Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted. reason being i did put in a lot of effort but messed it all up on d day. Biggest piece of advise i can give is DONT PANIC during the exm. Heres my story. Was average in Math . used to get s…
Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
reason being i did put in a lot of effort but messed it all up on d day.
Biggest piece of advise i can give is DONT PANIC during the exm.
Heres my story.
Was average in Math . used to get scaled scores of around 40 in mock tests.Got 45 on actual test.
Was good in verbal . used to get more than 40 (and always more than quant) in mock tests. Got 29 on actual test and feel miserable about it.
Awa score is 5.5.
Have 4 years of solid work exp in I.T.
Will get good recommndation letters too.
Gpa is low. Between 2.5 and 3.
Need a good gmat score to overcome gpa.
I know my verbal score does not reflect my true potential so i plan to give the gmat 1 more time.
But before that i want to share my exp and get some thoughts in return.
1) I was working full time . Took 2 month leave. 1 month paid and 1 month unpaid.
--I realise i put too much pressure on myself . Would advise ppl not to take more than 15 days leave before the exam. Especially if you are working. As far as possible keep your gmat plans to yourself.
2) Took a date and started preparing. i think this is a wrong approach.
--Don't rush . Start preparing slowly. Once you become comfortable with all question types and feel ready to put in a slog for the last mile take a date.
take a date 30-45 days in the future and get 10 - 15 days leave before the exam.
3) Eat OG (all three books ) and Kaplan (premier edition).
--i did this. Was good in PS, DS , CR , RC . Used to get around 85-90% correct in practice material.But missed out on 1 crucial factor. Manhattan SC. Do go through it for better understanding of SC.
I never got the hang of SC . used to get 70-75 % correct purely on gut feel. I felt i could manage gmat with this since only SC was weak . Completely wrong.
You have to learn all the common error types by heart.
Have a strategy to test all common error types against the qs.
Initially you will take a lot of time but I blv you can internalise this process only through practice and still solve a qs quickly.
4) Used to get stuck in math.
--More often than not your ego gets in between. Being an engineer you cant fathom how you cant solve such easy looking questions. Advice is to learn tips from Kaplan . try to solve a question within 2 mins. if not get the options down to 2 and guess. move on. dont fret. there will be many easy questions down the lane which you can definitely solve. I practised a lot for this . luckily i did not get stuck on the d day.
5) i never got stuck in verbal. but my d day exp was horrible.
-- Wrote 2 excellant essays. math was a breeze, din get stuck. verbal was my strong point. was feeling happy.
Here is what happened.
Got 3 extremely tough sc qs in a line. couldnt understnd whether the qs were right or wrong and all options looked right. Gut feel . Use it only after you have gone thru a process for sc . Not as your first mode of attack.
took a lot of time. finally guessed in each. 4th was a easy CR . 5th was a very tough CR. fumbled on it. 6th was an awful , tough RC . got thru it barely.
Questions attempted 9 . Time lost 25 mins. sure of only 3-5 qs.
Panicked big time . couldnt think straight for any question after that.
Dont make this mistake .
--Learn to manage your time. And dont let previous qs affect you. easier said than done i know. I realise that even if i had guessed thru remaining SC and just concentrated on CR and RC which were my strong points i could have scored more.
6) Dont work yourself up 1-2 days before the exm. you will burn yourself up. relax. go thru what you know. dont touch anything new.
Do let me know what you think about this. Any tips for SC will also help. i plan to do Manhattan and 1000 SC. will take a date after i am sure about my comfort level. hopefully will give it in dec before its too late for 2008 deadlines.
now i have to get back to work and clear this pile of backlog which has accumulated over last 2 months.
so thats it. do well on you exms . may the force be with you.
Thanks for putting your experience.
A failure story also gives better way to success.
I doesn't mean to say that you have failed.:-)
I am also planning to take the test in December '07.
My GMAT is on Friday
How many Qs did you find similar to OG in ur GMAT?
plzzzzzz reply
Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
may the force be with you.
Questions in actual gmat are very similar ( but are not the same or repeated ) to the ones in OG. But the difficulty level of verbal in the actual test was more difficult than what i saw in OG.
I think if you have done OG + Kaplan thoroughly and practised enough material, you should be fine.
All the best pinkii.
i m plannin to gmat sometime in march... nd i was abt to do all the dont's u mentioned (like takin a months vacation .. takin a date fist nd den start preparing..)..:biggrin:
ur post has definitely made me rethink abt it..
thnks d post was really helpful..
regards,
amit
Scored 640 in GMAT
QA49
VA 29
Wt to do
i m plannin to gmat sometime in march... nd i was abt to do all the dont's u mentioned (like takin a months vacation .. takin a date fist nd den start preparing..)..:biggrin:
ur post has definitely made me rethink abt it..
thnks d post was really helpful..
regards,
amit
Hi,
I just gave my gmat, got a miserable score of 650:
V 32
Q 48.
My profile is:
Work Exp : Will complete 4 yrs in IT (3 years as Tester, Test Designer in Infy) and 1 Yr as Business Analyst.
Acads: 2.5 -3 gpa,
extra curriculars: few business plans and start ups proposed.
I would be grateful if you can evaluate my profile and let me know of my chances in US B Schools.
Thanks and Regards,
Deepak.
A word of caution Amit,
Different things work out for different people. For some, the very idea of an approaching GMAT can fire them to prepare in full swing. In such a case, I suggest you take a date and then you'll definitely get into the mood. If you do not like this idea, prepare fully and take GMAT ASAP coz after sometime, you'll grow bored n sick of it...
All the best.
Ashwin
Hi,
I am giving my GMAT on the 30th Nov and want to give some mock tests before the
exam, can you pls let me know where can ii give mock test (not necessarily free)
Regards
Sharmila
Gave gmat on 6th nov. got 610. feel gutted.
reason being i did put in a lot of effort but messed it all up on d day.
Biggest piece of advise i can give is DONT PANIC during the exm.
Heres my story.
Was average in Math . used to get scaled scores of around 40 in mock tests.Got 45 on actual test.
Was good in verbal . used to get more than 40 (and always more than quant) in mock tests. Got 29 on actual test and feel miserable about it.
Awa score is 5.5.
Have 4 years of solid work exp in I.T.
Will get good recommndation letters too.
Gpa is low. Between 2.5 and 3.
Need a good gmat score to overcome gpa.
I know my verbal score does not reflect my true potential so i plan to give the gmat 1 more time.
But before that i want to share my exp and get some thoughts in return.
1) I was working full time . Took 2 month leave. 1 month paid and 1 month unpaid.
--I realise i put too much pressure on myself . Would advise ppl not to take more than 15 days leave before the exam. Especially if you are working. As far as possible keep your gmat plans to yourself.
2) Took a date and started preparing. i think this is a wrong approach.
--Don't rush . Start preparing slowly. Once you become comfortable with all question types and feel ready to put in a slog for the last mile take a date.
take a date 30-45 days in the future and get 10 - 15 days leave before the exam.
3) Eat OG (all three books ) and Kaplan (premier edition).
--i did this. Was good in PS, DS , CR , RC . Used to get around 85-90% correct in practice material.But missed out on 1 crucial factor. Manhattan SC. Do go through it for better understanding of SC.
I never got the hang of SC . used to get 70-75 % correct purely on gut feel. I felt i could manage gmat with this since only SC was weak . Completely wrong.
You have to learn all the common error types by heart.
Have a strategy to test all common error types against the qs.
Initially you will take a lot of time but I blv you can internalise this process only through practice and still solve a qs quickly.
4) Used to get stuck in math.
--More often than not your ego gets in between. Being an engineer you cant fathom how you cant solve such easy looking questions. Advice is to learn tips from Kaplan . try to solve a question within 2 mins. if not get the options down to 2 and guess. move on. dont fret. there will be many easy questions down the lane which you can definitely solve. I practised a lot for this . luckily i did not get stuck on the d day.
5) i never got stuck in verbal. but my d day exp was horrible.
-- Wrote 2 excellant essays. math was a breeze, din get stuck. verbal was my strong point. was feeling happy.
Here is what happened.
Got 3 extremely tough sc qs in a line. couldnt understnd whether the qs were right or wrong and all options looked right. Gut feel . Use it only after you have gone thru a process for sc . Not as your first mode of attack.
took a lot of time. finally guessed in each. 4th was a easy CR . 5th was a very tough CR. fumbled on it. 6th was an awful , tough RC . got thru it barely.
Questions attempted 9 . Time lost 25 mins. sure of only 3-5 qs.
Panicked big time . couldnt think straight for any question after that.
Dont make this mistake .
--Learn to manage your time. And dont let previous qs affect you. easier said than done i know. I realise that even if i had guessed thru remaining SC and just concentrated on CR and RC which were my strong points i could have scored more.
6) Dont work yourself up 1-2 days before the exm. you will burn yourself up. relax. go thru what you know. dont touch anything new.
Do let me know what you think about this. Any tips for SC will also help. i plan to do Manhattan and 1000 SC. will take a date after i am sure about my comfort level. hopefully will give it in dec before its too late for 2008 deadlines.
now i have to get back to work and clear this pile of backlog which has accumulated over last 2 months.
so thats it. do well on you exms . may the force be with you.
Hi Sharmila,
The mock tests usually come free of cost, and I personally feel that they're more than enough. The ones I took are:
Princeton Review (online and book)- in all about 3 in number
Kaplan (CD,book and online)- in all about 7 tests
GMATPrep software- 2 tests
Old Powerprep (though of no practical use, can act as a morale booster!!) they're 2 in number.
Please always do a thorough analysis of the mock tests....Spend atleast 2 hours reviewing the questions -both the worng ones and the correct ones!! I cannot possibly over-emphasize this point!! You may get lower scores in the begining, but don't get demoralised.....Learn from your mistakes.
This is the most appropriate time to start taking your mock tests. Take them all in one sitting. This would help u build your stamina.
Please also check out a success story: 770 (V:44 Q:50) AWA:5
You can PM me if you want more last minute tips and strategies on GMAT. I took mine only last month.
All the best!!
Ashwin
Dear Ashwin,
thanks for your inputs can you pls give me some links wherre i can find the mick tests. i have done the CATPrep.com -GMAT Simulator and i am not able to find any.
the link to the blog u posted was really worth reading
thanks for your help
sharmila
Hi Sharmila,
The mock tests usually come free of cost, and I personally feel that they're more than enough.
All the best!!
Ashwin
Dear Sharmila,
I would like to know which material was used in your preperation. Usually these material carry free tests. I used Princeton Review and Kaplan for my preperation....Kaplan had a CD and an online subscription...So they had tests...
The GMAT Prep software can be downloaded from Free GMATPrep Test-Preparation Software
Another test series, although now obsolete, can be downloaded from:
http://www.gorillatestprep.com/ppgmat30.exe
I might be able to fwd some more links for tests....but please drop me a mail at [email protected] Please mail me ASAP. I could send u links of couple of online tests over email.
One more thing Sharmila....In a very non-intrusive way, please refrain from quoting the entire message body....It becomes very long....Please note that your previous thread was edited by one of our moderators/admin ...the reason is also specified.....Please take this in the right way....no offence intended....
Do send me a mail at my email id....I would be more than just glad to send you links of some online mock tests....
Regards,
Ashwin
thanks for those tips and all the best for the second attempt
i am planning to gv gmat in aug 2008 and work fr 3 yrs aftr dat and use my scores aftr 3 yrs...... is dat a wise decission...kindly sugst
Hi andy,
Man, do I sympathize or, more accurately, empathize with you! I made all the mistakes you made and then some more(not mistakes, strategic blunders!) I gave the test in Aug 07 and came a cropper at 560 (Q29, V3
. I am sure nobody on this forum has had such a low score, so do please humour me:wink:
First things first. I am an Army officer in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army, presently posted in New Delhi.
NDA, IMA and 16 years service has kept me away from academics for the past 21 years. In Nov 2006, I joined CL, South Campus to train for the CAT and GMAT.
Like you, I took 2 months of Annual Leave(trashed my wife's holiday plans completely, my kids offered to sharpen my pencils etc..) and studied or tried to, from scratch. I had been thru the CL books a bit but relied mainly on OG. I had to go to Pune to look up my folks, 15 days went in that. I knew that the road ahead was really steep and rocky but I had to at least appear for the test ; 250 dollars is not a small amount for anybody...
The first qs was on functions, a topic that I had neglected almost completely as it had not been given much coverage in the OG. From then on, it was a mixed bag of ayes and nays in QA. I did as well as I could in VA. Half way thru the exam, I knew that something was going terribly wrong. I was locking up focus, my head ached awfully, throat was parched, the works. The result was a foregone conclusion, I was not very surprised to have got what I did.
When I reached home, my wife was shocked to see my state. A quick thermometer reading showed 104 degrees!!! I had caught a virus in the very beginning of the test, inside the almost hermetically sealed testing hall and and progressed thru the test that way. In hindsight, I remembered that a couple of chaps had been coughing/sneezing and blowing their noses, looked like they had passed it on to me. No excuse whatsoever for the dismal performance, just a significant factor for the degraded ability...
Some observations:
1. I am a Maharashtra board student. Right at the start of my prep, I realized that the GMAT exam is based on the NCERT syllabi. I should have revised the Xth, XIth and XIIth Maths books of NCERT.
2. My morbid fear of Maths(essentially Calculus) impeded an open mind and clear approach towards the prep. This caused me to be under- confident even in topics I was strong in.
3. I did not have the requisite study mtrl till very late into the prep stage, e.g. did not have the OG QA guide at all till the end.What I had, I could not go thru completely due to lack of time.
4. Conflicting reqmts from work and home caused me to lose focus repeatedly through out the prep stage.
In conclusion, I sat for the test just to a) get a feel of the test environment and b) not waste the investment put in.
andy, I recommend the IMS study mtrl to you. Excellent books and the CD has 14 tests. The VA is not as good as OG or Kaplan but the QA is terrific. Has a study analysis on charts with a time plan. Check it out, it is worth the time and money spent.
So andy, don't worry, there are people way below you in the barrel too! If I, at my age and with a vintage brain and a long absence from academia can get 560, you will be able to get at least 760. Keep up the morale, practice like there is no tomorrow and you will be there.
To all friends on this forum, an appeal to comment freely. Bricks and bouquets equally and gratefully accepted. Also, please do give me some info about GMAT prep classes near Delhi Cantonement, sources for prep mtrl (I keep reading about 1000 SC etc, don't know where to get it from). Feel free to call, I am at 9868201784. BTW, I am ardently into flight sim (was an Air Force cadet in the NDA, but that s a different story:wink:) so those of a common feather, do flock.
Warmest Regards,
Joe