From 580 (Q47, V23)to 700(Q50,V34) .. Feel so relieved..

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Game my first attempt on 28th September 2009 . Had studied for about six months and was confident about scoring a 700 on the first attempt . I now realize that being overconfident and being under confident can be really dangerous. In my case it was being overconfident . I had given 5 Manhattan Tests and my score varied between 680 to 720.However I didn't relaise that these scores were inflated because I didn't write the essays before , thus these scores gave me a false security that I was a 700 material. So take away is 1.DO your Essays when you give a practice test .

Secondly I didn't keep a log of my mistakes . Kept doing tones and tones of materials without keeping a track of things. I used to check the answers and understand the explanations and that was the end . At the end of the month I would have again repeated the same error as I didn't remember the rule . So even if you study two hours a day keep a log of errors. Saturday or Sunday go through the errors , trust me by doing so you will think twice before committing the same error.

Thirdly Don't kill your Social life . I almost was so mad about scoring a 700 that I just dint care about anything . Please don't stop living your life . I realized after my first attempt that GMAT is more about not committing the same mistakes again than about not living your life.

Take the practise tests at the same time when you are going to take the actual exam. I am not an morning person and scheduled my first attempt at 9.00 am . I was half asleep till the time verbal started and thus didn't do well in verbal.

Dont get frustrated in case you hit a dead end and in case your scores are not improving . Take a couple of days off and start again. There were numerous occasion where I felt frustrated and dejected. I would do nothing for two to three days and start once again after I got the enthusiasm back .

Once I gave got a 580 I made sure that I would keep a check of these things. I started again after taking a months break . Got a LSAT Cr Bible . This is similar to GMAT one , however it is much more in detail. Simultaneously I started solving Kaplan LSAT Material . Also would like to mention that in my first attempt I solved 1000Cr since these don't have explanations , I wasn't gaining anything . I wasn't improving rather I was just repeating what I knew. I would suggest anyone to do Cr passages from books that have explanations rather than going through 1000 SC 0r 1000RC. Manhattan SC book is more than sufficient for SC .
For Maths being an engineer I was somehow confident but didn't want to take any chance so I subscribed to GMAT club Tests. Excellent questions, make you think in the right direction. If you can solve them within 75 minutes Maths shouldn't be much of trouble in the main exam.

Before My second attempt I took the last Manhattan Test and scored a 680.After about a week I gave GMAT Prep and scored a 750 . I realized that GMAT Prep wasn't giving me a true picture as the questions were repeated. I had to purchase some prep tests to make sure that I didn't end up on the loosing side. Knewton does a good job marketing its product and I really liked its one free practice test. I enrolled with Knewton , $345 and an access till August . I started with the course and realized that in case you are a beginner you will get lost and realize that course is not helping you out. It's a course that is much more kind of refresher than one starting from basics. I gave Knewton Tests and my scores were following

Test1:670

Test2:640

Test3 700

Test 4 770

Test 5 680



I will recommend Knewton Tests to anyone. They are an exact replica of GMAT Prep. I really like the way they model their questions. Their scoring is somewhat awkward as in one test I just missed 5 questions in quant and got a 47. However don't get too elated or too dejected by your practice tests. Keep learning from them and don't repeat the same mistakes again .Also Knewton Cr questions are lengthy and tiring, similar to ones you get when you touch mid 30 in English.



I finished my Knewton Course a week before actual exam and thought there was no point giving another GMAT prep Exam as the scores would be inflated. Instead I got an access to GMAT questions avaible on GMAT Fix . The access is cheap .11$ for 14 days. The best part is that questions have explanations. Thank you Patrick for providing such a good resource at such cheap price.


D Day I completed and analysis of ISSUE didn't click on the next button .Felt somewhat frustrated as the screen froze and kept thinking whether the matter got saved. Maths went on fine. It wasn't difficult , however it was tricky. Verbal was on par with Knewton .Just don't panic , give each and every question your best shot . Finished with Verbal and just stared clicking on Next without realizing that you have to select whether you want to report the score . I clicked YES and seeing a 700 thanked my GOD for giving me what I deserved.

Lastly Stacy Ron , Patrick and Test Luv thank you for all your explanations. You can't find better instructors than these people.

Just hang in and don't loose hope. The ride is bumpy but keep faith in GOD and give it your best shot .
Last edited by kaulnikhil on Fri Jul 02, 2010 1:57 pm, edited 7 times in total.

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:06 am
Congrats. Very happy for you. You worked hard and deserved this.
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by Rin12 » Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:36 am
Congrats on the great score! :D
Last edited by Rin12 on Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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by nikhilkatira » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:22 am
kaulnikhil wrote:Finally made it . Its a journey to remember. Will put my debrief soon.
Congrats buddy....u finally Beat the Gmat..
Best,
Nikhil H. Katira

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by gmatmachoman » Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:01 pm
Nikhil bhai,

Congrats...Job done!!

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by money9111 » Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:48 pm
if you can do it... i can do it! can't wait to read the debrief
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by jcbruin » Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:54 am
Awesome - congrats! Can't wait to hear!

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by kaulnikhil » Wed Jun 30, 2010 1:23 pm
jcbruin wrote:Awesome - congrats! Can't wait to hear!
Thanks Guys ..

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by loveusonu » Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:11 am
Awesome job Nikhil..
you deserve this Achivement.
Sonu
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When you want something desperately, the whole Universe conspires in helping to give it to you - The Alchemist