I just Beat The GMAT!

My preps for GMAT started two months before I actually took the test.

In the first mock I took (GMAT prep) I got a 650.

I was pretty bad at verbal, which is to be expected because often we do not pay attention to grammatically correct english and use, what we call, a more pleasant sounding english. So if you struggle with verbal and you feel that all that you have learnt till date is of no use, its okay, everyone goes through that, and its just a matter of time before you are GMAT ready.

I never really had a problem with math, as once you practice about 500-600 DS problems in the course of your preps from various sources such as the OG, simulated tests, 800score tests, you should be just fine.

For verbal, I had to put in extra effort, and I referred to the MGMAT books for CR (Taught me a very good way to break a problem down), SC (Very thorough, you will need the OG 12 though) and RC (Frankly, this book I just skimmed through).

With SC if you are as weak as I was, then you should attempt at least 700 problems to get any sort of confidence. And of course, analyzing the mistake is as important as attempting the problem itself.

I struggled a little bit with CR initially but was very comfortable with it once I finished the OG.

RC I never really bothered looking up, as I thought, with RC, I either know it right or I don't.

Now that I have told you where I studied from and how I went about studying, here are a few things to keep in mind before taking the actual exam.

1. Do not keep unrealistic expectations from the test. The key is to know your strengths and weaknesses and play to your strengths. If someone got a 770 after studying for a week doesn't mean you too can get a similar score in two weeks. If you are getting a consistent 600 on your mocks, means you will score around 600 only, unless by miracle you mark all rights! What are the odds of that!

2. Please do give a healthy 25-30 minutes to the first 10-12 questions, this is where the level is set, and even if you are like on a question 12 when 25 minutes are over, it's okay, don't panic, just breeze through the rest of the paper to the best of your ability.

3. A day or two before the test, please stop solving problems, only look at your concept sheets, and scribbled notes.

4. If you have sucky exam temperament, as I had, you might want to take a lot of mocks to ensure that in those crucial 3-4 hours, you do not think about anything else in the world but your test.

5. Practice AWAs, its important because at the start of the test if you are able to finish your AWA to the best of your ability, it gives you confidence.

6. IR I did not prepare for at all. And I don't think it went well at all, however, I would say, please do look at the Wiley site questions, they are good, and I think should be sufficient.

Now I went for the test thinking well, I have prepared as much as I could and these are my expectations:

Q: 49-52
V: 34-40

OA: 680- 720

And I got:
Q: 49
V:34
OA: 690

So I got marks within the range that I had expected.

My scores in the different mock ups are as follows:

GMAT Prep 1 : 650 (Q48/V31)
GMAT Prep 1 (Older version different set of questions): 660 (Q49/V35)
GMAT Prep 2 (Older version different set of questions): 670 (Q50/V32)
Veritas : 660(Q49/V35)
Princeton Review: 620 (Q51/V25)
Kaplan GMAT : 650
GMAT Prep 1 (At.2) (Different set of questions, and a different question for AWA): 720 (Q50/V37)
800Score: 740 (Q52/V40)
GMAT Prep 2: 690(Q49/V34)

Actual GMAT: 690(Q49/V34)

All the best, and if you have any specific questions, please feel free to post them, I'll be more than happy to respond to reply.