I just Beat The GMAT!

Mine is not a success story(BTG doesn't agree though. It is adding the tag GMAT success stories. lol). But rather I would like to share some of the mistakes I have done hoping the readers will avoid these mistakes.

Mistakes I have done

1. Not finishing the official material
2. Believing the mock tests and focusing heavily on Quant section
3. Not preparing for AWA
4. Trying to learn every trick in the trade before actually studying the official material
5. Not taking care of my health. This is very important.

I have actually realized my shortcomings after taking GMAT prep 2. I took prep 1 when I started the preparation. 710 I got in that blinded me and I didn't analyze my weak areas correctly.

Third party mock tests are only useful for the following

1. To reduce your silly mistakes - Veritas CATS are excellent for this
2. To get the actual feel of the exam, timing strategies etc

DO NOT use these tests to gauge your current level. Only GMAT preps can come close to telling you that.

I strongly recommend whoever is starting the preparation to start with GMAT prep1 or what the hell may be prep 2. Prep 2 is slightly difficult. I felt the actual GMAT is slightly easier than prep2 and difficult than prep1.

Materials used

Total GMAT Math by Jeff Sackman - excellent guide. Everyone should go through it. It precisely gives the necessary information in each topic and has some awesome questions(though taken from or very similar to GMAT focus). The organization of the book allows you to master topic by topic. This is an awesome book and must have for any GMAT taker.

Manhattan Number properties guide

I suggest everyone to start the GMAT quant preparation by reading this book. What a great book. It's not only about the content. The book just shows you how GMAT is different from all other competetive exams and how our thinking needs to be changed. Must have.

Veritas quant books

Good books for practicing GMAT like questions. Most of the questions I got in GMAT felt similar to the questions in these books. Totally worth it, if you need some practice.

GMAT Focus

I am not sure whether it was worth it or not. As I have not done the Official material till the end, GMAT focus was useful to me(It had lot of questions from OG). Otherwise I don't think this is worth it. This helped me with timing.

Powerscore CR Bible

Excellent book, but too detailed. I didn't finish it. Read only first few chapters, but it was very useful.

Manhattan SC guide

Best book out there for Sentence correction section. Period. It's a pity that I didn't get time to do the advanced part. Must have.

Aristotle SC guide

Good for a start but not very comprehensive and I don't think it was any useful to me.

Official Guide

This is the gold. How I wish I had solved the Data Sufficiency questions from this book in the beginning of my preparation. I solved these questions three four days before the test. Don't do this.

I also suggest solving all the questions from Official Verbal Review and Quant review guides.

Test Day experience

The test did nothing to upset me, except may be the AWA section. I struggled to finish the Issue prompt in time. That may be because I never took AWA in timed conditions. And wrote only one issue before the exam.

If you are well prepared then the test is exactly as you expect it to be. Timing is the key. Read those two timing articles by MGMAT's Stacey. How I wish I managed my time in the quant section properly. Both sections felt easy(that's my biggest regret. Not performing to my potential). The test was not at all tiring or stressful even though I was under antibiotics and pain medication. Also I feel that it's not that important to take AWA every time you take a practice test. I never gave AWA in my mocks. But then it may vary from person to person.

The test center experience was awesome(New Delhi test center near Greenpark metro station). Those guys were really helpful.

All the best.