I just Beat The GMAT!

I have been delaying this post for a while now but decided to finally sit down and write it. I gave my test on 14th Aug in Mumbai, India after preparing for about 2 month and scored a 770, AWA 5.0.

I started my prep in the first week of June. Luckily, I stumbled on this website early on in my prep and spent a lot of time reading posts in the "I Just BTG" and the "GMAT strategy" forums. These posts not only inspired me but also helped me immensely in forming my own strategy to tackle the GMAT.

After reading a few posts by the experts on BTG (esp. Stacey, Ron, Stuart & Ian), I realized that quality is much more important than quantity while practicing questions. Instead of doing hundreds of practice questions, I concentrated mostly on the OG and then went over the answers for EACH question. This is very important as you get a better idea of why a particular answer is wrong which helps in eliminating answers when you stumble on the tough questions. Also, I would time every single question I did and then put more emphasis on the questions in which I spent more than 2 mins (for the quant section) or more than 1m 45s (for the RC and CR section) and 1m 30s for the SC questions.

SC - I did miserably in this section when I gave the diagnostic test (less than 30% hit rate). But after reading a few posts here, I got hold of the MGMAT sentence correction book. Apart from OG, I think this is the most useful book for GMAT out there. This book covers almost all of the important grammar concepts needed to solve the SC questions. I must have read this book atleast 3 times to drill in the basic concepts!

RC/CR - For CR, I went through the Powerscore Bible as I heard good things about it. It is basically a comprehensive book describing in detail each type of question you can expect in CR but I wish it had more practice questions. I did a few LSAT exams to practice CR and RC. The LSAT questions give you a good practice for tackling the hard bin questions from GMAT and I would definitely recommend doing a few of these to improve your RC/CR.

Quant - I studied engineering in my undergraduate so didn't have as many problems in Quant. DS can be tricky, but with enough practice its not too bad. My first diagnostic I had a score of 48 even though I had 15 questions wrong. So, I started practicing a tonne of questions - from BTG forum, OG, Kaplan 800 (just do the math from Kaplan 800, I felt verbal from this book was a lil off mark compared to the official questions) - basically anything I could get my hands on. But, the most help I got was from the MGMAT tests. Just reviewing these tests will teach you new tricks and shortcuts to solve the problems.

Here are my practice test scores. Except the first 2, I did these under exam conditions. I.e. essays, timed breaks etc.

Test scores:
6/20 GMAT testprep 1 710 (Q48, V41)
6/27 MGMAT 1 640 (Q44, V34)
7/19 MGMAT 2 660 (Q44, V36)
7/26 MGMAT 3 750 (Q48, V44)
7/30 MGMAT 4 740 (Q50, V41)
8/2 MGMAT 5 760 (Q51, V42)
8/10 GMAT testprep 2 760 (Q50, V43)
8/14 Actual Test 770 (Q50, V44)

General tips:

For verbal, try and stick to the official questions as much as you can. It is not so much about right vs wrong but GMAT right vs GMAT wrong. The more official questions you do, the better you will get at knowing what GMAt considers wrong. Once I was done with my MGMAT 5, I did only OG questions - redid the ones I got wrong in OG 11, got hold of OG12 and did the 300 odd new questions from it.

Remember, there are many many ways to get your dream score. Don't think that there is just one way. You have to figure out what is the best approach for You. Work on your weaknesses but don't ignore your strengths. If you think you are good in quant, don't be satisfied with a 47 or a 48. Try and push for a 50/51.

Do the practice tests in exam conditions. When I did my 1st practice test under exam conditions (MGMAT 2), I was so exhausted and bored when I got to verbal that I just wanted to get over with it. I realized my concentration absolutely sucked and that I would need to work on it to do better. For my next test, I was much better prepared to handle the 4 hr stress and so did a lot better! Also, make sure you review each question before moving onto something else. Tests will sap your energy and its very unlikely that you will want to do any more questions that day. So just review your mistakes and try and understand why you are getting the answers wrong and work on them!

Keep motivating yourself. Preparing for the GMAT is a strenuous process. There were times when I just didn't want to look at the material because I was so fed up. I would just take a break for a couple of hours and watch Ironman or some other crazy motivational videos on youtube - it helped!

Exam day-Be relaxed. I know its easier said than done, but the more you simulate the test conditions when you do the practice tests, the more relaxed you will be. I had seen a clip of a sumo wrestler preparing for his fight and he had this ritual where just before he enters the ring he would ask himself.. "What is it all for?.. all this hard work, all those hours spent practicing.. what is it all for?" That line just stuck with me and I was raring to go into the exam hall and beat the shit out of GMAT!

Lastly, spend some time everyday on the BTG forums (Can't thank you enough ERIC for starting this forum).
I wish you all the best to get your dream score!

-Piyush

PS - If there is any more info that you guys may require, just let me know and I ll be glad to help in any way I can.

Congrats pg850. Awesome score. Thanks for your debrief. It certainly helps and motivates guys like me who are getting ready to beat the gmat.

I am from India too, I would like to know from where did you get Powerscore CR Bible. Was it hardcopy or softcopy. I am looking to buy one myself, but I am not able to find it in India.

THanks and all the best with your apps.

what is ur percentile score in each section?

@ rajivn - Thanks rajiv! I wish you all the best for your GMAT!
The Powerscore Bible or any other GMAT book that you dont find in the stores in India can be ordered from amazon.com. The expedited shipping takes about 10 days if you are in a major city.

@maihuna - V - 97%, Q - 93%

Hi,
Huge score boss.Congrats.I'd like to know the source you used for practicing C.R.(like 1000 C.R.,kaplan lsat)etc... .It would be great if you could give the specific name of the sources you used.


Thanks.

Hi piyush,

Many congs for the score!You really did beat the GMAT.
I can see many similarities in yr prep wrt mine.I am two weeks far from giving my first attempt and a bit confused regarding the practice tests.
So far, I have just given the GMAT prep tests.I do feel a need to practice more.Do you suggest if I shud go for the MGMAT tests now??..pls help!

pg850, awesome score and much respect. can you post the searches on youtube for your inspirational vides?

You Rock Dude!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

One question: Can you tell us about your study pattern....??

Thanks !!!

@etnry-
Here's a list of material I used and my take on each one of them.
OG 11&12 - The best source for practice problems. Read the answer explnations for EACH question. It requires patience but its worth it.

Kaplan 800 - I just did the math from this as I thought the verbal was a little off the mark compared to the official questions. Most of the questions in it are 650-700 range so if you are looking for tough questions then this is not it. But, the explanations for the math part are quite good.

MGMAT SC guide - This is hands down the most useful book out there for SC. If you are weak in SC or if you want to clear your concepts about GMAT grammar, then this is the perfect book.

PowerScore CR bible - I got this book about 3 weeks before the test so didn't have time to finish it. But the concepts are very well explained. So, if you think you are weak on a certain type of question (eg. assumption, or weaken etc.), then I would recommend going through the relevant chapter in this book.

LSAT tests - I did about 4 of these to practice the hard CR/RC q types. These tests are a great source for getting that extra edge in RC/CR.

Other than these, I must have done a bunch of problems from the forums or other docs that people uploaded. Make sure you check the authenticity of these questions before you solve them though. For math, it may not be much of a problem. But for verbal, docs like 1000 SC contain problems that have the wrong answers compared to the OG. So, do these at your own risk!

@ target_mba2010 -
How did you do in the prep1? If you got something close to your target score then dont sweat too much about doing more tests. But, if you feel you need more practice, then I would recommend just doing the GMAT prep tests again. I have heard people doing each test twice and still not facing any repeats. With just 2 weeks left, you are much better off sticking to the official questions.

@ levocap -
I just stumbled on an Ironman video (Search Ironman Hawaii) and watching people preparing for it or just the kind of people who compete in it is inspiring. Once you start watching one vid, you will get recommendations for more and then you just go from there to the next and so on... Even some scenes from movies such as rocky 6, pursuit of happiness do a good job of motivating!

@ GMAT_Gladiator

I am not sure what you mean by study pattern. Is it the hours or my time spent studying everyday?
Well, I have a fulltime job and am at work about 9 to 10 hours everyday. Also, i spend about 3 hours commuting, so I didnt have that much time to study on the weekdays. I would spend maybe 3 hours on weekdays and about 12 hours or so on the weekends. Hope it helps. let me know if this is not what you were asking..

-Piyush

Thanks.....I got my answer

Which schools you are targeting???

hi piyush,

sorry to bother you again.But can you tell me how to get hold of the lsat tests.Is it on the net or did you buy them.If there is a soft copy available could me please tell me where to find it(if possible).Also tell me the exact name of the document you used so that i can find it out myself.

thanks.

Thanks a lot for that fair opinion.I scored 610 in GMAT prep 1,much below my expectation.But,i guess sticking to the official questions as u said, will be a smarter move now.

Thanks again! keep rocking!

Awesome score! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.