I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello people,
I just want to sincerely give my thanks to the people of beatthegmat. Guys you have been an amazing source of help.I took the exam for the second time ,last time being on Oct 1 last month. Ill give a debrief of the second experience first , followed by the resources i used.


Here's what happened:
I reached the exam centre 30 mins earlier. I was much more relaxed this second time around. I started my exam 15 mins earlier.But i made it a point to use Ron Purewal's timing consideration strategy( you can access this video from the MGMAT Thursdays with Ron page) before even starting my exam,while waiting in the waiting area. This strategy is what saved my life as far as GMAT is concerned. I got a 560 last time only because of lack of a proper timing strategy(plus the fact that 104 degree fever the previous evening didn't help my cause either. More on this later on). So i jotted down the timing chart on the laminated sheets beforehand. Surprisingly i was more confident about verbal section than the quant section, because Data Sufficiency seemed too tricky for my liking.

So i started off with the AWA obviously. Both the essays were decent only, but the issue essay got a little messed up towards the end because time crampage led to a few typos . However i was not that concerned about that somehow. I was more interested in the real deals: the quant and verbal sections!

The Quant Section was not hat you would call easy. I guess on a two or three questions in the second half of the section, making sure that i dont have to guess in the last 5-7 questions( again all credit goes to Ron). I must admit that the questions that you get on quant (and the verbal section) are simple and made brilliantly, in such a way that they will be different from most of the questions you have practised. But worry not, these questions just the concepts in different ways, so as a whole they're not REALLY difficult.

I took the 8 min break and drank the energy drink i had got along. You should know, just for your information, that you are allowed to eat or drink anything that you get along with you( i didnt know this till last moment,back in October).

The verbal section began . Got a few SC's and CR's before my first RC. As a whole, i guess i had got more SC's than RC's and Cr's(although the margin wasn't more than 2-3 questions at the most) After the first 10-12 questions i saw that i was 5-7 minutes behind. Ideally I would've enusred i guessed 3 questions to get back on track , but i thought if i get more SC's then i can make up for lost time. MY check points were every 5 questions and guessing region was the Q20-Q30 mark. At that time, i still was 7 mins behind, so i blindly guessed a couple of CR's. I then guessed another question around the 33 question mark as i was still behind by a question. But believe me people i honestly thought ive messed up my verbal . The entire section was hazy and messed, atleast thats what i thought. I thought i had raced through the questions a bit among other thoughts, all of which were SERIOUSLY negative about the verbal section. I thought at the end of the section ,when the questions appear regarding your personal info, that " Again ive messed up my GMAT. Definately i will have to retake it. Wont get more than 620 630 maximum."

Then came that final click to get my marks. i clicked ad 710! "CMON!" i shouted in the room and punched the desk. I just couldnt believe this. I thought i had bombed my verbal. More than the fact that i met my target of 700+, exceeding my expectation by 100 marks was like a big shock . My eyes literally popped out of their sockets. There was no stopping my excitement. And today, after 19 hours of getting my marks, im still in shock. HOW DID I GET A 710?

Takeaways:
1. I knew all along that people who have scored high had all thought that they had bombed their exam. But this test is ADAPTIVE. More penalty for incorrect easy questions and lesser penalty for the tougher ones.

2. You have to learn how to guess blindly . Also, follow the Timing Considerations Strategy video on thursdays with Ron, as the bible for all timing strategies. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE TIMING ASPECT. Even if you are at the top of your game as far as the concepts are concerned, the timing aspect is very much capable of nullifying it. This is what led to a 560 on my first attempt. I didnt take timing as seriously as i shouldve

3. Watch as many Thurdsays with Ron videos as you can, obviously considering what you are weak at. I was weak with inequalities, timing, modifiers, and standard deviation . so i saw the concerned videos, which helped me TREMENDOUSLY!

4. Always try to increase stamina by studying for 1 hr 20mins atleast,in a single session of practise.

5. I didnt want to take a practice test within 3 days of my GMAT exam. I wanted ample time to USE the gmatprep software to learn any new concepts. ANd i did learn QUITE A FEW new ones.

6. resources i used:
OG11
OG12 ( only new problems)
OG quant+ verbal supplements
OG verbal 2nd edition( i did only the new CRs )
MGMAT number properties,words translations, FDP's, Geometry, SC guide, RC guide
Two GMAT paper tests
MGMAT Tests
MGMAT question banks

6.MY practice test scores( including the ones before my first attempt)

Gmatprep 1 380 ( without studying )
MGMAT 1 580
MGMAT 2 600
MGMAT 3 630
MGMAT 4 670
GMATprep 540 ( didnt count it as there was a disturbance in the middle of my exam which broke my concentration and rythm)

After my my first attempt:
Gmatprep 1 690
MGMAT 5 670
MGMAT 6 700
Gmatprep 2 640


Thats it for now.. Now I have my final year college exams and then ill have a month and a week to apply to the MBA programs.

Thanks for your patience and for reading this loooong account of my experience. I just wanted to ensure that i give something back to this amazing community , which has been there for me throughout my prep.

Feel free to ask any questions people.
And good luck with your prep.
Cheers!