Aman's GMAT Saga - From 560 to 710

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Aman's GMAT Saga - From 560 to 710

by deep.amangmat » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:41 am
It seems as if a big chapter of my life just got over and man what a climax...(So glad it was not an anti-climax ;))...

So am writing this with nice oldies (Kishore Da's) songs playing in the background. I really am going down the memory lane starting from November 2010 when while having a serious chat with my colleagues and boss at Rock Bottom (oh yeah I normally engage in serious discussions in breweries), I had a revelation that I need an MBA if I want to speed up my career progression.

I have been in operations consultancy since last 3 years and I want to move up the consultancy ladder into strategic consultancy. So over the course of the following week, I discussed my plans with my better half and together we chalked out the path towards MBA. Clearly, the first step was GMAT.

I have organized my debrief in the following categories.
1: Chronological account of my gmatprep
2: Best Practices
3: Review of preparation material that I used
4: My regrets

Chronological account of my prep:
1: First phase - Self Study - November
A) Ordered OG12 and the 8-pack MGMAT book series
B) Mock Test Score = 560
C) Went through MGMAT books & OG12 for 2 weeks.
D) Issue = Excessive travel at work was an impediment to my study plan. I could not discipline myself into studying in a structured manner. I realized that I needed a classroom type course with set syllabus.

2: Second phase - Knewton - December - March
A) Got Knewton course through BTG - the discount was fabulous - $325 for a course that currently retails for $900 (Thanks BTG!!!)
B) Went through the course for the next 3 months (No it should not take anyone 3 months to complete the course. But due to excessive workload, I could not be as regular with it as I would have wanted to).
C) Mock test Score = 630

3: Break - April - I relocated to Netherlands. So I had to take a month's break from my GMAT study.

4: Third phase - Self Study again - May - June
A) MGMAT SC & Powerscore CR
B) Mock test score = 640
C) Issue = Verbal scores were stagnant. My confidence was going down and believe me its not easy for a guy like me to lose confidence. I was all tied up in the rules of grammar. I was definitely not doing something right.

5: Forth Phase - e-GMAT Course - July
A) E-GMAT SC and CR courses & OG12
B) Only worked on SC for about 2 weeks. Took 1 week off from work (paid vacation). (I wish I had discovered this course sooner than this. It may have saved me the misery and disappointment)
C) Mock test scores = 690, 700, 710, 700, 710

Best Practices for verbal

1. SC

a. Think meaning first, grammar next.

In fact all experts here say this. I remember one of Brian's posts in which he very nicely articulated this point. Also, Ron in most of his posts, especially on verbs and modifiers, makes this point very explicitly. But for me, this point really drove home when I went through e-GMAT course and when I could see ALL questions being solved using the method in which first the meaning is analyzed before grammar.

b. At this point, I do want to mention this. There was a time in my preparation when I was entangled in the grammar rules to such an extent that I had made a web for myself from which I myself could not get out. I still remember how much I bothered Ron with my queries on one specific topic of parallelism. I am certainly not at all proud of that thread. But I must say that was an eye opener for me. I must thank @GMATMadeEasy for pulling me out of that web.

2. CR

a. Think logically about the passage. Try to put yourself into that situation. This really works well. After all a CR passage is a scenario only. All you have to do is place yourself in that scene.

b. First understand the scenario presented in the passage and then review the answer choices.

3. RC

a. Do not just read the passage, read it critically. Understand
i. Key point in each paragraph in the passage.
ii. Relationships & transitions among the paragraphs.
For example, is 2nd paragraph extending the thought of previous paragraph or is it refuting it, or is it stating a new point all together that is then discussed in the 3rd paragraph along with the point in 1st paragraph.


Review of Preparation Material

1. Knewton
a. Pros

i. Flexibility - Offers immense flexibility for professionals such as me who travel and who need to a syllabus/classroom experience to keep them motivated and on track.

ii. Entertaining - We as professionals study after a hectic day at work. So if the lessons are entertaining, then we will be more likely to study properly. In fact I do remember that there were days when I would not have any tolerance for books, but Knewton lessons were welcome at that time as well. I especially like the ones with Jen (only recall her name.;))

iii. Complete Course - The course kept me on track with the coverage of complete syllabus. I really needed that.

b. Cons

i. As many others have said, the questions have stark resemblance to questions in OG

ii. Also, level of detail in video lessons is less. They do have supplementary lessons, but those are not as interesting as Jen's lessons.

2. [e-GMAT
a. Pros

i. Great for SC - It is an excellent resource for preparing for SC, especially for someone like me who was stuck at 33. The process explained in application files really works. The process is reinforced in all these files since all questions are solved using this method.

ii. Extremely Detailed - The course is very detailed, almost as detailed as MGMAT SC, but a lot more practical.

iii. Great for CR too - Even though I was pretty good with CR, this course help me improve the confidence and brought the next level of clarity. In fact it employs some extremely unique features in paradox and bold face concepts.

iv. Flexibility - I could access lessons anywhere and anytime. (But I missed seeing a live person here. Yes I did miss Jen here)

v. Easy to get questions answered - It is easy to post doubts in the forum and best thing is that we get responses pretty quick and that too from the course creators.

b. Cons

i. Does not offer complete GMAT course. It only offers SC and CR. It does not even cover complete verbal course since it does not have RC.

ii. Forums are not as convenient as BTG forum. But I did bring this up with them and they understood the shortcomings. Hopefully they will do something about it.

3. Thursdays with Ron
a. Pros

i. Covers very niche topics in good detail. These topics are not covered even in the MGMAT SC book. For example usage of including and based on. So this is a great supplement to the book.

ii. Taught by Ron, the trusted name in GMAT.

b. Cons

i. It is too cumbersome to navigate and the interface is not great. Again this is a free resource so I should not complain. I would recommend everyone to see these lessons.

4. Grockit
a. Pros

i. Good repository of questions for all of GMAT

ii. Targeted practice - I loved the fact that I could practice in the specific areas that I wanted to. For example, I wanted to practice inequalities and I could get over 30 DIFFICULT questions on inequality.

iii. Great Analytics - The system told me exactly where I needed to focus my attention. I remember that after I did 20 questions in geometry, I knew that I had issues with "inscribed figures". I then reviewed the material for this topic, came back and practiced again and was glad to see that I had overcome my weakness.

iv. Practice with others - I know we can practice with others, but I did not utilize this.

b. Cons

i. I saw repeat questions in the mock tests. So that is a bummer. I wonder why the question bank for mock tests and practice tests be the same.

My Regrets

1. Quant score - I did not try hard enough to score 50 on quant. I somehow accepted the fact that I cannot go beyond 49. Now in the hindsight, I feel that I should not have accepted this.

2. Stretched GMAT Prep - My preparation lingered for 9 long months. If I were to do it again, I would make sure I complete the preparation in 2-3 months. Overall its better for morale and keeps the momentum going.

3. Quantity vs. quality - Initially in my prep, my benchmark was the number of questions that I solve instead of quality of questions. If I were to do this again, I would not hunt the web for more and more questions. Instead I would focus on trusted sources only and do quality reviews of questions.

So here it is...the saga of Aman's GMAT is over. And now after a break of 2 weeks, I will move to the next step - the essay process.
Last edited by deep.amangmat on Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

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by ankurmit » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:20 am
Congrats dear !!

Will wait to hear your success story.get relaxed soon :)
--------
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by Frankenstein » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:27 am
Hey,
Congrats on your score. Good Luck with your apps!
Cheers!

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by deep.amangmat » Sat Jul 30, 2011 10:31 pm
Frankenstein wrote:Hey,
Congrats on your score. Good Luck with your apps!
Thanks Frankenstein...How are you doing?

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by mriiidula » Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:32 am
congrats on a wonderful score, and thanks for your debrief. all the best for your applications.
Follow my GMAT Journey here:
https://magicalmri.blocked

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by missionGMATverbal » Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:24 am
Congrats Aman on your achievement. Hey what was your verbal score?

I love your tips on RC. RC and SC are my weak areas and I am looking for any help to take care of these. Do you think I will benefit from the egmat course?

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by prateek_guy2004 » Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:07 am
nic motivation im in 500 q36 v 22 need big improvemnt

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by GMATMadeEasy » Fri Aug 05, 2011 2:11 pm
Excellent Job Aman.

Thanks for your kind words.. more importantly that you followed the advice.

what all colleges you are applying to ?

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by adi_800 » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:06 am
Hi Aman,

I guess I can relate to your condition of not understanding the meaning of the sentence and concentrating on the grammar of the sentence...
I am going through the e-GMAT SC course and it has changed my entire approach of solving SC... Now I have to concentrate on the meaning first and then think of grammar... I guess non natives, while solving the question, think of getting the question right at the first place and focus on finding the errors in the sentence, thereby focusing on the grammar aspect of the sentence.. We feel that if we do not understand the meaning and focus on the grammar, we can get the questions right and save time too (by not focusing on meaning).. This strategy will work for low difficulty questions but not on higher difficulty level... e-GMAT tells you that you should FIRST get the meaning of the sentence... Then find the errors in the original sentence, then read the options, check the options that repeat the error of original sentence and eliminate the options...

Repeat this procedure till you find the right option...
I guess we all have been focusing too much on grammar because we were never told to focus on meaning aspect of the sentence by MGMAT SC book... No offenses meant over here but this can be taken as a feedback for MGMAT SC book.. Book says that concentrate on grammar, then meaning and then concision... So, we literally were never taught to concentrate on meaning !!
even Ron says that concentrate on the meaning...

The second important part of e-GMAT is the way they convinced me to follow the process to solve any verbal question... I never followed any process as such for my previous questions but now I am going through OG questions side by side and I am getting to know how to follow the process and how following the process can help me !!

Thanks e-GMAT !!

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by deep.amangmat » Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:55 am
missionGMATverbal wrote:Congrats Aman on your achievement. Hey what was your verbal score?

I love your tips on RC. RC and SC are my weak areas and I am looking for any help to take care of these. Do you think I will benefit from the egmat course?
Thanks missionGMATverbal...(nice name BTW!!). My GMAT split was 710 (Q49, V37).
I am glad you liked my rips on RC. Have you implemented those and have you seen any benefit yet. As far as benefit from egmat SC course goes, I am sure you will benefit from it if you do the course with due diligence. Adi_800 has summed it all up in his post above...Good luck...

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by deep.amangmat » Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:04 am
GMATMadeEasy wrote:Excellent Job Aman.

Thanks for your kind words.. more importantly that you followed the advice.

what all colleges you are applying to ?
You are most welcome GMATMadeEasy...How are you doing. How is your prep coming along and when is the big day...

As far as the colleges go, I have not finalized yet...I have to work out a few personal priorities and then will make my decision...

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by deep.amangmat » Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:07 am
adi_800 wrote:Hi Aman,

I guess I can relate to your condition of not understanding the meaning of the sentence and concentrating on the grammar of the sentence...
I am going through the e-GMAT SC course and it has changed my entire approach of solving SC... Now I have to concentrate on the meaning first and then think of grammar... I guess non natives, while solving the question, think of getting the question right at the first place and focus on finding the errors in the sentence, thereby focusing on the grammar aspect of the sentence.. We feel that if we do not understand the meaning and focus on the grammar, we can get the questions right and save time too (by not focusing on meaning).. This strategy will work for low difficulty questions but not on higher difficulty level... e-GMAT tells you that you should FIRST get the meaning of the sentence... Then find the errors in the original sentence, then read the options, check the options that repeat the error of original sentence and eliminate the options...

Repeat this procedure till you find the right option...
I guess we all have been focusing too much on grammar because we were never told to focus on meaning aspect of the sentence by MGMAT SC book... No offenses meant over here but this can be taken as a feedback for MGMAT SC book.. Book says that concentrate on grammar, then meaning and then concision... So, we literally were never taught to concentrate on meaning !!
even Ron says that concentrate on the meaning...

The second important part of e-GMAT is the way they convinced me to follow the process to solve any verbal question... I never followed any process as such for my previous questions but now I am going through OG questions side by side and I am getting to know how to follow the process and how following the process can help me !!

Thanks e-GMAT !!
Wow adi_800. You have joined the e-GMAT admiration club...in fact you appear to be the leader of this club...

I second your thoughts 100%. Good luck for your GMAT...

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by mipleo » Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:17 pm
Hey Aman,

I am just curious to find out your opinion on which of the courses were better for you. Was it the e-GMAT or Knewton? I am trying to find and purchase a great GMAT review course that can help me push my score higher as well but don't want to waste money on things that won't work. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you and congratulations on your score! It's very inspiring.

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by deep.amangmat » Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:23 am
Mipleo,

Both courses were good but if I were to pick one, I would pick e-GMAT for Verbal. This course was more comprehensive, better planned and provided more support. Overall better value than knewton ($400 Vs $100)


Note that I did not need much help in quant. Let me know if you have any other question.

Aman

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by prateek_guy2004 » Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:06 am
deep.amangmat wrote:Mipleo,

Both courses were good but if I were to pick one, I would pick e-GMAT for Verbal. This course was more comprehensive, better planned and provided more support. Overall better value than knewton ($400 Vs $100)


Note that I did not need much help in quant. Let me know if you have any other question.

Aman
Nice motivation.

Well even my prep is streching its been like 3 months + and i think i need 1 month more....Got 20 full length mock Tests to finish....

Have to pull my socks....

Congrats.

Chaw