I just Beat The GMAT!

I am veteran here on beatthegmat(maybe not in terms of the number of posts but for the sheer regularity with which I would visit beatthegmat and the duration I have been here for). Am finished with my GMAT today and got an adorable score of 760.To be honest, I wasn't expecting this much. I was aiming at 740 and the thought of targeting 760 did occur but I thought it's better to target a little lower and get higher and be happy instead of targeting higher, pressurizing oneself and eventually getting a low score.

Here's the break up of the scores;

Overall score - 760 - 94th percentile
Quant score - 50 - 93th percentile
Verbal score - 42 - 94th percentile.
Haven't got the AWA score yet but I think it should be above 4.5.

The stats above look nice, don't they? It's hard to believe that they are mine. As hard to believe as it gets when you know that you can't get a hot girl and suddenly you get one. ;-D

Target schools - ISB, NUS, NTU, HKUST

The journey began and abruptly ended...

I started my preparation around 8 months back. The preparation went well for 1 month but I got sick with typhoid and this kept me out off from the prep for around 3 months.
Finally, I started my preparation again in Dec 2011 so in all I roughly spent around 4 months in preparing which I think is the ideal amount of time.

Diagnostic test result before starting my preparation: 630 on GMATPREP1


Material used:...
I chose the material after seeing the recommendations here on the forum.
SC - Aristotle SC+ Manhattan sc .Liked both but found aristotle sc to be written in an easier way

CR - : Used CR Grail but since I work for a Big4 , critical reasoning came naturally to me. I just went a lot of articles of CR in the GMAT Library section in a systematic way and I knew that I was good to go. I went through the Manhattan CR book initially but didn't like their approach of making T-diagrams and all. It seems inane to me. Also I didn't see much point in reading a lot of theory on something which came naturally to me. I read that much theory that helped me recognize the type of questions and the strategies for tackling them.For rest commonsense rules.

RC- OG RCs+RC Grail passages. I think this should be sufficient.

Quant- Manhattan advanced quant guide for theory + aristotle ps and ds boosters for practice
OG 12 - did OG12 two times in a systematic manner.A book you simply can't do without.

Practice test scores:
Did the Manhattan test series. I think that the Maths section has too many difficult questions. I did all the 6 tests and got varying scores.
Got a 740 on GMATPREP1 a week before the exam
Got a 740 again on GMATPREP2 4 days before the exam.

Now the most important elements to get 700+

1. Getting familiar with the test center :I live in Ghaziabad which is a satellite city to Delhi and my test center was almost 2 hours from my home. I was a little anxious about the distance because I had never seen that area where the test center was. I went to check the test center one day before the exam date for two reasons -to avoid last minute tension and second avoid last day study. You may not want to do this if you live closeby otherwise I think it makes sense to do it.
2. No study in the run up to the exam :Take at least 3 days off from office before the exam date so that you can unwind. Also don't keep any word pending in the office because this will psychologically disturb you,even though in a small way.You want to ensure that no unwanted thoughts clutter your mind as you take the test.

3. Relaxation is critical to victory: I think beyond a point, studies can't help you at all and the best thing you can do is to not study at all. Also while going to the test center on the test day, I put a relaxing Tibetan incantation Om mani padme hum. That chant really calmed me down as it always does.

4. Concentrating too hard during the exam?Think again Do not concentrate too hard during the exam. This may seem a bit contrarian but trust me this is important. If you concentrate too hard on the exam, either you'll get a headache or your anxiety level will shoot northwards. You need to give your brain "breathing space" otherwise it will simply not work the way you would want it to.

5. Assessing your performance during the exam. Avoid It: Do not try to assess how you are performing on the exam WHILE you are taking the exam. I cannot overemphasize this. We have a tendency to constantly think/judge/evaluate our performance on the last few questions and we tend to guess our score . Doing both of these things can prove fatal.

6. Stay relaxed :Things are bound to be different on the actual GMAT. There will a certain ups and downs during the exam. Take them in your stride and keep going.

7. Enjoy the exam. This simple yet important tip I read here on the forums helped me a lot. It's easier said than done but try to enjoy the whole GMAT experience rather than considering it to be a burden and you will feel that during the exam you will be able to focus better. In fact, enjoy the entire process of preparation.As goes one famous quote
'Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating'

Congrats and Thanks for info.

Congrats. Your post will help many.

I recommend Brent's GMAT PREP NOW videos.

Find them at www.gmatprepnow.com
Totally worth it.

How do you think taking same test again (in this case GMAT PREP1, as mentioned by the author) help you determine your true capability?
Wont the score you get on repeating a test will be wrong indicator?

Mate, there is a lot of value in his advise, as when your skill increases you would see a lot of different questions on the prep and as Brent says if you see a repeat question wait for 110 seconds approx and then answer the question..

Sincerely,
Ashish

Also check out his general strategy PDF to have an in depth view at www.gmatprepnow.com

Really interesting...Congratulation for such a great score.

I have booked the GMAT for 15th May.Have around 35 days from now onwards, didn't had good preparation as of now.. score 500 on GMAT Prep on 1st Mar, i didn't do much study in last 40 days post 1st Mar.I am weak on Verbal part.. scored poorly in GMAT prep.. Please suggest how to proceed and make best use of available time now.

regrds.

Congratulations on your great score and thanks for sharing your experience.

You mentioned "OG 12 - did OG12 two times in a systematic manner.A book you simply can't do without."

Could you please share your method for practicing OG12 questions ?
Did you do a timed practice ? Did you practice by TOPIC area or differently ? how did you plan your typical study sessions?More details on how you practiced and analyzed will be really helpful.

regards.

Hey Brother Congratulations once again from my side...

Your debrief really has really motivated me. Let us hope that One day even I will post my success story here on 'I JUST BEAT THE GMAT'.

THANKS ONCE AGAIN...

newbee99 wrote:Congratulations on your great score and thanks for sharing your experience.

You mentioned "OG 12 - did OG12 two times in a systematic manner.A book you simply can't do without."

Could you please share your method for practicing OG12 questions ?
Did you do a timed practice ? Did you practice by TOPIC area or differently ? how did you plan your typical study sessions?More details on how you practiced and analyzed will be really helpful.

regards.

What I did was that I practiced the questions from OG12 topicwise. For example, I'd firstly go through a particular SC topic from SC Grail,then MGMAT SC and then I'd do the practice problems from OG12 which test you on that particular concept. This way it'll become much easier for you to be able to identify the errors.

thank you very much for sharing your practice method. wish you good luck with your applications.

newbee99 wrote:thank you very much for sharing your practice method. wish you good luck with your applications.

Am glad that I could help. All the best to you for the GMAT.

Great tips neodante!
Hope to soak in some.

Thanks.