Ok, first of all, I am 30 years old, have graduated from Imperial College London with an engineering degree and a master's degree in Finance in 2004 and have worked since then in the Consumers Product industry.
The reason I posted this message and now writing my debrief is not to show off my score or the fact that I have managed to break the 700 barrier after a poor score but rather to:
1) Inspire people to not stop trying
2) Inspire non - English native people to try it ( I am greek so English is not my native language as well- so also forgive the mistakes you might find in this post ☺)
3) Share with you my experience of the preparation and of the actual test day. I repeat my experience, and I am highlighting this because the fact that for example one book or one online resource helped me does not mean that it is the same for all of you. I might for example lack some knowledge that you have and you might consider very easy.
4) Post another story in this wonderful forum and thank everyone for his or her help.
5) Post another story of a non-genius person who nevertheless succeeds with tremendous effort!
So, let's start with history ☺ My first attempt was on December 2009 when after 2 months of part time (due to work) preparation I took the exam with the below results:
GMAT Score 600
Verbal: 22 (42%)
Quant: 46 (76%)
AWA: 6.0
Materials used:
- Materials from a local GMAT institute here in Athens, Greece (hardcopies + 8 CATs)- Personal View: Not personalized at all so not really recommended
- Grockit- Personal View: Nice computer based practice with lots of fun, easy when you work to practice a little bit while on work and also very smart with its socializing features. Quite cheap for what if offers and another positive thing is that you can repeat questions if you want and hence constantly practice.
- Manhattan CATs- Very challenging ones, I liked the fact that I could repeat them and hence have a lot of practice.
Why I failed to reach my goal of a 700+ score:
- Have not worked on my psychology and my mentality: you have to go to the test center with the mentality that you used to have as a child in school, i.e. consider it important but not the absolute milestone in your life ☺
- Have not improved my weak points and thought that my strong ones would help me
- Have not worked on verbal as much as I should and have not realized its importance: once you realize the weighting that verbal has then you will reach your target.
- Have not "loved the exam": it is important to review it as a challenging game rather than an exam that will affect your future.
- Have solely focused on my job and GMAT and put aside any other extra activity thus overcharging my mind and not helping me mentally.
- Have not improved my stamina. I consider GMAT a game of stamina and psychology. If you manage to break the 4 hour exam with ease then you have done it!!! Otherwise you will start the verbal section and your will start reading between the actual lines losing time and of course focus.
- Obviously not worked with the materials that really suited me
- Have not reached the scores I wanted on CATs before the actual date and thought that I could manage it in the real time. I believe that as long as you have a goal of, say, 700 then you should see this score on your preparation at least 3-4 times and if possible higher say 720-740 so that you know what it takes to reach such scores.
- Last but not least: Have not familiarized with the conditions taking place at the exam center, and I mean of this cold-blooded environment where you have to take out even your watch, write on a erasable board with a marker and so on. It was also my first official computer based test.
What happened next:
I was so depressed that I thought I had to give up the dream of doing an MBA and I was like that because I have tried a lot -although wrongly- and not seen the results I wanted. I felt completely hopeless with the verbal section.
I had to try again. I had to. After all nothing came to me without an effort in my life. For everything I have fought up to the last minute. With the aid of my family and girlfriend I decided to do whatever it takes to succeed. I had to. I am not a genius but I am as stubborn as a donkey!!!!
This is where I found the significance of Beat the GMAT!!!! I logged in, started browsing the strategies offered there and decided I had to get some more tools in my hand.
My problem was the verbal section. I quickly went on and purchased the Manhattan Critical Reasoning and Sentence Correction (along with all the other books of Manhattan), the Powerscore Bible Critical Reasoning for GMAT and LSAT and also bought the online course of Knewton with the 5 CATs.
I now had a lot of things to start over again. Although some of you might think that I overdid it, you might be right. But at moments like this, you sometimes think you have to do everything so that you are sure you have done anything that you could.
So to summarise the material used and actually believe are absolutely helpful:
Manhattan CATs
Knewton online course
Powerscore Verbal books
Manhattan GMAT books
As far as the other online resources, I highly recommend browsing into the Beat the GMAT forum for questions shared, through Manhattan's forum and for practive looking at Grockit and Magoosh. Quite nice both of them. I believe Magoosh has better questions but the problem is that you can not repeat them. You have one shot ☺ and sometimes repeating is quite helpful.
Preparing for the 2nd shot:
I knew my mistakes, I had better materials on hands and have worked on my weak points, i.e. CR and SC ☺ What was left was the mentality and stamina. Stamina was improved by doing a lot of CATs even repeated the ones I could for example the Manhattan ones. Mentality was improved by somehow realizing that when I was younger I was more successful just by not thinking of it so much and just doing my best. I had to work like that otherwise thoughts of failure will certainly bring failure ☺
I also tried to improve my physical condition by practicing more and be more careful with my nutrition. Especially the last 10 days before the exam.
Another good tip is to relax completely the day before the exam. I, for instance, went to the beach the whole day looking at the sea the whole day and do nothing really ☺
You have to certainly think of how are you going to perform the day of the test. Try visualizing the day. Decide what time you wake up, what breakfast you will have, what time you will be there, what are you going to wear (something you like and is convenient), what are you going to have as snack after the AWA and after the Math section and try to say to yourself that every single question is a different story. As soon as you press next you forget of what you answered before and only concentrate on the new question. If you do all these things for every single CAT you do before your actual attempt be sure that you will succeed.
Try also to put a break of only five minutes between the sections. Try to get hold of a pen and a notepad of the ones that you will actually use in the GMAT center and use them in your practice CATs. Have a look at a youtube video posted from GMAC which shows a test center and explains the process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kK-QuuZeuw). Make sure you understand that you are going to take an exam in an environment quite strict.
Remember that GMAT does not only test your knowledge but also your ability to work and remain focused under some serious pressure.
Actual Test Day:
Everything went as planned. I was there at the time required after sleeping a lot in the night before, feeling relaxed and not tired.
The AWA was straightforward. The argument was easy with obvious flaws and the issue did not include any weird word which would confuse me.
I had my break as planned- one small chocolate and a glass of water and went to the maths section. My strategy was the same as I have followed in my CAT's. Never spend more than 3-4 minutes in a single question unless you have time. I tried to move on and forget the question I have just answered if I was unsure or if it gave me hard time to answer it and have tried to focus a lot and try to test every single case and trap I have encountered in my preparation- especially on the Data Sufficiency questions.
I finished on time- actually 2-3 minutes were left. I could feel I have done ok, but you never really know until you see the actual score ☺. Anyway, I knew I had to forget it. I had to enjoy the 5 minutes break, my chocolate, my water and return back to attack the verbal with dignity, respect but not fear!!
The SC were ok, the CR was tricky the RC was difficult. Anyway, I tried to answer every single question with the maximum concentration I could gather at that point. I really recommend when you start feeling tired to use the notepad and take some more notes than you usually do, because it helps your mind put things on order when it is tired and exhausted.
The score came up and I have done it!!!!!
GMAT Score 720
Verbal: 36
Quant: 50
AWA: 5.0
I have to admit my relief and happiness were the same as the ones I felt when I got into Imperial College back in 1999.
I called my girlfriend to tell her the score crying from happiness. Some of you might think that I am exaggerating but the effort and the investment of both time and money were so much that I was feeling the pressure all this time.
I want to thank BTG once more because it gave the opportunity here in Greece where we do not have big GMAT schools like Kaplan, Manhattan, Veritas et.c. to get to know these, review them and other databases and resources online and decide which ones to take. It helped me with all the real stories it includes and inspired me a lot.
At this point I would not like to talk more on materials because I believe in general that every person has different needs. I nevertheless recommend to someone with the same profile to use the materials above -or some of them since they helped me. But you are more than welcome to ask me for some resources more specifically if you wish.
And to sum up, always remember that:
"It does not matter how many times we fall. What matters is how many times we get up"---I have heard it somewhere, I do not remember where ☺
"Whatever happens, keep your head up, smile and move on!!"--- my mother's favourite saying
"GMAT is a challenge of your knowledge, stamina, and mentality. Do not underestimate any of these cause you are lost!"
"Prepare yourself for the actual day in every single CAT you do. Know the war and the terrain it is going to take place before you go through it!!!"
"Try, try, try. Not only in GMAT but also in all aspects of your life. Never give up. One day you will be rewarded. Some people get rewarded quicker some people later. Don't get disappointed."
"Do not accept the cliché that you can not improve in Verbal. Practice is the medicine. If you practice a lot, your mind understands the mentality of the CR and SC and even the RC questions and you are then able to attack the question efficiently! I have done it so you can do it as well!!!"
That's for now, I will try to add more details maybe in the future. Please feel free to ask me anything you wish. Good luck to all of you for any dream you have!!!
The reason I posted this message and now writing my debrief is not to show off my score or the fact that I have managed to break the 700 barrier after a poor score but rather to:
1) Inspire people to not stop trying
2) Inspire non - English native people to try it ( I am greek so English is not my native language as well- so also forgive the mistakes you might find in this post ☺)
3) Share with you my experience of the preparation and of the actual test day. I repeat my experience, and I am highlighting this because the fact that for example one book or one online resource helped me does not mean that it is the same for all of you. I might for example lack some knowledge that you have and you might consider very easy.
4) Post another story in this wonderful forum and thank everyone for his or her help.
5) Post another story of a non-genius person who nevertheless succeeds with tremendous effort!
So, let's start with history ☺ My first attempt was on December 2009 when after 2 months of part time (due to work) preparation I took the exam with the below results:
GMAT Score 600
Verbal: 22 (42%)
Quant: 46 (76%)
AWA: 6.0
Materials used:
- Materials from a local GMAT institute here in Athens, Greece (hardcopies + 8 CATs)- Personal View: Not personalized at all so not really recommended
- Grockit- Personal View: Nice computer based practice with lots of fun, easy when you work to practice a little bit while on work and also very smart with its socializing features. Quite cheap for what if offers and another positive thing is that you can repeat questions if you want and hence constantly practice.
- Manhattan CATs- Very challenging ones, I liked the fact that I could repeat them and hence have a lot of practice.
Why I failed to reach my goal of a 700+ score:
- Have not worked on my psychology and my mentality: you have to go to the test center with the mentality that you used to have as a child in school, i.e. consider it important but not the absolute milestone in your life ☺
- Have not improved my weak points and thought that my strong ones would help me
- Have not worked on verbal as much as I should and have not realized its importance: once you realize the weighting that verbal has then you will reach your target.
- Have not "loved the exam": it is important to review it as a challenging game rather than an exam that will affect your future.
- Have solely focused on my job and GMAT and put aside any other extra activity thus overcharging my mind and not helping me mentally.
- Have not improved my stamina. I consider GMAT a game of stamina and psychology. If you manage to break the 4 hour exam with ease then you have done it!!! Otherwise you will start the verbal section and your will start reading between the actual lines losing time and of course focus.
- Obviously not worked with the materials that really suited me
- Have not reached the scores I wanted on CATs before the actual date and thought that I could manage it in the real time. I believe that as long as you have a goal of, say, 700 then you should see this score on your preparation at least 3-4 times and if possible higher say 720-740 so that you know what it takes to reach such scores.
- Last but not least: Have not familiarized with the conditions taking place at the exam center, and I mean of this cold-blooded environment where you have to take out even your watch, write on a erasable board with a marker and so on. It was also my first official computer based test.
What happened next:
I was so depressed that I thought I had to give up the dream of doing an MBA and I was like that because I have tried a lot -although wrongly- and not seen the results I wanted. I felt completely hopeless with the verbal section.
I had to try again. I had to. After all nothing came to me without an effort in my life. For everything I have fought up to the last minute. With the aid of my family and girlfriend I decided to do whatever it takes to succeed. I had to. I am not a genius but I am as stubborn as a donkey!!!!
This is where I found the significance of Beat the GMAT!!!! I logged in, started browsing the strategies offered there and decided I had to get some more tools in my hand.
My problem was the verbal section. I quickly went on and purchased the Manhattan Critical Reasoning and Sentence Correction (along with all the other books of Manhattan), the Powerscore Bible Critical Reasoning for GMAT and LSAT and also bought the online course of Knewton with the 5 CATs.
I now had a lot of things to start over again. Although some of you might think that I overdid it, you might be right. But at moments like this, you sometimes think you have to do everything so that you are sure you have done anything that you could.
So to summarise the material used and actually believe are absolutely helpful:
Manhattan CATs
Knewton online course
Powerscore Verbal books
Manhattan GMAT books
As far as the other online resources, I highly recommend browsing into the Beat the GMAT forum for questions shared, through Manhattan's forum and for practive looking at Grockit and Magoosh. Quite nice both of them. I believe Magoosh has better questions but the problem is that you can not repeat them. You have one shot ☺ and sometimes repeating is quite helpful.
Preparing for the 2nd shot:
I knew my mistakes, I had better materials on hands and have worked on my weak points, i.e. CR and SC ☺ What was left was the mentality and stamina. Stamina was improved by doing a lot of CATs even repeated the ones I could for example the Manhattan ones. Mentality was improved by somehow realizing that when I was younger I was more successful just by not thinking of it so much and just doing my best. I had to work like that otherwise thoughts of failure will certainly bring failure ☺
I also tried to improve my physical condition by practicing more and be more careful with my nutrition. Especially the last 10 days before the exam.
Another good tip is to relax completely the day before the exam. I, for instance, went to the beach the whole day looking at the sea the whole day and do nothing really ☺
You have to certainly think of how are you going to perform the day of the test. Try visualizing the day. Decide what time you wake up, what breakfast you will have, what time you will be there, what are you going to wear (something you like and is convenient), what are you going to have as snack after the AWA and after the Math section and try to say to yourself that every single question is a different story. As soon as you press next you forget of what you answered before and only concentrate on the new question. If you do all these things for every single CAT you do before your actual attempt be sure that you will succeed.
Try also to put a break of only five minutes between the sections. Try to get hold of a pen and a notepad of the ones that you will actually use in the GMAT center and use them in your practice CATs. Have a look at a youtube video posted from GMAC which shows a test center and explains the process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kK-QuuZeuw). Make sure you understand that you are going to take an exam in an environment quite strict.
Remember that GMAT does not only test your knowledge but also your ability to work and remain focused under some serious pressure.
Actual Test Day:
Everything went as planned. I was there at the time required after sleeping a lot in the night before, feeling relaxed and not tired.
The AWA was straightforward. The argument was easy with obvious flaws and the issue did not include any weird word which would confuse me.
I had my break as planned- one small chocolate and a glass of water and went to the maths section. My strategy was the same as I have followed in my CAT's. Never spend more than 3-4 minutes in a single question unless you have time. I tried to move on and forget the question I have just answered if I was unsure or if it gave me hard time to answer it and have tried to focus a lot and try to test every single case and trap I have encountered in my preparation- especially on the Data Sufficiency questions.
I finished on time- actually 2-3 minutes were left. I could feel I have done ok, but you never really know until you see the actual score ☺. Anyway, I knew I had to forget it. I had to enjoy the 5 minutes break, my chocolate, my water and return back to attack the verbal with dignity, respect but not fear!!
The SC were ok, the CR was tricky the RC was difficult. Anyway, I tried to answer every single question with the maximum concentration I could gather at that point. I really recommend when you start feeling tired to use the notepad and take some more notes than you usually do, because it helps your mind put things on order when it is tired and exhausted.
The score came up and I have done it!!!!!
GMAT Score 720
Verbal: 36
Quant: 50
AWA: 5.0
I have to admit my relief and happiness were the same as the ones I felt when I got into Imperial College back in 1999.
I called my girlfriend to tell her the score crying from happiness. Some of you might think that I am exaggerating but the effort and the investment of both time and money were so much that I was feeling the pressure all this time.
I want to thank BTG once more because it gave the opportunity here in Greece where we do not have big GMAT schools like Kaplan, Manhattan, Veritas et.c. to get to know these, review them and other databases and resources online and decide which ones to take. It helped me with all the real stories it includes and inspired me a lot.
At this point I would not like to talk more on materials because I believe in general that every person has different needs. I nevertheless recommend to someone with the same profile to use the materials above -or some of them since they helped me. But you are more than welcome to ask me for some resources more specifically if you wish.
And to sum up, always remember that:
"It does not matter how many times we fall. What matters is how many times we get up"---I have heard it somewhere, I do not remember where ☺
"Whatever happens, keep your head up, smile and move on!!"--- my mother's favourite saying
"GMAT is a challenge of your knowledge, stamina, and mentality. Do not underestimate any of these cause you are lost!"
"Prepare yourself for the actual day in every single CAT you do. Know the war and the terrain it is going to take place before you go through it!!!"
"Try, try, try. Not only in GMAT but also in all aspects of your life. Never give up. One day you will be rewarded. Some people get rewarded quicker some people later. Don't get disappointed."
"Do not accept the cliché that you can not improve in Verbal. Practice is the medicine. If you practice a lot, your mind understands the mentality of the CR and SC and even the RC questions and you are then able to attack the question efficiently! I have done it so you can do it as well!!!"
That's for now, I will try to add more details maybe in the future. Please feel free to ask me anything you wish. Good luck to all of you for any dream you have!!!
Last edited by ct799 on Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:01 pm, edited 7 times in total.
