Beat The GMAT a GMAT & MBA community

Hi everybody...
Finally, I beat the GMAT last wednesday(23/05/2012).
Yes!!Finally, I beat it in my 3rd attempt..
GMAT score : 740 (Q:48, V:44)
97th Percentile

About Me :
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Indian Male
Currently in Chennai.

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank every member of the beatthegmat.com community.
I have gained a whole lot of gyan and drawn huge inspirations from here..
Althouh I have not been an active participant in the forums,I have always fallen back on beatthegmat to clear my doubts..
So, without u ppl, my endeavor in cracking the 700 mark would not have been possible.
Thank you very much!!!!

Now, this is my experience in the past 2 years...trying to beat the GMAT, I have undergone a lot during the process...

Attempt 1:
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I attempted GMAT for the 1st time on 27th Nov 2010.Knowing nothing about the nuances of the exam,I assumed the exam to a piece of cake..
As an obvious consequence,the scores were abysmal..ended up with a mean 530..(forgot the split)...
The failure actually made me realise what the exam was all about...Being a non-native English speaker, I was very weak in the verbal section..
However, feeling tired of lifting the books again, I dumped them in the shelves and completely forgot about GMAT,for atleast 6 months.
One fine day, looking at a friend who was leaving for his MS tickled my GMAT quest...
Pulling myself together, I decided to appear again..

Attempt 2:
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After that terrible performance in my 1st attempt,I put a lot of hard work for my 2nd attmept..What made the preparation more difficult was the 6-month gap.

I felt like starting from the Kindergarten..Anyhow,I managed to spare 4 hrs everyday and on weekends, I used to sit for atleast 6 hrs..
Hard work was reflecting in the mocks..Starting with a 700 in the GMATPrep1,I was wavering above 650 in Manhattan online mocks..Again I scored a 700 in the GMATPrep2;my confidence was at an all time high..
Then came the D-Day..6th Sep 2011..
Pressure..Pressure and pressure..When I reached the verbal section, I was blanked out..
Although my score improved a 100 points,I was still dumped well below that 700 mark..
Scored a 620(Q:44, V:32)..
After all that hard work and preparaton,Seeing that 620 was really humiliating..Didn't know where to hide my face..Couldn't talk to even my friends..Told the

score to my family and switched off the mobile..Walked down the street for some time..
This time, I didn't get that positive spirit which came to me when I failed in my 1st attempt...
All I could see was a depressed and an enervated me...I had made many plans hoping that I would succeed this time..Everything went for a toss..
Skipping a friend's wedding,avoiding treats,losing the chance to perform in a dance competition,letting my girlfriend frown alone on weekends...everything

was a waste now..Not knowing what to do, I came to my room and when I tried to get some sleep,I decided to reappear for one last time..

Attempt 3:
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This time,I wanted to put in my fullest efforts..Unfortunately, I couldn't indulge myself completely into the preparation as I did for the previous attempt..However,the preparation for my second attempt helped me a lot.I realised my weak points and tried hard to fill the gaps...
Sticking myself to my preparation plans became a lot more difficult this time..Change in work place..and my wedding arrangements added pressure..However, I took 3 Kaplan mocks,1 Veritas Free online mock,6 MGMAT online and 2 GMATPrep..The scores were so promising(except in the Kaplans) and added confidence.But, I have been through a similar phase during my 2nd attempt and have screwed on the D-Day..So, I was still nervous..

"TH(ird)E" D-Day:
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Woke up at 5:45 AM and got ready in 30 mins..It will take one and a half hours from my place to reach the exam center..considering all that and hoping for all the good,I left my room and reached the bus stop at 06:20 AM.Then came a series of unfortunate events..Waited for the bus for 15 mins..and then came one..Fortunately or unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic for almost an hour..There was an accident on the highway and the traffic was all stopped due to it..I tried hard not to build any pressure..But it didn't work out..Cursing my fate, I reached the local train station and boarded the train at 7:45 AM.Somehow, reached the Pearson building by 08:30 AM..for my 9'0 clock appointment..When I reached the elevator, the watch man said that there was no power..and so what?I had to climb 6 floors in the building to reach the exam center..Amidst all these,I couldn't spare 10 mins to take my breakfast..What a fortunate day? I thought to myself..

Reached the center by 08:45 AM..The Chennai heat added to the pain..Thankfully,the A.C in the exam center chilled me down..took some deep breaths to calm

myself..Left my bag in the locker and sat down for the verifications.All that was running in my mind was whether the misfortune would continue in the exam too?However, told myself not to think about the confusion so far..Somehow, I managed to calm myself and sat for the big thing..

The AWA was a smooth ride..However, now I feel that I could have done better in the issue analysis section.After AWA, I chose to take my 8 mins break...Chewed a snickers bar and a couple of biscuits..stretched a little and sat for the quants section.

I was happy to see few tough questions after 5 to 6 questions..But a simple fraction question came up among the 30+ Qs and made me feel sick..I finished the section well before 2 mins and chose to take the second break..I finished another snickers bar and talked to myslef about the Quants performance..

When I sat for the Verbal section, my screen said that I have exceeded 2 seconds in my 8 min break..The verbal part was little tougher when compared to quants..After some questions, I was desperate to see a BOLD faced CR question..But to my despair,I didnot get one till the end..However, I got few CR questions on the EXCEPT pattern and some tough ones in the SC part..When I came to my last question, I had less than 2 mins..Luckily, it was a SC and I managed to complete it 4 seconds before the end of the exam..

When I reached the report/cancel score section, I was so desparate to see my scores..However, the absence of that BOLD faced CR was prickng me...Clicked on report scores...When I saw that 7 in the hundredth digit, I could not stop myself from smiling..I had tears and sat there for a min staring at the screen to confirm what I saw..Came out of the center and collected my score report..Checked my score once again in the sheet.It said 740 (Q48,V44)..97th percentile..

I really can't explain that moment of joy:D..Now although the power was available for the elevator, I chose to walk down the stairs..

I would like to thank my dad,mom and sisters for supporting me whenever I felt down..I would like to thank my close friends who cancelled or delayed their tours just because I couldnot join them..I would also like to thank those 2 bars of chocolate that fuelled me during my exams..And I have no words to thank my dear girl who sacrificed a real lot for the sake of me..


Key Take Aways:
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1.)Do not give up if you happen to see a prostrating score once..Just try again..

2.)More important, Do not postpone if you choose to reappear.You may(will) lose the momentum..

3.)Learn to say NO,even when your favourite hero's movie is released or a barbeque treat is thrown by your best friend..

4.)On D-Day, your attitude will matter more than your aptitude...So never,never,never panic..

Taming the beast was not that easy..It looked down on me..made me feel like nothing but crap..subjected me to a lot of frustration and depression..However,one thing that kept me going was HOPE..So just believe that you can..

I will write more about preparation, materials, and mocks in a separate post.