My tryst with GMAT- 730 ( V-38, Q-50 )

MBA
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And finally, I get to open a thread in PG :: Anyways, coming to the point, I had taken up the GMAT on the 29th of this month and had scored a 730. Though,its not a god level score, I am still content with it. I would like to share my exp…

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And finally, I get to open a thread in PG


Anyways, coming to the point, I had taken up the GMAT on the 29th of this month and had scored a 730. Though,its not a god level score, I am still content with it. I would like to share my experience leading to 'G' day..


Well, to start with, my profile-

X- 80.6%
XII - 75.4%
BE - 82.9% (SRMVEC,Chennai)
Work ex- 25 months as of date in a product development company in Bangalore.( Yes, Yes.. M part of the prestigious IIM fraternity too )


3 CAT screw ups, some B school interview calls that I could not convert and an inability to make a transition to a consulting/research based job is what made me take the GMAT plunge.. Arun(PychoD) happened to convene a GMAT coffee session in mid April.. That was the time when I did not have a clue as to what the GMAT was all about.. Once I came home after the meet, I had pretty much made up my mind that I would be taking up the test sometime in June/July..

As with most people taking up CAT, I also wondered about all the fuss made wrt GMAT's toughness in general and the verbal section in particular.. I thought I was a 700+ material and used to have an impression that even if I were to be woken up in the middle of my sleep, I would still manage a score in excess of 700.. Well, it did not take much time for me to disown this belief..

In the first week of May, I took the GMAT Test Prep 1.

I fell flat on my face by scoring a 620(Q-49, V-26). I was shocked. It brought me back to ground zero. After analysing the test, I found that I was not able to complete the Verbal section and that I made many silly mistakes in the Quant section.. I figured out that I had to work hard on the verbal front while at the same time consolidate on the Quant front... The idea was to touch a figure of 750/760 to offset the disadvantage of being an IIM.. I booked the GMAT appointment.. 29th July, it was..


I went on a book buying spree in the first week of May.. OG-11, Kaplan Premier,Kaplan 800, Kaplan Verbal workbook.. Downloaded soft copies of 1000 SC/RC/CR, Spidey's notes , Rajat NDA's notes and what not.. That I used every single material of these would be a BIG BIG LIE... Anyways, I started with OG-11 in the month of May.. Took my own sweet time and completed it by the end of MAY.. Found that my accuracy in Quant was 85%+ and in Verbal 70%+.. I decided to take up GMAT Test Prep 1 again.. This time I scored a 690 ( Q-50, V-34)..

the test obviously had some repeat questions and I did'nt read too much into the score.. After this, I completed the Kaplan Premier book.. I found that my accuracy in Verbal still hung in the mid 70s..

A timely bonus at my workplace in the month of June made me decide to extend my relationship with Arun.. I joined CrackVerbal in the first week of June.. In the month that followed, things became very hectic at my workplace.. I tried to solve questions from the 1000 series whenever I got time in office.. I went to office on a couple of weekends and took the complete printout of OG10.. In fact, we got a mail from the management warning the employees not to use the printers in a irresponsible manner.. Fortunately they did not (or did they ?) track down the black sheep.. I tried to squeeze out time and spent 2 hrs a day solving OG10..

I took up PowerPrep 1 in the middle of June and scored a 690 ( V-34,Q-49)..

I found that many of the questions were from OG10/OG11.. And I was frustated that with just 40 days left, I was still not able to hit a 700.. I spoke to Arun and vented out my frustation about my inability to do so.. He asked me to just concentrate on the preparation and not the score.. However, I was desperate to hit a 700.. Atleast once .. to get my confidence going.. I continued solving OG10.. I spoke to TFA(Pavan) in the last week of June.. I had heard about the manhattan test series.. After he gave his personal opinion, I decided not to take any more PowerPreps since it would not be a correct indicator having many repeats from OG10/OG11.. Having gotten through IIMK, he helped me out with his MGMAT account.. Till July 18th, I had taken up 4 MGMATs..

MGMAT1-690 (V-34,Q-49)
MGMAT2-710 (V-37,Q-49)
MGMAT3-750 (V-41,Q-51 ... This was a BIG confidence booster.. For the first time, I felt I had it in me to score a 740+)
MGMAT4-710 (V-39,Q-48 )

I found the Manhattan series to be awesome.. Their Quant was tougher than the actual GMAT and the verbal part was close to the actual test.. I enjoyed every MGMAT test that I had taken up.. I used to analyse every test properly and made sure that I did not make the same mistakes again in the next test.. By mid July, I had completed OG10 and was confident that I would hit around 710-720.. But it was still 30/40 less than the score that I aimed for.. I read in many a threads that Kaplan 800 was the stimulant needed to take one from a 700ish score to a 750+.. I took up kaplan 800 and finished it in a week's time.. I revised all the questions that I had marked in OG10/OG11 while solving those questions the first time around.... I also brushed up the concepts which I learnt from the MGMAT tests.. On the 25th of July, i took up the last mock- GMAT Test Prep 2 with the aim of touching a 740/750 score .. At the end of it, I was in for a BIG shock..

I had scored a 680(Q-49,V-33) ..

I was devastated.. I started doubting my capabilities.. That night, I treated myself to :drinking:

On the 27th, Abhishek (the_hate) took up the GMAT and scored a 750.. I was so happy for him.. He reassured me and asked me to keep my cool and just relax.. After that, I decided not to think about my probabale score.. Thought i d just give my best shot and accept whatever score comes up.. Had given my cent % on the prep front..And that is what mattered in the end..


Continued...

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Continued..




'G' day experience-

While booking the GMAT appointment, I had no other option but to select the much dreaded afternoon slot..The time frame was one when my conscious gave way to the subconscious.. I had taken up all the mocks in the afternoon slot just to be in the correct mind frame.. I had practised AWAs while taking up the MGMATs and I did not have much problems on the day either.. I went on to the quant section, and after solving the first 2-3 questions, I grew in confidence.. I solved the first 10 questions in 12-13 minutes and completed the entire section with 9 minutes to spare.. I had guessed only 1 question which figured somewhere between q20-q30.. At the end of it,I was totally confident or overconfident I should say.. I started thinking that there is nothing in the world that would stop me from getting to a dream score of 750.. I went back to the room after just 4 min into the break as I did not want to let go the momentum..
As soon as I started the verbal section, I found it very tough to concentrate.. My mind was just thinking on the final figure (whether I d reach 740/740) rather than concentrating on the exam.. I tried to bring my mind back to the exam but found it very tough.. I took a lot of time to solve the first 10-15 questions.. With 35 minutes remaining, I had 21 questions to solve.. I was pissed with myself for being so complacent.. A trait which led to my downfall in the last two CATs.. I somehow brought my mind on track and started solving the remaining questions seriously.. I was fortunate to see a couple of questions which I had solved in one of the OGs.. I did not spend more than 20s on those questions.. With 10s to spare, I completed the section..

I filled out the questionaire and clicked on the "Submit Score" button.. I closed my eyes and prayed that I get anything above 720.. When I saw a 730, I heaved a sigh of relief.. It could have been much better.. It could have been much worse.. I have but myself to blame for not getting to a 750.. But then its OK.. I am quite content with it....


When I started my preps for GMAT, I thought I d score high so that I have a good backup option in place should I manage to screw up CAT for the 4th straight time.. I have to start my preparations for CAT again but will be applying to ISB,NUS and Nanyang at the same time..


Have a few ppl to thank-

Arun(PyschoD)- He was the first person to educate me about the GMAT... He has been a constant throughout my preparation.. His encouragement,motivation and tips helped me a lot in my preps.

Tarun and Ashish- My offline study partners.. We had a solid study group sort of a thing.. We used to share questions, strategies,etc and motivated each other to increase our performance levels.. Can't thank you enough guys..

TFA- Bhai, thanks a lot for your tips and the MGMAT thing.. Can't explain how helpful it was in my preps..

Abhishek(the_hate)- Needless to say, if not for his encouragement, I would have been brooding over my mock scores and would not have reached even a 700.Thanks buddy..

CrackVerbal- The faculty,the content,the discussions and the peer group that I got there was more than helpful..

Some general pointers that I d like to give-

1) My score in verbal is not high but of what I have practiced, I feel there is no substitute for OG.. Completing OG10 and OG12 properly and solving Kaplan 800 should ideally help a person in getting to a 40+ score

3) I strongly recommend the Manhattan test series. Although it costs around 40$, you will have your every penny worth..The tough quant section prepares you well for the main test..

4) Don't be hell bent on taking 10-12 mocks.. IMHO, space out your mocks in such a way that you don't drain yourself out.. Even if you decide to take 7-8 mocks, ensure that you learn from every mock and see an improvement in every exam. At least I tried to do the same wrt my preps..

5) Talk to people who have taken up the GMAT recently..Read debriefs in forums.. I have found them to be very helpful.. I spoke to 3-4 people who had taken up the GMAT within the last one month. I tweaked my prep plans at times based on their experience.

6) Don't take your mock scores to your heart.. Instead learn from every mock.. In my case, I scored 50 more than what I did in the last mock-GMAT TestPrep2

and

7) Take these pointers of mine with a pinch of salt.. There are gurus who score a 750+ with minimal efforts.. with ease.... They d wonder whats the big deal in a 730 score.. In my case, I had to work hard for this score.. I just wanted to share the experience of an average guy who got to a decent score..


Cheers!!
Sriram


Edited- Got my AWA score.. Have scored a 6.0

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Hearty congratulations Sriram.
And thanks a ton for a very detailed debriefing !

All the very best with AdComs and Applications.

-Vikram

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Hi,
Congrats for nailing it buddy!
Whats your profile?

cheers !

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Whats your profile?


My profile:



X- 80.6%
XII - 75.4%
BE - 82.9% (SRMVEC,Chennai)
Work ex- 25 months as of date in a product development company in Bangalore.

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Congrats buddy! Best of luck for apping season and future..
You had put in a lot of hardwork and deserved it...
Don't worry...It's a great score...when we meet next time :drinking:

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rsriram84 Says
My profile:

Congrats SriRam , your story is interesting and an inspiration for average guys like me..who have to score high by sheer practice!!
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Congrats Sriram

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congrats sriram.
an excellent synopsis of your experience.

All the Best.

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:clap:
dude sriram u are :D

amaziiiin dude.. congrats:)

:cheerio:

vivek karat (CV)
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:clap:
dude sriram u are :D

amaziiiin dude.. congrats:)

:cheerio:

vivek karat (CV)


hey Congrats Sriram !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope u remember me ......... aditya sandu ( Crackverbal student along with u )
I am happy for u dude . I am taking the test on Aug 27th
how are Ashish and Tarun ? how much did Ashish score ??
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hi buddy,

this happens to be my first post, first of all congrats for a good score like in ur thread u mentioned u dint know anything about GMAT in may... same is the story here bro, im working with ge capital, have 3+ years of very good credit experience with the company, but wat i lack is a good academic score in my X and XII i have around 55% and a 65% in graduation. In cat last year i scored somewhere around 80pc(doesnot sound good but i was happy since i did it amidst the year end fire and without absolutely without any prepration) but wat i do have is passion passion to achieve.

Can you or anybody reading this post guide me how should i go about it?
Primairly i need to know 2 things

1. With the low academic score do i stand a chance to get into the good colleges.

2. If yes, what is the first step i should take towards the prepration for gmat(books/notes etc)

Thanks in advance for your help :-)

Regards

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1. With the low academic score do i stand a chance to get into the good colleges.
2. If yes, what is the first step i should take towards the prepration for gmat(books/notes etc)


To answer your queries:

1) Though academics form an important part of the profile, I think quality work experience should be able to offset it to an extent.. But then again, this is purely my opinion.. Please post this query
HERE People will be able to guide you in a better manner..

2) IMHO, download the GMAT Test prep software and take up a practice test to get a hang of your strengths and weaknesses.. Once you figure this out, you will be in a better position to come up with a good preparation strategy.. As far as books are concerned, swear by the OGs.. OG12 is the latest edition which is available in market.. Get your hands on this book and get started.. OG10 is another wonderful resource.. Apart from the OGs, Manhattan SC is pretty useful for Sentence correction .. Hope this helps..
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Congrats Sirjee...

730... i feel its good score.