Hi everyone, I scored a 760 on the GMAT several months ago and am focusing on my MBA application now. These past few months have given me to time to reflect on lessons learned in the GMAT test process. Although I am no longer studying for the…
Hi everyone,
I scored a 760 on the GMAT several months ago and am focusing on my MBA application now. These past few months have given me to time to reflect on lessons learned in the GMAT test process. Although I am no longer studying for the test, GMAT/MBA resources tend to overlap at times so I have not strayed far.
The first thing I realize I should have taken better advantage of are the great blogs online. These are all free. I had known about them near the end of my studying, but I don't think I ever truly took advantage of all of the GMAT advice.
I posted this on a thread, but moderator Neo said I should repost it because the thread was closed. One of the best resources that I am using now for MBA applications, but that also contains a lot of relevant GMAT information, is Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions. There is ton of good information and actually a lot of prizes are given away as well.
I also really really recommend the blog Manhattan GMAT Blog. At the very least, these blogs will keep you motivated to study when times get harder. There is a ton of information on GMAT strategy on the Manhattan GMAT blog.
Another thing I really wished I had focused on was spending time on understanding the strategy behind certain questions. For example, I now understand how important it is to abbreviate and takes on reading comprehension questions and also how important it is to not focus on every detail in each passage. I realized this when I took the exam, but it is a lesson I should have learnt from the start.
I'm going to follow this post with more lessons learnt.
-Anurag
Some other things I realize now are the following:
The GMAT seems like the most intense test in the world. You will no doubt be absolutely worried the night before the exam, just as I was.
What's really interesting though, is that when I actually took the GMAT exam I thought it looked so similar to the official GMAT test I had practiced 2 days earlier. I thought I saw some of the same questions, except with different answers put in.
That is why I always recommend to people to visit the official GMAT test website http://www.mba.com. This is an absolute must because they give you 2 free GMAT practice exams. These 2 tests helped me unbelievably, because they were so similar to when I finally took the exam.
The reason why I mention the above, is that I always took GMAT questions, but in the back of my mind I always kind of believed that the official exam would be harder. In reality, it's not. If you focus hard on practice GMAT questions then you will do well on the exam.
Another point I wanted to make because I get messaged about this a lot. Many people message me and say something similar to: "I just took the GMAT for the first time and scored a 500. I am worried what should I do?".
What you have to realize is that it doesn't matter how you do the first time you take the GMAT. Almost everyone does poorly because the questions are so different. It takes time and practice to begin to understand the type of questions asked. You should absolutely take the GMAT practice exam before you begin studying, but don't worry about your score. It will improve with practice.
To continue with my last thought, that's one of the reasons why it is difficult to answer people when they ask if they should get a GMAT tutor.
For a lot of test takers, even if they begin with a 500, often if they spend 1 month just practicing GMAT questions and getting an understanding of how the questions are formatted, their score can rise to a 600-650. With a Kaplan or Manhattan GMAT guide and more practice, their scores can rise even higher to where they want to be. The problem I see is that a lot of people first take the exam and if they don't score a 700+, they immediately think they need a tutor. Most people don't do well on their first try of the GMAT because most people don't have a lot of experience with computer adaptive tests.
On the other hand, if you have been practicing the GMAT for months and your score still will not rise, then maybe you should seek outside help, but this is a different situation.
I'm going to continue to follow up with more threads in the next couple of days, but I just want to say I've really appreciate Pagalguy and I've always been happy to respond to anyones messages.
77anurag77 SaysI'm going to continue to follow up with more threads in the next couple of days, but I just want to say I've really appreciate Pagalguy and I've always been happy to respond to anyones messages.
Please respond to my PM.
All the books which you have gone through.
the real test which you talked about is the same as i know-gmat prep thro mba.com!!!
Hi Anurag, Abhishek here. I liked your experience a lot. Very candid and practical. First of all Congratulations on your score. Excellent one and Im sure it will take you places.
I am attempting the GMAT for the 2nd time on Monday. Scored a 650 in the first and hoping to do better in the 2nd. I am quite tense about the exam esp regarding verbal which im not upto the mark yet. Any last minute tips that you can suggest which will come of good use?
Abhishek
Hi everyone,
I scored a 770 on the GMAT several months ago and am focusing on my MBA application now. These past few months have given me to time to reflect on lessons learned in the GMAT test process. Although I am no longer studying for the test, GMAT/MBA resources tend to overlap at times so I have not strayed far.
The first thing I realize I should have taken better advantage of are the great blogs online. These are all free. I had known about them near the end of my studying, but I don't think I ever truly took advantage of all of the GMAT advice.
I posted this on a thread, but moderator Neo said I should repost it because the thread was closed. One of the best resources that I am using now for MBA applications, but that also contains a lot of relevant GMAT information, is Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions. There is ton of good information and actually a lot of prizes are given away as well.
I also really really recommend the blog Manhattan GMAT Blog. At the very least, these blogs will keep you motivated to study when times get harder. There is a ton of information on GMAT strategy on the Manhattan GMAT blog.
Another thing I really wished I had focused on was spending time on understanding the strategy behind certain questions. For example, I now understand how important it is to abbreviate and takes on reading comprehension questions and also how important it is to not focus on every detail in each passage. I realized this when I took the exam, but it is a lesson I should have learnt from the start.
I'm going to follow this post with more lessons learnt.
-Anurag
Shek26,
Thanks for your comments. Monday is close, which is why I am wary of recommending any new strategies; they may end up hurting rather than helping.
Which part are you having the most trouble in for verbal? If it is reading comprehension, then I would probably recommend reviewing reading passages in various GMAT books and just taking notes and abbreviations. Get into the habit of doing this quickly and effectively. This should give you a greater familiarity with what you'll see on the exam, and it won't cause you excess stress as well.
I posted this on a thread, but moderator Neo said I should repost it because the thread was closed.
Ummm.... I told you to open a new thread, reserve the first few posts and post ALL the links in those posts by editing those posts. Hopefully, that is what you are going to do 😃
Anurag. Im having more problems with CR than RC and SC. The simple CR's are OK but some CR's are really difficult to comprehend.
Any strategies to be followed on test day during the exam?
Abhishek
Shek26,
Thanks for your comments. Monday is close, which is why I am wary of recommending any new strategies; they may end up hurting rather than helping.
Which part are you having the most trouble in for verbal? If it is reading comprehension, then I would probably recommend reviewing reading passages in various GMAT books and just taking notes and abbreviations. Get into the habit of doing this quickly and effectively. This should give you a greater familiarity with what you'll see on the exam, and it won't cause you excess stress as well.
Another note to people just beginning to study. As most of you know, the GMAT is a CAT test (computer adaptive.) There is a strategy to understanding the format of these tests.
However, if you are just beginning, what is most important is that you get an understanding of the types of questions. You can complete questions in the Official Guide to the GMAT; you don't need to begin working on CAT tests immediately.
The reason is that there are limited free CAT tests out there, so if you're not going to pay for a prep course, you should save those tests.
Hi
it will be of gr8 help if u can tel me how is the difficulty level of kaplan's free test compared to actual gmat?
I'm having my gmat on 26th aug.
I gave gmat prep1 a couple of days back
qa 51 va 36 oa 690
I gave kaplan today
qa 46 va 36 oa 650
I got 33/37 questions correct in gmat prep n got 51 but in kaplan 34/37 resulted oly in 46. Incorrect answers are also quite far apart.
Gimme some tips in verbal.
I'm inconsistent in all sections. In every test I took one of the three sections screwed me.
Thanks in advance,
Sundar
Hi everyone,
I scored a 760 on the GMAT several months ago and am focusing on my MBA application now. These past few months have given me to time to reflect on lessons learned in the GMAT test process. Although I am no longer studying for the test, GMAT/MBA resources tend to overlap at times so I have not strayed far.
The first thing I realize I should have taken better advantage of are the great blogs online. These are all free. I had known about them near the end of my studying, but I don't think I ever truly took advantage of all of the GMAT advice.
I posted this on a thread, but moderator Neo said I should repost it because the thread was closed. One of the best resources that I am using now for MBA applications, but that also contains a lot of relevant GMAT information, is Stacy Blackman Consulting MBA Admissions. There is ton of good information and actually a lot of prizes are given away as well.
I also really really recommend the blog Manhattan GMAT Blog. At the very least, these blogs will keep you motivated to study when times get harder. There is a ton of information on GMAT strategy on the Manhattan GMAT blog.
Another thing I really wished I had focused on was spending time on understanding the strategy behind certain questions. For example, I now understand how important it is to abbreviate and takes on reading comprehension questions and also how important it is to not focus on every detail in each passage. I realized this when I took the exam, but it is a lesson I should have learnt from the start.
I'm going to follow this post with more lessons learnt.
-Anurag
Hey Anurag even i am applying to Columbia, Cornell and CMU this yr.
Are u done with ur essays? Columbia's second essay on personality is a bit of a japper. Its taking time.
Regards
Prashant
Sundar,
Have you looked into the Manhattan GMAT prep books for verbal questions?
-Anurag
Hi Anurag,
I gave my gmat last week and scored 680 (50/31,4.5)
I'm planning to give gmat this month end once again
I wanna improve on my verbal scores so that I can cross the 720 mark...
any insights will be helpful
Thanks in advance,
Sundar
Which books to follow.iam having
og 11
powerscore cr
manhatton sc
is that enough....
I have 2 gmat prep.. Software which i think i will give when iam about to give real gmat...wass say...
Please respond to my pm i did before anurag ji..
Sundar,
To help improve your verbal, I think you need 2 do two things:
1. Practice strategy: I would say the best way is to use Manhattan GMAT books, which I really liked.
2. Take a lot of practice GMAT questions: Nothing can replace hard it. It can be hard, but continue to read verbal questions and answer questions. OG to the GMAT and other books provide a lot of questions.
Hi Anurag
Congratulations for a top score and best of luck for the applications!
I will be giving my gmat on 13 Oct. To start my preparation, I took the GMAT prep practice test 1 yesterday night and scored a 710 (Q49/V39). I did not write the essays. I believe that this scored is not representative since I did not write the essays. I made 11 mistakes in quant and 10 in verbal.
Since I have only about a month to go when do you think will be the ideal time to buy the manhattan online tests?
Thanks
hi anurag,
I have started with GMAT recently a week so....planning to write GMAT somewhere around Jan.....
Currently I have bought only one book OG 12 edition....decided to finish this one and then move to another...Is this the right way to tackle GMAT.
I would like to know if 3-4 months is sufficient time for preparation..
Regards
Mechanimal