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ankit_dhingra7
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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- Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:06 am
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As i write this debrief, I recall the various ups and downs i went through this journey.. what i can defiantly vouch for, is the fact that i had used every reason that one can offer as an excuse against GMAT..a few are listed:
1. I work long hours - I did too, 10 hour shift + 3 hours commute
2. I do sever dilly dallying - I did too, i dragged on for 3 years
3. I just don't have the aptitude - I thought this too, until i began my preparation
4. I just dont have the time - All you need is sincerity, not seriousness!!(cliche)
I started my Journey in 2010, when i decided to give GMAT. I gave my first GMAT Prep and scored 470..I started my prep and followed MGMAT for math. The books have great information which can act both as a refresher and a good content if you are just starting with math.
God knows what happened, I dropped the plan mid way.
Flash forward to 2011.. i started my prep again in May 2011.. Started again with MGMAT math guide.. used to get up every day at 6 AM and tried to stick to schedule as much as possible. Managed to finish the course and started with SC course.. some how the course proved too much to gulp down at once..and with all the maths..i gave up mid way.. yet again!!
However, I anyways had a date for October 2011. I ended up shifting to April 2012. I did my GMAT prep once again and scored 550.
During this time i came across various posts by Ron (the GMAT God) and Stacy which talked about how to make GMAT prep a part of your day to day life.. not your life!! The one brilliant strategy they offered was to take each day slowly and not to devote too many hours preparing. The reason was that too much pressure would have easily caused:
1. Burnout
2. A not so radical improvement in score
Anyways, I approached my April 2012 GMAT date.. gave the test and scored.. 510!! (Q39: V22). As i walked out of the testing center.. all i could think of was .. how dumb i can be!! There was some funny thing which pushed me to take the GMAT one more time.. I have no idea why..
When i came back.. i did some searching.. and came across E-GMAT.. little did i knew that this course will prove to be a game changer.. i took their trial..was deeply impressed and subscribed to the Verbal Live Prep course.. the video delivery model was perfect given the limited amount of time a could take out daily.. I was actually seeing the difference in my approach and accuracy!!
One thing i made sure was to be consistent in my approach.. i used to put in 1 - 2 hours.. 2 hours were the days when i couldnt get questions correct and kept on pushing just to have that mental satisfaction! (believe me, the days i spent 2 hours were very limited)!!
I used to take Fridays off!! I used to put in 4 to 6 hours in weekends.. I was religiously sticking to the daily schedule and was consistently making progress..I then started with the E-GMAT Critical Reasoning. CR has always been my Royal Pain in "you know what" . As i progressed with the course, I was able to see where and why i used to dread CR..
As i progressed with the course, I was able to replicate the benefits of SC and CR course in the RC section as well! During all this while i used to do Quant as well in between when verbal got too much!
The one thing i made sure was to stick to official material as much as well!! If any one complaints
that there is not enough official material available, there is then a serious need to re-valuate the strategy. I re did as much official problem as possible. Please note that i re-did not to ensure that i remember each answer.. but to ensure that i understood why each option was incorrect.
I then started with the tests.. again.. as much official as much possible.. Gave my first prep after a year.. scored 650.. was slightly relieved! I then purchased the retired GMAT paper tests from GMAC. Yes, these papers are not adaptive, their quant is much simpler than what we have on official GMAT, but the English is absolutely comparable to the current levels.. moreover, when u have to attempt 108 to 120 questions in the same amount of time as that of official GMAT, they are comparable to the official one..
My scores in these tests are as follows:
Gmat paper 1 - 660
Gmat paper 2 - 720
Gmat paper 3 - 720
Gmat paper 4 - 700
Gmat PREP 2 - 700
Official Test - 690. I owe my success to Egmat, Rajat, Ron, Stacy and Jamie who were just a post away!!
In a nutshell, i believe the game changer in my case was the E-gmat course and the consistency!!
My 2 cents are:
1. Stick to official material as much as possible.
2. Develop a plan and stick to it..trust me it will pay
3. If verbal is your sour point - get E-GMAT asap
I hope this helps!!
Thanks!
Ankit
1. I work long hours - I did too, 10 hour shift + 3 hours commute
2. I do sever dilly dallying - I did too, i dragged on for 3 years
3. I just don't have the aptitude - I thought this too, until i began my preparation
4. I just dont have the time - All you need is sincerity, not seriousness!!(cliche)
I started my Journey in 2010, when i decided to give GMAT. I gave my first GMAT Prep and scored 470..I started my prep and followed MGMAT for math. The books have great information which can act both as a refresher and a good content if you are just starting with math.
God knows what happened, I dropped the plan mid way.
Flash forward to 2011.. i started my prep again in May 2011.. Started again with MGMAT math guide.. used to get up every day at 6 AM and tried to stick to schedule as much as possible. Managed to finish the course and started with SC course.. some how the course proved too much to gulp down at once..and with all the maths..i gave up mid way.. yet again!!
However, I anyways had a date for October 2011. I ended up shifting to April 2012. I did my GMAT prep once again and scored 550.
During this time i came across various posts by Ron (the GMAT God) and Stacy which talked about how to make GMAT prep a part of your day to day life.. not your life!! The one brilliant strategy they offered was to take each day slowly and not to devote too many hours preparing. The reason was that too much pressure would have easily caused:
1. Burnout
2. A not so radical improvement in score
Anyways, I approached my April 2012 GMAT date.. gave the test and scored.. 510!! (Q39: V22). As i walked out of the testing center.. all i could think of was .. how dumb i can be!! There was some funny thing which pushed me to take the GMAT one more time.. I have no idea why..
When i came back.. i did some searching.. and came across E-GMAT.. little did i knew that this course will prove to be a game changer.. i took their trial..was deeply impressed and subscribed to the Verbal Live Prep course.. the video delivery model was perfect given the limited amount of time a could take out daily.. I was actually seeing the difference in my approach and accuracy!!
One thing i made sure was to be consistent in my approach.. i used to put in 1 - 2 hours.. 2 hours were the days when i couldnt get questions correct and kept on pushing just to have that mental satisfaction! (believe me, the days i spent 2 hours were very limited)!!
I used to take Fridays off!! I used to put in 4 to 6 hours in weekends.. I was religiously sticking to the daily schedule and was consistently making progress..I then started with the E-GMAT Critical Reasoning. CR has always been my Royal Pain in "you know what" . As i progressed with the course, I was able to see where and why i used to dread CR..
As i progressed with the course, I was able to replicate the benefits of SC and CR course in the RC section as well! During all this while i used to do Quant as well in between when verbal got too much!
The one thing i made sure was to stick to official material as much as well!! If any one complaints
that there is not enough official material available, there is then a serious need to re-valuate the strategy. I re did as much official problem as possible. Please note that i re-did not to ensure that i remember each answer.. but to ensure that i understood why each option was incorrect.
I then started with the tests.. again.. as much official as much possible.. Gave my first prep after a year.. scored 650.. was slightly relieved! I then purchased the retired GMAT paper tests from GMAC. Yes, these papers are not adaptive, their quant is much simpler than what we have on official GMAT, but the English is absolutely comparable to the current levels.. moreover, when u have to attempt 108 to 120 questions in the same amount of time as that of official GMAT, they are comparable to the official one..
My scores in these tests are as follows:
Gmat paper 1 - 660
Gmat paper 2 - 720
Gmat paper 3 - 720
Gmat paper 4 - 700
Gmat PREP 2 - 700
Official Test - 690. I owe my success to Egmat, Rajat, Ron, Stacy and Jamie who were just a post away!!
In a nutshell, i believe the game changer in my case was the E-gmat course and the consistency!!
My 2 cents are:
1. Stick to official material as much as possible.
2. Develop a plan and stick to it..trust me it will pay
3. If verbal is your sour point - get E-GMAT asap
I hope this helps!!
Thanks!
Ankit
