[i]1. I'm sorry, but as I wanted to unload a lot, this became a very long read.
2. I made some spiritual/religious references. I'm not trying to make anyone espouse the same beliefs as me, but in the interest of conveying an honest story, I included the role this played in my experience.
3. This is my own experience, based on what worked and did not work for me. What was good for me may lead to a disaster for another, so take what resonates with you and discard what doesn't. I heard from somebody a few years ago that one of the reasons why Tiger Woods was great was that he would listen to advise from people who weren't as good as him, and use the parts that makes sense to him.[/i]
_______________________
Hi Guys,
I'm fairly new here as a member, but as a "lurker," this community served as one of my sources for encouragement and inspiration. After the GMAT, I've started really thinking about my overall MBA application strategy, and one of the things that came out from it was that whatever the outcome of my application will be, I will use this experience to improve as person. And one of the attributes related to self-improvement is to be thankful for all the things that helped me along my journey, and BtGMAT was certainly one of these.
I'm a Southeast Asain, in my low-30s. I am a Chemical Engineer from the top school in my country, and my GPA translates to roughly 3.3. I would say I'm pretty good at standardised tests, and I achieved the second highest score nationally in my Chemical Engineering licensure exam. I now reside in New Zealand, and have recently achieved Chartered Engineer status from Engineering Council based in the UK.
I now have about 10.5 years work experience, mostly in Oil and Gas. O&G experience spans industry sectors and functions (manufacturing, consulting, trading/business development,) but predominantly I serve as (and currently am) a Process Engineer. My only Non-O&G experience was as a Production Manager for a top consumer goods company for a year.
I will apply next year R1 for HBS, Stanford GSB, London, MIT LGO, and Wharton. Yeah, all targets are stretch given my age and GPA, but I'm living a happy life with my wife and kid here so, I'd rather not incur actual and opportunity costs if I do not get in a top-tier program. I'm in a new company too, so will apply R1 2015 for 2016 intake.
[b]Prep[/b]
I've always wanted to do an MBA and take the GMAT. I would start reading a book here and there, but never really mustered enough commitment to completely prepare until this year. When I got down to it, my review took four months, about 300 hours total. I had a week-by-week schedule but was flexible such that I would be maybe 0.5-1 week delayed at any given time in the review.
I took the online, on-demand Manhattan GMAT course. A few years ago I started with an online but not on-demand Kaplan course, but work got in the way so I did not finish it. Aside from reading parts of a few old review books from other companies, I don't really have a point of comparison, but I was really happy with Manhattan GMAT. Yes, the problems tend to be more complicated than what you would actually tackle in the GMAT, but for me it put me in the right frame of mind - not being complacent, knowing the key take-aways for important problem types, being "judiciously lazy," being conscious when you see the word "being" in sentences
, etc.Aside from the OG, I got my hands on the additional GMAT CAT's, the IR prep tool, and one paper exam from mba.com.
I spent the first two weeks on a couple of diagnostics, then went through the weekly MGMAT reviews and got through most MGMAT books. I then took two more CATs, then went through the advanced quant stuff, sentence correction again, the individual quant and verbal OG books, and a bit of IR and AWA. For the IR, I used the software link provided in the OG and I purchased the IR Prep tool from GMAC (good practice, although the software was dodgy.) Last couple of weeks was spent finishing the remaining practice tests and reviewing the stuff I got wrong.
[b]Stats[/b]
Kaplan Paper Diagnostic (2011) - 720
Diagnostic
MGMAT CAT 1 - 650
GMAT CAT 1 - 730 (I've taken this test before so I was taking the result with a grain of salt)
Review Phase (throughout the four months)
OG Guides - Around 70-80% correct
Individual Q/V OG Guides - About 85-95% correct
IR Prep Guide (GMAC) - About 80% correct
Second Quarter
MGMAT CAT 2 - 670
MGMAT CAT 3 - 640
Third Quarter
MGMAT CAT 4 - 690
MGMAT CAT 5 - 710
MGMAT CAT 6 - 740
Final Phase
Paper Exam - 710
GMAT CAT 2 - 740
GMAT CAT 3 - 770
GMAT CAT 4 - 770
[b]Actual Exam - 740 49Q/41V. AWA 5.5. IR 7[/b]
[b]Prep Lows[/b]
1. Not seeing any score improvement in the MGMAT CAT's even after weeks of going through the review. In fact, my score dipped to 640. I am guessing MGMAT is harsh in question distribution and scoring for the first CATs so students would not be too daunted when they go through the real thing, but I'm just thinking that different people will react to this situation differently. Some may encounter the same situation and thrive, while others may freeze.
2. Not being able to crack the toughest SC problems. I believe I improved with the review, but some problems just did not make sense to me up to now.
3. Getting math problems wrong - this is really frustrating for a quant-inclined person! For a while, I was becoming really concerned I was losing my mental sharpness.
[b]Prep Highs[/b]
1. Finally getting 740 in practice CATs, feeling I could still do better, and then hitting 770 in the next practice CATs
2. Getting high scores in practice tests even when I intentionally dismiss some problems (being "judiciously lazy" or strategic.)
3. Having the inner awareness that I was prepared enough to make adjustments whatever the computer throws my way or depending on the circumstances (e.g. extended break - more on this later.)
[b]Final Days[/b]
I took the exam in Wellington, a couple of hours drive from where I am based. I have family there so I scheduled the exam on a Tuesday, took time off work, and stayed with them Sunday. I spent the day before with them, going to a playground so our kids can play, having a good lunch with the Welly family, getting a haircut, and just enjoying, although I couldn't help but look at my notes for a few minutes a couple of times during the day. Had trouble sleeping as my kid cried and made a big fuss as I was about to fall sleep... twice!
Still woke up early though and was in the exam area an hour ahead. Dressed up really nicely, wore my wedding shoes (I've never failed an interview in those shoes!) Found a nice café a couple of blocks away, and had breakfast there. Still had plenty of time and actually had to wait for the office to open (GMAT is only offered in the morning in Wellington.) The proctor was really nice and really put me at ease.
I started the exam excited, but with some nerves of a first time GMAT-sitter. Closed my eyes and prayed a little bit. AWA was okay, even with little prep. I just thought of it as a CR problem that has so many holes you can write a 4-5 paragraph essay out of it. You come with that mindset, and you apply the things you learn from SC, and you'd be alright.
I started IR with an extremely difficult problem, and after losing about 3.5 minutes, I realised I had to guess and move on. Just thought to myself that it is good to be reminded early that time management is key. The rest of the problems were either okay, or were difficult enough for me to decide that I did not want to waste too much time and was answered through intelligent guessing. Aside from the very early setback, I felt my pacing was alright and I finished all twelve questions on time. I was uncertain on about three problems, but was confident with the rest.
I took the first break, had a nice chit chat with the proctor, had some Twix, Gatorade and water, and went for the restroom. I realized I should've taken the simulated breaks in the practice tests seriously, as I came back to the testing room late by 1.5 minutes! Even though I did not have a watch, I did not want to get upset with the proctor, as she was very nice and in the end I am responsible for whatever happens with the test. I also did not want that moment to define me, so I just dug deep into my preps and thankfully, the first few questions were up my alley. By the time I was on questions 5-10, I was maybe 1-2 minutes in advance and I was very confident with my earlier responses. The subtest went well, with the questions either easy enough for me to answer within one minute, or hard but solvable with a bit more time. All in all, finished all the questions with a few seconds to spare. I thought about the time lost in the beginning, but I just laughed it off and told myself that those seconds would not have helped me answer the questions I guessed on anyway.
I took the second break. I told the apologetic proctor that everything was fine, and we need not worry about it. Ate drank some, went to the restroom again, jumped/skipped around a little bit, and made sure to come back with minutes to spare this time. Verbal was okay - CR and RC questions were not very difficult when I compare them with the practice Q's I dealt with. SC was okay too, although I saw one too many questions that I had trouble getting the meaning of to begin with. The seconds saved in the other questions were used up with these tough problems. At some point (when I've read the sentence maybe twice or thrice and still don't get them,) I just shrug it off, take a guess, think that it's good I'm seeing difficult problems (meaning I was doing so well that GMAT is throwing the most convoluted questions at me, at least in my head) and move on.
So the exam was done, answered the background questions, and when I got to the screen which was taking a while to load, I just closed my eyes, prayed and said my thanks to Him, and opened my eyes... wow, a 740! Closed my eyes and prayed a little bit again. I wanted to savour the moment for a bit, so I waited for maybe a minute before I raised my hand to be lead out of the room. The proctor asked how I fared. I smiled and I told her I got a 740... she was surprised! She said that my score was the highest she encountered since working there (this surprised me as New Zealand holds the highest average GMAT score in the world, and this is one of just two exam centres in the country.) She asked how I prepared, what my target programs are, etc. and I was proud to tell her that I was raising a family and working while doing all this. She congratulated me again and wished me luck, and I replied by thanking her, again telling her not to worry about the time penalty in quant, and told her that I will let her know how the entire application goes in the future (in line with my "campaign of gratitude.")
Waited until I was face to face with my wife to tell her of the good news. We drove back home, but not before having a nice dinner in an Italian restaurant along the way.
[b]Inspiration[/b]
1.[u]The Pursuit of Happyness[/u], particularly this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajjGtsjI7CM and this part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIk_iLyxhP4
I've always thought, and I still do, that even with a stellar score, my chances with my target programs are slim. So I would always look at how the protagonist overcame his struggles, and how joyful it was when he overcame these.
2. [u]MBA Over 30 Blog[/u] - mbaover30.com
I came across this site when I was taking a break in the middle of a practice CAT. It is good to know that someone went through an experience I would be going through (getting a top MBA at this age,) and succeeded immensely. From a brief chat with him, I've found that he is a nice guy too.
3. [u]Last Minute GMAT Advice[/u] by Dominate the GMAT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K06kcGLtv2s
I came across this video towards the end of my prep. MGMAT was nice, but at that point I was looking for some tips to avoid stressing out, and this did the trick. I would talk more about my takeaway here in the conclusion.
4. [u]Beat the GMAT Community[/u]
I started looking at this to get some practice, but then found that the success stories were quite uplifting as well.
5. Several inspirational and Christian songs I would listen to on my iPhone while jogging
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslDnwerQRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KiX2Wgo7hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b_oVBQKs3w
[b]My Takeaways[/b]
[u]Mindset[/u]: Use the features of the GMAT exam to your advantage
1. Within certain constraints, you can take the GMAT as many time as you like. So not hitting your target score is not the end of the world. I kept telling myself this, not to give me an excuse if I perform poorly, but to take some pressure off during exam time.
2. You can get a great score even while missing a lot of questions. In the heat of the battle, one has the tendency to forget that he/she is trying to win a war. So just take the exam one question at a time. If you felt you did not get the previous question, forget about it and move on. But if you felt you got that last one right, and it doesn't matter whether you actually did, then use that thought to motivate you to give the next one your best shot.
3. You have in front of you five answers to choose from, four of which are wrong ones. Especially in SC, I felt that for some of the questions, I wasn't really completely sure I got the right answer. However, I was reasonably confident I eliminated four wrong ones, and that's just as important.
[u]Stamina[/u]: [i]Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face - Mike Tyson[/i]
This is where practice comes in. When I took my licensure exam, I had pretty much the whole day to answer about 60-75 questions, and almost all examinees were able to go through all of the questions twice or thrice, submit their papers, and walk away with hours to spare. The GMAT problems are not as difficult, and given sufficient time, I know I would be able to get the right answers for most of the questions. But the time limit can be unnerving, and if you happen to get a question right after spending a lot of time, you can be sure of getting a tougher problem next. You would have to be aware of how you manage time and deal with stress. Knowing what to do when the pressure comes is one thing, actually making the right response while feeling the pressure is another. So complete practice tests as much as you can, and if you can come out of one exam and think you can handle another one on the same day, you are golden.
[u]Inspiration[/u]: [i]Begin with the end in mind[/i] - Steven Covey
Never lose track of the fact that we are taking the GMAT to reach a worthy goal. I always thought of how great it would be not just to study in Harvard, but to actually speak in Class Day in front of my classmates, professors, my wife and kid, and my mother. Then how nice it would be to hug my kid afterwards. Call it crazy or cheesy, but this kept me going even when the prep was tiring and even when the questions were incomprehensible.
[b]Conclusion[/b]
[i]I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfilment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.[/i] - Vince Lombardi
Content is important, no doubt. Use your OG, get a good review program, develop a plan and stick to it as much as possible, and do the hard yards. But at a certain level of mastery of the topics and the questions types, the GMAT becomes a game- that of mental toughness and emotional endurance. What will keep you going when you've reviewed all out and your practice scores drop? How will you respond to a tough question that's already taken three or four minutes of your precious time? Will you mind a bunch of kids talking loudly outside your testing room? When you get to verbal question 31, are you excited that you only have ten questions left, or are you dreading the fact that you have ten more questions to hurdle? Will you use your thinking and emotions to hurt you, or to help you? How upbeat will you be going through all this?
[i][b]You have a large number of resources to help you prepare for the exam, foremost of which is this community, of course. But the motivation and inspiration can only come from you. So whether it be your dream career, more money, the prestige of your dream program, or your family, I just hope you find that one special thing that will fuel you to strive for the best GMAT outcome possible. Good luck![/b][/i]
