I just Beat The GMAT!

GMAT stings you- your only option is to bite back with a vengeance"

That's what my friend told me after I got a 650 (47, 32) 3 months back. This is my story- the one of a minnow who rose from shards of wretchedness.

3 months back I was quite desperate. I had spent money on prep courses - only to find that these courses were over even just when I was getting warmed up. To be fair, my overall score did improve by 5 points but that seemed too little for a $1400 course. Then I remembered the famous dialogue from BraveHeart - "Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.




Second attempt: No shame is asking for help from your adversary

So I contacted my old friendversary (thanks to fb) who had scored 750 last year for guidance. He told me that the most important think to succeed on the GMAT is to ensure that you fundamentals are right. Once you have the right foundation - do OG multiple times, each time with a fresh perspective till you realize that you have started to think some-what like a test taker. He also recommended taking e-GMAT SC course in addition to MGMAT SC (which I already had).

e-GMAT SC course was wonderful. It just changed my approach towards SC. SC became like math - logical and lucid. The rules of grammar seemed a lot more logical to me. The course also had ample practice questions and really good support.


So how did I master this beast this time

Firstly, you have got to realize that GMAT different from your office project - You have got to make it personal. Make sure you have the right approach and then work tirelessly to master it. Here are some of the things that made a difference:

• 1. OG 12: I did OG 3 times, revising every question and trying to understand why the incorrect answer is incorrect. This was very useful in the exam. I discovered that OG explanations are not the best - especially for SC and hence had to create my own logical explanations. In the end this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
  2. Read Read Read: I made it a point to read at least 2 articles from NY times daily. I would read each article 3 times. First time with the perspective of answering RC questions. Second time looking for long sentences ( NY times is excellent for that) and observing how the author maintained parallelism in long sentences, the idiomatic usages and the modifier placements. I would recommend Stanley Fish or one of the other opinionators. The third time to observe how the author defends or attacks the argument in the passage.
  3. Question what you don't understand: I looked up forums for answers, asked experts for help and formed my own hypothesis at times.
  4. Plan: Probably the most important contributor to my success. During my first attempt my test prep company told me that it was better to do multiple sections at once. They could not be more wrong. In my second attempt, I decided to focus on one verbal section at a time and master it. The results were much better. I could track my improvement in mocks. Make sure you have a solid plan with mocks that we well interspersed to ensure that you can see your strengths and weakness.

So in the end, I am very happy with my score. I have done better than my friendversary Here is the prep material that I recommend:

• 1. Jeff Sackman's books and Grockit for quant.
  2. E-GMAT Verbal course
  3. OG 12, 11 (yes old questions but I found them to be good practice), OG Verbal, GMATClub GMATPrep questions, MGMAT tests, Veritas CR book (extra practice only, there is practically no theory)
  4. Brent Hannesson's quant explanations on BTG.

In the end I have a favor to ask. I have 15 days before most of the deadlines for B - schools. I have 10 days where I can devote 8 hrs per day for applications. How many schools do you think I should target in R2. Also, are do essay companies work during the Christmas break.


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Many Congratulations to you on the wonderful score!

When was your GMAT appointment? Are you a native-speaker? Please tell me more about your background.

I am no expert, but for the essays, I think you can go to the school's website and have a look at the application procedure, essays, recommendation questions, etc. This will give you a clear picture. From, what I have heard and read on forums, some applicants take months to prepare 1 application while some may take only a few weeks. So, no matter what the suggestions are, you will be the best just to decide.

All the best![/img]

Hey! Congratulations! That is a tough score to achieve
I've been struggling with my prep and the correct approach is one formula that I really can't figure out.
How long did you prepare yourself for the fundamentals?
Can you discuss how much time you spent on each section?

As for your applications, I suggest you apply to a maximum of three (3) schools given also the time that you have left.
The goal is to create strong essays and you cannot sacrifice quality over quantity.
If you think you have a pretty solid work background, maybe you can even settle for two (2).

All the best!

Way to go. Judging by your last score, i am guessing you are not a native speaker. Which makes ur current score (specially verbal) particular great. People like you are the reason why the rest of us keep our hopes alive.

Well done indeed.

@immaculatesahai - I work in Germany and english is not my first language. Good luck for your preparation.


@karist - I spent 2-3 weeks per section the second time. I got a study plan from e-GMAT which I followed. I spent 1 week brushing up my fundamentals. But remember, I was reading NYT throughout my prep. Even as late as December. Thank you for your suggestion regarding 3 essays. I am thinking the same too. I checked up on Darden. They have few(er) essays and most likely be one school that I will be applying to.

Congrats on the awesome score! You have a very ambitious plan with regards to essays and it's going to take a while to put them all together. My guess is you can't do more than 3 schools total. But to answer your second question, there are consultants that work throughout Christmas because of the R2 deadlines in early January. You just need to find a good consultant who isn't completely booked now

Good luck!

Thank you Dana, In some sense I followed your advise while preparing (I think folks at eGMAT like your debrief because they quote it in their strategy session)

I have no plans to apply to more than 3 schools. In reality, I am focusing on 2 schools and will decide whether to apply to the third school only if I have the time to do so. My focus is on quality.

I have a doubt: Do schools look down on applicants who apply in the third round. The reason I ask is if I apply to school in R3, will the school think that that school was my last choice or I am only applying to that school because I have been rejected by a few other schools.

Hahah didn't know they were quoting my review! Now you've got me interested in their product

That's not necessarily the case, wucvsGMAT! Even if you do apply for R3, they won't really believe it's your last option. It will be much harder to get in because they have very few slots left, though, so you need to keep that in mind when setting your expectations.

Thanks for the post. This makes me think that I should reach out to some friends who i have lost touch with.