730 finally.
Happy, but still unsatisfied …. was targeting 740 so was close, not bad for the first attempt …and hopefully the last.
Score : 730 (Quant: 50, Verbal: 40)
Never felt like I was anywhere close to this score when the exam was on. Almost thought of cancelling the score, but was surprised to see the final result. Guys, no matter any amount of preparation you do and try to make sure that you can beat the GMAT; the GMAT is the ultimate winner. Be prepared for the unexpected, the exam is smarter than you think it is. None of the Verbal question looked anywhere close to what I had prepared for. While everything on the screen looked Greek and Latin to me, I bet I got what I deserved.
You can prepare, but you cannot be prepared.
My Prep:
Started dabbling with the prep since last November, but did not dedicate myself till at least 2 months back.
From November to June : Princeton Review, Kaplan , OG
All books are helpful. Princeton is good to start with, though you may not want to take it up if you have already gone through OG or Kaplan. Kaplan is good, gets you on track for a higher score. OG is the best.
The one issue while reviewing Kaplan and Princeton is that some Verbal Question may seem to contradict each other. In such cases BTG is the best help, you can be sure that you will find the correct answer at this forum. Be sure to review you mistakes in depth and also the question that you got right but were doubtful.
From June to Aug 3rd : Manhattan SC, Practice, practice and more practice
Being from a Engg background my Quant score looked good but Verbal was pulling my score down. Started with Manhattan SC. You may not find a better book to improve you SC Skills in such a short period. Made sure to do all exercises and also a dedicated review for all mistakes. My CR was considerably good as OG does a good job if you are careful about the nuances. As for RC, had to practice a lot. Made it a point to do at least 5 RC passage everyday ..other than the usual practice. You get to download a lot of stuff of the net which has more than enough material to keep you occupied.
Started taking Practice Test regularly during this period . And towards the end, took a Practice Test almost everyday for the last 30 days
Last Few Practice Score :
Prep 1 740 50 (30/7) 40 (34/7)
Kaplan 3 660 41(28/8) 38(29/12)
Princeton 2 730 51(35/2) 41(33/8)
Prep 2 710 49(25/12) 37(31/10)
Kaplan 4 590 Really Bad … Almost gave up
PowerPrep 1 760 51(34/3) 42(30/7)
Prep 1 750 49(28/9) 42(34/7)
PowerPrep 2 750 50(34/3) 42(35/6)
Princeton 1 700 48(30/7) 48(31/10)
Princeton 2 730 48(32/5) 44(36/5)
Kaplan 1 660 50(31/6) 36(27/14)
Kaplan 2 640 50(34/3) 33(25/16)
Prep 2 770 50(31/6) 44(36/5)
Kaplan 3 700 48(32/5) 39(33/8)
Princeton 3 650 42(30/7) 39(34/7) Shock .. As it was from PR
Kaplan 4 710 50(35/2) 39(35/6)
Princeton 4 690 51(35/2) 34(33/8) Shock 2
Kaplan 5 740 47(35/2) 44(37/4) Some relief
Exam Day
Had a tough night, could not sleep well… was a little tensed. Went to bed at 9 but was awake till about 12:00; got up early did a few of quant questions from OG to get my machinery started … also ran through a couple of question in Verbal.
Exam was at 9:00 am, reached almost an hour early (Bangalore Traffic was not as bad).. had to wait till 8:30 am before the staff turned up …from then on it was smooth. The staff, as always, was very helpful.
The AWA went well, did reach close to 500 words on both, though could not spell check the last paragraph for the Issue essay. Quant was easy, though got nervous at not seeing real tough ones till about 15th or 16th question. Verbal started off bad, as mentioned earlier I was getting a feeling that it’s not going good. RC passage on the 6th question was a tough one, was not sure of the answers. Had planned for the first 14 question in the first 25 minutes, though I was almost close to 30 minutes when I reached the 14th as I was a bit too over cautious. Got a couple of RC in between which did help in making up for the lost time, though was very unsure about the answers. With the last 14 question I had only about 22 minutes left, got nervous and felt miserable. Almost was losing hope and getting a sinking feeling …tried hard to concentrate and get over with the exam. It finally got over and I had my palms folded in prayer to make sure I get a good score. Was happy to see my score
Could have done better in case, if I would have concentrated better during the Verbal. Its gets tough once you start having thought in ur mind, better avoid it. Don’t worry about anything once you start the exam. Just concentrate on the question that you see in front of you.
The exam may seem long before it starts, but you don’t realize that you have spent 4 hours by the end of it.
May not have reached my target, but 'm too tired to attempt GMAT again (Just keeping my fingers crossed, hoping this is good.). Will see how well I can manage the rest of the application.
~Thomas, Bangalore
Happy, but still unsatisfied …. was targeting 740 so was close, not bad for the first attempt …and hopefully the last.
Score : 730 (Quant: 50, Verbal: 40)
Never felt like I was anywhere close to this score when the exam was on. Almost thought of cancelling the score, but was surprised to see the final result. Guys, no matter any amount of preparation you do and try to make sure that you can beat the GMAT; the GMAT is the ultimate winner. Be prepared for the unexpected, the exam is smarter than you think it is. None of the Verbal question looked anywhere close to what I had prepared for. While everything on the screen looked Greek and Latin to me, I bet I got what I deserved.
You can prepare, but you cannot be prepared.
My Prep:
Started dabbling with the prep since last November, but did not dedicate myself till at least 2 months back.
From November to June : Princeton Review, Kaplan , OG
All books are helpful. Princeton is good to start with, though you may not want to take it up if you have already gone through OG or Kaplan. Kaplan is good, gets you on track for a higher score. OG is the best.
The one issue while reviewing Kaplan and Princeton is that some Verbal Question may seem to contradict each other. In such cases BTG is the best help, you can be sure that you will find the correct answer at this forum. Be sure to review you mistakes in depth and also the question that you got right but were doubtful.
From June to Aug 3rd : Manhattan SC, Practice, practice and more practice
Being from a Engg background my Quant score looked good but Verbal was pulling my score down. Started with Manhattan SC. You may not find a better book to improve you SC Skills in such a short period. Made sure to do all exercises and also a dedicated review for all mistakes. My CR was considerably good as OG does a good job if you are careful about the nuances. As for RC, had to practice a lot. Made it a point to do at least 5 RC passage everyday ..other than the usual practice. You get to download a lot of stuff of the net which has more than enough material to keep you occupied.
Started taking Practice Test regularly during this period . And towards the end, took a Practice Test almost everyday for the last 30 days
Last Few Practice Score :
Prep 1 740 50 (30/7) 40 (34/7)
Kaplan 3 660 41(28/8) 38(29/12)
Princeton 2 730 51(35/2) 41(33/8)
Prep 2 710 49(25/12) 37(31/10)
Kaplan 4 590 Really Bad … Almost gave up
PowerPrep 1 760 51(34/3) 42(30/7)
Prep 1 750 49(28/9) 42(34/7)
PowerPrep 2 750 50(34/3) 42(35/6)
Princeton 1 700 48(30/7) 48(31/10)
Princeton 2 730 48(32/5) 44(36/5)
Kaplan 1 660 50(31/6) 36(27/14)
Kaplan 2 640 50(34/3) 33(25/16)
Prep 2 770 50(31/6) 44(36/5)
Kaplan 3 700 48(32/5) 39(33/8)
Princeton 3 650 42(30/7) 39(34/7) Shock .. As it was from PR
Kaplan 4 710 50(35/2) 39(35/6)
Princeton 4 690 51(35/2) 34(33/8) Shock 2
Kaplan 5 740 47(35/2) 44(37/4) Some relief
Exam Day
Had a tough night, could not sleep well… was a little tensed. Went to bed at 9 but was awake till about 12:00; got up early did a few of quant questions from OG to get my machinery started … also ran through a couple of question in Verbal.
Exam was at 9:00 am, reached almost an hour early (Bangalore Traffic was not as bad).. had to wait till 8:30 am before the staff turned up …from then on it was smooth. The staff, as always, was very helpful.
The AWA went well, did reach close to 500 words on both, though could not spell check the last paragraph for the Issue essay. Quant was easy, though got nervous at not seeing real tough ones till about 15th or 16th question. Verbal started off bad, as mentioned earlier I was getting a feeling that it’s not going good. RC passage on the 6th question was a tough one, was not sure of the answers. Had planned for the first 14 question in the first 25 minutes, though I was almost close to 30 minutes when I reached the 14th as I was a bit too over cautious. Got a couple of RC in between which did help in making up for the lost time, though was very unsure about the answers. With the last 14 question I had only about 22 minutes left, got nervous and felt miserable. Almost was losing hope and getting a sinking feeling …tried hard to concentrate and get over with the exam. It finally got over and I had my palms folded in prayer to make sure I get a good score. Was happy to see my score
Could have done better in case, if I would have concentrated better during the Verbal. Its gets tough once you start having thought in ur mind, better avoid it. Don’t worry about anything once you start the exam. Just concentrate on the question that you see in front of you.
The exam may seem long before it starts, but you don’t realize that you have spent 4 hours by the end of it.
May not have reached my target, but 'm too tired to attempt GMAT again (Just keeping my fingers crossed, hoping this is good.). Will see how well I can manage the rest of the application.
~Thomas, Bangalore
Last edited by On_Track on Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
. Congratulations on your score and all the best for your future! 
