I just Beat The GMAT!

Thanks for this information.
Great Score and Great Post !!
All the best for future.

hey mgross..

first of all..congrats on a great gmat score..

second of all...thank you for sharing your experience and your strategies here...they are simply superb..

finally... i wanted to know how and when did you start preparing for your AWA? i have my exam in another 3 weeks and i simply can't understand how to start my AWA preparations.. i still have loads to improve in verbal but somehow cant seem to do it.. my weak area is same as yours which is the SC. somehow i end up not having enough time to answer all the verbal questions. any suggestions on that..

thanks,
warlock.

Hi .xlsx is the Excel 2007 file format. I converted it to Excel 2003, but I don't know how it is going to look or work in this format.

.xlsx is supported in MS Office 2007. Or u need to install the Compatibility Pack for your existing MS Office to support .xlsx (or .docx files). Follow this link ( https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/ ... 31033.aspx OR ).

Hope it helps.
-i.dreem

Hi mgross, u told that u studied in queens, what are ur plans of doing MBA , are you also planning it in queens, how good is queens for MBA , what are other options and what are the gmat score that they accept

thanks for your reply

Hi mgross,

Nice to have your feedback.

My approach for SC is to eliminate the wrong choices using 2/3 split and then checking the remaning options for errors. Usual errors are as you told subject-verb agreement, pronouns and parallelism. However, I also got some questions related to sub-ordinate clause.

I think Verbal score is of greater importance. GMAT is tricky but simple, one has to be quite careful while attempting questions. This is what I feel.

Thanks
Amit

Hi all,

1. warlock,

With respect to AWA, I suggest the ARCO book (https://www.amazon.com/GMAT-CAT-Question ... 785&sr=1-3). If you are an English speaker, I would suggest reading their strategy and a few of their examples. Try to understand (not memorize) the frameworks that they describe. I did that and wrote two sample essays before the real GMAT, however, I have yet to receive an AWA score, so I am unsure if this is an effective technique.

2. gmatsure76,

I hear the Queen's MBA is good for science and technology, but that is not my interest. I currently live in NYC and am looking into INSEAD and HEC in France and Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia in the US. To get into any of those schools, I need to seriously ramp up my CV (resume).

Here is my background and plan:
Once I graduated from school (near the top of my class), I got a job at a Big 4 accounting firm in the consulting arm and worked 2 of those years in Toronto and 1 in NYC. As I previously mentioned, I got a 760 on the GMAT. If I combine all the information above, I do not think that I can get into any of the schools mentioned above. So, in the next year, I am planning to beef up my CV with extra curricular activities and volunteering. Then, hopefully I will have what it takes for fall 2010.

mgross wrote:Hi all,
Here is my background and plan:
Once I graduated from school (near the top of my class), I got a job at a Big 4 accounting firm in the consulting arm and worked 2 of those years in Toronto and 1 in NYC. As I previously mentioned, I got a 760 on the GMAT. If I combine all the information above, I do not think that I can get into any of the schools mentioned above. So, in the next year, I am planning to beef up my CV with extra curricular activities and volunteering. Then, hopefully I will have what it takes for fall 2010.

Hi mgross. Awesome score! A big congrats! Thanks for your extensive debriefing and thoughts. Very detailed and insightful.

With regards to your background and getting into the schools you've listed, I strongly disagree. I think you absolutely have what it takes to get into any of those schools, especially with a GMAT score of 760. You just need to churn out a very nice essay is all. Your academic background, your work experience, and your GMAT score show you're completely qualified. You just need a good essay to make you stand out. Of course a stellar recommendation from your current boss wouldn't hurt either.

Best of luck!

Hi Alpha,

Thank you very much for the vote of confidence. I am just concerned that I am too cookie cutter and therefore need to somehow differentiate myself not only in the essays, but also with extra curricular and entrepreneurial activities.

-mgross

Great Post!! Really well written.

This should be made sticky ...

Hi sindhoor27,

It looks like the stickies just come from the moderators, so I don't think this will be added. However, thank you very much for mentioning that - I appreciate the positive feedback.

Regards,
-mgross

Mgross - thank you so very much for that speadsheet! It is genius - so helpful!

Thanks again

Hi,

Congratulation

"about point 3 : Do 40 problems every morning (20 Quant and 20 Verbal). If you can do these from OG (any of the three), that is the best, but Kaplan Online quiz bank is a great resource for people who can't pull those books out at work, but can still find time to do some questions. Where you get things wrong, study the solutions intensely and learn why your original decision was wrong. If you know why, you will not make the same mistake again."

When you write, do 40 problems, you mean 20 Quant (10 PS / 10 DS) and 20 Verbal (RC/SC/CR - How many for each section ?)

regards

Xavier

Hi Xbond,

With respect to your question: When you write, do 40 problems, you mean 20 Quant (10 PS / 10 DS) and 20 Verbal (RC/SC/CR - How many for each section ?)

When I say do 40 problems, that is what I did. I typically did 10 PS / 10 DS and 7/7/7 for verbal (or when I was using Kaplan online quiz bank, I would just choose 20 quant and then 20 verbal and let it choose the mix for me). But then, in the evenings I did a ton more SC. Really, these are not strict guidelines. It is just what I did and found successful. My point here is that you have to keep your mind in GMAT mode for each section at all times (without getting too burnt out). If SC is your major problem and you are a whiz at PS and DS, my suggestion is still to practice PS and DS every single day. I thought of it like a sport where practice aids muscle memory. I wanted GMAT problems to become second nature to me.

mgross wrote:Hi Alpha,

Thank you very much for the vote of confidence. I am just concerned that I am too cookie cutter and therefore need to somehow differentiate myself not only in the essays, but also with extra curricular and entrepreneurial activities.

-mgross

First off, thanks so much for your post. It clearly took a lot of time and its greatly appreciated by all. I couldn't agree more with your study approach, unfortunately, I learned many of the same lessons the hard way...after taking the test once!

I also want to commend you on your grasp surrounding the admin process within the top programs that you are looking at. I think you are well on your way, but definitely agree that taking the time to establish clear differentiation points will bode well for you come application time. I have seen countless examples of applicants who overvalue their high GMAT score and believe that it will somehow compensate for any lacking in other areas (outside of academics). I am with you in the belief that it takes a much more macro approach to offer a truly competitive profile.