Gave the test today and got 50 in Quant & 41 in Verbal - overall 740.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the members here! Also wanted to share things that worked for me in the hope that it's useful for someone else out there too!
So here goes! (I started my prep around 30th May)
1) Identify your *specific* pain points early on - For example, I realized that CR was the biggest pain point for me in Verbal while number properties and inequalities were the areas I needed to focus on more in Quant. Zeroing in on these topics early on helped me in my subsequent preparation.
2) Get your fundamentals clear - It's not ok to solve sums for 2 hours, take a break, solve some more sums for 2 hours and make the same mistakes that you made the first time. This is perhaps an obvious point but cannot be repeated enough!
3) Figure out what strategy works for YOU - There's a lot of conflicting information on the net on whether to spend more time on the initial few questions thereby ensuring their accuracy. For me, this suggestion actually helped! Each of the times I increased my pace because I had already taken ~45-50 mins for the first 20 questions (as opposed to <=40 mins), my score suffered. It took me 6-7 CATs to figure this out. I think this sweet spot of accuracy vs speed varies from individual to individual and it's worth spending time and effort to figure out what works best for you.
4) Prep Material - In my opinion (and this is JUST MY OPINION!! ) the MGMAT material is outstanding, especially their explanations. I studied their Sentence Correction and Number Property Guides and both really helped me in clarifying my fundaes. For CR though, I used the PowerScore Bible since it had received overwhelming reviews. My last minute preparation involved going through all the MGMAT flashcards which are available for free on MGMAT's site. The range of topics covered by these flashcards is pretty comprehensive and definitely helped in a last minute revision of my basics. Thanks to Abhay (albatross86) for pointing these out in his own success story post!!
5) SC Specific Stuff - I think this is another one of those obvious points that I want to share in case there's anyone else out there who like me is not pay attention to this! Figuring out what's wrong with the original sentence REALLY increases both your speed and accuracy on the SC questions. While it might be tempting to look at the answer choices without first figuring out the mistakes in the original sentence, it helps if you make an effort to understand the specifics of what's wrong! Or that's what happened with me at least once I realized this already well-know fact.
Last but not the least, BEAT THE GMAT FORUM!!! It helped not only to ask questions I was doubtful about but also to answer doubts/questions other members had. Stealing in 10 minutes here and there between work and other stuff ensured that I didn't lose my focus! Plus, responses from certain members really helped me see how to approach certain questions.
So that pretty much sums it I think! In case anyone has any questions they think I might be able to help them with, feel free to ask! I'll do my best to answer!
740 (50Q & 41V) - a HUGE thank you to Beat The GMAT!
- nikhilkatira
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Congratulations jube
- Would you say the quant questions in the real GMAT are representative of the GMAT prep/OG questions (at least the harder ones).
- Would you say the quant questions in the real GMAT are representative of the GMAT prep/OG questions (at least the harder ones).
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what were your practice test scores ?jube wrote:Thanks kvcpk, Namita and Nikhil!
Namita, yes I took all the 6 MGMAT CATs and I found the questions on the actual GMAT easier - I felt this especially in CR & RC.
Best,
Nikhil H. Katira
Nikhil H. Katira
- albatross86
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Well done! I'm glad you found the flashcards as useful as I did
Good luck with your applications!
Good luck with your applications!
~Abhay
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. -- Andre Gide
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. -- Andre Gide
Before getting to this, I do want to mention that I'd exhausted most of the OG quant questions during the first half of my prep. I'd bought both OG 12 and the green Quant Guide and I think I had finished almost all questions (might have left about 30-40) by end of June. The reason that I mention this is because my memory might be playing some tricks here!secondinnings wrote:Congratulations jube
- Would you say the quant questions in the real GMAT are representative of the GMAT prep/OG questions (at least the harder ones).
With that out of the way, the way I remember it, the quant section on the real GMAT is a little harder than the questions in the OG books. They are however of more or less the same level as in the GMAT prep software. (or that's what I felt anyway!)
CAT 1 (July 13)nikhilkatira wrote:what were your practice test scores ?jube wrote:Thanks kvcpk, Namita and Nikhil!
Namita, yes I took all the 6 MGMAT CATs and I found the questions on the actual GMAT easier - I felt this especially in CR & RC.
Quant: 45 Verbal: 44
Overall: 730
CAT 2 (July 14)
Quant: 47 Verbal: 36
Overall: 680
CAT 3 (July 15)
Quant: 47 Verbal: 35
Overall: 680
CAT 4 (July 17)
Quant: 43 Verbal: 36
Overall: 650
CAT 5 (July 17)
Quant: 48 Verbal: 39
Overall: 710
CAT 6 (July 18)
Quant: 48 Verbal: 41
Overall: 730
While I did the AWA for only 2 of the CATs, I did do the Quant & Verbal sections under timed conditions (same as the actual test - 75 mins).
Hey thanks Abhay! All the best to you too!albatross86 wrote:Well done! I'm glad you found the flashcards as useful as I did
Good luck with your applications!
Btw, you're one of those "members (who) really helped me see how to approach certain questions."
Jube- Congrats! great score. i have my test in 2 weeks. What are the materials you used to study Quant and Verbal? Do you think it is enough to do all the MGMAT guides and the problems in the OG 11? What would you suggest I study to increase my score in Quant and Verbal. My quant score is right now 41 and verbal is 26. Weakness is SC and CR. Thanks!
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Congrats Jube. All the best for your apps!
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become."
- Gautama Siddharta (Buddha)
- Gautama Siddharta (Buddha)
How is the free online question bank that you get with MGMAT SC...is it worth doing?jube wrote:
Prep Material - In my opinion (and this is JUST MY OPINION!! ) the MGMAT material is outstanding, especially their explanations. I studied their Sentence Correction and Number Property Guides and both really helped me in clarifying my fundaes. For CR though, I used the PowerScore Bible since it had received overwhelming reviews. My last minute preparation involved going through all the MGMAT flashcards which are available for free on MGMAT's site. The range of topics covered by these flashcards is pretty comprehensive and definitely helped in a last minute revision of my basics. Thanks to Abhay (albatross86) for pointing these out in his own success story post!!
IMO yes. To me, it felt like the questions were built around SC basics.jgdjgd wrote:
How is the free online question bank that you get with MGMAT SC...is it worth doing?
I didn't look at the answers after my first attempt though. I re-took the question bank 3 times. The firs time I got about 50% sentences wrong, the second time 32% and the third time 16%. I looked at the answers only after the third attempt.