I just Beat The GMAT!

I retook GMAT today and scored 720 (Q50, V38). My first attempt was on 1Jul and I had scored 660 (Q49, V 31), AWA 6.0. It has been hell of a month, and knew I could score much better. But all is well that ends well. I am quite satisfied with my score, and expect a 6.0 on AWA once again.

I had taken this appointment about 4 hours before the exam

Detailed post in a while...

Cheers,
C

what made you think you were ready?

Great job bro. u inspire a whole lotta people.

Could you please share what lessons did you learn after first time failure?

Congratulations! What areas did you work on? What helped you the most over the past month and half?

Thanks all -

It was a hell of a month, and I went through lots of negative feelings. My original date of the exam was 12th December, but due to work pressure, had to reschedule to 7th April, then to 18th August, but in June-end , I got the following scores and pre-poned to 1Jul:

GMATPrep 1: 730 (Q50, V38)
GMATPrep 2: 740 (Q50, V39)

My mistake was not practising tests other than GMATPreps, and trying a bit too hard. But after getting these results, I pre-poned the test. However I scored only 660 (Q49, V31) AWA 6.0. While QA was a bit down, I had drastically underperformed in English. I realized timing was a big issue – I spent over 5 minutes in some questions, thus rushing through the end.

I did not study for the next 15-20 days, and tried to get back to my normal self. Tried deep breathing and meditation, watched movies, concentrated on pending office work. Then, took MGMAT test subscription as I knew one has to practice from external sources and also increase my concentration level.

I did not touch OG/OG 11 at all. Did practice a few questions available here and there on the internet, and took the MGMAT tests. My scores were:

MGMAT1: 710 (Q48, V39)
MGMAT2: 700 (Q47, V39)
MGMAT3: 700 (Q47, V39)

MGMAT tests are really good, and you can evaluate your 'fair score' by adding 2 marks to QA, while VA score is accurate. I knew 49/50 is my fair score for QA, while 38/39 is DOT accurate in VA. This was proved when I score the following scores in GMATPreps:

GMATPrep1: 750 (Q50, V40)
GMATPrep2: 740 (Q50, V39)

I realized that I was getting 50 in GMATPreps and 47/48 in MGMATs, whereas 38/39 in VA, same as GMAT Preps. I assumed that my faie score would be Q50, V38/39, i.e. a mid-point of 700 and 740, i.e. 720. This is when I thought there was no point waiting or study more. As a result, I booked an appointment for 17th August, 9.00am, at 9.00pm on 16th August. I think this is the right strategy, as I did not get any time to get tensed/overjoyed thinking about the test.

AWA was breeze, I think I will get a 6.0 again, QA went very, very, very smoothly. I finished the section in 50 minutes, i.e. 25 minutes before time. I did get tensed during English, but tried to maintain my calm, and forcibly maintained a strict, under 2-min/question time limit. I was not very confident after the VA section, and my heartbeat after the section would have been 100+. I kept praying to god, and finally saw a 720 !! 
Had I failed to perform in this test, I would have been unable to apply this year, and it would have been a big shock to me. But god did listen to me, and I got my ‘fair score’ , 1 day before I had originally scheduled the test !!

congrats good sir! super achievement!

why would you not be able to apply this year? looking at R1 only?

Thanks. Very exemplary!

Could you please share some tips w.r.t. the books and material that you used for preparation? Which all Practice tests you used? Any plan that you followed?

TIA

Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: Plan

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Plan/Steps

1: Chillax:Do not over-tax yourself - study as much as you can take, I studied for only about 3-5 hours per week. I just cannot manage to study/be productive over the weekends, but do study on the already-hectic weekdays.
For those who have girlfriends/boyfriends/significant others - spend some time together, try and think of GMAT only as a part of the package, say 20%, so it should not merit more than 20% of your attention.

I am 26 and single, and at times, did feel the need for a companion, with whom would have discussed my apprehensions and feelings about the exam.


2. Books/Material: If you have taken GMAT earlier and wish to retake, try not focus too much on OG..try and study from as many disparate sources as possible - I did MGMAT tests, Kaplan 800, etc. This will help you get over with any bias/notions that you might form if you stick to one source

3. Test Date: Please note that for any given test date, people start rescheduling/canceling their appointments, which means you might not get an appointment for 3 weeks in advance, but you can, for say, 1-2 days ahead.

I personally believe that rather than choosing a date and then forcing yourself to a schedule, try otherwise. The day you feel confident, take an appointment for the next day. That way you donot give yourself anytime to get tensed. Think of it like this - when you have a pre-scheduled day, emotions start rolling like a snowball .. any small success or failure tends to make you paranoid about your final score .. that is the reason why many people who score well do not perform on the real test.

4. Confidence - You and much more than the sum of your GPA/GMAT/Workex....and you can always retake the test in a month's time.

I am a strategy consultant, and even though admission consultants say 720 is fine ...I know I am still worth more ... After R1 this year, I plan to retake the test, and will target a 760....

Hope this helps ..

Please feel free to PM if you wish to know more...

C!