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skonatham
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 8:39 pm
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This will be a long one - So make your holidays worthwhile and save it for the weekend.
Though 710 is on lower side of 700+ scores I take pride in this achievement as my preparation for 710 is as good as a 760 preparation if you do not have my situation (a pregnant wife, child birth during the preparation and a job change between two demanding consulting jobs).
Lets start with mistakes:
- Web is big and you will keep discovering material as you dig and this will only increase anxiety. At some point you should stop digging and perfect what you have discovered.
- Timer and revisiting the weak areas is the dirty laundry that needs to be taken care of at any cost. Avoided it in my first attempt and that lead to 680.
- You might think you are a morning person and may be you are, but it's only good if you are able to sleep at the right time before the test day. This is where I failed and I believe that affected my score in the first attempt. Could not sleep until 3AM and went and took the exam at 8AM.
Materials Followed:
MGMAT
Veritas (Excellent for added practice questions. They have good books one for P&C and another for statistics)
OG 10, 12, 13
Verbal Review - 2 (After 1st attempt)
MGMAT Advanced Quant (After 1st attempt)
Kaplan 800 GMAT (After 1st attempt)
Specifics:
Sentence Correction:
- Start by watching all 28 video from Kengage on Youtube. (A very good instructor, free videos, great foundation).
- Read MGMAT SC ( This is like a Hitchcock film, you will keep learning new things in each iteration. I read it 3 times)
- After 680, I purchased e-GMAT SC package. Wasn't very impressed with it at first as it didn't seem to improve my correctness. The trick is that you have to do it at least twice to get a good value out of it. Overall, I recommend it for someone struggling with SC.
- If all these are still keeping you at 70% success rate, you will need to seek the god of SC. He can be found at https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm
Sir, Ron, take a bow. Your thursday sessions helped me beat the 700 barrier. I wish I had found you before my first attempt.
CR:
CR Bible from Powerscore. Great foundation.
RC: Just practice and keep learning from the mistakes.
AWA - Google for Chineseburned (Hundreads have suggested this and I followed and that's all you will need)
IR: This is a very painful session and designed entirely to drain you out even before you start Quant section. So prepare mentally for this section.
Few key lessons learnt:
-----GMAT is more about GAS (stamina) than about Driving.
-----You will tend to keep practicing your strong areas as you like to see that 90+ success rate again and again. But the other 10% is what really needs your focus.
------Take the first GMAT Prep CAT two weeks before the test date. If the score in that exam is way below what you are aiming for, then re schedule the test. You cant workout magic in two weeks. It will not work.
Few Suggestions for Married People:
* Your spouse gets as serious about your GMAT as you get. He or she will eventually come around when you get real. But still a promise of an expensive jewelry if you achieve good score will motivate them.
* Gather as much material in PDF as possible. Put them in the iPad or Kindle. Suddenly you will find so much time in the bathrooms, train stations, gym, hair saloon, and outside fitting rooms.
* A decent prep needs 1-2 hours each week day and 8-10 hours per weekend. This routine is needed for at least 3-4 months. So a family balance can found if you really work out the time.
* When your kid is not letting you finish your thought, SC questions are the best to work on during that that time.
* Make up a fake commitment during the weekends to use it to avoid social gatherings. You have to stay away for at least 3 months.
Please feel free to post your questions. Thank you BTG and good luck to all the future test takers.
Though 710 is on lower side of 700+ scores I take pride in this achievement as my preparation for 710 is as good as a 760 preparation if you do not have my situation (a pregnant wife, child birth during the preparation and a job change between two demanding consulting jobs).
Lets start with mistakes:
- Web is big and you will keep discovering material as you dig and this will only increase anxiety. At some point you should stop digging and perfect what you have discovered.
- Timer and revisiting the weak areas is the dirty laundry that needs to be taken care of at any cost. Avoided it in my first attempt and that lead to 680.
- You might think you are a morning person and may be you are, but it's only good if you are able to sleep at the right time before the test day. This is where I failed and I believe that affected my score in the first attempt. Could not sleep until 3AM and went and took the exam at 8AM.
Materials Followed:
MGMAT
Veritas (Excellent for added practice questions. They have good books one for P&C and another for statistics)
OG 10, 12, 13
Verbal Review - 2 (After 1st attempt)
MGMAT Advanced Quant (After 1st attempt)
Kaplan 800 GMAT (After 1st attempt)
Specifics:
Sentence Correction:
- Start by watching all 28 video from Kengage on Youtube. (A very good instructor, free videos, great foundation).
- Read MGMAT SC ( This is like a Hitchcock film, you will keep learning new things in each iteration. I read it 3 times)
- After 680, I purchased e-GMAT SC package. Wasn't very impressed with it at first as it didn't seem to improve my correctness. The trick is that you have to do it at least twice to get a good value out of it. Overall, I recommend it for someone struggling with SC.
- If all these are still keeping you at 70% success rate, you will need to seek the god of SC. He can be found at https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm
Sir, Ron, take a bow. Your thursday sessions helped me beat the 700 barrier. I wish I had found you before my first attempt.
CR:
CR Bible from Powerscore. Great foundation.
RC: Just practice and keep learning from the mistakes.
AWA - Google for Chineseburned (Hundreads have suggested this and I followed and that's all you will need)
IR: This is a very painful session and designed entirely to drain you out even before you start Quant section. So prepare mentally for this section.
Few key lessons learnt:
-----GMAT is more about GAS (stamina) than about Driving.
-----You will tend to keep practicing your strong areas as you like to see that 90+ success rate again and again. But the other 10% is what really needs your focus.
------Take the first GMAT Prep CAT two weeks before the test date. If the score in that exam is way below what you are aiming for, then re schedule the test. You cant workout magic in two weeks. It will not work.
Few Suggestions for Married People:
* Your spouse gets as serious about your GMAT as you get. He or she will eventually come around when you get real. But still a promise of an expensive jewelry if you achieve good score will motivate them.
* Gather as much material in PDF as possible. Put them in the iPad or Kindle. Suddenly you will find so much time in the bathrooms, train stations, gym, hair saloon, and outside fitting rooms.
* A decent prep needs 1-2 hours each week day and 8-10 hours per weekend. This routine is needed for at least 3-4 months. So a family balance can found if you really work out the time.
* When your kid is not letting you finish your thought, SC questions are the best to work on during that that time.
* Make up a fake commitment during the weekends to use it to avoid social gatherings. You have to stay away for at least 3 months.
Please feel free to post your questions. Thank you BTG and good luck to all the future test takers.
