I just Beat The GMAT!

Dear all,

I am glad to report that I got 710(Q49, V38) on my first attempt in GMAT exam that I took on October 26, 2010. Not really excited about my score, just satisfied. I was expecting around 730, as my mock tests were converging to that score. Also, I had bit of brain freeze during verbal section.

This post is more of my thanks to the community members and experts over here. I have silently watched this forum and read lots of answers. More than that, the motivational success stories posted here are incredible. One night before the exam, I was re-reading some of them. I do not think that I have any special advice that can significantly add to posts already made here. So, I am going to post my mock test scores and bit on exam experience.

My Profile:

Indian (29 years), Engineer (Non-IT), 3.8 GPA in MS from large state university in US, 8/10 GPA from Top 10 Engineering School. I have been in US since 2004. My work involves lots of conceptual studies, interaction with public agencies and public in general.

Things that helped me in GMAT:

1. Thanks to "Content First, Speed Later" guy. I read all MGMAT books except CR and Power Score CR Bible at least 3 times. MGMAT SC book is most condensed and I may have revised my notes from it around 5 times. As you will see in my mock scores, I was getting low scores earlier, when I had studied MGMAT one time only.
2. I extended my GMAT exam by 1 month just before 1 week. I knew I had studied enough but was not confident and needed to go through my notes once.
3. I adapted Error Log from here, and simply noted questions that I got wrong or that I needed to redo. Similarly, I maintained excel sheet of all the tests and OG question sets, to see my hit rates and progress.

Things that might have hurt me in GMAT:

1. I had bought OG 11 instead of OG 12, as when I started my preparation, OG 11 was on the market. The exam is more similar to OG 12. I bought OG 12 in the last weeks, and could not solve enough problems. I think if I had tested using OG 12, I would be better prepared for Verbal exam specially.
2. I took GMAT Prep exam 2 times. I should have taken it more times just for practice and stamina.

Mock tests scores:
MGMAT 1 - 12/13/2009 - 590 (Q35, V35)
MGMAT2 - 1/12/2010 - 570 (Q37, V31)
This was January 2010 and I realized that I need to master content first, to expect different results.
MGMAT3 - 8/1/2010 - 710 (Q48, V38)
MGMAT4 - 8/28/2010 - 680 (Q47, V36)
GMAT PREP1 - 9/3/2010 - 690 (Q47, V38)
MGMAT5 - 9/19/2010 - 710 (Q51, V36) (I took Quantitative untimed, and had only 2 wrong)
KAPLAN FREE TEST - 10/12/2010 - 660 (Q46, Q41)
GMATPREP2 - 10/15/2010 - 720 (Q48, V41)
MGMAT6 - 10/23/2010 - 730 (Q50, V39)
GMAT Actual Exam - 10/26/2010 - 710 (Q49, V38)

Exam experience:

I found quantitative easier, even though I scored more than I had got ever before in my mocks. The reason may be that I re-read all MGMAT quant study guides quickly in the last week to the exam. I was making mostly careless mistakes in my mocks. In actual exam, I took some time to quickly check my calculations and approach. I found questions similar as last 50 questions of OG 11. Timing was not an issue in actual exam. I was very attentive and agile.
Verbal is always harder for me, specially I tend to loose focus and need to read 2-3 time to grasp meaning of sentences. Reason could be that I am a non-native English speaker. SC was harder than I expected. More emphasis was on sentence structure, modifiers, and meaning of sentence. CR was okay, I think I just had hard time focusing on it. RC were medium difficulty, may be like last 10 passages of OG. I was doing good on timing initially, though had to guess between Q30 and 36. For last questions, I got back to 1.45 mins/question.

Reflections on my Score:

I was expecting 730, and I could have got it if I had performed good on verbal. I have already missed R1 but looking to apply in top 10 schools in R2. Will probably seek an admissions consultant. Any recommendations welcome. If I do not get into top 10 this time, I will take GMAT again next year, fill some gaps in profile and re-apply.

Thanks for reading and thanks BTG community.

ajayiitr wrote:Dear all,

I am glad to report that I got 710(Q49, V38) on my first attempt in GMAT exam that I took on October 26, 2010. Not really excited about my score, just satisfied. I was expecting around 730, as my mock tests were converging to that score. Also, I had bit of brain freeze during verbal section.

This post is more of my thanks to the community members and experts over here. I have silently watched this forum and read lots of answers. More than that, the motivational success stories posted here are incredible. One night before the exam, I was re-reading some of them. I do not think that I have any special advice that can significantly add to posts already made here. So, I am going to post my mock test scores and bit on exam experience.

My Profile:

Indian (29 years), Engineer (Non-IT), 3.8 GPA in MS from large state university in US, 8/10 GPA from Top 10 Engineering School. I have been in US since 2004. My work involves lots of conceptual studies, interaction with public agencies and public in general.

Things that helped me in GMAT:

1. Thanks to "Content First, Speed Later" guy. I read all MGMAT books except CR and Power Score CR Bible at least 3 times. MGMAT SC book is most condensed and I may have revised my notes from it around 5 times. As you will see in my mock scores, I was getting low scores earlier, when I had studied MGMAT one time only.
2. I extended my GMAT exam by 1 month just before 1 week. I knew I had studied enough but was not confident and needed to go through my notes once.
3. I adapted Error Log from here, and simply noted questions that I got wrong or that I needed to redo. Similarly, I maintained excel sheet of all the tests and OG question sets, to see my hit rates and progress.

Things that might have hurt me in GMAT:

1. I had bought OG 11 instead of OG 12, as when I started my preparation, OG 11 was on the market. The exam is more similar to OG 12. I bought OG 12 in the last weeks, and could not solve enough problems. I think if I had tested using OG 12, I would be better prepared for Verbal exam specially.
2. I took GMAT Prep exam 2 times. I should have taken it more times just for practice and stamina.

Mock tests scores:
MGMAT 1 - 12/13/2009 - 590 (Q35, V35)
MGMAT2 - 1/12/2010 - 570 (Q37, V31)
This was January 2010 and I realized that I need to master content first, to expect different results.
MGMAT3 - 8/1/2010 - 710 (Q48, V38)
MGMAT4 - 8/28/2010 - 680 (Q47, V36)
GMAT PREP1 - 9/3/2010 - 690 (Q47, V38)
MGMAT5 - 9/19/2010 - 710 (Q51, V36) (I took Quantitative untimed, and had only 2 wrong)
KAPLAN FREE TEST - 10/12/2010 - 660 (Q46, Q41)
GMATPREP2 - 10/15/2010 - 720 (Q48, V41)
MGMAT6 - 10/23/2010 - 730 (Q50, V39)
GMAT Actual Exam - 10/26/2010 - 710 (Q49, V38)

Exam experience:

I found quantitative easier, even though I scored more than I had got ever before in my mocks. The reason may be that I re-read all MGMAT quant study guides quickly in the last week to the exam. I was making mostly careless mistakes in my mocks. In actual exam, I took some time to quickly check my calculations and approach. I found questions similar as last 50 questions of OG 11. Timing was not an issue in actual exam. I was very attentive and agile.
Verbal is always harder for me, specially I tend to loose focus and need to read 2-3 time to grasp meaning of sentences. Reason could be that I am a non-native English speaker. SC was harder than I expected. More emphasis was on sentence structure, modifiers, and meaning of sentence. CR was okay, I think I just had hard time focusing on it. RC were medium difficulty, may be like last 10 passages of OG. I was doing good on timing initially, though had to guess between Q30 and 36. For last questions, I got back to 1.45 mins/question.

Reflections on my Score:

I was expecting 730, and I could have got it if I had performed good on verbal. I have already missed R1 but looking to apply in top 10 schools in R2. Will probably seek an admissions consultant. Any recommendations welcome. If I do not get into top 10 this time, I will take GMAT again next year, fill some gaps in profile and re-apply.

Thanks for reading and thanks BTG community.

710 is so so OK, i wish to get that score... want to study in berkeley so so so much....
congratulation!