740 in 4 weeks

[gaurav.joshi06]

I attempted GMAT for the first time in the last week of August. (28th August,2010). The mock exams which i attempted were the 2 tests from GMAT CD and 3 from KapTest book which i bought at a nearby Borders for $20.

Observations:
1. Math was way easier than anything i had encountered (not counting the juvenile maths that Kaplan Test throws up). Ended up scoring 51 in Quant. Used up the entire time.
The best strategy is to ensure that you get the first 20-25 Questions right. Once you do that, you have more leeway with the last ones. I tried this with my 2nd CD test, it worked and also worked with the real deal.

2. English is the area which needs focus and practice. Also, after you are through with AWA and Quant the mind tends to get tired and there may be instances where you lose concentration or focus. This can only be mastered through practice and unfortunately i didn't do too much of that. Ended with a lowest ever Verbal score of 39. Was a tad disappointed but would have taken the score if someone had offered.

KapTest gives a good grounding in English. Don't be too disheartened by the dismal scores their pathetic software throws out. I never scored beyond 620 in the 3 tests that i gave (scored 540 and 580 in the other 2).

All in all 740 was something that i felt was borderline good. 740+ is exceptional. However, i cant complain too much. Had been out of touch with studying for 5 years and just couldn't spend more than a month on this test.

Best of luck. Don't make this a bigger deal than it actually is. It is a really simple test (as compared to the CAT which i gave in India for my 1st MBA! Surprisingly i had scored 99.9 percentile in CAT English 04. Maybe its because the parameters of testing are very different between the 2 animals (Bad blood between the 2? ;)). Yeah, i am thinking of doing it the second time. I know its depressing but one gets typecast pretty soon in India and need the leverage to break out of the mold.

[SEPY]

Hearty Congratulations for your score !
Wat was ur strategy for Verbal.
Did u start ur prep from scratch..i mean did u prepare for only
4 weeks..
Please share some tips..