I gave my GMAT yesterday and got an okish score of 690 (Q 48 V 35) I was happy with the scores and will not probably give GMAT anymore … I prepared for this in about 15 days time due to a bet I had with a work colleague. Work was stressful so I…
I gave my GMAT yesterday and got an okish score of 690 (Q 48 V 35) I was happy with the scores and will not probably give GMAT anymore ..
I prepared for this in about 15 days time due to a bet I had with a work colleague. Work was stressful so I could only spare about 3 hours on a week day and 4 5 hours on a weekend.
There are already a lot of posts from puys with amazing scores in high 700s but they have all been dedicated towards preparing it for a long time and prepared well for the challenge.
My reason for posting this is to talk about how I prepared in the short available time.
I did buy the Kaplan Premier 800 and OG 11 and OG Verbal.
I found the Kaplan to be not of much use and did not give the exams on the CD. Kaplan is known to show depressing scores even though you may have done well. The last thing I was looking for was demotivation (if there is such a word).
I stuck to OG 11, it has brilliant explanations for the verbals; and quants are pretty easy to tackle anywayz. I did not give any computer mock exam as I do not have enough patience to sit still for more than 2 hours. But it is good if you can slot in the PrepCD that GMAT sends you in your study as that is a good indicator of your preparation.
By far RC was the most difficult one as I was getting very distracted trying to read the passages off the screen. And you would be already worn out given that verbal is the last section
Now the only slot I could find was at 8 30 in the morning which was bad as I have never given exams so early in the morning since school days. Moreover I was concerned that I would feel sleepy during the exam. And given than I go through about 20 cups of coffee in a day and can go to sleep even after drinking a mug of black coffee was bad news. So 3 days before, I tried something just to be sure I could active in the early hours of the day.
This is serious good advice for people who drink a lot of coffee and need to stay awake. I drank black coffee with 4 teaspoon full of coffee without sugar which to be honest tasted quite good. Then I downed 1 can of Red Bull this made the much needed caffeine absorbtion much quicker. I felt good and alive. So I did the same during the exam day as well and managed to be alert from early morning itself. Dont try this if you dont know what you are doing as you might kill yourself.. seriously.
So I would say buy OG 11 .. if you can do that comfortably, you are ready for the exam.. other books like Kaplan 800 are useful to help you push yourself once you can comfortably hit 700s.
Let me know if you have any queries and I will try to answer them as best as I can
Good Luck to all,
I prepared for this in about 15 days time due to a bet I had with a work colleague. Work was stressful so I could only spare about 3 hours on a week day and 4 5 hours on a weekend.
There are already a lot of posts from puys with amazing scores in high 700s but they have all been dedicated towards preparing it for a long time and prepared well for the challenge.
My reason for posting this is to talk about how I prepared in the short available time.
I did buy the Kaplan Premier 800 and OG 11 and OG Verbal.
I found the Kaplan to be not of much use and did not give the exams on the CD. Kaplan is known to show depressing scores even though you may have done well. The last thing I was looking for was demotivation (if there is such a word).
I stuck to OG 11, it has brilliant explanations for the verbals; and quants are pretty easy to tackle anywayz. I did not give any computer mock exam as I do not have enough patience to sit still for more than 2 hours. But it is good if you can slot in the PrepCD that GMAT sends you in your study as that is a good indicator of your preparation.
By far RC was the most difficult one as I was getting very distracted trying to read the passages off the screen. And you would be already worn out given that verbal is the last section
Now the only slot I could find was at 8 30 in the morning which was bad as I have never given exams so early in the morning since school days. Moreover I was concerned that I would feel sleepy during the exam. And given than I go through about 20 cups of coffee in a day and can go to sleep even after drinking a mug of black coffee was bad news. So 3 days before, I tried something just to be sure I could active in the early hours of the day.
This is serious good advice for people who drink a lot of coffee and need to stay awake. I drank black coffee with 4 teaspoon full of coffee without sugar which to be honest tasted quite good. Then I downed 1 can of Red Bull this made the much needed caffeine absorbtion much quicker. I felt good and alive. So I did the same during the exam day as well and managed to be alert from early morning itself. Dont try this if you dont know what you are doing as you might kill yourself.. seriously.
So I would say buy OG 11 .. if you can do that comfortably, you are ready for the exam.. other books like Kaplan 800 are useful to help you push yourself once you can comfortably hit 700s.
Let me know if you have any queries and I will try to answer them as best as I can
Good Luck to all,
dude u scored very well cnsidering ur 15 days prep.
hw to plan one's prep for 3 months so as to gt a 700+ score
ur advice wud be appreciated....
HI
I also gave my Gmat a couple of days back( 19thMay to be exact) got a 690:-| ( Q-48 and V-36) and 5.5/6 in AWA..although not a very great score considering the fact that i belong to the dreaded group of IT with 2 years exp ( 3 by next year ) , however i feel my exp may help some of fellow puys to crack the GMAT.......... i started my preparations at around March'08 ( so that makes it around 2 months of prep time).
Well i went thru the ususal stuff .... like OG, Kaplan, 1000 SC and stuff like that ....... But there are a few must read things i would really like to suggest to anyone who is preparing for GMAT.....Specially for the Verbal section as this is the most feared section in GMAT.....
1. Do go thru Manhattan's Guide to Sentence correction .... It's a bible for cracking SC.
2. Try getting your hands on some LSAT material for CRs ( LSAT CRs are a bit more tough than GMAT CRs) ... solving them would give you enough confidence to crack the GMAT CRs...
3. Concentrate on RC's .. don't just leave them for the end.... and keep in mind that there will be atleast one RC in the actual GMAT that will be really difficult to comprehend so keep your mind open all the time...the best way to avoid this is to practice as much as you can of sitting for long hours....As Gmat is very much a test of Patience as it is of your skills in problem solving.
If you need any tips for Quants section do post a reply ... else i would suggest any good book for quants is enough ......
Hey John
In case you are intreseted in joining any MBA course in 2009 session... we can discuss out our options......
I gave my GMAT yesterday and got an okish score of 690 (Q 48 V 35) I was happy with the scores and will not probably give GMAT anymore ..
Let me know if you have any queries and I will try to answer them as best as I can
Good Luck to all,
Gr8 BuddY
Please send OG11 and Kaplan on following ID:
bby
HI
I also gave my Gmat a couple of days back( 19thMay to be exact) got a 690:-| ( Q-48 and V-36) and 5.5/6 in AWA..although not a very great score considering the fact that i belong to the dreaded group of IT with 2 years exp ( 3 by next year ) , however i feel my exp may help some of fellow puys to crack the GMAT.......... i started my preparations at around March'08 ( so that makes it around 2 months of prep time).
Well i went thru the ususal stuff .... like OG, Kaplan, 1000 SC and stuff like that ....... But there are a few must read things i would really like to suggest to anyone who is preparing for GMAT.....Specially for the Verbal section as this is the most feared section in GMAT.....
1. Do go thru Manhattan's Guide to Sentence correction .... It's a bible for cracking SC.
2. Try getting your hands on some LSAT material for CRs ( LSAT CRs are a bit more tough than GMAT CRs) ... solving them would give you enough confidence to crack the GMAT CRs...
3. Concentrate on RC's .. don't just leave them for the end.... and keep in mind that there will be atleast one RC in the actual GMAT that will be really difficult to comprehend so keep your mind open all the time...the best way to avoid this is to practice as much as you can of sitting for long hours....As Gmat is very much a test of Patience as it is of your skills in problem solving.
If you need any tips for Quants section do post a reply ... else i would suggest any good book for quants is enough ......
Please give me some tips foe AWS since your score is gr8 !
Do NOT post email ids dude.
Against the rules.
Besides, you must be getting lots of spam in your mail already.So why do u want more?
pawansify.singh SaysPlease give me some tips foe AWS since your score is gr8 !
To be honest I didn't prepare much for the AWA's although i was told that they form a very imp part of your application ( Considering the fact that you can ask for a Tofel or IELTS waivers) So here's what i did :-
1. Read as many newspaper editorials as you can...( this is what everyone tells you rite) .. what i would suggest is don't just read them , make note of any good quotes or lines that you really liked in these editorials....I kept a diary with me all the time i read a newspaper.........also try getting your hands on a few management related articles (specially those that talk abt Team building and working in groups or time management ....etc etc ..... you know the stuff) coz their is a high probability that you will get an Issue analysis related to a one of these tpics...( i got one related to working in teams .. why is so much importance given to it.. why is it necessary ...blah blah...)
These articles will really help.. In case if you don't have a great vocabulary ( Welcome to the coterie... ; )) Dont loose hope .. .. and please don't go with those who suggest to mug up a few 100 gud words before the exam ... trust me it wont work...instead just focus on your whatever vocabulary yuo have ,in case you do not have much time left for the exam....If you do have atleast a month to go then you can picup any gud dictionary and start going thru it .. ..
2. While writing an AWA "Try to make the picture as clear as possible for the reader" Just think that you have to make a 2 year old understand what you have written
(Let's consider a 14 year old here .. a 2 year old would not understand any thing abt team building and time management... he he he).. So be very clear with your sentences .. Try to form medium length crisp sentences...( Your notes from articles and newspapers would really help here.)
3. For Argument analysis .. Well i would say preapring for CR's really helped me in this...
While solving CR questions i used to go through the stem of the question first ( as opposed to what Kaplan suggests) and once i have understood the issue at hand .. only then did i read the actuall question... so this helped me in getting a fair idea about the weakness in the argument as soon as i read it.. (i received an argument related to some health magazine and the author argued that since it's sales increased in a particular city so the people in that city are more aware of their physical fitness... I just murdered the author for this assumption )..
Also i would like to clear the myth that you don' t have to write huge essays in AWA's to get a gud score...I wrote just 5 paragrahs( of around 5-6 lines each) in each of the two AWAs ( Para1 - introdution to argument or issue , Para2 ,3 and 4 - clarifying the picture ( wid real life examples ....it helps ) Para5 - Conclusion or the finishing touch)..
Hope i helped you with your Querry......And All the best for your GMAT
Gr8 BuddY
Please send OG11 and Kaplan on following ID:
bby
Posting of email id or contact details are against forum rules. Kindly refrain from doing so
cheers 😃
Gr8 BuddY
Please send OG11 and Kaplan on following ID:
bby
@pawan
You want me to scan a 1000 page book and email to you :yell:
@anky
Great advice there ..... your score is not that bad (not because i got the same )
I am planning to apply to HBS, Wharton, INSEAD as of now ..... don't plan to apply anywhere else. Have you decided on which school you are targetting
Good One.. But I just want to know whether its a good idea to start with OG11 or save it for the last? Pl advice
pramodx SaysGood One.. But I just want to know whether its a good idea to start with OG11 or save it for the last? Pl advice
That is the only one I did....
You can start with it so that you know how difficult the questions are ..... and lets say you keep getting stuck in work time problems, you can always refer to a 10th std book and do some practise and came back and try solving more...... I belive if you can solve the OG11.. you are good enough to have a go ......
Hi John,
I am Planning to Apply for NUS, HKUST , INSEAD ( in short APAC region).....But having just 2 years of exp.( and that to in IT) has created doubts in my mind whether to apply or not ...coz i have heard that IT constitutes the most dreaded pool of applicants.. and it becomes very difficult for the adcomms to diffrentiate between 2 IT based profiles...and consequently their is a high probability of an IT application getting dinged....
What's your work profile ...........
HI
I also gave my Gmat a couple of days back( 19thMay to be exact) got a 690:-| ( Q-48 and V-36) and 5.5/6 in AWA..although not a very great score considering the fact that i belong to the dreaded group of IT with 2 years exp ( 3 by next year ) , however i feel my exp may help some of fellow puys to crack the GMAT.......... i started my preparations at around March'08 ( so that makes it around 2 months of prep time).
Well i went thru the ususal stuff .... like OG, Kaplan, 1000 SC and stuff like that ....... But there are a few must read things i would really like to suggest to anyone who is preparing for GMAT.....Specially for the Verbal section as this is the most feared section in GMAT.....
1. Do go thru Manhattan's Guide to Sentence correction .... It's a bible for cracking SC.
2. Try getting your hands on some LSAT material for CRs ( LSAT CRs are a bit more tough than GMAT CRs) ... solving them would give you enough confidence to crack the GMAT CRs...
3. Concentrate on RC's .. don't just leave them for the end.... and keep in mind that there will be atleast one RC in the actual GMAT that will be really difficult to comprehend so keep your mind open all the time...the best way to avoid this is to practice as much as you can of sitting for long hours....As Gmat is very much a test of Patience as it is of your skills in problem solving.
If you need any tips for Quants section do post a reply ... else i would suggest any good book for quants is enough ......
Hi,
Require some sort of inspiration...reason being today i gave the Gmat Prep test and fared quite badly. Kindly provide me with some clarification:
1. Where would i find the answers to the Gmat prep test
2. Are the qusetions in the prep test more difficult than the actual exam....since i found them quite tough.
I refrred the OG11 and princeton for prepartion. Have got just two weeks before the D'day. Please provide some valuable advice.
Thks,
yash
hi
I wanted to start preparing for GMAT considering i m an average student , how shud i go about it.Wat all books I shud study from .Let me know for quant as well as verbal .I have 2-2.5 months to prepare . I am thinking of gvg it in aug end or sep .So please let me know
Hi,
Require some sort of inspiration...reason being today i gave the Gmat Prep test and fared quite badly. Kindly provide me with some clarification:
1. Where would i find the answers to the Gmat prep test
2. Are the qusetions in the prep test more difficult than the actual exam....since i found them quite tough.
I refrred the OG11 and princeton for prepartion. Have got just two weeks before the D'day. Please provide some valuable advice.
Thks,
yash
Here's the answer to your querries...
1. Where would i find the answers to the Gmat prep test
Once you are through with the test the GMAT prep will show you the total no. of correct and incorrect answers in your test ...just flag the incorrcet once and choose .. "review falgged" option and then while you are reviewing the question you will find that there is a "Show Answer" boutton at the top .Just click and voila you have the correct answer in front of you.....
2. Are the qusetions in the prep test more difficult than the actual exam....since i found them quite tough.
The question in GMAT Prep tests are more or less similar( and i am talking purely in terms of quality and not content) to the original test .....
But don't worry abt the low scores in these tests.. if you go thru my previous mails .. you wil find that i scored the highest on the D-day when compared to any of the practice tests i gave.....trust me getting a 700+ in these tests wil not assure a 700+ in the actual GMAT nor will getting a low score gurantee a poor score ....These tests are just a check on where you are with your prep...So don't Worry about such scores....Just go out there and Blast the GMat
Hi John,
I am Planning to Apply for NUS, HKUST , INSEAD ( in short APAC region).....But having just 2 years of exp.( and that to in IT) has created doubts in my mind whether to apply or not ...coz i have heard that IT constitutes the most dreaded pool of applicants.. and it becomes very difficult for the adcomms to diffrentiate between 2 IT based profiles...and consequently their is a high probability of an IT application getting dinged....
What's your work profile ...........
Hey anky,
I am currently working for last 2 years as a Business Analyst in Barclays Capital Inv Bank in London. My profile is kind of okish i guess ..... i have a masters in cs and maths from oxford univ and have some good projects and a good summer internship in my past life ..... apart from that I don't have much more to add... will be applying to only INSEAD, HBS, Wharton only ... i am only keen on Wharton and HBS and don't mind waiting if i need to for it .....