This was my second GMAT attempt. I scored a 670 the first time. But back then I underestimated the GMAT. I had just prepared from the OG. I had not done any practice tests. I had no idea about GMATPREP or BTG. It is only after joining this forum that I got to know how to crack the GMAT.
First test experience (August 2010) - I did not complete the AWA session on time. So I was worried about whether the second essay got submitted or not. The Quant questions were a level higher than what I had practiced. It took me around 4 minutes to solve the first question. I did not finish the section on time. I had to blindly guess on the last 3-4 questions. Quant was my strong area. So during the break I was thinking - I screwed up Quant, so Verbal is going to be tougher. So it was. Verbal just knocked me out flat. RC passages left me gasping for breath. My stomach was in knots. I had not taken any practice tests. All I did were some OG questions. And this was a completely different experience. In short I panicked like hell. I was expecting a score of less than 600 after my dismal performance and I was pleasantly surprised to see 670 on the screen. And I got a 49 in Quant. Oh only if I had held my nerve. And that is why I decided to re-take GMAT coz I knew if I had kept calm I would have touched 700.
Key takeaways from 1st test - #1 Preparation was not good enough.
#2 - Do not let the performance in one section affect your performance in the next. I had thought I screwed up Quant but landed up with a good 49.
This time around my preparation was much better. I joined BTG. My prep time was around 2 months. I took a lot of practice tests.
Quant - I practiced a lot more questions this time. OG12, 198+ GMAT Prep questions, 300+ BTG question set. And I did a lot of practice tests.
More importantly, I learned that I should not chase every question and I should guess a few questions and let go of those. People who love Math never do that but in GMAT you just have to.
SC - Manhattan SC Guide, Aristotle SC Grail, OG12.
Aristotle Guide helped me get the basics right and then I read through the MGMAT SC Guide. But let me warn you, the real GMAT SCs are not that easy. You won't be able to just split them, apply rules and move to the next question as you do in practice tests. Many at times you will have to go with the option that sounds better.
CR - Powerscore Bible, Ron's videos.
I read through the CR bible, tried learning the strategies. I can't say that it didn't help me at all. But I was using my natural reasoning process more often than any rules to solve the CRs. My CR accuracy was always better when I paraphrased the argument.
RC - OG, GMAT Prep, RC99, Ron's videos.
I listened to Ron's videos and those techniques helped me a lot with the main idea questions. And then in some BTG post I read something that changed the way I approached RCs. For all questions, apart from the main idea questions, the answers are right there in the passage - literally written there - so you just have to find them.
Practice tests - I took the 6 MGMAT tests, Kaplan Diagnostic, Knewton Diagnostic and the GMAT Prep tests. For the last 10 days I just kept retaking the GMAT Prep tests.
My practice test scores if that is of interest to anyone:
Kaplan - 620 ; Knewton - 750 (lot of OG model questions)
MGMAT - 680,680,710,730,730,720 ; GMAT Prep - 730,730.
Test Day - This is another important thing that I read in a BTG post. No matter how prepared you are, GMAT will put you under pressure - expect to panic. So I knew I would panic at some point during the test; I was expecting it. It happened and I handled it well and that was the big difference this time.
AWA section started well, but I screwed up the issue essay. I misunderstood the topic and realized that only half way through my essay. But I instead of panicking I just did the best I could and kept telling myself - this is only warmup. Don't worry yet.
Quant started. I was always in control. I felt the questions were the same level as GMAT Prep questions. I got some really tough ones as well. I guessed on a few questions for which I could not figure out the approach in 20-30 seconds. I finished with 1 minute to spare and was feeling confident.
Verbal started - I was doing ok till around 16-17 questions and I was in control of the time. I started getting tougher questions and soon I was behind time. I was getting a lot of SCs. The ticking clock got me panicking. For an instant I was thinking about the posts I had read in BTG - April, low verbal scores, a lot of SCs. But then I knew I had to make up for the lost time before I could concentrate again. So I made educated guesses on 2-3 SCs and blind guesses on 2 CRs. I caught up with the clock and that helped me relax. I finished the test on time.
I thought I had screwed Verbal. After 4 really long minutes I saw 730 (50Q,38V) on the screen and felt really happy.
Things I learned while taking the test -
#1 - I felt GMAT verbal questions were a bit tougher than the GMAT Prep. But one should not be worried about the number of questions one gets right/wrong during the GMAT. I am sure I got a lot more questions incorrect in Verbal than I ever got in GMAT Prep Verbal, but I got the same score as GMAT Prep.
#2 GMAT is like a cricket game where the scoreboard is hidden from you. You have no idea about the score. You just have to keep playing each ball by its merit and hope you win the game at the end. Keep your nerve and you will be better off.
Thank you everyone once again. I will be around if anyone has any questions. Now that I have cracked the GMAT, I hope to post more on this forum and help others crack the test.
P.S. - I have to confess that I apply the GMAT SC rules to everything that I read these days but not to what I write
