720 (Q48,V41,AWA 6, IR 7)- Belled the GMAT !

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720 (Q48,V41,AWA 6, IR 7)- Belled the GMAT !

by amlan84 » Mon Jun 17, 2013 7:02 am
Hi everyone, have been following BTG for a while now though this is my first post on the forum.
I took the GMAT on 4th June, though couldn't share my experience till now, since I was on a well-earned vacation !
Profile
Indian Male (Age 29) with an MBA from top 10 B-School in India, pursued Engineering as an undergraduate top 10(non IIT/NIT) Engineering College. I have worked for 5 years at the managerial level (across different roles) in the Sales function at a top MNC in the FMCG sector.
Plan is to pursue marketing/consulting from a top 10 US B-school
Study Plan
I started off my prep on a serious note in March 3rd week. I guess my best move was to subscribe to the BTG 60 Day study Plan in the first week of Jan itself. By the time I started my preps, I had already received all the mails, though I still tried to stick to the daily routine only, since even that seemed to be a challenge!
I followed the study material advised by BTG, hence purchased the OG 13 and the Manhattan Strategy set, starting off with Quant. Although an engineer, I still felt that Quant needed more focus since I had been off the study mode for more than 5 years.
Found out that DS was a thorn in my flesh, just couldn't improve my strike rate, until I learnt to condense the question before moving on to the options.
I studied Verbal mostly from Manhattan guides, although found CR to be good and the other 2 to be average. Bought Aristotle for SC since it was the section on which I found myself to be weakest, and MGMAT SC seemed too technical.
Although I also bought the OG Quant Review, it was used only on a selective basis for certain types of questions which I was weak in.
Since I found less time for study due to my hectic job, I also downloaded the paid version of the GMAT Club App and it was really helpful in revising and practicing questions on the go.
I also subscribed to the GMAT Club Question of the day and later BTG Daily Qs which helped in mental jogging.
GMAT Prep Question Pack 1 was also a great resource to practice questions in the last 2-3 weeks. In fact I would recommend it as a must have due to the similar interface to the actual exam and also the graded difficulty of questions
For IR, I practiced from the online repository provided along with OG 13 and also the GMAT Prep Question Pack 1.
AWA- Chineseburned all the way � ! Fantastic resource !


Practice test scores
I think one mistake I made was not to start off my prep with GMAT Prep 1 which would have helped me in diagnosing my weaknesses and focus exclusively on them. I guess it was more due to the fear of a poor score bogging me down than anything else.

GMAT Prep #1: 690 (5 weeks before the test)
GMAT Prep #1 Retake: 710 (4 weeks before the test)
GMAT Prep #2: 740 (3 weeks before the test- Saw many same Qs as in GMAT Prep #1 esp Verbal)
MGMAT #1: 660 (3 weeks before test- Got a scare!)
MGMAT #2: 660 (2 weeks before test- Confidence nosedived!)
Veritas Prep Free Test: 710 (2 weeks before test-Somewhat stabilized)
MGMAT #3: 660 (1 week before test- Shattered, couldn't believe it!)
GMAT Prep #2 Retake: 740 (2 days before test, decided not to touch any other tests)
I kept trying my luck at MGMAT since most people, recommended it as the closest to the GMAT after GMAT Prep. Well, it didn't work out for me the same way, and I decided not to obliterate my confidence post the 3rd successive bad score.
I took the exams in exam-like conditions though I didn't attempt IR except for the last 2-3 practice tests. To sit for 4 hours and take the exam is certainly a tougher task than the exam itself; I would urge all aspirants to simulate exam conditions as far as possible.


Test Day Experience

I reached my centre (Pearson Professional Center-Yusuf Sarai) at 8.20 am, since my slot was at 9 am. Entry was allowed only at 8.30 am. We were 7 people in all (seems morning slots are emptier, since the 1 pm slot was overflowing with people!).
The staff was extremely professional and courteous; I asked for ear plugs and then was on my way.
Selected the 5 B-schools for reporting the score, went through the agreement, disclaimer etc.
AWA- Was as expected. Jotted down 2-3 points on which to build on and roughly wrote 450 words with 5 mins to spare.
IR- Seemed to be much easier than what I encountered in the GMAT Prep/MGMAT. Guessed on one question and was able to finish this section with 2 mins to go.
Took the break, drank some Gatorade, visited the washroom and was back with 4 mins to go.
Quant- I always had an issue with time management in this section, sped through the first 10-15 questions, and then slowed down a bit, felt confident throughout. Most importantly, finished well in time !
Took the break, same sequence of activities as before
Verbal- SC was tough, RC and CR ok. Felt a bit fatigued in the last 10 mins, finished with seconds to go.
Finally, filled up all the demographic info, and then pressed on "Report Score"
Saw 720(Q48, V41) flash on the screen and was extremely happy (especially after the MGMAT shockers!!)
I had decided that anything 720+ and I wouldn't plan on retaking, hence was satisfied!
Thanks to BTG for all the valuable information which helped me in the prep process, will certainly need similar info and help for the rest of the application process!

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by arpshriv » Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:51 am
Congrats amlan84 for such a great score.
Am also planning to give my exam by Sept.
Could you please share the Gmat prep question pack 1 you used.
It would be really helpful.

Thanks in Advance,
Arpit

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by fanofcorso » Tue Jun 25, 2013 2:41 pm
Congratulations! Great score! I also have a problem with improving my score from MGMAT tests - I am stuck @ 660 and it starts making me very anxious... Your post, however, helped me to believe in myself more ))) Thanks for your story!

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GMAT Score:620

by inseadshri » Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:48 am
Hi
What schools are you targeting? and how are you going about the admission prep?

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by TanyaK » Thu Jul 25, 2013 2:40 am
Hello,
Good work, good result. My congratulations!
My name is Tanya and I am the Project manager at GoGMAT company. We are preparing students for the GMAT.
We truly believe that you have tremendous experience in GMAT preparation. That is why we really want to invite you as a consultant in our project.
What do you think about that? Our skype is galibier2012.
Thank you in advance for your reply.