Greetings,
I finished the exam a couple of hours ago and wanted to share my experience with the rest of the community. If I sound incoherent, it is because of the post-redbull energy crash.
This post is my way of thanking Eric for creating this community and all those wonderful people for sharing their successes and failures.
My background:
B.S., M.S. in Computer Science and B.A. in Math. 5 Years working in IT. Yes, you may go ahead and roll your eyes
Timeline for preparation:
'Started' my prep 2-3 months ago but only got serious about it in the past couple of weeks. Nothing motivates like a deadline (I think there is an SC error in there someplace).
Rather than rambling on about what I 'did' I would like to share what I would 'do' if I had to do it all over.
1) Read all the 'Beat the GMAT' success stories.
2) Map a course for myself setting deadlines for each step.
3) Be prepared to lock myself up for 3.5 hours for those gruelling practice exams.
4) Stock up on Red Bull (this might apply to a select few)
5) Buy OG, OG Verbal
6) Download Sumit's notes from the wiki - The compilation of CR and RC strategies are the best. His SC notes were excellent too.
7) Solve all questions in OG and OG Verbal making notes along the way.
Always, and I mean always look at the notes in the OG answers. As someone said elsewhere in this forum, there are 'gems' in that verbiage. It is just as important to know the right answer as it is know why the wrong answer is indeed wrong. I understood this too late in the game.
8 ) Solve a few Quant problems every day or every other day. This helped me stay sharp.
9) Stay away from any questions which don't have explanations no matter how 'brilliant' the question may seem.
10) Give practice tests under timed conditions taking the scheduled breaks as necessary. As others before me have mentioned, to 'survive' the test requires a combination of mental fortitude and skill. The latter comes from OG and practice. The former comes from continuously subjecting your mind to those grueling tests.
The (10) above should serve as an excellent starting point if I 'were' to give it again (subjunctive mood?
).
Resources:
I have read through or bought pretty much everything that is out there. Please spare yourself. Finish OG/OG Verbal first and then move on to other books like Kaplan 800.
I will not bore you with unnecessary details about the exam experience. If you have specific questions I will do my best to answer them.
Caveat:
For all those overachievers targetting 750+ scores, please spare yourself the agony. Most scores in the 650+ range combined with a good application package will get you through the door. The GMAT helps you to 'fit in' and the rest of your package helps you 'stand out'.
There are a LOT of excellent posts in this forum and also in the TestMagic forum. If you have a question, run a query and you'll probably stumble upon a solution. The only problem is that it can be addictive
Good luck to all you folks. This forum is the best example out there for those of you who want to 'beat the gmat'.
I finished the exam a couple of hours ago and wanted to share my experience with the rest of the community. If I sound incoherent, it is because of the post-redbull energy crash.
This post is my way of thanking Eric for creating this community and all those wonderful people for sharing their successes and failures.
My background:
B.S., M.S. in Computer Science and B.A. in Math. 5 Years working in IT. Yes, you may go ahead and roll your eyes
Timeline for preparation:
'Started' my prep 2-3 months ago but only got serious about it in the past couple of weeks. Nothing motivates like a deadline (I think there is an SC error in there someplace).
Rather than rambling on about what I 'did' I would like to share what I would 'do' if I had to do it all over.
1) Read all the 'Beat the GMAT' success stories.
2) Map a course for myself setting deadlines for each step.
3) Be prepared to lock myself up for 3.5 hours for those gruelling practice exams.
4) Stock up on Red Bull (this might apply to a select few)
5) Buy OG, OG Verbal
6) Download Sumit's notes from the wiki - The compilation of CR and RC strategies are the best. His SC notes were excellent too.
7) Solve all questions in OG and OG Verbal making notes along the way.
Always, and I mean always look at the notes in the OG answers. As someone said elsewhere in this forum, there are 'gems' in that verbiage. It is just as important to know the right answer as it is know why the wrong answer is indeed wrong. I understood this too late in the game.
8 ) Solve a few Quant problems every day or every other day. This helped me stay sharp.
9) Stay away from any questions which don't have explanations no matter how 'brilliant' the question may seem.
10) Give practice tests under timed conditions taking the scheduled breaks as necessary. As others before me have mentioned, to 'survive' the test requires a combination of mental fortitude and skill. The latter comes from OG and practice. The former comes from continuously subjecting your mind to those grueling tests.
The (10) above should serve as an excellent starting point if I 'were' to give it again (subjunctive mood?
).Resources:
I have read through or bought pretty much everything that is out there. Please spare yourself. Finish OG/OG Verbal first and then move on to other books like Kaplan 800.
I will not bore you with unnecessary details about the exam experience. If you have specific questions I will do my best to answer them.
Caveat:
For all those overachievers targetting 750+ scores, please spare yourself the agony. Most scores in the 650+ range combined with a good application package will get you through the door. The GMAT helps you to 'fit in' and the rest of your package helps you 'stand out'.
There are a LOT of excellent posts in this forum and also in the TestMagic forum. If you have a question, run a query and you'll probably stumble upon a solution. The only problem is that it can be addictive
Good luck to all you folks. This forum is the best example out there for those of you who want to 'beat the gmat'.
