I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey there workhard,
I read your post, and one thing for sure is - that you are definitely someone who can, should, and *will* get between a 670 - 700+ range. Your scores are very consistent in the GMAT prep tests, and even if there were repeats, it doesnt make sense gettign a score of 550. Bottom line - something happened in the exam, that did not let you get the score you are capable of/deserve....

You know what buddy - when I was going to the exam after falling sick and with the passport fiasco, I had given up on a 700+ score. All I knew was that I would write the damn exam a million times until I hit the score I knew I was capable of getting!! I LOVED YOUR POST. I know from that YOU BELIEVE you hvae what it takes to crack this damn test. YOU KNOW you are good and can do it, and you will do WHATEVER IT TAKES, and however long it takes to get thru this obstacle ..... I am 100% sure of that!


The year before last an astrologer told me that I was not destined to go for an MBA. I spent the whole last year, killing myself, going thru tremendous pain and struggle - because I do believe that I can alter my destiny. That if I put my heart and soul and mind into something, and am intelligent about how I study, logical about my areas of weaknesses, and attacking the same - I can probably have god take some mercy on me and change my destiny some ....... I think hard effort and the fervence with which I knew I would give my life to nail this thing, nothing less, might have persuaded god to help out ....

I didnt and still dont want to stagnate in what I am doing. I do believe that a better future awaits me, if I am just willing to reach out for it. The reaching out was, adn still is very hard for me - the mind feels fried, and exhausted, you just feel depressed adn frustrated, but some part of me still prods on, because the day you loose faith in yourself, loose hope, you have lost the battle, lost any chance of making a change in your life... Isn't that worst than going thru the phsycial and mental nightmare, that the exam, and subsequent applicaiton process puts you thru? Better teh frying pan than the fire - and that pushed me along work hard ..... to not give up ....

I do believe you have everything it takes to crack this exam - you just need to identify what went wrong in the exam, what your weakness was, and focus on getting it right this time. For every time you are not able to get it right - its actually a great thing, cause then you can learn what not to do next time.....

When I started the quant the very first question was a %ages question. Word question. I read and could not make head or tail out of what the guy was saying. 2 minutes went by - I started sweating, as I realized I was wasting time - each question if you exceed 2 minutes you are kind of in the dumps. Plus if you get the first question itself wrong, your score probably will be very low ..... The minute these panic attacks hit me, I swallowed hard, took three deep breaths adn told myself, you have nothing to loose (its already looking bad, by worrying you will make it worse), so I forced myself to focus read teh question with complete concentration, and tried to do the best I could. The minute I did that, it took me another 3 minutes to finish the question. But I was sure I got it right. I knew I was 3 minutes over, adn I would have to work hard on the other questions - make sure I do them faster.... I did just that. I never rushed though. After answering every question I would double check it (probably spend an extra 15 seconds to make sure I had picked the right one). Also when I came to a permutations combinations question read it and realized that it was way too hard for me, I didnt waste time trying to solve it - I just made an educated guess (for the %age one, I knew I can solve it, once I understand what teh guy was trying to say, plus it was the first question, hence I sepnd the time on it). Thats why I didnt have time to finish my quant -I had to guess the last 4 questions ...

Bottom line - studying is important but you have to be very very smart about how you answer the questions, amking sure you spend the right time on questions that yo belive you can solve, and making sure you time yourself very very well. Its better to finish right on time, than to have 10 minutes to spare. I timed every question. I would write the starting time and ending time for each question so that I knew precisely how much time I had spetn and how much I still had in hand -that by far was th ebiggest thing that helped me crack the gmat. I did the timing for every quesiton in OG.....

"i didnt probably have that attitude during the exam...i was a little casual...almost rushing to finish the exam...trying to get thro it... " - See you are doign the right hting - analyzing your weakness, seeing what you did wrong -and that is precisely teh way to go man. Understand all the things you may have messed up and try your best to fix those. By the wya I know this sounds weird, but I also wore my lucky shirt to the exam - the shirt has always helped me in times of stress - it may just be a psychological thing, but it works for me ... At the end of the day whatever makes you feel stronger and confident - do do it!!

I read your post and just wanted you to know - that you are one of the few people I do believe straight of the bat has what it takes to beat this monster. You have the skills, you have the strength of having studied and gotton good scores in your prep, plus you have the will adn determination to post on this forum - some part of you knows it can do it, and is forcing you to move on, try again - listen to that part of you workhard, and just tell yourself - you will still trudge on. You will write the test again, but this time answer all teh questions more intelligently.

I will definitely put in a prayer for you this week - I do believe that with all the work that we put in, the final push thta comes that takes us across the finish line is by GOD... I do believe you can do it, and I am looking forward to the day you come out of the exam with choking back your emotions, with tears of happiness literally coming out of your eyes, with a look of pride on yoru face that says YOU DID IT. It is an amazing feeling that I wish everyone who writes the exam can experience - it still moves me to tears thinking of that moment when 720 came up on screen for me - If I could ever believe in a god anymore than I believe today, it was definitely then .....

Dont you give up work hard - you just can't. I will be looking avidly in this forum for your final post which simple says "I BEAT THE GMAT...."

Take care,
-ngufo

Ngufo,

THANK YOU SO MUCH. ....now i feel much better and motivated to not give up.

As you said - " All I knew was that I would write the damn exam a million times until I hit the score I knew I was capable of getting "

I am going to do the same ....write the exam UNTIL i get my score ...and i know i will get there very soooon !!

After all I have done well in all my academics and so why should I let the silly exam scare me ....i have been scared of all the time ( 4months) i have spent so far on this exam..and i was apprehensive that I would have to do that aLL OVer Again !! But as you said... GOD waits till the last moment and then he helps you out.... So i will keep working hard UNTIL i hit my final score ....

If the Admission committe sees this in negative light ..so be it...but atleast my determination to get the score should prove a point or two , right ??

Now all this while i would give the exam thinking that - " this is your last chance to do well " ....but from now onwards ..THANKS TO YOU....i have changed that stand...I have given the exam twice ....and i am sure i will do well very soooon.....i will keep giving it until i am DONE !!

God bless you - - you have been a great source of motivation and inspiration.

I will keep you updated on my progress . I am thinking of taking the exam towards the end of march...i dont think i need too much study time...i need more practise tests....

So i am planning to write 4 Princeton review tests and 2 Gmat Prep tests to finish with...in the next 4 weeks....

I am giving a practise test this weekend...willl keep you posted on my progess ....

Thank you SOO much ! I WONT GIVEUP !!

- Amol.

Hi workhard,
Good to see your email. I really do believe that you can and will do a great job in the test. Do put in a prayer before you go in, ..... however childish it sounds, I do believe that after you put in a 100%, the final push to help you go above and beyond what you are capable of, comes from the one above ....

As I mentioned the first part is to stop worrying about what will happen in the exam, and just focus on doing your best..... Trust me - its just a matter of time, somehow when I saw your post, I actually did believe that you will do it! Looking forward to seeing you prove me right : )

All the best,
-ngufo

Hello Ekta,

I read your blog (better say your success story) which seems to me like a Hindi movie, where all troubles come to either hero or heroine's but still in they have happy ending.

I also believe that the things ends well are good to us no matters how much we have to pay for that in our life. You hard luck turns into a good fortune, that makes me feel happier.

I will be start preparing for GMAT from May 08 and would planning to give exams in the period of Aug 08 to Nov 08, depending upon my preparation. I have no choice, as I am already doing part time MBA and have to give my final in April, so can't really focus on GMAT right now. However, during office time, I am still studying up at this forum, and try to solve the question asked by its users.

Like you, I am also dedicated to study at Havard (can't think of going to any other school, may be obsessed with this name from the childhood). I would like to know the process of the application you made at Havard and your current status.... You know what I mean....

Looking forward...

Hi there codesnooker,
Thanks for your email. I guess sometimes things that happen in life look right out of a hindi movie (some happy and some extremely tragic). I am thankful to god that the GMAT was the one with a happier ending.

I am going thru the reverse in life right now : ), and due to some family related issues, cannot go to school this year..... It been hard, as all i can think dream, eat or sleep is going to school, and postponing it by an year, was very painful, but well what you can change you change, what you cant you accept....

I will be preparing my applications to go to school in 2009 (that is the current plan). I do plan to apply to the schools that I am interested in (definitely Harvard), and get my applications in Round 1 itself. I believe I will be pretty mucy into the application process around May/June.

I will make sure I keep you updated, and update this forum on how the process goes, and any important pointers that I learn along the way ....

I guess life is full of ups and downs, some make you happy some cut your feet right away from under you .... - but at the end of the day, like one of the members int his forum said " What doesnt kill me makes me stronger", if you go ahead with the thought that you will deal with wahtever comes your way, no matter what, thats the best you can do ....

Wish you all the best, really hope you crack the gmat, and get the score you are targetting.

Take care,
-ngufo

Hello Ekta,

Sorry to hear that you are not able to go this due to some family trouble. Don't worry and keep hope for next session. My email-ID is [email protected] Mail me your progress if possible.

Havard, be ready we are coming....

Hi Ekta/Ngufo,

I think you will ace Havard when you apply next year. Dont worry abt the delay. Infact that may be a silver lining so that you can mould your profile on Harvard's lines better !!! I am sure you will ace it !


Btw you are right abt the prayer thing....one really needs GODs blessings. Infact my wife is not keeping well for a week or two and that has just thrown my study plans off track. I wonder why GOD puts sooo many obstacles in your path sometimes.....maybe it is his way of testing people's strength ?

Anyway I plan to get back to study this week and take the exam towards the endof March.

Btw you were right when you said that one shouldnt think much abt what will happen in the exam....infact i have that paranoia abt seeing the 550 on the screen ...... ! i just need to get that out of my mind .

My RC preps are on track btw.....did the Kaplan Verbal Workbook 3 tests ( 18 qns each ) .....and out of the 54 questions got only 7-8 wrong......so i am not that bad ah !!

Take care and keep in touch

Thanks

- Amol

Good to know that your RC are back on track Amol - very sure you will do a great job on the GMAT

Thanks for the kind words, codesnooker, workhard, will make sure I keep you guys in the loop when I start the application process

Take care and all the best,
-ngufo

hi congrats !!! gr8 score n gr8 effort.
i read ur post several times its really good...
i have been visiting this site past 2 months.... gave gmat on 27feb n was disappointed badly....
i dont kw how to study m so confused i finally joined the classes today got no other alternative i just want that 700+ score
ok let me tell u.. i kw my approch was not correct ... i took only kaplan mock tests n score was like 520 540 560 580... gmat prep was 670...
but my maths score was stable between 48 and 50 scale... in kaplan's last two test i barely mess 3-4 problem..
i think i was over confident in maths n messed up in real one.. during the break i felt i did gr8 in maths but scale was 38... .... i have solved kaplan 800 n believe me i never face prob with concept and time... but result was quite shocking...
i kw my weak point was verbal n i was unble to work properly on it..
can u give me few tips please.... let me kw which test series sud i go for... i guess manhattan is good one to judge ur score...
m taking the test again after 3 months n m goin to put whatever i can just need some advice....
hope u will reply...

hi Topgun,
I read your post and I must say that you are already on the right track because you have been analyzing your weakness, and trying to identify where you need to improve and work on. Based on your post and your analysis, you are spot on - looks like, you need to work harder on your verbal, as well as *make sure you time all the tests/questions that you do*. Timing is everything in gmat. It took me 6 months to get a hang of that, and even after that I barely managed to make it thru in the final exam.

I would sincerely suggest that you start with princeton Maths, Verbal, and the main book. Do make sure that you do all the princeton tests. They were also along with the GMAT CAT1, 2, Power Prep1 ,2 the best indicators of my score. Princeton really helps you kind of create the base. The concepts are very very well explained. Once that is done, then I would focus on practising your concepts by using kaplan (verbal, maths, the main book). Do do all the practise tests from kaplan also. Finally comes the Official Guide, (maths, verbal, and main edition 10th or 11th). That is more like testing out your skills and making sure you are on the right track to score well in GMAT. I timed every question I did on the Official guide (in all the workbooks as well as the main book). I believe that really really helped me set the momentum, and get my stamina. Because there were so many questions in teh Official Guide, I would do 20 questions each from (SC, RC, CR, Quant - DS, Prob Sol) - woudl take me 3 hours in the morning. I would time all the questions - by doing that I got a very good sense of my timing, and how i coudl improve it .....

While doing all of the above revision, do make sure you are constantly making flash cards, for any question you do wrong in SC. That really realy helped me a lot in getting better in SC. Have you downloaded the flash card link that Eric has referred to? It is also there in my post. That was very very useful for me, and I used it till the last day to revise before my final test.

AT the end of the day, I would sincerely suggst, that make sure that you are revising all your mistakes, makings lots of flash cards, and revising the same. Also make sure your timing is the best possible. If you can do that I am sure this time you will definitely crack the gmat.

The course you have taken I am sure will be very very helpful, but do mkae sure that before you go to the final test you have answered all teh Official guide questions, and made sure you know how to answer every question taht u got wrong.

I hope the above helps you some. In case you have any questions anytime, please feel free to post in the forum. I will make sure I respond back as soon as possible. When I was in need, lots of people came forward to help me out, I would love to return the favor in kind to anyone who needs help.

Wish you all the best,
-ngufo

Hey thanks a lot for the elaborated reply....
As I posted earlier also I have finally joined a class for gmat but that is just to increase question bank. I have started making flash cards for sc … from last few weeks I m spending enough time in reading all the boring articles on cnn.com. If u can suggest me some other links where I can find good boring passage and articles please let me kw.. I want to build my reading stamina I guess its my weakest point. M planning to take gamt after 3 months from now as u said I will get the priceton test. Do u also recommend Manhattan tests? Coz lots of ppl have posted that the tests are good to judge urself.
Thanks a lot for ur reply ….

All the best

Regards
Topgun

Hi there topgun,
Joining the class sounds good to me. My take is you need to do whatever it takes to get the basic fundamentals clear. Whether you take the class or read books on your own, do remember that knowing the answers is useless, you need to understand how to solve the question, how to be able to elimnate answers to make good guesses, how to ensure you are able to do all the qeustions within the stipulated time, and make sure no matter what you do dont leave any questions unanswered.

I did buy the Manhattan SC book, and with it I got 6 free tests I think. I wrote 2 of them and got very very bad scores (same as kaplan). around 500 odd. I realized teh difficulty of the tests was similar to that of Kaplan. I found them of higher difficulty than the actual GMAT tests... I still believe that in terms of practise, you should do everything you can lay your hands on, so yes if you still have time go for it. My only recommendation is that if you are short on time, I would sincerely suggest that you do all of Official guides three books, the maths, verbal, adn the final edition (10, or 11th). And make sure you do the tests GMAT PREP 1, PREP 2, Power Prep 1, 2. I read teh blog of this guy who got a very good score, who said that you can do the prep tests multiple times, adn you dont get the same questions as repeats (I didnt know that at the time of my test, otherwise would have practised more). Here is the blog in which I read that ...
https://www.beatthegmat.com/780-q50-v47-t9092.html
By the way, I didnt have time to do all the other Manhattan tests, as I was busy doing my OG books/practise tests, hence ended up doing just 2.

By the way I do have a soft copy of the princton maths book. The DS fundamentals in that are very very well explained. In case you watn that, do let me know (also an email address that I can mail the soft copy to you at), will do so.

As for the reading comprehension, reading articles will help, but the key is to make sure you do as many GMAT practise questions from as many books as possible. Its important not only to understand teh passage as best as you can, but to make sure you answer all the questions in the correct time - damn, why doesnt it get any easier . So once you feel a little comfortable iwth your reading skills, do make sure taht when you do the actual practise, you tme each passage, and make sure you are able to get them done within time....

Really sorry that I couldnt reply any earlier. Lots of stuff happening at my end both personal and professional thats causing me to be busier than usual. Please feel free to continue posting/asking any quesitons you have at any time. Will make sure I respond as soon as possible.

Take care,
-ngufo

wow! Simply amazing@ ngufo! you're doing fantastic job!

From where you get all energy to write so much! You're definitely inspiring A LOT people out there!

Why dont you join GMAT strategy section, and guide the members there?

Ngufo,
I agree with aim-wsc!
BTW , I find MGMAT tests easier than Gprep.
This may be because I was getting score in 550 + range.
I'm slowing improving on RC and CR.
Feeling more confident on PS DS as covered all maths topics from PR.

Thanks,
Ajay

hi thanks again for the reply.. n dont be sorry for delay....

please mail me the soft copy of princeton ds que... my id is

[email protected] , [email protected]
is og sufficient for sc?
if u got ne material related to sc such as rules guide , comman mistakes or ne thing please mail d same on above id.
do u have a good question bank of sc wit explainations...

one ouestion: can u explain what are these thinking words such as theory, belief. etc according to the flash cards of eric thinking words + that is correct.
i have been to the class but not very convince with the accuracy of their material so m worried again. so m askin for sc material

thanks a lot again will bother u again with my question

regards
Rupam