GMAT Strategy

I am from India and just took my GMAT two weeks back. I was totally shocked to see a score of 460. I was aiming at 650+. I was feeling a bit confident before the exam but after the exam till date I have had a terrible time. I am not able to sleep well coz I had planned to join a B School next year at any cost. Now everything seems to be out of place. I am not able to tell my friends / relatives of my score and just told that I had cancelled the score. I feel that the real reason for such a score was 1) Underestimating GMAT 2) Running away from my weak area - Verbal. 3) Not utilizing the full 75 min.

I used to study well in my school and college days. It’s been now 4.5 years since I had given a test. My corporate life has been quite hectic. I decided to give GMAT this June. Started preparing by July and gave my test on Oct 1st. Roughly 3 months which included days where I had family and office commitments.

I started off with Quants which I was comfortable with. To be honest I was and still poor in verbal and hence tried to avoid it as much as possible. In the end I spent very few days for verbal. I decided to score maximum in Quants so that overall I would achieve my objective of 650 +. I thought that I could get away with GMAT considering my school days, in the end made of fool of myself by underestimating GMAT.

It has been two weeks since I saw my bad GMAT scores. The only comfort fact is that the fire to do MBA next year is still there. This time I have decided to take it up seriously and am going to sacrifice all my entertainments until I crack GMAT. I have made arrangements to make myself free from serious office work for couple of months sitting health reason.

I am planning to give it again in mid of December. I have made a rough plan of starting with Verbal and then to Quants. I am starting with SC tomorrow. I don’t have a plan for next week and yet to make a detailed plan till exam date which should be mid of December..

I need your assistance for a detailed plan for myself considering the fact that I am quite confident in Quants and zero in verbal. Believe me I am zero in verbal. How many hours ideally should be spent on a weekday and weekend?

I need more advice on one peculiar problem of mine. I have read many blogs on how to finish the test in the given 75 min. I have a different problem. I completed my test well ahead of time. I was quite restless during my GMAT exam and wanted to exit the hall as early as possible. Believe me or not I finished the test 15 min in advance in Quants and Verbal. I need advice on how to practice to sit and complete the test in 75 min. I know this sounds weird but this is a fact.

The most common advice I have found is practice, practice, practice. I have the CD sent by GMAT team which has two tests. I have given both the test twice. Now I don’t remember any of those questions and I can very well give it again. I know I can buy books or download questions but I would like to practice with more time simulated test. Can you suggest if there are any test software CD's available in market.

Need your assistance. I want and should crack GMAT this time.

Thanks!!!

Good to see that you have already identified your mistakes and that is a big step taken.

To answer your quesiton on time required- It depends on each individual's strength. Since you have hectic official life, you could look at spending an hour or two in the weekends and say 4-5 hrs on weekends. Remeber GMAT is not an exam you can prepare by spending more time on a single day. You could also prepare at office if you have access to internet and you find time. You will have to identify your weak areas in verbal and start focusing accordingly. Well planned preparation will go a long way in helping you succeed on the exam.

Regarding finishing the exam early, the only way to come over this is to practice forcing yourself to stay on the each question and taking it slow. I had this problem in my prep. I managed to stay cool and that made a difference of 20-30 points on the exam. The questions have traps which you will not identify in the first attempt. If you pause and re-look you will get a chance to fix the mistake.

All the best!