I have been a silent observer for weeks now. A big thank you to all the members of this forum for the excellent guidance and motivation you have provided. Heres my experience, followed by the questions I have.
GMAT Score (Oct 2013)
First attempt scored a 600
Second attempt (April 2014)
710 (Q-47 V-40)
AWA 6.0
IR 3.0
How I beat the GMAT?
Not sure if I can call a score of 710 beating the GMAT, but I will share my experience. I am more a Poet when it comes to GMAT. All the years spent reading every book I could lay my hands on finally paid off, I didnt have to concentrate much on the verbal part of the test. Quant was my Achilles heel. No matter how hard I tried I couldnt break the 50 barrier, even in practice tests.
My first attempt, underestimated what I was getting into, wrote the exam completely stressed out with an important client meeting scheduled for the second half of the day. Lost the client and my battle with GMAT. Some lessons we learn the hard way!
a. The OG is good, but one needs to do much more
b. Never practice without AWA and IR sections of the test
c. Remember its a marathon and the section that gives the biggest jump to your score - Verbal - is in the end. No matter how bad you think the test is going, dont give up!
d. If you run a cash strapped startup, $250 is a huge amount of money (esp in India), and make sure you dont waste an attempt! I remember I was down to my last rupee 2 months after my test, and I swore never to sign up for something as expensive when I am busy.
Change in prep:
a. Study as much as you can, when you can. Break quant into smaller sub-groups and get familiar with all the basic skills you need for each sub-group
b. Make extensive notes, so that revision of what you know about each subgroup atleast once a week.
c. Once you feel you have reached 95% of all concepts - stop adding to the list, 1 quest wont make a huge difference to your score anyway. Consistency will.
d. Scour the internet for free tests, I havent paid a single penny (not that I had spare change
) to take practice tests. Although most of them have random questions/difficulty, it doesnt matter - the key to the GMAT is stamina.e. The practice tests from GMAC are the closest one can get to real deal. Save them for the last 2 weeks.
What I would have done differently
a. Concentrate more on IR
b. If I had more money, buy a test series and use the analytics to improve my understanding of scores
c. Take a break to take the test, I was rusty when it came to quant, and a 2 week vacation to get back in the stride would have been perfect.
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BACKGROUND
27 yr old Indian Male, (thankfully non-IT!). Bachelors in Management Studies from University of Mumbai, finished in the top 10 of my class in 2007.
Work:
Worked as Client Servicing manager in a Market research company for 3 years, followed by a mobile solutions company for 2 years. Have some more than decent achievements in both jobs.
Always wanted to make an ad campaign, decided to join hands with a friend and created my own creative agency/production house. Worked with a wide range of clients, and within 2 months of starting up bagged a 3 advertisement campaign with a big corporation in India. Grew clientele but soon ran out of cash. Had to scale down the agency and eventually leave the partnership because of cash flow issues.
Will join a for-profit NGO consultancy as Marketing Manager this month.
Passions:
Took a year off between June 2007- June 2008, traveled extensively in India, continue to do so whenever possible. Atleast a few weeks every year.
Was involved in the huge anti-corruption movements in india in 2011-12. Been actively involved in highlighting woman issues and fighting for other policy initiatives. Ran the social media for a liberal political party (probably the only one of its kind in India) in the recently concluded 2014 India Elections.
Goals:
Medium
Work in the marketing/brand management side of a mass market brand.
Long
Create a company which employs and has a positive effect on millions of people
My Doubts:
1. How important is my IR - I have scored a dismal 3. I have been preparing for a retest, but know I wont score more than a 740 (quant is my weak link). Does it make sense to retake the test?
2. Is a score of 710 good enough with my profile? I understand essay and interviews are critical. But I would like to understand a non-Indian perspective on my profile.
My list of schools looks like this (pre-cull). How should I choose which colleges provide the best Marketing specialization:
US
a. Kellogg (dream! Stretch?)
b. Booth (stretch?)
c. Ross
d. Anderson
e. Tuck
f. Fuqua
Asia
a. NUS
b. ISB
Others
a. Rotman
b. IE
c. HEC
3. Would colleges like Harvard, Insead, LBS, Columbia & Wharton be interested in some with my profile, my long term goals will be better met if I am in these programs. Are they out of my league now?
Look forward to your response on my queries. If you want to know more about anything I have written above, I am happy to elaborate.
Best Regards
Guru
