[rishikesh15]

Please read Q50 !!

Hi All,
Today (7-Aug-2009) I took GMAT again and this time scored 710.. this is a huge relief ! Although 710 is not a great score, it's not bad as well ( some of you may agree ).

Mine was a fast track attempt to improve on my earlier score of 660 (Dec 2008 ) -- A few days back, I thought of giving GMAT one more try and on the same day (21st July) booked an appointment... for 7th Aug. I knew 15 days prep time was too agressive, but at the same time it, created Engg exam like pressure... I could fully dedicate 15 days (mostly evenings and 2 weekends ) for study -- believe me it is very difficult to sustain dedication for studies beyond a certain time period... 15 days time was 'just right' for me.

Preparation:
Here is what I studied:

1.Kaplan Premier Program
2.Kaplan High Score CD (practice quiz)
3.Kaplan Online Tests (scores ranged from 610 to 680)
4.Princeton Review (mostly for AWA strategy)
5.GMAT OG (last 100 problems in each category)
Did not give OG-PP tests - as I had given them four times during my earlier preparation... but most questions repeat. There was no point giving them again.
6.Kaplan 800 - great book for last phase of study (for me I solved all problems in this book one day prior to test - Worked well - there are a few problems but content is dense.) I found Kaplan 800 math easier than verbal.

The Test Day:
Could not sleep well all night ( The Data Sufficiency and Critical Reasoning dreams are not at all exiting )
Woke up at 6.30 AM, went to office. After working till 10.00 AM, went to the test center.
Test started at 10.30 AM. AWA was a breeze ... thanks to Princeton AWA Templates. This gave me enough confidence to tackle the main battle.
Took the first break - had a Red Bull and emptied my bladder.
Math was not tough at all. Could finish the questions 2 mins before time.
Second break - Red Bull- empty bladder.
Verbal - I was weak in verbal - still kept pace; one or two occasional guesses were common. I knew my Math performance would bring me up.
Finished the test 1 min before time.
after the boring survey - clicked on reports score - 710 was it :-) , A happy man in the end !

Tips:
1. Give as many online full length tests as you can , this helps increasing your pace.
2. Read the answer explanations carefully - at least for the ones you could not answer right.
3. Kaplan tests are tough and will prepare you to tackle any Math problem in real GMAT.
4. Kaplan 800 is a must read - it is the ultimate book if you are looking for tough problems...only attempt when your scores are above 660 in Kaplan tests.
5. Princeton is good only for AWA strategy...nothing great otherwise.

I may not have added any new point than found in other debriefs..but at least I hope to motivate some of you who are not sure if you can improve your score in a fast paced GMAT attempt!

I am done now-- need a lot of and (for me its milk)
I need to for the Business School Applications from tomorrow!

Please let me know if anyone of you has any specific questions ... hopefully I can add my 2 cents to your GMAT preparation !

[pj02]

Originally Posted by rishikesh15

Please read Q50 !!

Hi All,
Today (7-Aug-2009) I took GMAT again and this time scored 710.. this is a huge relief ! Although 710 is not a great score, it's not bad as well ( some of you may agree ).

Mine was a fast track attempt to improve on my earlier score of 660 (Dec 2008 ) -- A few days back, I thought of giving GMAT one more try and on the same day (21st July) booked an appointment... for 7th Aug. I knew 15 days prep time was too agressive, but at the same time it, created Engg exam like pressure... I could fully dedicate 15 days (mostly evenings and 2 weekends ) for study -- believe me it is very difficult to sustain dedication for studies beyond a certain time period... 15 days time was 'just right' for me.

Preparation:
Here is what I studied:

1.Kaplan Premier Program
2.Kaplan High Score CD (practice quiz)
3.Kaplan Online Tests (scores ranged from 610 to 680)
4.Princeton Review (mostly for AWA strategy)
5.GMAT OG (last 100 problems in each category)
Did not give OG-PP tests - as I had given them four times during my earlier preparation... but most questions repeat. There was no point giving them again.
6.Kaplan 800 - great book for last phase of study (for me I solved all problems in this book one day prior to test - Worked well - there are a few problems but content is dense.) I found Kaplan 800 math easier than verbal.

The Test Day:
Could not sleep well all night ( The Data Sufficiency and Critical Reasoning dreams are not at all exiting )
Woke up at 6.30 AM, went to office. After working till 10.00 AM, went to the test center.
Test started at 10.30 AM. AWA was a breeze ... thanks to Princeton AWA Templates. This gave me enough confidence to tackle the main battle.
Took the first break - had a Red Bull and emptied my bladder.
Math was not tough at all. Could finish the questions 2 mins before time.
Second break - Red Bull- empty bladder.
Verbal - I was weak in verbal - still kept pace; one or two occasional guesses were common. I knew my Math performance would bring me up.
Finished the test 1 min before time.
after the boring survey - clicked on reports score - 710 was it :-) , A happy man in the end !

Tips:
1. Give as many online full length tests as you can , this helps increasing your pace.
2. Read the answer explanations carefully - at least for the ones you could not answer right.
3. Kaplan tests are tough and will prepare you to tackle any Math problem in real GMAT.
4. Kaplan 800 is a must read - it is the ultimate book if you are looking for tough problems...only attempt when your scores are above 660 in Kaplan tests.
5. Princeton is good only for AWA strategy...nothing great otherwise.

I may not have added any new point than found in other debriefs..but at least I hope to motivate some of you who are not sure if you can improve your score in a fast paced GMAT attempt!

I am done now-- need a lot of and (for me its milk)
I need to for the Business School Applications from tomorrow!

Please let me know if anyone of you have any specific questions ... hopefully I can add my 2 cents to your GMAT preparation !

Good Score !!! 710 is descent.
Good Luck !!!

[ponds_ggn]

Awesome!
Kudos to u man !
share your profile too, which all schools r u targeting ?

Thanks in advance !

[aliz_khanz]

Hey....Congrats Man !! Great Score ! !

I want to ask , Does OG11 Quantitative problems help setting the style for real GMAT??

and are the OG questions repeated , obviously with different values ???

thanksz

[aric.parker]

Congrats! man...

What were your Strength and weak areas in Verbal...? My accuracy is 80% in SC and RC, But CR questions eat up most of my time, still i am accurate there with near 80% score... I have just completed OG 11. Time taken is - SC - I do 20 Qus in 30 min ; RC - one RC in 10 min and CR - 10 Qus in 30 min ...

What do you recommend should be my focus area(s). My target is 2011 admissions and would give GMAT in Sept or Oct.. Can you help me draw out a plan? FYI - I spend 2 hours every night on GMAT as my job is very demanding during the day time.

And what topics in Quant MUST one master in order to ensure that he has good foundation and would manage mos of the difficult problems..?

Sincerely,

[rishikesh15]

Originally Posted by ponds_ggn

Awesome!
Kudos to u man !
share your profile too, which all schools r u targeting ?

Thanks in advance !

Profile:
GMAT 710 ( you know it)
9 years exp ( 3 years Mfg, 6 years IT Delivery) , 4 years is USA
Good Acads
Decent EC
Schools : ISB, IIM A-B, SP J (interview shortlisted) , Tuck, MIT Sloan

Best of luck to you - Wish me luck as well..I need it more now !

[rishikesh15]

Originally Posted by aliz_khanz

Hey....Congrats Man !! Great Score ! !

I want to ask , Does OG11 Quantitative problems help setting the style for real GMAT??

and are the OG questions repeated , obviously with different values ???

thanksz

OG Quant and Verbal will give you an idea of the difficulty level and style. The questions are not repeated (with different values etc..) They have a large number of questions in their Q bank, but it does not matter.. all they test is your ability to analyze the problem than solving it. The key is to clearly identify what is asked and what will be efficient way to reach to solution.

For Maths:
1. Many problems can be solved very quickly just be observing the answer choices.
2. Remember - there are not tough questions - they appear tough when looked with traditional approach - the moment you start thingking on line of : will back solving help? / will picking numbers help? / can I just compare the answer choices to eliminate impossible answers? ..these problems become super easy.
3. Keep an eye of time ... I found following the best strategy:
Quant- Make sure you have at least 50 mins remaining at 12th Question, 25 mins remaining at 25th question. This will help you cover all questions in time. Believe me.. if you have just 5 mins for last questions - chances are that you will random guess all of them and it may drastically reduce your score.. don't do it...keep tap on time from begining... you need to guess some ( 1 or 2 ) very tough questions.. remember GMAC does not decide your score on just once question answered wrong -- you will get a same difficulty level question right after you solve the next question correctly... but the good thing is this time the knowledge area will be different - you may be comfortable to solve ratio more than probability... you get a fair chance. Do not worry - guess if required and if you think you have spent more than 2 mins but solution is not in sight.

[rishikesh15]

Originally Posted by aric.parker

Congrats! man...

What were your Strength and weak areas in Verbal...? My accuracy is 80% in SC and RC, But CR questions eat up most of my time, still i am accurate there with near 80% score... I have just completed OG 11. Time taken is - SC - I do 20 Qus in 30 min ; RC - one RC in 10 min and CR - 10 Qus in 30 min ...

What do you recommend should be my focus area(s). My target is 2011 admissions and would give GMAT in Sept or Oct.. Can you help me draw out a plan? FYI - I spend 2 hours every night on GMAT as my job is very demanding during the day time.

And what topics in Quant MUST one master in order to ensure that he has good foundation and would manage mos of the difficult problems..?

Sincerely,

If you are planning for Sept - Oct, you have enough time to prepare.

Start with Kaplan Premier Program book, Princeton Review to get an idea of question types and initial practice.
Once you are in the field for 1-1.5 weeks, start solving Kaplan high score CD / Online videos.
Then give first PP test.. this should give you a fair idea of what will your score be with the preparation you have done so far.
Next start attempting full length tests. You should solve at least 7-8 full length tests to improve on pace.. for me I had to guess 7-8 questions in my first test.. towards the end of my test practice, I used to finish them 5 -10 mins before time.
Work on OG problems ( although you can solve all OG - if you are scoring 650-680 in Kaplan tests - only last 100 problems in each OG section will be worth your grey matter)
Keep the Kaplan 800 for last 2-3 days - this book can be finished in a day ( I did it) or max 2-3 days. This book will help you put in a mood to target the highest score..
go for it !

[pj02]

was this your first attempt?

[rishikesh15]

Originally Posted by pj02

was this your first attempt?

nope...this was my second attempt ..as stated in the original post - I took GMAT first in Dec 2008 ..