I just Beat The GMAT!

Dear Guys,

I gave my gmat today. I scored a 770 (Q 50, V 44). I am not going to say anything that has already been said by so many other guys in their stories. But what I am going to tell you is something most of you all know, yet most wont want to believe.

Begin with an end in mind. Set a target score. i set 800 as mine. I worked hard. I am painfully short of my aim. But I did give my near best output.


I have never scored more than 700 in any of my practice tests. But i was always sure that I will ace the gmat with a 750 + because I believed in myself. Kaplan returned 530, 590 and 540 in their 3 CATs that I took. Princeton was easier and therefore I scored 650, 670, 700. But i always knew that it is possible to get more than 750 with 8-10 wrong answers in both Q and V each. How? When I attempted GMAT Prep software, in the first time, i scored 680 and 700. After that, I kept reattempting it. It helped a lot. Simply delete the tests and reattempt. Or uninstall and reinstall. There are enough questions to take 5-6 tests. I scored once 770 in my fourth reattempt, in which I had 14 Qs wrong in quant and 7 wrong in verbal. Therefore i understood that the scoring algorithm is much more complex.

So the moral of the story is - Never lose hope. keep marching ahead. it is possible.

Knowledge can get you to 700 but good exam temperament will alone take you to 750 +. Stay cool and calm. Think. Breath. Most of us dont do either. Some either think or breath. Take long breaths. It will relax you.

Use logic rather than grammar. In CR or RC, dont take more than two readings of the passage. it will confuse you more than you think it will.
Go with your instincts. It works.

the kaplan and princeton verbal practice tests are not representative of the final gmat. I do not recommend them. Nevertheless, practise them. it will break your will to fight. Resist getting broken. You will only come out sharper.

My USP : Be at it. solve a million Qs from all sources. attempt one test a day. if you dont have CATs, create paper tests by randomly choosing 37 Q Qs and 41 V Qs from your database. Time yourself. Dont bother about scores. learn the concepts and the logic. GMAT is all about logic. Formulas and riddles are not gmat. Simple logical thinking is. Never give up. A bad score in gmat if not anything else, reflects poorly on one's ability to do some simple logical thinking. And it is something that can be improved. Make logic a way of life. Ask yourselves questions that a fifth grader would ask his father. it helps.

Unlike most of you, I am an average guy. If I can do it, anyone can.

NEVER GIVE UP. all the best guys.

karthik

Hi yourkarthik,
Congratulations for a great score!!!!!
any inputs on how to approch RC and CR.
There is buzz going on that RC and CR is changing now and its not of OG 11 .
It's very tough and comming similar like LSAT level .
Your Detail comment for these 2 sections will help me a lot

Thanks ,
Aj

hi ajay

I do not know whether there are any impending changes to the already known structure of RC and CR.

I used to read a lot of general reading materials from washington post, economist and the hindu (newspaper) everyday. Get used to reading from the computer screen. practice more of RC and CR from all sources. Learn to identify the key words. Look for such key words while reading newspapers and learn to internalise the process of ringing bells when you come across them even while reading other general reading material. Think gmat, sleep gmat and eat gmat.

IMHO, Doing OG alone will NOT get you to 700. it can generally give an idea. But the questions in the final test were much more difficult. Sentence correction is simple. Memorise the formulas of SC such as those found in Sahil's notes floating around in the net.

practice hard. You must do atleast 1 test worth questions each day and revise them. Thats a solid 5 hrs work. I did that for throughout my 30 days of test prep. I am not a naturally talented guy. hardwork got me there. You will reach there too. 750+ is not impossible.

Awesome!

Congratulations on your score.

Thanks for the motivating post.

Congrts, thats a fantastic score! your story is really inspiring, even i had low scores in my kaplan tests and scored close to 600. Now, i knew its possible to break 700 barrier even with low score on initial tests.

Meanwhile can you tell us how long have you prepared for gmat alone, i mean have u tried your hand with other exams such as CAT?

Good luck on your application.

Cogratultons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


All the best for admission

hi karthik,

congrats on your awesome score.....

can u pls give your prep plan in Quant. The OG is not at all representative of the Quant that comes in GMAT. Can u pls suggest some other practice stuff?

arunmmw wrote:Congrts, thats a fantastic score! your story is really inspiring, even i had low scores in my kaplan tests and scored close to 600. Now, i knew its possible to break 700 barrier even with low score on initial tests.

Meanwhile can you tell us how long have you prepared for gmat alone, i mean have u tried your hand with other exams such as CAT?

Good luck on your application.

Yes you most definitely can score above 750. Kaplan score is not representative of final score. If you can score 650 in Kaplan, u can be sure of a 750 in final gmat. I didnt prepare for any other test. I am 30yrs old and I have 10yrs work experience. i never aimed for IIMs.

i.aspire wrote:hi karthik,

congrats on your awesome score.....

can u pls give your prep plan in Quant. The OG is not at all representative of the Quant that comes in GMAT. Can u pls suggest some other practice stuff?

I solved all the problems of high difficulty level. OG alone will not even take you to 600. Kaplan, manhattan, princeton, arco, everything else.

Solve all questions. Once you have finished your timed practice tests, please solve all the questions that you answered incorrectly, once again in a reattempt before seeing the solution set. This knowledge is self acquired and it will stay with you.

Also, even for those questions that you have got it correct, you must go through the solution set. You might come accross better and easier methods to solve the same question.

Log on www.ensips.com and search for gmat material. you will get ALL the material you want.

Practice and Practice hard. I solved about 1000 different Qs approx from the resources i got from esnips.com

wish you good luck[:)]

s_raizada wrote:Cogratultons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


All the best for admission

Thanks raizada. wish you good luck too[:)]

Hi Karthik,

Contrads!!!

I like to know how months preparation you put ?

hi karthik...i got goosebumps hearing ur experience..it absolutely motivated me...
i took a princeton test after 4months of prep and got a mere 580..mainly verbal(26)..was the culprit...i have two months for the d-day..
also i tried many places but just couldnt get manhattan material..i m from mumbai.. leading stores like crosswords and landmark have not even heard the name..

can u help me..how can i improve my verbal scores drastically..i have done almost all books except manhattan..still no change..

i am weak in RC and CR.. i got 60% of rc questions wrong..and cr were d same.could u also tell me where can i get the manhattan material..if u ne onw who wana sell it..i am ready to buy..

thanks a tn for the motivation...
you advice will be precious..thx

raunekk wrote:hi karthik...i got goosebumps hearing ur experience..it absolutely motivated me...
i took a princeton test after 4months of prep and got a mere 580..mainly verbal(26)..was the culprit...i have two months for the d-day..
also i tried many places but just couldnt get manhattan material..i m from mumbai.. leading stores like crosswords and landmark have not even heard the name..

can u help me..how can i improve my verbal scores drastically..i have done almost all books except manhattan..still no change..

i am weak in RC and CR.. i got 60% of rc questions wrong..and cr were d same.could u also tell me where can i get the manhattan material..if u ne onw who wana sell it..i am ready to buy..

thanks a tn for the motivation...
you advice will be precious..thx

Hi Raunekk

the simplest way to crack RC is to read passages from Economist or Washington post and improve your reading speed.

Practice makes perfect. When practicing CR, i tried to draw assumptions/strengthen argument/weaken/suggestions etc to many questions apart from what was asked.

It is a long route but is a sure route to understand the mechanics of test maker's mind. To know about a test, think as close as possible like a test maker.

SC, i used to correct the questions without looking at answer choices. my answers were 50% wrong, but the 50% correct ones stayed in my mind forever.

you might spend time on virtual storage space sites to explore if the materials are uploaded. you WILL find them, most often as zipper/rar files and hence download it and see what it contains. You might find something but make sure u dont violate copyrights.

Good luck to you!!

@ Smart Dinesh.............Thanks! I prep for 40 Days.