In May 2015 I decided to retake the test.However I dawdled along for a month with just practicing 10-15 questions a day.Soon it was August and I realized that I had not been committed enough to take the test,hence, I came up with a study plan.I scheduled the exam on September 23, keeping 40 days to prepare.I took the first GMAT Prep Software test and got a score of 710.I analyzed my responses and found that I lacked in the following areas:
- Data Sufficiency
Critical Reasoning
Sentence Correction
On the RC I was scoring at a 90% success rate,and I was good in problem solving in Quants,so I didn't practice these sections a lot.
The fallacy in my strategy was that I pushed practicing Data Sufficiency till the very end hence got only 49 in the quants section.To prepare for Critical Reasoning, I purchased the Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guide e book on Kindle,the reason I purchased an ebook instead of a paperback was that it allowed me to keep reading the book on my devices during lunch and boring meetings.I read the book section-wise and the book provides a logical structure to solve CR questions.For each question, I created a mental map,with Prem, Counter-Prem,Assump,Conclusion,Background and fallacy identified in each statement.The biggest change in my strategy after using Manhattan CR was that I started putting pen to the paper for CR questions, I started drawing the map for each question which significantly improved my CR accuracy.
For SC , when I started, my accuracy was around 65%.I practiced a lot in the initial days but could never score beyond the 70% accuracy,hence I used the Manhattan SC and solved the whole OG SC section again using the Manhattan chapters.In the final Manhattan tests I was able to get more than 85% accuracy in the SC questions.
As far as my study plan, I studied two hours daily on workdays and four hours on weekdays for a month and almost 6 hours per day in the last week. I always started with Quants and then moved to Verbal so that I would be accustomed to the GMAT pattern.
I did not complete all 6 Manhattan tests because I was having a lot of workload in the last week but I did solve 4 and always spend two hours analyzing the performance.
Overall , I am a bit dissatisfied with My Quants score, but I think that putting in a planned effort in improving Verbal paid off a nice dividend in the final score.
On a final note, any competitive exam needs self belief, patience and support from the loved ones.I am lucky to have a supportive brother and a partner who always motivated me despite making personal sacrifices themselves .This score also reflects the blessings of my parents who always supported my ideas,however hare-brained they might be.