Advise for :- 710 (92%) (Q 48(84%) / V 41(92%) AWA 5.0)

[GoGetter]

My below post was rejected as spam... so trying to repost it

Hi All.

First of all kudos to people who maintain this forum and to people who help others here with their experiences and suggestions.

I came to know about this forum just on the day of my Exam!!! But never the less have been following it since(for one week now). Thought that will share and gain from this forum then.

I appeared for my GMAT last monday, 18th Aug 2008, and scored 710. Recieved my official score AND have 5.0 on AWA. I am not too exited about this score because I thought I would have scored 730-740 had I not messed with my quant and last question In verbal. For this last question i had a little more than 2 minutes left and in a fit of oversmartness decided to answer it after thinking thoroughly over it. I lost the count of time and would you believe the foolishness, i missed marking the answer because the time was up!!!

Lesson, dont be oversmart and mark answer, you may change before you move forward.

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My preparation lasted for around 3 months around 2 hrs/day. For some days I didnt study at all. But I enjoyed the format so I could concentrate when I needed to.

The material I used was
OG
OG Quant
OG Verbal
and sparingly
Kaplan.

I had some printouts shared by some friends. But I didnt rely on them and just glanced through those prints.

My study centerd around improving Verbal and building stamina and speed for solving questions. I would use OG to create a mini test by solving approximately 15 questions from PS, DS, RC, CR and SC each.

The more you practise the better you get with your verbal skills. i would suggest that you get your basics right in first 15 days and the solve the individual (Quant and Verbal) OGs and then get on with the combined OG.

Also after you finish this, try solving as many tests as possible. Spent time in between tests to revise and improve on your weak areas.

Reserve the Pearson tests for last. This will give you the most accurate picture of what you are going to score.
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Coming back to my score 710 (92%) (Q 48(84%) / V 41(92%)), I really dont know how good the score is. I am targetting the top 15 to 20 Schools in US.

My profile:-
Male

Age :- 27

Qualification :- B.E. Electronics (Pune Univ)

Academics :- My acads are good to very good except for second year and third year engineering where I had a big dip because of some personal problems

Experience :- 5.3 yrs in IT. Currently Project Lead. Presently working in UK. (Can get recommendation from my client).

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Please advise, do I stand a decent chance of getting in to Top 15 schools?



Also, i am more than ready to share my experience with fellow GMATters.
Finally one thing, dont approach GMAT as a exam but relax and enjoy the preparation. i am sure you will all do well.

[aim-wsc]

Sorry for that inconvenience buddy.
Thanks for the patience. & welcome to the forums.

Congrats you've a great score.
I'll send you a proper reply (the one you're looking for) gimme some 5 hours....

[phumbert]

Hi and congrats on a great GMAT score. The following is my take on your situation based upon exhaustive reading and discussions with previous and current students from top 15 programs.

I believe that a 710 is enough to cover the GMAT consideration of your application. The difference between a 750 and 710 is negligible in the eyes of an adcom. You would be better served to take the time to work on the rest of your application than to try to bump your score up by another 30-40 points. The GMAT is not the sole detirmining factor when it comes to getting into a top program. One of the best pointers that I have ever been given is that "a poor GMAT score can keep you out, but a good one will not get you in". Your GMAT score will not exclude you from consideration. Just make sure that you are well rounded enough and present the rest of your application in the most effective way possible.

Hope this helps a bit!

-ph

[GoGetter]

Hi and congrats on a great GMAT score. The following is my take on your situation based upon exhaustive reading and discussions with previous and current students from top 15 programs.

I believe that a 710 is enough to cover the GMAT consideration of your application. The difference between a 750 and 710 is negligible in the eyes of an adcom. You would be better served to take the time to work on the rest of your application than to try to bump your score up by another 30-40 points. The GMAT is not the sole detirmining factor when it comes to getting into a top program. One of the best pointers that I have ever been given is that "a poor GMAT score can keep you out, but a good one will not get you in". Your GMAT score will not exclude you from consideration. Just make sure that you are well rounded enough and present the rest of your application in the most effective way possible.

Hope this helps a bit!

-ph

Thanks for your post. It surely helps. I am surely not going to cry over lost 20-30 points. But my question was more towards, is this along with my profile enough to get me into top 15?? Is my AWA of 5.0 sufficient?? What i read on net is top schools want 5.5 to 6.0 on AWA.

[dilipbobby]

Hi please tell me that OG quant review in which there is some 170 questions of prob soliving and almost 120 question of data sufficiency is the one you used for preparation,?????? and if not then what is the full name of the OG quant which u used and how much does it cost, as i got 37 marks in qunat and wanna improve it within 30 days, please help and reply urgently

[GoGetter]

Hi please tell me that OG quant review in which there is some 170 questions of prob soliving and almost 120 question of data sufficiency is the one you used for preparation,?????? and if not then what is the full name of the OG quant which u used and how much does it cost, as i got 37 marks in qunat and wanna improve it within 30 days, please help and reply urgently

Dilipbobby.. Thats the same book I am talking about.. But I wont say thats enough. I would suggest you solve both OG Quant review along with Quant from OG combined. That should suffice.

Also, My approach was solve as many things as you can from any source. It just makes your concepts more clear and increases your speed and accuracy. Hope this helps..

[GoGetter]

Sorry for that inconvenience buddy.
Thanks for the patience. & welcome to the forums.

Congrats you've a great score.
I'll send you a proper reply (the one you're looking for) gimme some 5 hours....

Thanks.. Will wait for your reply...

[aim-wsc]

I remember adding a reply to your thread.. but now it's not there...

anyways...
710 score reminds me one of our moderators Neo2000 and especially his post on his blog when he was apping to b-schools. Given the fact that you too share similar profile [read: Indian IT Males: IIMs] you can related it.

But I am not discouraging you. If you're looking for top-15 schools the other parameters in application package becomes equally important as GMAT. ... while 2nd tier colleges try to take students with higher GMAT schore just to (/raise their standard) increase their avg. (/median?) GMAT of intake.

More than 700 score is always a great score your splits are above 80%tile too, so you should be fine. But you belong to very large pool of applicants who share similar profile (IIMs) If you could convince adcom you're different than your brother applicants, YOU'RE IN

All the best