Hello All,
Background: An IT-enabled Services and Outsourcing services specialist with 10 years of work experience in Shared Services operations,Solution Design and Pre-Sales.
I took my 1st Mock test in Feb but due to hectic work schedules, couldn't get myself to kick-start the study process. In start of July, started for a week and a half and took the Mock to get a 620 score. But then, again couldn't continue the momentum.
Starting Last week Aug, I put up a plan to study an hour or two each working day and a few more hours on the weekend, considering that work keeps me occupied for 12-14 hours a day (This was going to be difficult). But ensured that I adhered to it on most of the days - of course there were days or a weekends, when it wasn't a possibility.
BeattheGMAT was my primary source of inspiration as well as direction on how to cruise ahead. The following was my plan:
a. MGMAT books on all topics
b. OG13 - Holy Bible
c. Quantitative and Verbal Reviews
Captured each wrong answer and read the answer explanations for each of the wrong as well the right ones. Had an overall accuracy rate of 75% with ~60% in the last 30 questions of the OG guides.
Loved the videos and Strategies from GMATPrep Now. In fact used them on my test esp. Time Management and Stress Management. They are simply fantastic.
One week before the exam took a week off from work and social engagements and studied at home, primarily focusing on Mock GMAT's and revising content. The Mock results were as follows:
Date Score
GMAT PREP #1 (1st attempt) 3-Feb-13 530 (Q32, V30)
GMAT PREP #1 (2nd attempt) 13-Jul-13 620 (Q43, V33)
Manhattan Online 9-Nov-13 630 (Q43, V33)
Economist GMAT 10-Nov-13 560 (Q39, V30)
GMAT PREP #2 (1st attempt) 12-Nov-13 670 (Q48, V34)
GMAT PREP #1 (3rd attempt) 13-Nov-13 640 (Q47, V31)
I took the GMAT on the 14th Nov and scored a 650 (Q42, V38). Was aspiring to touch 700 but missed.
The AWA was simple. During my prep - built a basic framework - which I used on the test to just feed in the argument relevant information. But a small glitch - As I clicked 'submit', It said "My time has run out and session is expired". This played on my mind during the IR & the Quant section, that a Zero on AWA will negatively impact my applications. (Later found out from web sources that GMAT takes whatever had been typed into the section, for evaluation - that was Sigh of relief).
Quant - Focused on getting the first questions right but the AWA non-submission was worrying. Nonetheless, as I progressed in the section, questions were getting extremely easy. Had a inkling that things after all weren't going Hunky-Dory. Thanks to the Time management strategy from GMATPrep Now, finished section with 45 Seconds to spare and with a un-stressed mind.
Verbal - was simpler; RC and CR were a delight, though SC got a little difficult towards the middle of the section. Finished the section with a minute to spare.
I was bit taken aback with the score on Quant, as I was expecting atleast 47 based on my Mocks.
Now, reading all the wonderful stories from members such as @NB1234 URL His Story and @forteenstix URL His Story, I am contemplating a re-test but a re-test means time, effort and ofcourse, Money.
Based on your personal experiences, wanted to check with you on the best option ahead: whether I should re-test in mid-Dec or should I focus my energies on the application building process for the class of 2014?
I am looking at the following colleges and I know that my score may not figure in their average GMAT score criterion but surely will in "Mean - 1 Standard deviation":
1. New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business
2. Indian School of Business
3. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
4. University of Oxford - Said Business School
5. University of Cambridge - Judge Business School
Look forward to your points and discussions.
Cheers,[/url]
Background: An IT-enabled Services and Outsourcing services specialist with 10 years of work experience in Shared Services operations,Solution Design and Pre-Sales.
I took my 1st Mock test in Feb but due to hectic work schedules, couldn't get myself to kick-start the study process. In start of July, started for a week and a half and took the Mock to get a 620 score. But then, again couldn't continue the momentum.
Starting Last week Aug, I put up a plan to study an hour or two each working day and a few more hours on the weekend, considering that work keeps me occupied for 12-14 hours a day (This was going to be difficult). But ensured that I adhered to it on most of the days - of course there were days or a weekends, when it wasn't a possibility.
BeattheGMAT was my primary source of inspiration as well as direction on how to cruise ahead. The following was my plan:
a. MGMAT books on all topics
b. OG13 - Holy Bible
c. Quantitative and Verbal Reviews
Captured each wrong answer and read the answer explanations for each of the wrong as well the right ones. Had an overall accuracy rate of 75% with ~60% in the last 30 questions of the OG guides.
Loved the videos and Strategies from GMATPrep Now. In fact used them on my test esp. Time Management and Stress Management. They are simply fantastic.
One week before the exam took a week off from work and social engagements and studied at home, primarily focusing on Mock GMAT's and revising content. The Mock results were as follows:
Date Score
GMAT PREP #1 (1st attempt) 3-Feb-13 530 (Q32, V30)
GMAT PREP #1 (2nd attempt) 13-Jul-13 620 (Q43, V33)
Manhattan Online 9-Nov-13 630 (Q43, V33)
Economist GMAT 10-Nov-13 560 (Q39, V30)
GMAT PREP #2 (1st attempt) 12-Nov-13 670 (Q48, V34)
GMAT PREP #1 (3rd attempt) 13-Nov-13 640 (Q47, V31)
I took the GMAT on the 14th Nov and scored a 650 (Q42, V38). Was aspiring to touch 700 but missed.
The AWA was simple. During my prep - built a basic framework - which I used on the test to just feed in the argument relevant information. But a small glitch - As I clicked 'submit', It said "My time has run out and session is expired". This played on my mind during the IR & the Quant section, that a Zero on AWA will negatively impact my applications. (Later found out from web sources that GMAT takes whatever had been typed into the section, for evaluation - that was Sigh of relief).
Quant - Focused on getting the first questions right but the AWA non-submission was worrying. Nonetheless, as I progressed in the section, questions were getting extremely easy. Had a inkling that things after all weren't going Hunky-Dory. Thanks to the Time management strategy from GMATPrep Now, finished section with 45 Seconds to spare and with a un-stressed mind.
Verbal - was simpler; RC and CR were a delight, though SC got a little difficult towards the middle of the section. Finished the section with a minute to spare.
I was bit taken aback with the score on Quant, as I was expecting atleast 47 based on my Mocks.
Now, reading all the wonderful stories from members such as @NB1234 URL His Story and @forteenstix URL His Story, I am contemplating a re-test but a re-test means time, effort and ofcourse, Money.
Based on your personal experiences, wanted to check with you on the best option ahead: whether I should re-test in mid-Dec or should I focus my energies on the application building process for the class of 2014?
I am looking at the following colleges and I know that my score may not figure in their average GMAT score criterion but surely will in "Mean - 1 Standard deviation":
1. New York University - Leonard N. Stern School of Business
2. Indian School of Business
3. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
4. University of Oxford - Said Business School
5. University of Cambridge - Judge Business School
Look forward to your points and discussions.
Cheers,[/url]
