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sumanthkapoor
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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- Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:26 pm
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680 to 700 in 5 weeks - travails of a non engineering/ non-native guy
Just scored a 700, but the most outrageous thing happened during my exam - power went off and there was a complete blackout - not once but twice.
I gave my first attempt on May 30 and scored 680 (Q44 V 39, AWA 5.5). Admittedly this was more an attempt to avoid IR than to score 700+; but still managed 680 and was pretty happy with my attempt. I immediately scheduled next attempt for July 26 and took 3 weeks off study to clear a lot of cobwebs in my mind.
While studying for the first attempt, I highlighted each and every question that I found even minutely tough or confusing. I vowed to return to these questions at a later stage but due to paucity of time, could not do so. Before the next attempt I had a 'goldmine' of questions - about 600 of Quantitative and 300 Verbal. So the only study I did for the second attempt was getting a hold of these 900 odd questions. I also compiled a lot of notes - particularly for Verbal and used them in the second attempt. I would like to share the following 10 points on my GMAT experience:
1.For a 90 percentile score you don't need to answer 90% questions correctly. In fact I believe even if you answer 60% questions correctly, you have a strong chance of crossing the line.
2.Don't underestimate RC. Lack of practice in RC can blind you when you face a real tough paragraph. In fact the importance of RC cannot be overemphasised now that IR is introduced. Some IR questions are nothing but quantitative form of RC - so get you strategy right for getting a good strong hold on RC/IR
3.CR - Power Score is the Bible. Again don't underestimate CR and do not try to cover Power Score in 1 or 2 days. Multiple sittings and preparing notes on CR will help. Reserve last 2 days for reading notes - it really helps.
4.Data Sufficiency - Don't do mental maths with DS questions. Kaplan approach is helpful - Evaluate first option - if it is valid, write AD on your scratch pad and if it is not write BCE on your scratch pad. This is one area where you can save some time, since you don't have to work out the final answer.
5.Problem solving - Devote sufficient time on the concepts. In fact I studied concepts from Class IX books of ICSE (Indian School Board). MGMAT books are good for concepts. GMAT Hacks question bank, particularly the challenge questions, is a good practice resource.
6.SC - This was my weakest area and I practiced SC not with an aim to score but with an aim to genuinely improve my language. It was interesting to search for errors with this mental approach. My focus was on getting 75-80% SC questions correct.
7.Mock tests - I never scored a 700 in mocks, the closest I came was 690. MGMAT tests are tougher than the real test and Official Prep Test is the closest you get to the real GMAT difficulty level. I took 6 MGMAT tests and 2 Prep tests.
8.AWA - In Analyze the Argument - evaluate the argument, your views are less valuable than critically analyzing the argument. Prepare a format in which you plan to write your essay and try and build a vocab. of connecting and comparative words.
9.IR - IR is no devil, believe me it is not. In fact the testing material provided by various providers - Kaplan, Princetown etc is very misleading. Only trust the GMAC question bank on IR, which comes complimentary with OG, these questions are truly representative of actually IR questions. Actual IR questions were not that bad, and IR section got me in the mood for the Quant section. Enjoy IR, as this is the only area where you can relax your mind a bit during the exam. My advice - get comfortable with the question formats and don't fret. IR is not as bad or as tough as some GMAT prep material suggests.
10.Time Management - I finished the Quant section with 13 minutes remaining and Verbal section with 8 minutes remaining. I feel that sometimes over-thinking on a question introduces some errors.
A last word - since GMAT test can be given multiple times, we sometimes get into a mental trap that there's always a next time if I score less than my target. Let go this mental trap and focus on your preparation saying - this is it, there's no next time.
Good luck and thank you BTG, I enjoyed reading the success stories.
S'th
Just scored a 700, but the most outrageous thing happened during my exam - power went off and there was a complete blackout - not once but twice.
I gave my first attempt on May 30 and scored 680 (Q44 V 39, AWA 5.5). Admittedly this was more an attempt to avoid IR than to score 700+; but still managed 680 and was pretty happy with my attempt. I immediately scheduled next attempt for July 26 and took 3 weeks off study to clear a lot of cobwebs in my mind.
While studying for the first attempt, I highlighted each and every question that I found even minutely tough or confusing. I vowed to return to these questions at a later stage but due to paucity of time, could not do so. Before the next attempt I had a 'goldmine' of questions - about 600 of Quantitative and 300 Verbal. So the only study I did for the second attempt was getting a hold of these 900 odd questions. I also compiled a lot of notes - particularly for Verbal and used them in the second attempt. I would like to share the following 10 points on my GMAT experience:
1.For a 90 percentile score you don't need to answer 90% questions correctly. In fact I believe even if you answer 60% questions correctly, you have a strong chance of crossing the line.
2.Don't underestimate RC. Lack of practice in RC can blind you when you face a real tough paragraph. In fact the importance of RC cannot be overemphasised now that IR is introduced. Some IR questions are nothing but quantitative form of RC - so get you strategy right for getting a good strong hold on RC/IR
3.CR - Power Score is the Bible. Again don't underestimate CR and do not try to cover Power Score in 1 or 2 days. Multiple sittings and preparing notes on CR will help. Reserve last 2 days for reading notes - it really helps.
4.Data Sufficiency - Don't do mental maths with DS questions. Kaplan approach is helpful - Evaluate first option - if it is valid, write AD on your scratch pad and if it is not write BCE on your scratch pad. This is one area where you can save some time, since you don't have to work out the final answer.
5.Problem solving - Devote sufficient time on the concepts. In fact I studied concepts from Class IX books of ICSE (Indian School Board). MGMAT books are good for concepts. GMAT Hacks question bank, particularly the challenge questions, is a good practice resource.
6.SC - This was my weakest area and I practiced SC not with an aim to score but with an aim to genuinely improve my language. It was interesting to search for errors with this mental approach. My focus was on getting 75-80% SC questions correct.
7.Mock tests - I never scored a 700 in mocks, the closest I came was 690. MGMAT tests are tougher than the real test and Official Prep Test is the closest you get to the real GMAT difficulty level. I took 6 MGMAT tests and 2 Prep tests.
8.AWA - In Analyze the Argument - evaluate the argument, your views are less valuable than critically analyzing the argument. Prepare a format in which you plan to write your essay and try and build a vocab. of connecting and comparative words.
9.IR - IR is no devil, believe me it is not. In fact the testing material provided by various providers - Kaplan, Princetown etc is very misleading. Only trust the GMAC question bank on IR, which comes complimentary with OG, these questions are truly representative of actually IR questions. Actual IR questions were not that bad, and IR section got me in the mood for the Quant section. Enjoy IR, as this is the only area where you can relax your mind a bit during the exam. My advice - get comfortable with the question formats and don't fret. IR is not as bad or as tough as some GMAT prep material suggests.
10.Time Management - I finished the Quant section with 13 minutes remaining and Verbal section with 8 minutes remaining. I feel that sometimes over-thinking on a question introduces some errors.
A last word - since GMAT test can be given multiple times, we sometimes get into a mental trap that there's always a next time if I score less than my target. Let go this mental trap and focus on your preparation saying - this is it, there's no next time.
Good luck and thank you BTG, I enjoyed reading the success stories.
S'th
