My 700 (Q48, V38) debrief

I promised myself that I would write this debrief whatever be the outcome and contribute back to BTG.

My preparation started about 3 and a half months ago when it suddenly struck me that if I want to apply to colleges for 2014, I need to finish taking GMAT by august at the latest. I took my first practice test, scored a 650 and gave myself a couple of months to prep and dived headlong into studying.

Lesson No 1: Make a plan and stick to it
I know that all the experts on this forum have stressed on this. But I never paid much importance to it. As most of you will figure out if you have not already, it is IMPOSSIBLE to work, have a semblance of a social life and Prep for gmat all in the same day. So set apart a couple of hours everyday (preferably in the morning when your still fresh) and get studying

Well, as I hadn't learned this lesson well enough, about 15 days before my exam I realized that my mocks were still hovering around 670. So I decided to push my exam and gave myself another couple of months to study.

Lesson No 2. Do not push your exam by such a long duration. All the momentum that you would have built up to that point would all fizzle out.

Anyway, a week before the exam, i found myself in familiar territory. My mock scores were still ranging about 670. And I was freaking out. Pushing the exam again was not an option. So I took a week off from work and decided to write the exam even if it meant getting a not so great score.

The last one week, I gave about 5 mocks. (Not advisable to anyone else. But I think it worked in building stamina for me. I felt absolutely no fatigue in the exam and was still fresh as a daisy after those 4 hours)

Test day experience
I am not a good test taker and I tend to get extremely nervous. Here, something that my friend told me helped me immensely. My friend was a CAT topper and had nailed pretty much every exam he took.
He told me that it did not matter how well I did in my mocks or how well prepared I was if I could not solve it in those 2 minutes allotted. And wasting mental faculties over being nervous was just not an option. And with GMAT, unlike other exams in India - you can take it multiple number of times until you are satisfied.

The test center staff was very kind. They let me start my exam early. I really love that there is the AWA and IR to settle any nerves.

My Math started off quite OK. I deliberately slowed myself down because I was finishing all my mock tests ahead of time. SOmewhere in between, I somehow lost track of time and spent too much time on a couple of questions. Before I knew it, I had 11 questions and about 15 minutes time. Panic mode on, guessed on some questions blindly and skipped straight to the en d.

After the fiasco in Math, gave myself strict timelines in Verbal. And adhering to it helped in keeping my cool in the exam.

End result, I was quite nervous because of the math and I was expecting to see the familiar 670. But somehow a 700 flashed on my screen. Was happy to see that I did not entirely screw up, but 700 is just that kind of score where your unsure if you should retake or not.

Lessons learnt
1. Manhattan Mocks :
The math is way too hard. I could never get a decent score when I set the timer to 75 minutes. I always had to pause the timer and finish a few problems and managed a 49 on my best attempt.
Manhattan mock scores. I managed much better scores on the gmatprep. SO dont give yourself a hard time if you are not scoring too well here.
670 ; 600 ; 660 ; 690 ; 670 ; 670

2. Material to be used :
Stick to the good material and avoid doing too many problems from random sources. You will not be able to see the progress you are making.
Remember use some of the recommended material and stick to it. Material I used
a. Manhattan guides : Num properties, Inequalities and SC were the most useful
b. Official Guide
c. OG paper tests : I found this good to revise my verbal

3. Focus on SC :
I cannot stress on this enough. Unless you are really good with SC, there is no way that you can push the score above the coveted 40. And it is important to focus on time as much as accuracy.

Well, for now I am going to take a weekend off and decide whether I am going to take the GMAT once again. I am not sure if 700 is a shade too low for the extremely competitive indian applicant pool.
Your comments are appreciated!

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