@arung said:

Took my GMAT and I can heave a sigh of relief now .Achieved a score of 730(Q-50,V-40). Though this is not a great score given the fact that a lot of members here regularly get scores higher than this, but I'm quite satisfied as this is higher than my target scorePrep Strategy : Joined pagalguy after starting my preparation and seriously prepared for 3 months. Studied for a total of 20 hours per week (2 hours per day and 10 hours on the weekend). Had joined a coaching institute in India .They basically did in the class what was given in the books , so it wasn't much of a value addition.I wish I had joined something like CrackVerbal. I have been on an off from the office since October 1st on sick leave for GMAT preparation (cited typhoid as the illness :-D) so that I could focus fully on the GMATThe GMAT dayThe AWAs went fine. The quant part was not very smooth. I was really fumbling and doing silly calculations on paper which I would otherwise do it my head. Told myself that this is a sign of nervousness and took a 30 second break after 15 questions on quant. Just set idle and relaxed. This helped me recover from the anxiety. There were some difficult quant questions related to inequality later ; did guess work on those and moved ahead.The Verbal section was again quite difficult. Didn't find CR tough . It were the RCs which took the hell out of me. The last passage which I got was very long and dense and I was simply unable to figure out anything in the passage. Thought that there's no point in attempting the questions on RC as I haven't understood the passage. Re-read the entire passage again and then quickly did the question. Was left with only 10 minutes and 7 questions to go . Somehow scraped to finish the section. PhewResources usedOG12- Must have general practice book. You simply can't prepare for the GMAT without it.Manhattan SC Guide- Must have for SCSC Grail -The second must have book for SC. If you do both these books, then you don't have to look anywhere elseUltimate One minute Explanations to OG12 SC : I found the explanations in OG12 too confusing and long,but since most experts recommend reading the explanations for they help you understand SC better, so bought this book as it has simple explanations to the SC questions and you'd be able to understand the explanations better. Remember that this book is not a substitute for OG12 explanations but rather compliments it well. I firstly read the explanation to a question from this book and then moved on to OG12 SC explanationsPowerscore CR Bible :This is really the Bible for CR. Look no beyond than this for CR. Make sure that you make your notes while going through it because it's a huge book and it would be difficult to revise it once you're done. Aristotle RC Practice Sets 1 & 2: Helped me improve my reading speed and comprehension ability and the ability to focus on the big picture. The variety of passages helped me adapt myself to the GMAT type passages.Quant : The GMAT Quant is relatively easier than the CAT Quant. While the questions on the CAT are usually difficult or lengthy, those on the GMAT are trickier. A few words of wisdom1. The GMAT RCs are freakin' tough and be prepared to face some tough ones. Not only are the passages difficult but the way the questions are framed also is something which is not easy to understand2. Prepare in a systematic way and don't go mad doing all the resources like 1000SC and 1000CR etc. 3. Read the explanations properly when you practice questions and maintain an error log.4. One thing which really worked for me on CR is that while practicing I remodelled each question I do into a different question. I used to change the scenario of the question and that really helped me think like a test-maker .Probably , that's the reason I could manage CR on the GMAT well 5. For SC, look no beyond Manhattan SC and Aristotle SC. There are notes like Sahil's notes, Spidey's notes , Rajat Nda's notes but I think that most of them are of poor quality. I remember that concept in spidey's notes related in which there was an example on "domestication of camels". I could never understand that concept and felt bad thinking that I am incapable of understanding difficult stuff, but then someone explained to me that it's a badly written sentence and these type of things are not tested on the GMAT6. Since you can't skip the questions, you have to really be very strict with time management otherwise you may end up spending an inordinate amount of time on some question ,which in turn,is going to screw your perfromance.Now since the GMAT is behind me, the next stage of the application process beckons and I'm really excited to jump into that.P.S.- I'm a big fan of PG comics and I think that these comic strips are the best I have ever read since my childhood.

Sir,I am a CAT aspirant+other entrances.I am preparing for MBA since last year and this year will be the last time I would attempt for.I am interested in taking GMAT as I think that after this period, I will be no closer to these topics.Will GMAT score help me in career at any point of time as I have heard that its score card is valid for 5 years?Also What extra I need to prepare apart from CAT syllabus?Thanks In advance!

@hemant02 said:

Hello, I am about to start my prep . Targeting Fall 2014 so have plenty of time to prepare. Arung, congrats on your score. I have some questions and i have sent you a message.

@Neo2000 said: Quick Warning - No sharing of copyright material on the forums. Should the concerned copyright holders wish to puruse legal action against you, PG will fully comply with them. Remember that the GMAC banned people from taking the GMAT for 5years for copyright violation. Kindly help to delete if I have shared anything which is copyright material.

HI Arun,

I wanna take gmat practise exams can you please tell me which ones give us close ones to the real exams.

Thanks,

Vijay.

Hi bros .... I am very much new 2 Pagal guy and created account 15 mins ago ...

Just curious about what is OG11-12 .. Heard this many times already and wanted to know about it ... Seems like the best to start with ....

Any info on it can be very helpful...

Well, i didn't say that i never scored above 700 in mocks.In fact, i hit 730 or more quite often in my mocks.It's just that the anxiety got better of me in the last mock.I didn't post this earlier as i didn't want you to lose hopeas i believe it's what you do G-day is what really matters.
BTW How was your GMAT???

del @ PG
I really feels like the burden has been lifted from my shoulder to read that you scored a 730 on the real thing despite not being able to touch 700 on the mocktests. Thank you very much.

Hi bros .... I am very much new 2 Pagal guy and created account 15 mins ago ...

Just curious about what is OG11-12 .. Heard this many times already and wanted to know about it ... Seems like the best to start with ....

Any info on it can be very helpful...

Dear Friendlyfire

.Do some activity which keeps your inner self happy and relaxed.Do not overboard yourself with studies in this last phase.

@Arun
I am planning to take the GMAT on the 5th May. I am unable to improve my score beyond 700. Any tips would be useful.

gauravdangi Says

You should be fine if you taken the MGMAT CAT only for diagnostic. It doesn't matter much which exam do you take before you start your preparation because the idea is to acquaint you with the question format, test and your competency level

mikeivy Says

I took the diagnostic CAT but it was not GMATPREP as I didn't want to use the tests right at the beginning but seems like taking it as a diagnostic is what most people recommend. I took the free online CAT on MGMAT. Should I take the GMATPREP also ?

arung Says

I think he was referring to GMAT preparation and not the GMATPREP software

gauravdangi Says

You mean the GMATPREP software ?

Hi,

Can anyone direct me to the thread for GMAT prep??

Hey Arung,

You 1st post was extremely information. I am giving the GMAT on 18th April. I have a lot of trouble with SC. I find the Manhattan SC very confusing. Does it get better with revisions?

I am just done with half the Manhattan GMAT book. Would you suggest to use the grail after this or redo the Manhattan?

Would be great if you could send me a copy of the SC grail.

Thanks a lot for your time,
Murthy

chsnmurthy at gmail dot com

1. The official Guides make for good practice materials but they don't contain concepts. For that you will have to refer to other material separately.
2. "institute" ? Are you referring to any indian institute ?I'm not aware of any indian institute which is renowed for its material
3. I would suggest you to firstly get an idea about the profile of the students at ISB. Go through Indian School of Business, Executive Education, Business Research, B-school to research more
4. You get GMAT scores as soon as you finish your exam so no worries about waiting
Hope that would have solved your queries

Hi!

1.Are the official guides available on mba.com good enough.
2.Do you think one needs a complete study material from a one particular institute?
3.My aim is ISB Hyd.Any tips you can give me about the admission process of this particular institute?
4. The interviews for ISB occur in Nov. Will I receive scores by Oct end,if I give GMAT by Sept end?
I'm sure you are getting quite a few queries after such a fabulous score.
Hoping that you take some time out to answer mine too!
Thanks!

Hi arung,

I want to give GMAT a shot this year. Had few doubts. If you can gimme ur contact number I'll like 2 speak 2 u

Thnx
Kanikka

Vibhu0305 Says

I heard that the pattern of GMAT is going to change, probably by June, so does anyone know if it is a good idea to give it in the old format or with the new format.