Saturday, December 5

The Debrief

q-50 --93 percentile, v - 41 - 92 percentile --overall - 740 -- 97 percentile.. AWA --result awaited

Prep time -- Approx 6 weeks --daily 2 hours
Study Material --
SC {accuracy rate at the start - approx 40% ..at the end approx 90%}

Manhattan SC guide must have gone through it atleast 7 times. Don't just read it STUDY IT.

Once i grasped the basics well i picked up OG, did all the questions thoroughly. When i say thoroughly i mean to say that i figured out error in each and every answer choice. This helped me to understand the various patterns of error that appear on the GMAT. {Accuracy had improved to about 70%}

When i say ientify the error -- dont simply say that this choice is awkward or does not make sense etc etc --- pen down the error type...whether it is Sub-Verb or Pronoun or modifier ---

Adamjohn's Notes -- Has some of the finest questions and also superb explanations by an expert called 800Bob. Learnt a lot of tricks here and have posted some of them on my blog

1000 SC -- did approx 400 questions, some people say that 1000 sc is not a reliable source. Agreed! but the %age of poor questions is low. This source is good for practise once you are done with OG. Again identify the error type in each and every choice.

CR {Accuracy at the start -- approx 40-50% ..at the end 70-75%, though hit rate in OG was 90+% but OG level is way too low as compared to the real thing.}

Powerscore Bible -- won't recommend it -- consumes too much time....though practice the following from powerscore:

1. Flaw in reasoning,
2. Evaluate the argument --- Saw atleast 3 questions on real thing

BTG {Beat The GMAT} Forum Questions -- did a lot of them and tried to support my answers with reasoning....Please share your reasoning with every answer...simply saying IMO A,B or C wont help a lot....

Approach -- Read the argument carefully -- Clearly mark out the conclusion -- understand the reasoning ---Paraphrase ---- read the question ----attack the answer choices

Be extra careful about the boundary words such as "many", "Some", "All", "only" etc.
RC {Starting hit rate --approx 85% --towards the end 90+% }

Read The Economist, The New scientist everyday for approx 20-30 mins. After reading each para pause for 5 seconds PARAPHRASE -- Tell yourself what the author is trying to say. --- MOVE AHEAD --- DO the same for every para --- In the end take out 10 seconds --- Link up all the paragraphs --- total reading time for a typical GMAT RC passage would be close to 3 Minutes....but by following this approach you will take very less time to answer the questions.

I won't recommend to skim the passage --- RC means READING COMPREHENSION --it tests your comprehension not the skimming ability.

Quant --Was good in quant but was making careless mistakes

{If you lack the basics then pick up any elementary school level book and brush up the fundamentals}

1. Read the question carefully
2. Pen down what you have to calculate -- the variable name and units--
3. READ THE CONDITIONS GIVEN IN QUESTION CAREFULLY AND KEEP THEM IN MIND --for eg if x  > 0 no need to put x = -2 or x = 0
4. Always test the inequalities for 0,1, -1, 1/2 and -1/2

Daily solve 20 questions --- i regularly solved 20 questions on BTG {Beat The GMAT} --- at times i failed to post my answer but religiously solved problems in DS and PS thread.

AWA ----- Simply prepared a template a day before and never wrote it in any of the mocks --- WAS ONE BIG MISTAKE

For last 2 or 3 mocks attempt AWA...
I would suggest give your last 2 mocks in a cyber cafe and write AWA
Mock CATS {always gave each section 70 mins of time}
I consistently hit 760+ in last 5-6 mocks. Scored 790 in one of the GMAT prep where 3-4 questions were repeat.
GMAT PREP is a must and re-take it as many times as possible. Because of the adaptive nature of test and large repository of the questions you will get to solve a lot of different questions.

Manhattan GMAT -- Verbal is very close to the real thing -- MARK MY WORDS HERE -- Manhattan's quant is way off mark the real thing but their Verbal is damn good, i would say i improved from V-18 to V-41 because of MANHATTAN

But their pool of 700+ level questions is too small and by the time you have attempted 3 mocks the quality of questions gets diluted....Please add a lot more 700+ questions to your tests.....

TEST Experience:
{i didn;t take any leave for prep ... i would say be consistent for 6 weeks or so and put 2 hours or so daily....on weekends i would simply give mocks and analyze them thoroughly}

Day before test


1. Watched Cricket --- Was in office -- went to Gym, ran for 25 mins -- took sauna and relaxed...
2. Tried to get my mind off the test, at one time i almost forgot that i have my test tomo
3. But as i tried to sleep ---> i got butterflies in my stomach....Slept for hardly 4 hours---this was a perenial Sin--- SLEEP WELL BEFORE THE EXAM

Test Day

5:30 am -- Woke Up
Deep Breathing
Lots of water
approx 8: Am -- news paper
Took shower, Had breakfast -- Bananas + Boiled Eggs

Watched Sehwag throw away his wicket after a blistering performance

Headed to a temple -- to gain some SPIRITUAL STRENGTH --- PRAY -- if you are an atheist then you can simply remember your parents or any person whom you idolize--- IT helps

Was in centre 30 mins before the test --- centre was empty --no test takers...I was allowed to sit 20 mins before the sched time

Fired off both the AWA in 30 mins --- 15 mins each -- never reviewed what i wrote...had a template and vomited it....above 4 everything would be a bonus :)

Had a nutribar -- Stretched -- total break time -- 4 minutes [By the Way You get only 8 mins of break in between sections now --- UTILIZE YOUR BREAKS PROPERLY}

Quant -- first ques -- co-ord geometry -- forgot the formula and felt frustrated after 5 mins guessed and moved on ---NEVER ALLOWED MYSELF TO FEEL DOWN BECAUSE OF THIS ACT--- My performance would be judged by how i fare on 37 questions not by my response to 1st question ----at times it is good to make intelligent guess and move on....

Lots of inequalities, modulus, number prop, co-ordinate geometry --> last 2 questions were esp tricky
Advise -- Pace yourself well -- i completed the section in 69 mins or so --- could have better utilized my time

Verbal -- MANHATTAN GMAT ---SHALL I SAY MORE ?? -- ATTEMPT THE MOCKS AND READ THE EXPLANATION CAREFULLY THATS IT....
SC and RC were predictable...CR -- Got 1 strengthen and wekaen ques each...most were evaluate and vulnerable to crticism type
NEVER TRY TO ANALYZE YOUR PERFORMANCE BY THE QUESTIONS YOU SEE

Took a deep breath ----- honestly was expecting 750 --opened my eyes --Saw 740 --- was kind of mixed reaction --- But i would take it ....

14 comments:

VagaBond said...

Congrats man....i am planing to give GMAT in mid JAN...since i don't have any work-ex i am giving exam for indian B-schools that require 650+ score...i was hoping if you could help me with links to study material sites and other resources...thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Congrats on great score. Can you tell me where can I download the adam jones notes you mentioned.
Googled a lot .. couldnt find any link .

email me : facticatech@gmail.com

Thanks

KT said...

@vagabond -- can i have ur mail id.wud share some material..

anonymous--pls chk ur mail

Uday said...

Hi,

I have come across your profile in pagalguy. You have secured an amazing score. congratulations. I am planning to give GMAT exam. not yet started prep. in a recent GMAT prep test i got 660 score. My target is to get 720 score. Can you please share the material with me. my email id is nagauday001@yahoo.co.in

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Uday.

Anonymous said...

Hey man, Congrats on amazing score. All the best with apps too. Can you send me list and order of books you prepared for PS, DS, SC, CR, RC. Also, any notes or material that can help for the prep. Thanks man.
email : blogtechmania@gmail.com

KT said...

hi Uday / Anonymous -- i have sent the material across!!

thanks for reading!!

Unknown said...

Hi Braveheart,

Be be belated congrats for that amazing score, wish i can score somewhere close to your range...I gave my Gmat in dec and scored 640 (q47, v31, AWA 5.5):(:(

I came across your post in PG, as i was trying to gather more and more info about how to increase my score in verbal....I would be glad if u can help me out with something, especially with my verbal..Any info will be great, can i have adam jones notes... My mail id is saorabh@gmail.com.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Hi Braveheart,

Congrats on your great score.
You did a great job.....I really want to have some material to increase my score from 650 to 700+.
It would be great if you can share your material to enhance verbal-score

email--jayesh.tripathi@gmail.com

Thanks!

Unknown said...

hey braveheart, your blog is of lot of help and would be grateful if you can mail me some useful materials for my preparation for gmat ?

Unknown said...

hey,
congratulations on your score and thanks for writing the blog.can u please send me some relevant materials for my preparation @ singhania.ritesh@gmail.com
after reading everything i have zeroed on the following books
SC-manhattan guide,OG12
CR- powerscore bible,OG12
RC-OG 12
are they good enough or i need to make some alterations?

meinkemp said...

Hello Braveheart,

I do see so many blogs by GMAT takers and would be takers. Is it ina a way to reflect on their blogs after some point of time or to help others.....anyways good content.

Would be grateful if you send me material that you have access to.

Thank You.
Kalyan.

KT said...

@kalyan -- please chk out my blog profile. i have listed my e-mail is there...send me a blank mail n i will reply

Nikhil said...

hi dost,

I really like you r blog and it is helping big time for a guy like me. I have started prep gmat recently and it would be great if you could share some prep material you have used.My
email is: nikhilDOTbhargavATgmailDOTcom

Nikhil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.