I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello Everyone

I finally gave the GMAT after around 1.5 months preparation and scored 720. Feeling neither ecstatic nor disappointed. I could have done better with the quant( esp since I have an engg. background), but since I had taken up studies after a long gap & since I am now completely addicted to tools for calculations, I guess I could not get into the groove in 1 month.

Here's a debrief on my experience with GMAT.

Study Duration: As stated 1.5 months, with first 2 days spent on understanding the GMAT exam format and then diving straight into solving Official Guide sections. I did not plan to spend too much time on preparation and with my daily workload, could only manage 1-2 hrs of study per day. Hence, decided to skip any reading material on quant or verbal fundamentals and went straight into solving questions.

After completing the OG 12 Guide in 2 weeks, I started writing practice Tests. I wrote most practice tests on weekends, but couple of times wrote them early morning on a week day. I was very particular about simulating test condition and never wrote a practice test without AWA section. Also, I timed myself while solving any question, even the ones in OG 12 (used to divide questions into a set of 15 and then time questions at 2 minutes per Quant or at 1.8 minutes per Verbal). After each test, I used to review wrong answers thoroughly and make notes of any new concepts, be it on Math, SC, RC or CR. I referred to these notes 1 day before the test, so that I understand what to guard against.

I took tests from variety of sources, many of which were online & free. However, also bought 6 MGMAT tests & had Princeton CD tests. Here's a report of all my scores.

GMATPrep 700 680
GMATPowerprep 700 740
KAPLAN 670
Manhattan 640 600 680 620
Princeton 710 720 640 690 720
Veritas 610
Knewton 630
Platinum GMAT 690

I saved at least 1 GMATPrep & 1 GMATPowerPrep for the end and scored 680 & 740 respectively, 1 day before the exam. I never retook a test.

My take on practice tests: In my opinion, Princeton is pretty accurate as it gives the right mix of medium & difficult questions. MGMAT has a very good question bank and they are awesome in explaining the fundamentals, but in my opinion they are a tad difficult for average people. At least, I was never able to complete all questions in their quant section. Infact, in one test I even got 20 questions wrong but still managed 41 in Quant. However, their Verbal was OK.

Test Day Experience: During my practice tests, I was not doing very well on AWA section as I used to repeatedly run out of time during review in the end. This was primarily because I was writing too lengthy essays. So on the test day, before starting the exam, I made up by mind to write essays of not more than 300 words. I stuck to the plan and wrote both Argument & Analysis essays of 4 paragraphs each- Intro, 2 examples to illustrate by line of thought, Conclusion. In the argument section, I critiqued the argument on only 2 points - fallacy of assumptions & lack of evidential support. I am not surprised that I got 6 as my GMAT essay came out very crisp & to the point.

The Quant section was up next and I started very badly as got each of the first 4 questions first wrong and then recalculated for correct answer. I don't know how I ended up this way but maybe I was trying to rush things. Anyways, this consumed lot of time and I was off track as far as timing goes. Tried to speed up things later, and I guess in the process made common place errors thru the test. By the end of this section, I was pretty down as I knew that things had not gone well. Also, I found the questions in GMAT tougher than I had anticipated. I was expecting more on the lines of Official Guide, but I can certainly say that in general the questions were a bit tougher than those in OG.

Verbal was a breeze as on most questions, could easily eliminate wrong choices in SC as well as CR. RC was so-so, with 1 topic from biochemistry being extraordinarily tough, while two other topics on Economy & Social History of average difficulty. My opinion is that anyone who does the OG verbal sincerely should be able to perform decently on this section.

After ending the test, I was in a dilemma whether I should cancel the scores as I had expected to do better on quant. But then, I took my chances and ended up with 45Q,44V for a 720 score. Not exactly over the moon but not downcast either....

Conclusion: When I started my preparation 1.5 months back, I had thought I would clear GMAT with ease and get 700+ without fuss. But with each passing test, I realized that I had underestimated and while GMAT may not be as tough as Indian CAT exam, it is designed as very challenging & exhaustive (3.5 hrs, phew!!) and demands strenuous & focused preparation. However, my opinion is that anyone who has decent written communication skills & a background in mathematics/engineering should be able to get hang of it in 40-50 days.

That was a long debrief but hope it helps out those who are crunched for time in their preparation!

Completing the GMAT gets the first & easiest step towards an application out of the way. The hard part starts from here on....

Thanks

Congrats on your 700 plus score. Your prep levels make the score look better, especially in Verbal.

Now, All the best for the journey ahead.

vineeshp wrote:Congrats on your 700 plus score. Your prep levels make the score look better, especially in Verbal.

Now, All the best for the journey ahead.

Thanks. Hope the score proves sufficient for my application..

Congrats!V 44 is awesome!
I'm happy to know that the OG is good enough for the verbal prep

Hi,
I'm also an engineering student & planning to give GMAT on 14th May 2011.
Had started my preps a month ago but with a very low pace. Now need to accelerate with my preps.
Your story is truly motivating for me. As I was confused whether I should postpone my test. But now I feel I can do better if I'm steady with my preps.

Till now have appeared for 1 test.

KAPLAN CAT #1 Score : 590.

Give me some suggestions for my preps if I'm lacking something.
Thanks.

Congratulations PS2011!

I've just scored 640 on a MGMAT CAT (43Q 35V) after preparing for at least 1 month (very disappointing). Do you think this is enough to get 700 on the real thing?

What was your last MGMAT CAT score before taking the GMAT (please provide the split)?

Thanks

GMATPrep 700 680
GMATPowerprep 700 740
KAPLAN 670
Manhattan 640 600 680 620
Princeton 710 720 640 690 720
Veritas 610
Knewton 630
Platinum GMAT 690

I saved at least 1 GMATPrep & 1 GMATPowerPrep for the end and scored 680 & 740 respectively, 1 day before the exam. I never retook a test.


The Quant section was up next and I started very badly as got each of the first 4 questions first wrong and then recalculated for correct answer. I don't know how I ended up this way but maybe I was trying to rush things. Anyways, this consumed lot of time and I was off track as far as timing goes. Tried to speed up things later, and I guess in the process made common place errors thru the test. By the end of this section, I was pretty down as I knew that things had not gone well. Also, I found the questions in GMAT tougher than I had anticipated. I was expecting more on the lines of Official Guide, but I can certainly say that in general the questions were a bit tougher than those in OG.

Thanks[/quote]

Hi, when you say you found the GMAT math tougher was it tougher than gmat prep? what were your raw scores on the gmatprep?

Francholo wrote:Congratulations PS2011!

I've just scored 640 on a MGMAT CAT (43Q 35V) after preparing for at least 1 month (very disappointing). Do you think this is enough to get 700 on the real thing?

What was your last MGMAT CAT score before taking the GMAT (please provide the split)?

Thanks

My score was 620 with 39Q,35V split. In my opinion, MGMAT has very good question bank but is tough to complete in quant. The verbal is OK.

I considered Princeton the best as my scores in those tests were close to actual GMAT.

I would advise not to bother about scores but keep giving as many tests as you can. Kaplan 550-650 & MGMAT 600-650 is good range to cross 700.

Thanks

abhishekwadhava wrote:Hi,
I'm also an engineering student & planning to give GMAT on 14th May 2011.
Had started my preps a month ago but with a very low pace. Now need to accelerate with my preps.
Your story is truly motivating for me. As I was confused whether I should postpone my test. But now I feel I can do better if I'm steady with my preps.

Till now have appeared for 1 test.

KAPLAN CAT #1 Score : 590.

Give me some suggestions for my preps if I'm lacking something.
Thanks.

590 is OK for KAPLAN CD test. What I heard is that for KAPLAN CD Tests, you can safely assume 80+ on GMAT. Even I took one CD test in the beginning an got just 560.

If you are good in grammar & critical reasoning, then you can go straight to practicing questions.
Complete the OG12 and then start giving free online tests - Knewton, KAPLAN, VERITAS, Princeton, Platinum GMAT, Manhattan. And definitely give the GMATprep & GMATPowerPrep towards the end.

If your verbal scores are poor, then I would suggest buying OG12 verbal guide. That should be good enough. GMAT verbal is in line with OG and if you understand the SC & CR patterns, it becomes easier to eliminate answers in actual test.

And yes when you practice questions or give tests, make notes of all questions that you got wrong because of weak understanding. It can be very handy for revision 1 day before exam.

Thanks

mba2013stress wrote:GMATPrep 700 680
GMATPowerprep 700 740
KAPLAN 670
Manhattan 640 600 680 620
Princeton 710 720 640 690 720
Veritas 610
Knewton 630
Platinum GMAT 690

I saved at least 1 GMATPrep & 1 GMATPowerPrep for the end and scored 680 & 740 respectively, 1 day before the exam. I never retook a test.


The Quant section was up next and I started very badly as got each of the first 4 questions first wrong and then recalculated for correct answer. I don't know how I ended up this way but maybe I was trying to rush things. Anyways, this consumed lot of time and I was off track as far as timing goes. Tried to speed up things later, and I guess in the process made common place errors thru the test. By the end of this section, I was pretty down as I knew that things had not gone well. Also, I found the questions in GMAT tougher than I had anticipated. I was expecting more on the lines of Official Guide, but I can certainly say that in general the questions were a bit tougher than those in OG.

Thanks

Hi, when you say you found the GMAT math tougher was it tougher than gmat prep? what were your raw scores on the gmatprep?[/quote]

Don't have score split but it was 47+. Quant was tougher than OG problems.

Thanks

What an increase in you verbal score from MGMAT 35V to GMAT 44V. How did you make it?

Thank you again and good luck with your applications!

Francholo wrote:What an increase in you verbal score from MGMAT 35V to GMAT 44V. How did you make it?

Thank you again and good luck with your applications!

Mostly the revision of SC common errors before the test. SC was the problem area for me. RC & CR was always OK. Which why, I suggest maintaining a log of errors for all practice tests.