OK. So its finally over.
I managed to score a 720 (Q:49/88%, V: 38/83%) on my GMAT on Oct 18th, 2008.
For me 700 was a psychological barrier I had to break and my realistic target was 720. And I managed to achieve it.
Well, I am not sure how much of a success story this is going to turn out to be. But I thought I owe you guys, especially since this website helped me sort out some of the issues I might have been overlooking while preparing for the test.
I guess the story doesn't really involve too much drama, but it is a good example of how you can beat the GMAT using a systematic approach and making sure you continue to follow that approach throughout the course of your preparations.
I'll just provide an outline of how I managed to, well, "Beat the GMAT".
I studied for about 80 days. I started studying on the weekend of July 26th. From that weekend on (for about 13 weekends) , I put in an average of 7 hours every weekend (3-4 hours each on Sat and Sun) Weekdays were mostly on-n-off. There were days when I put in 1-2 hrs, while I went through a couple of weeks (weekdays) without studying at all.
The primary reason why I used to skip studying on the weekdays is because I normally don't really like to study in the evenings. I would usually go to the gym for my workouts and come back, cook my dinner, and just finish off the day listening to music and browsing the web.
Well, you know what, here's a piece of advice I would like to give to people preparing for the GMAT. Sure enough, you need to put in the effort, but at the same time, you shouldn't stress yourself so much and get so focused on just preparing for the GMAT that you stop doing some of the things you love to do. In fact, you would be better off going out there and having a blast once in a while, or go to the gym or go watch a movie. For someone who religiously follows his gym routine, I was really helped by the fact that I didn't miss my gym sessions. In fact, it was one the major confidence-booster for me.
Anyway, back to my GMAT preparations.
So here's how I went about it (By the way, I know it works differently for everyone, but I asked a couple of my friends to follow this routine and they seem to agree with me that this is probably one of the best ways to approach this thing. I'll provide reasons as to why I think this is how you should go about it)
VERBAL
I started off reading one section from the Princeton Review followed by reading the same section from the Kaplan Premier 800.
The Princeton review sections for Verbal, though a little longer, have a very detailed explanation of each of the verbal sections and use terms that probably even a 5th grader can understand. Once you understand the basics, you can then go over the same section in Kaplan. Now, you'll feel as if you are reading a shorter and summarized version of what you read in the Princeton Review. HELPS!!!
Once I was done understanding the concepts, I completed the Kaplan practice questions before I moved over to working on the OG questions. I would suggest you finish off the Kaplan questions first as there are just about 50 for each section and you will feel a sense of accomplishment when you know that you have finished all the questions from a particular book. You can then move on to the OG questions.
To be frank, I wouldn't suggest using the OG for anything other than Practice questions. The Verbal explanations are too brieff and the Quant explanations try to cramp in too much information. Not required, really!!! (And this is coming from someone who's had great scores in Math in his undergraduate days)
QUANT
Well, for math, I would suggest going through both the Kaplan and Princeton books once and just pick one which seems to be best for you and then use that book every time you want to review your math skills
Again, finish off the questions from the Kaplan book and move on to the OG.
Also, I made sure I didn't put my entire day working on just one section. It was usually a combination of 2 Verbal sections and one quant section. I would usually solve 20 questions from each section, 8-10 at a time. I made sure I timed myself right from the first day.
After each batch of questions, I would check the answers and explanations of all the questions from that batch, no matter whether I got them wrong or right.
ESSAYS
I would just worry about the essays but never really try to attempt any. I read some of the essays on this website to get a general idea. During the final few weeks, I went over some of the templates in the Princeton and Kaplan books. The only time I actually attempted the essays was in the GMAT CAT exams.
Now for some statistics:
I consistently averaged around 83% for the roughly 400 questions the OG has for the Verbal sections.
For Quant, it was close to 90% till I bumped into the last few questions in the DS section which were quite tough.
My CAT Scores as follows:
Kaplan Online CAT (670) I was happy 'cause Kaplan tests are apparently the toughest you will encounter
Kaplan CD CAT 1 (630)
Kaplan CD CAT 2 (560) I have no clue what happened here. Probably I was starting to get bored by now
Kaplan CD CAT3 (660) Managed to forget my previous score and regained my focus
I spent the last couple of weeks before the exam working on all the questions from the OG that I got wrong or that I found tough (Right, a point to note: try to mark the questions you find tough and get back to those whenever you get a chance)
Final week
GMAT CAT 1 (730)
GMAT CAT 2 (690)
I don't think I need to mention that these scores are the best reflection of your capabilities.
I had taken a week off before my exam and I used to study about 3-4 hours a day in the final week.
Test Day:
OK, I am not someone who stays up all night before an exam
(no matter how important it is). I need my 6-7 hours of sleep. I believe that if you haven't managed to understand something over a period of time, there is absolutely nothing you can do in the last one or two hours.
However, I remember that I was starting to get nervous moments during the last week. More than anything, I wanted the exam to go well so that I can close my books once and for all. But, for only the second time in my life, I was really nervous about something.
Anyway, I don't know if it was the nervousness, but I managed to sleep for only 2 hours the night before the exam. I woke up at 6:00, took a shower, had a light breakfast: An egg white along with my usual coffee (all milk)
I reached the test center at 7:30, started the exam at 7:45, finished off my essays in about 45 mins and moved on to the real thing. (At first, The noise of the typing of some of the other test takers, who were typing their essays, was kind of annoying in the beginning but I soon realized I was going to be doing the same thing, and I moved on....)
I was actually quite nervous about the DS. Quite ironical for someone who's "Beaten" various math courses over the years. Anyway, it didn't seem too bad, really. I was actually worried about the RC on the verbal as I found it really boring to go through such long passages. But I encountered two short passages and one longer passage. None of these passages were too complicated (surely far from the complicated and sometimes frustrating Kaplan CAT passages) I used about 3 mins of each of my breaks to have a sip of water and go to the washroom.
I was starting to lose concentration by the time I reached question 20. But I just looked around, took a few deep breaths and made sure I concentrated for the remaining fews minutes. And sure enough, I managed to do that. And finally, I finished my verbal about 8 minutes ahead of time. After going through a few survey questions, I finally got my score. And 720 it was. I just let out a little shout of "Yes" and moved out of the room. I am still not sure how to celebrate my success. I am not a person who goes crazy about his success, cause i believe if you work hard, you will get the success you deserve.
One final thing I would like to mention, before you get bored of reading my long post (that is if you haven't got bored already). I have always believed that part of the reason I have managed to do well whenever I have put in the effort is because God has been on my side whenever I needed Him. Even during this exam, there were about 3-4 questions where I was about to go ahead with the wrong answer when my eyes suddenly found something on the screen which I had previously overlooked while answering the question. And on each of those occasions, I had to change my answer based on that extra little information that I missed. Every time this happened, I reminded myself that there is nothing to be nervous about as God is there to help you because of the efforts I have put in.
P.S: If anyone needs any help, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
I'll be more than happy to help.
All the best to everyone who's planning to take the test in the future.
I managed to score a 720 (Q:49/88%, V: 38/83%) on my GMAT on Oct 18th, 2008.
For me 700 was a psychological barrier I had to break and my realistic target was 720. And I managed to achieve it.
Well, I am not sure how much of a success story this is going to turn out to be. But I thought I owe you guys, especially since this website helped me sort out some of the issues I might have been overlooking while preparing for the test.
I guess the story doesn't really involve too much drama, but it is a good example of how you can beat the GMAT using a systematic approach and making sure you continue to follow that approach throughout the course of your preparations.
I'll just provide an outline of how I managed to, well, "Beat the GMAT".
I studied for about 80 days. I started studying on the weekend of July 26th. From that weekend on (for about 13 weekends) , I put in an average of 7 hours every weekend (3-4 hours each on Sat and Sun) Weekdays were mostly on-n-off. There were days when I put in 1-2 hrs, while I went through a couple of weeks (weekdays) without studying at all.
The primary reason why I used to skip studying on the weekdays is because I normally don't really like to study in the evenings. I would usually go to the gym for my workouts and come back, cook my dinner, and just finish off the day listening to music and browsing the web.
Well, you know what, here's a piece of advice I would like to give to people preparing for the GMAT. Sure enough, you need to put in the effort, but at the same time, you shouldn't stress yourself so much and get so focused on just preparing for the GMAT that you stop doing some of the things you love to do. In fact, you would be better off going out there and having a blast once in a while, or go to the gym or go watch a movie. For someone who religiously follows his gym routine, I was really helped by the fact that I didn't miss my gym sessions. In fact, it was one the major confidence-booster for me.
Anyway, back to my GMAT preparations.
So here's how I went about it (By the way, I know it works differently for everyone, but I asked a couple of my friends to follow this routine and they seem to agree with me that this is probably one of the best ways to approach this thing. I'll provide reasons as to why I think this is how you should go about it)
VERBAL
I started off reading one section from the Princeton Review followed by reading the same section from the Kaplan Premier 800.
The Princeton review sections for Verbal, though a little longer, have a very detailed explanation of each of the verbal sections and use terms that probably even a 5th grader can understand. Once you understand the basics, you can then go over the same section in Kaplan. Now, you'll feel as if you are reading a shorter and summarized version of what you read in the Princeton Review. HELPS!!!
Once I was done understanding the concepts, I completed the Kaplan practice questions before I moved over to working on the OG questions. I would suggest you finish off the Kaplan questions first as there are just about 50 for each section and you will feel a sense of accomplishment when you know that you have finished all the questions from a particular book. You can then move on to the OG questions.
To be frank, I wouldn't suggest using the OG for anything other than Practice questions. The Verbal explanations are too brieff and the Quant explanations try to cramp in too much information. Not required, really!!! (And this is coming from someone who's had great scores in Math in his undergraduate days)
QUANT
Well, for math, I would suggest going through both the Kaplan and Princeton books once and just pick one which seems to be best for you and then use that book every time you want to review your math skills
Again, finish off the questions from the Kaplan book and move on to the OG.
Also, I made sure I didn't put my entire day working on just one section. It was usually a combination of 2 Verbal sections and one quant section. I would usually solve 20 questions from each section, 8-10 at a time. I made sure I timed myself right from the first day.
After each batch of questions, I would check the answers and explanations of all the questions from that batch, no matter whether I got them wrong or right.
ESSAYS
I would just worry about the essays but never really try to attempt any. I read some of the essays on this website to get a general idea. During the final few weeks, I went over some of the templates in the Princeton and Kaplan books. The only time I actually attempted the essays was in the GMAT CAT exams.
Now for some statistics:
I consistently averaged around 83% for the roughly 400 questions the OG has for the Verbal sections.
For Quant, it was close to 90% till I bumped into the last few questions in the DS section which were quite tough.
My CAT Scores as follows:
Kaplan Online CAT (670) I was happy 'cause Kaplan tests are apparently the toughest you will encounter
Kaplan CD CAT 1 (630)
Kaplan CD CAT 2 (560) I have no clue what happened here. Probably I was starting to get bored by now
Kaplan CD CAT3 (660) Managed to forget my previous score and regained my focus
I spent the last couple of weeks before the exam working on all the questions from the OG that I got wrong or that I found tough (Right, a point to note: try to mark the questions you find tough and get back to those whenever you get a chance)
Final week
GMAT CAT 1 (730)
GMAT CAT 2 (690)
I don't think I need to mention that these scores are the best reflection of your capabilities.
I had taken a week off before my exam and I used to study about 3-4 hours a day in the final week.
Test Day:
OK, I am not someone who stays up all night before an exam
(no matter how important it is). I need my 6-7 hours of sleep. I believe that if you haven't managed to understand something over a period of time, there is absolutely nothing you can do in the last one or two hours.
However, I remember that I was starting to get nervous moments during the last week. More than anything, I wanted the exam to go well so that I can close my books once and for all. But, for only the second time in my life, I was really nervous about something.
Anyway, I don't know if it was the nervousness, but I managed to sleep for only 2 hours the night before the exam. I woke up at 6:00, took a shower, had a light breakfast: An egg white along with my usual coffee (all milk)
I reached the test center at 7:30, started the exam at 7:45, finished off my essays in about 45 mins and moved on to the real thing. (At first, The noise of the typing of some of the other test takers, who were typing their essays, was kind of annoying in the beginning but I soon realized I was going to be doing the same thing, and I moved on....)
I was actually quite nervous about the DS. Quite ironical for someone who's "Beaten" various math courses over the years. Anyway, it didn't seem too bad, really. I was actually worried about the RC on the verbal as I found it really boring to go through such long passages. But I encountered two short passages and one longer passage. None of these passages were too complicated (surely far from the complicated and sometimes frustrating Kaplan CAT passages) I used about 3 mins of each of my breaks to have a sip of water and go to the washroom.
I was starting to lose concentration by the time I reached question 20. But I just looked around, took a few deep breaths and made sure I concentrated for the remaining fews minutes. And sure enough, I managed to do that. And finally, I finished my verbal about 8 minutes ahead of time. After going through a few survey questions, I finally got my score. And 720 it was. I just let out a little shout of "Yes" and moved out of the room. I am still not sure how to celebrate my success. I am not a person who goes crazy about his success, cause i believe if you work hard, you will get the success you deserve.
One final thing I would like to mention, before you get bored of reading my long post (that is if you haven't got bored already). I have always believed that part of the reason I have managed to do well whenever I have put in the effort is because God has been on my side whenever I needed Him. Even during this exam, there were about 3-4 questions where I was about to go ahead with the wrong answer when my eyes suddenly found something on the screen which I had previously overlooked while answering the question. And on each of those occasions, I had to change my answer based on that extra little information that I missed. Every time this happened, I reminded myself that there is nothing to be nervous about as God is there to help you because of the efforts I have put in.
P.S: If anyone needs any help, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
I'll be more than happy to help.
All the best to everyone who's planning to take the test in the future.
Last edited by sarab on Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
