeling happy.

Here is what happened.

Got 3 extremely tough sc qs in a line. couldnt understnd whether the qs were right or wrong and all options looked right. Gut feel . Use it only after you have gone thru a process for sc . Not as your first mode of attack.
took a lot of time. finally guessed in each. 4th was a easy CR . 5th was a very tough CR. fumbled on it. 6th was an awful , tough RC . got thru it barely.

Questions attempted 9 . Time lost 25 mins. sure of only 3-5 qs.
Panicked big time . couldnt think straight for any question after that.
Dont make this mistake .

--Learn to manage your time. And dont let previous qs affect you. easier said than done i know. I realise that even if i had guessed thru remaining SC and just concentrated on CR and RC which were my strong points i could have scored more.

6) Dont work yourself up 1-2 days before the exm. you will burn yourself up. relax. go thru what you know. dont touch anything new.


Do let me know what you think about this. Any tips for SC will also help. i plan to do Manhattan and 1000 SC. will take a date after i am sure about my comfort level. hopefully will give it in dec before its too late for 2008 deadlines.

now i have to get back to work and clear this pile of backlog which has accumulated over last 2 months.

so thats it. do well on you exms . may the force be with you.

[ashwinkgopal]

Hi Sharmila,
The mock tests usually come free of cost, and I personally feel that they're more than enough. The ones I took are:
Princeton Review (online and book)- in all about 3 in number
Kaplan (CD,book and online)- in all about 7 tests
GMATPrep software- 2 tests
Old Powerprep (though of no practical use, can act as a morale booster!!) they're 2 in number.

Please always do a thorough analysis of the mock tests....Spend atleast 2 hours reviewing the questions -both the worng ones and the correct ones!! I cannot possibly over-emphasize this point!! You may get lower scores in the begining, but don't get demoralised.....Learn from your mistakes.
This is the most appropriate time to start taking your mock tests. Take them all in one sitting. This would help u build your stamina.
Please also check out a success story: 770 (V:44 Q:50) AWA:5
You can PM me if you want more last minute tips and strategies on GMAT. I took mine only last month.

All the best!!

Ashwin