Hello everyone I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 (Q-50/V-44). A big thank you to the PG community for being a great help in my prep. PG rocks:cheerio: Here’s a quick debrief of my prep: *Material used: * *General …
Hello everyone
I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 (Q-50/V-44).
A big thank you to the PG community for being a great help in my prep. PG rocks:cheerio:
Here's a quick debrief of my prep:
Material used:
General material - OGs 12, 11 & 10
Quant - Manhattan Quant strategy Guide/Workbook set
SC - Manhattan SC Guide & Aristotle SC Grail, 1000 SCs (200 questions)
CR - Powerscore CR Bible & some LSAT questions
RC - Manhattan RC Strategy Guide & RC99 for practice
Prep:
I prepared for around 5 weeks. Had got a 640 in my diagnostic test (Kaplan) so was targeting a 700+ score. I was always good in Maths so the quant section wasn't much of a problem. I just needed to get a hang of DS for which the Manhattan strategy guides were sufficient.
Verbal was an entirely different scenario specially SC. I thought I had a good command of the language but then I realised that the GMAT had its own rules for what is right and what isn't. People recommended that I go through Manhattan SC and while it is an excellent book it was little too detailed for my liking since I already had a good command over the language. I was looking for a book that would provide me with more GMAT specific rules when I chanced upon the SC Grail on some forum. It is basically a very concise version of the Manhattan SC book which gives you all the rules in bullet point form. Took me 3 days to complete and made a huge difference to my prep.
CR was not that much of a problem and towards the end of my prep I did a lot of practice questions from LSAT material.
I have always enjoyed reading so I didn't really have a fear of RCs. I just wanted some good GMAT-like passages to practice from and the RC99 served the purpose. I did all the passages in the High difficulty category and around 60% in the medium difficulty category.
Practice Test Scores:
Diag. (Kaplan) - 640
Kaplan free test - 720
MGMAT Test 1 - 690
MGMAT Test 2 - 710
MGMAT Test 3 - 760
MGMAT Test 4 - 740
MGMAT Test 5 - 760
MGMAT Test 6 - 750
Princeton Free test - 710
Knewton Free test - 730
GMATPrep 1 - 770
GMATPrep 2 - 760
Test Experience:
The testing experience was fairly smooth. The AWA section went well and then I was quite happy with quant as well. I was feeling a bit drained towards the end of the verbal section (specially in the RCs) but pulled through somehow and clicked on the 'Report Scores' link. Saw a 760 on the screen, pumped my fists and left.:-P
Once again thanks everyone for your help and I would be happy to answer any queries that anyone has.
Congrats on your awesome score !!!
Could you please tell us about your profile (educational background, which college etc.) and which schools are you targetting / reported to?
I have heard that our work-ex should have some "leadership" involved. May we know about your work ex?
Thanks for sharing your detailed prep strategy! 😁
Congrats for excellent score. :-D
Was googling the internet to kickoff my preparation and came across this amazing forum.
@nami_sharma
Congratulations on such a great score! Not even in my wildest dreams can I think about getting that score, but I'll definitely try getting that 
Here are my questions
Can you please tell me how would you rate the Kaplan tests vis-a-vis the actual GMAT? Can you share more information about the SC Grail and RC99.I'm hearing the name of these books for the first time.
Congrats,once again,buddy!
Hello everyone
I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 (Q-50/V-44).
A big thank you to the PG community for being a great help in my prep. PG rocks:cheerio:
Here's a quick debrief of my prep:
Material used:
General material - OGs 12, 11 & 10
Quant - Manhattan Quant strategy Guide/Workbook set
SC - Manhattan SC Guide & Aristotle SC Grail, 1000 SCs (200 questions)
CR - Powerscore CR Bible & some LSAT questions
RC - Manhattan RC Strategy Guide & RC99 for practice
Prep:
I prepared for around 5 weeks. Had got a 640 in my diagnostic test (Kaplan) so was targeting a 700+ score. I was always good in Maths so the quant section wasn't much of a problem. I just needed to get a hang of DS for which the Manhattan strategy guides were sufficient.
Verbal was an entirely different scenario specially SC. I thought I had a good command of the language but then I realised that the GMAT had its own rules for what is right and what isn't. People recommended that I go through Manhattan SC and while it is an excellent book it was little too detailed for my liking since I already had a good command over the language. I was looking for a book that would provide me with more GMAT specific rules when I chanced upon the SC Grail on some forum. It is basically a very concise version of the Manhattan SC book which gives you all the rules in bullet point form. Took me 3 days to complete and made a huge difference to my prep.
CR was not that much of a problem and towards the end of my prep I did a lot of practice questions from LSAT material.
I have always enjoyed reading so I didn't really have a fear of RCs. I just wanted some good GMAT-like passages to practice from and the RC99 served the purpose. I did all the passages in the High difficulty category and around 60% in the medium difficulty category.
Practice Test Scores:
Diag. (Kaplan) - 640
Kaplan free test - 720
MGMAT Test 1 - 690
MGMAT Test 2 - 710
MGMAT Test 3 - 760
MGMAT Test 4 - 740
MGMAT Test 5 - 760
MGMAT Test 6 - 750
Princeton Free test - 710
Knewton Free test - 730
GMATPrep 1 - 770
GMATPrep 2 - 760
Test Experience:
The testing experience was fairly smooth. The AWA section went well and then I was quite happy with quant as well. I was feeling a bit drained towards the end of the verbal section (specially in the RCs) but pulled through somehow and clicked on the 'Report Scores' link. Saw a 760 on the screen, pumped my fists and left.:-P
Once again thanks everyone for your help and I would be happy to answer any queries that anyone has.
You have soft copies of Aristotle SC Grail, and RC 99?
Thanks everyone:-P
Could you please tell us about your profile (educational background, which college etc.) and which schools are you targetting / reported to?
I have heard that our work-ex should have some "leadership" involved. May we know about your work ex?
B.Com (H) from DU, 3 yrs work ex in advertising. Am lookin at the top 15 in the US. Might apply to R3 of one or two but mainly targeting R1 in Sept for class of 2012-14
Can you please tell me how would you rate the Kaplan tests vis-a-vis the actual GMAT? Can you share more information about the SC Grail and RC99.I'm hearing the name of these books for the first time.
Only took 1 Kaplan test so can't give you a detailed analysis but I found it to be all right. Manhattan ones were fairly difficult but they give u a pretty good idea of how much u r likely to score on the actual test.
I'm not sure what information you require about the two books. Ther are fairly popular so just do a google search and u will get loads about info about them. Personally I really liked the bullet point format that they have used in the SC Grail to give you all the rules that are tested on the GMAT. It is very to-the-point and doesn't beat around the bush and specially doesn't take u on a complicated grammar class.
The good thing about the RC99 was that each passage had not more than 3-4 questions so I could actually apply the skimming strategy. If there are too many questions than its really not possible to just skim the passage. Also now, having taken the test, I think the passages in the book (specially in the medium difficulty level) were a pretty good representation of those that I got on the actual test.
You have soft copies of Aristotle SC Grail, and RC 99?
I do but I have the older editions since I had bought them quite sometime back. You might get the latest ones on scribd or esnips.
Hi nami_sharma,
First of all, Congratulations on your achievement. I sincerly wish that you land up in your dream college.
I am a first timer for GMAT and hence clueless about the preparation. I am decent in terms of solving quantitative problems but very poor in Verbal and AWA. Please guide me on how to develop my Verbal skills and AWA skills. I need very good score bcoz I am a guy with just 2 yrs exp in IT:(
Also, please tell me any good coaching institutes where I can improve my verbal skills and AWA skills. I am planning to write my GMAT exam in June this year
Hi nami_sharma,
First of all, Congratulations on your achievement. I sincerly wish that you land up in your dream college.
I am a first timer for GMAT and hence clueless about the preparation. I am decent in terms of solving quantitative problems but very poor in Verbal and AWA. Please guide me on how to develop my Verbal skills and AWA skills. I need very good score bcoz I am a guy with just 2 yrs exp in IT:(
Also, please tell me any good coaching institutes where I can improve my verbal skills and AWA skills. I am planning to write my GMAT exam in June this year
Thanks:-P
With regards to your query I don't think you should even bother with AWA right now. It doesn't contribute to your score and its very easy to get a 4+ if you follow some basic template. If you are taking the GMAT in June you should start looking at AWA only in May.
About the verbal section, SC is the area where most students face problems. You could start off by going through the basics of SC from a book like the Manhattan SC guide. In case you find Manhattan too dense initially it might be a good idea to first go through the SC Grail and then go back to Manhattan. A lot of students use this aproach and it makes it easier to absorb the content in Manhattan.
For CR go through a book like the Powerscore CR Bible to get an idea of basic argument types and how they will be tested on the GMAT.
For RC you can either go through the Manhattan RC book to get an idea of the basic strategy to follow or you could simply go through some free RC strategies posted on forums such as pagalguy. Eventually it'll all boil down to practice. You can start off with the OGs but a lot of the passages in the OG ask you too many questions whereas the GMAT won't ask you more than 3-4. This can ruin your strategy, specially if you are following the skimming strategy. A very good book to practice RCs from is the RC99. I found the passages to be very GMAT-like and they don't ask you more than 3-4 questions so you can practice 'skimming' on these passages. Since you have a lot of time you should easily be able to finish all 99 passages which should more than prepare you for the RC section.
For all the 3 sections complete the OGs 12, 11 and 10 first. There is a lot of overlap between the OGs 12 & 11 so you can download a table from here which gives you a breakup of unique questions in OGs 12 & 11.
Once you are done with the OGs take some online tests and see how much you are scoring. This could be a good way to start your prep but remember if you are targeting 700+ than the OGs will not be enough since they don't contain enough practice questions.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply.
I have bought the SC Grail and I'm finding it very useful specially the 3rd part. I also have the Manhattan SC Guide with me. Do you think between these 2 books I have SC covered or should I refer to some other book like the Powerscore SC bible?
Thanks for the reply.
I have bought the SC Grail and I'm finding it very useful specially the 3rd part. I also have the Manhattan SC Guide with me. Do you think between these 2 books I have SC covered or should I refer to some other book like the Powerscore SC bible?
I think the 2 books should be more than enough to tell you all that you need to know about GMAT SC. A lot of students make the mistake of collecting 10 different books and then just end up getting confused. I would strongly dissuade you from doing so.
Remember on the GMAT quality is much more important than quantity.
Hi First of congratulations for the fantastic score. I am new to the forums, heard a lot abt it.So finally I am here :D. I have read a lot about RC99 and SC Grail but does not have a copy of the same.I tried scribd and esnips but they dont have a copy. It would be great if you send me your version at [email protected]
Thanks in advance...
Thanks everyone:-P
B.Com (H) from DU, 3 yrs work ex in advertising. Am lookin at the top 15 in the US. Might apply to R3 of one or two but mainly targeting R1 in Sept for class of 2012-14
Only took 1 Kaplan test so can't give you a detailed analysis but I found it to be all right. Manhattan ones were fairly difficult but they give u a pretty good idea of how much u r likely to score on the actual test.
I'm not sure what information you require about the two books. Ther are fairly popular so just do a google search and u will get loads about info about them. Personally I really liked the bullet point format that they have used in the SC Grail to give you all the rules that are tested on the GMAT. It is very to-the-point and doesn't beat around the bush and specially doesn't take u on a complicated grammar class.
The good thing about the RC99 was that each passage had not more than 3-4 questions so I could actually apply the skimming strategy. If there are too many questions than its really not possible to just skim the passage. Also now, having taken the test, I think the passages in the book (specially in the medium difficulty level) were a pretty good representation of those that I got on the actual test.
I do but I have the older editions since I had bought them quite sometime back. You might get the latest ones on scribd or esnips.
hi..can you please share what was your prep for QA & DS
sridhar_dev Sayshi..can you please share what was your prep for QA & DS
I actually never had a problem with PS, it's DS that took some getting used to. I had got all the Manhattan quant guides so completed those. I got a lot of practice questions in the Manhattan full length tests as well.
I wouldn't recommend the OG, specially for PS 'coz it's very easy; DS in the OG is still decent. For quant, Manhattan should be enough if you ask me.
Congratulations on getting such a great score. I don't think now with a 760, you'll face any hurdles getting through most business schools. What do you think is the ideal amount of time one needs to spend to prepare for the GMAT ?
@orchid01
Thanks,mate! I believe that the GMAT score is just one component of your overall application package. The other parts have to be strong enough to be able to get through your target schools.
The ideal amount of time is a little difficult to define. However, in my opinion 3-5 months of consistent studies should be a good amount of time to prepare yourself.
****Hello everyone
I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 (Q-50/V-44).
Congrats nami !!****
Hi,
Before coming to the point I would like to introduce and tell you about my profile because it is very much needed for me to know where I actually stand at this present moment. I am working professional in IT firm (IBM India Pvt. Ltd. as my first job) with having a 1 year of total work exp out of which 2 months of international experience in Portsmouth, UK. I have Cumulative GPA of 6.92/10 (BIT Mesra, Ranchi) or you may say 69.2%age in academics. And moreover I have got 760 score in GMAT. My school (10th and 12th standard) percentages are around 82%.
So the point is,
*How much is the chance for an IT consultant (project work in Energy field 'SSE,UK') to get an admission in LBS with having only 2 years of Work Exp. (Exp would probably go up to 2 years as I will start applying and follow the whole procedure of admission) ?
*And how much is the profile matters as well as International exposure matters ?
**And which matters the most:'MBA related firm or profile like banking,etc' OR 'non-MBA related firm or profile like IT, etc but with having a good international exposure (soon I may get) and a good work record'.
Looking forward for a quick reply,
Thanks,
Saurabh
****Hello everyone
I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 (Q-50/V-44).
Congrats nami !!****
Hi,
Before coming to the point I would like to introduce and tell you about my profile because it is very much needed for me to know where I actually stand at this present moment. I am working professional in IT firm (IBM India Pvt. Ltd. as my first job) with having a 1 year of total work exp out of which 2 months of international experience in Portsmouth, UK. I have Cumulative GPA of 6.92/10 (BIT Mesra, Ranchi) or you may say 69.2%age in academics. And moreover I have got 760 score in GMAT. My school (10th and 12th standard) percentages are around 82%.
So the point is,
*How much is the chance for an IT consultant (project work in Energy field 'SSE,UK') to get an admission in LBS with having only 2 years of Work Exp. (Exp would probably go up to 2 years as I will start applying and follow the whole procedure of admission) ? (LBS is generally a very competitive school to get into and 2 yrs of experience would be a little on the lower side. Not to say that you can't get in but you'll have to really work on your essays.)
*And how much is the profile matters as well as International exposure matters ? (Intl. exposure is a big plus and profile matters as much, if not more, than the GMAT score)
**And which matters the most:'MBA related firm or profile like banking,etc' OR 'non-MBA related firm or profile like IT, etc but with having a good international exposure (soon I may get) and a good work record'. (Sorry couldn't understand what you mean by 'MBA related firm')
Looking forward for a quick reply,
Thanks,
Saurabh
Pls find my thoughts in Red above. And I am no expert
Thanks Nami.....
Apart from these two points : 1. Less Work ex. and 2. Essay writing need to improve, is there any other thing which can hinder my chances of getting a call for interview ? I know you are not an expert but still I think you can help me out :D
And as of now, I have intl. exposure of only two months which I think will not going to help me alot !! :(:(
**MBA related firm mean working in a firm which deals in Sales and marketing concept like ZS associates or firms which deal in finance related products like Deloitte, etc. Now it would be clear to you, isn't it ?
Now again my question is: What matters the most ?
Hey! m plaaning for gmat 2011 july- aug... I also tried for sc grail n rc on net but couldn find it... can ne one share the material? my id :