I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey guys ,

Just gave the GMAT yesterday and still reeling under the shock !!!
Quite really !!! Didn't expect such a high score and therefore its a pleasant surprise.

BTW , i didnt necessary "kill" the GMAT , its just that someone told me before the exam "to just go there and kill the test" and probably that's what i did , atleast as far as my own expectations went !!

Ok the nitty gritty !!!

Got a great score on quant (Q-51) , but couldn't back it up by a strong verbal(V-41).

There are a few things i would still like to say to all GMAT takers :

1. I am not supersmart , yet i did decently well !!! So if you dont consider yourself smart but still want to do well , dont think you can't. I know it sounds easier when you've given it , but whenever you're feeling uncertain , as often happens while you're preparing dont let it get you down. It can be cracked , just back yourself !!! and give it your best .

2. I've spent a lot of time at this forum , which ,by the way ,IS A BLESSING FOR ALL GMAT TAKERS, So whoever started this and whoever is involved with it , may god bless them. What goes around comes around , i hope it does for you guys too. The greatest good is in helping others and you guys are doing an awesome job.

3. ONE POINT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD , WHICH PROBABLY IS NOT OFTEN MENTIONED HERE. GETTING INTO THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND TO TAKE THE TEST , IS 'VERY' IMPORTANT. Dont ever underestimate the effect your mental state has on your results. For this first you have to analyse how you perform. If you're the kind who feeds off nervous energy , then get excited , get nervous. If you're the type who does better when you're relaxed and calm , then make sure 'YOU ARE'.
Here's a list of what i did on the eve and morning of my exam , which went well for me , and in my estimation added atleast say 20 points to my overall score ( i was expecting around a 730):

1. I took the test on my lucky day , for me the 9th has always been lucky.
2. I decided to take the test at 9:00 , since i usually perform best in the mornings. Afternoons make me sleepy and dull headed.
3. I usually do better ,if ive taken a break for a couple of days and approach the test fresh , so no prep tests within two days of the exam.
4. The day before the test , NOTHING , did some bank work , watched a movie , chilled out.
5. Got up early , did what i love to do best , had a cup of coffee , sat with the newspaper and had a smoke. This half an hour , put me in the perfect frame of mind, didn't want to wake up feeling like id got out the wrong side of the bed.
6. Wore my favorite shirt ( i know its childish) but it made me comfortable and that i felt this was important.
7. Got to the center on time , dont be late. Being late , makes you panic and that is not necessarily the frame of mind you wanna be in.
8. On the way , listened to my favorite songs , peppy numbers that inspired me .
9. When i got to the center , i was just about feeling perfect and when your day starts like that , trust me , its difficult to mess up. You dont want to get to the center - late , sweating , tired and in a foul mood.
These are variables that you dont want to interfere with your score, after all you cant go around saying that oh i did poorly because i was feeling like shit on that day !!!

ANYWAY THE BOTTOM LINE IS , THAT THE ABOVE WONT NECESSARILY GET YOU A GOOD SCORE , UNLESS YOU PREPARE WELL , BUT WHAT IT CAN DO IS MAKE AN AVERAGE SCORE , A LITTLE BETTER !!

So apart from that , the prep part :

1. Im not too sure about people who've said that they've prepared books and books of stuff. See if you're getting ten incorrect out of 50 at the end of one book and the same results after doing five other books , what's the use !!!
SO MY ADVICE IS , PREPARE INTENSIVELY , NOT EXTENSIVELY !!! - what i mean is even if you do , say, 20 questions , do them so well , that no matter what , if you get 20 questions of the same type or their derivates , you always , even in your sleep, get them correct. If you're messing up on something you've studied , then you havent studied it well .

2. Dont buy a plethora of books. They're all the same. it's like buying 5 cars when you need just one !!! Dont waste money , dont waste time !!!
The rest you can get on the net and forums like this. Infact i benefited a lot by doing the questions on this forum , coz they're ones that you know others are foxed by !!! So you learn from the mistakes of others.

3. IF YOU SPEND 2 MINUTES ON A QUESTION , SPEND 5 MINUTES ON ANALYSING 'WHY' AND 'HOW' YOU GOT IT RIGHT OR WRONG .

4. FUNDAMENTALS , FUNDAMENTALS , FUNDAMENTALS !!!! Build a base of fundas... Most people love to practice and see the results , how many correct , how many incorrect . I would suggest you spend more time on theory , on the 'whys' and 'hows'. Just practicing blindly can only get you to a certain level , after that its about how you use the fundamentals to your benefit....
I personally spent lots of time on theory , very little on practice and moderate amount on taking tests.

5. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses. For ex: my quant is pretty strong , so i wanted atleast a 48 in quant , while my verbal was weak , so i had set a target of atleast 40. Dont overestimate yourself !!! and dont make it an ego issue ( im a literature graduate and still my verbal was weak !!). However what i figured was that if i got a very high percentile in one , and made the cut in the other , i'd do well. That's what happened, i got a 99 %ile on my quant (51) and only a 92%ile(41) on verbal , but still i got an overall 99%ile. That's because very few people are strong on both fronts . So try to average out your positions to your advantage.

6. OK , LAST SUGGESTION , DONT EVALUATE YOUR ABILITY BY YOUR TESTPREP SCORES. THEY MEAN NOTHING !!!!
MEASURE YOUR ABILITY , BY HOW MUCH YOU KNOW , AND HOW MUCH OF THAT KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN CONVERT OR APPLY TO ANSWER THE QUESTION. The problem with most people is that they focus too much on whether they're getting a 730 or a 690. It doesnt matter if you get 500s on your test preps and get a 750 on the actual GMAT, does it.
If you're well prepared and have the goods , THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW......

ONE LAST WORD !!! - THE SCORE IS A MEANS TO AN END !!! NOT AN END IN ITSELF ......
A 690 HAS AS MUCH CHANCE OF MAKING IT TO HARVARD AS A 790....

Just make the 'cut' , dont kill the field in the heats and choke in the finals !!!

THIS TEST IS NOT THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF YOUR EXISTENCE.....

Rajendran,

Congrats!!!
Choosing 9th day and wearing favorite shirt and getting up earlly to do what you love to do most(?) are some of the most useful advices I ever came across.

Please let us know where did you take the test and how does the difficulty level of Q and V maps with OG/GMATPREP

Once again, this score sure gonna propel you high dude. A big congrats.

Congrats on an ASS kicking score. Thanks for the solid and meaningful advice. My weakness is quant for which I hope to compensate by scoring high on the verbal. Can you please elaborate on your quant strategy?

thanks
D