My GMAT debrief (760 M49, V44)

[Gimli]

Gave my exam last week. Score was 760 M49 V44. Here is a debrief of my prep and some tips based on my experience.

First of all thank you Manhattan Gmat! your materials and exams are the best bar none.

Background: 26 years. 5 years work ex. Software engineer (Product development). BS/MS both in Computer science.

Time spent:
I started my prep on sept. 4th. First three months were pretty slow. Averaged < 10 hours per week in self study. I would study twice or thrice during the week and once on the weekends. Sometimes more sometimes less...pretty inconsistent. Wasted the whole thanksgiving holiday. My prep really took off in nov last week. I averaged 25 hours a week during the last 70 days (nov 27 to feb 1st week). Overall, I think I put in about 350 hours.

Strategy:
Focused on improving weak areas in math, improving speed in math, learning SC concepts, practicing CR and giving lots of tests and individual math sections.

- I took the gmat prep exam before starting my prep to see where I stood. got a 660 (39 attempts in verbal 8 wrong, 25 attempts in math 5 wrong). I was happy with my verbal score but needed lots of work in math. I also took the free mgmat practice test. got a pathetic 550 (27Math, 39V). I could only attempt 25 questions in math with atleast 8-9 wrong out of those. Inspite of this, I was optimistic (though not 100% sure) that I would reach my target score of 750.

- I started off by covering math topics that I was weak in (Number theory, algebra (equations, inequalities, abs value), perm-comb/probability). I would finish the concepts from MGMAT material, some other books, online resources and follow it up with solving questions from the OG books. In parallel, I went through the SC guide chapter by chapter. I would do the OG questions relevant to a chapter after finishing it. Have a habit of making lots of notes so that helped me revise stuff later (My SC book is full of scribbles). Once I was done with the MGMAT sc book, I switched to CR and followed the same strategy. Kept working on math continously. After all the weak topics, I spent a few days going through stuff that I was better at (Geometry, Statistics, Rate/time etc.) and doing the remaining OG problems.

- By the last week of dec I was done with learning all the concepts I needed to. Had given two more MGMAT exams with scores of 700 (M43, V41) and 740 (M47, V45). I was happy that the scores were trending upwards and things were looking good in verbal. One thing to note is that I really devoted time towards learning/reviewing things where I was weak. I was superficial in studying what I knew but extremely thorough in stuff that was my weakness. For e.g. I spent atleast 25 hours studying probability/perm/comb but only a 5-6 hrs for geometry.

- In the last 6 weeks until Feb 4th, I focused on giving more exams, practicing math (used gmatclub.com sections), revising all math notes, revising SC notes twice. Also did about 200 problems each in SC and CR from misc online sources. In this final leg, The idea was to solidify my verbal strength and make sure that I improved speed in maths as well as the ability to solve problems under pressure. Ofcourse, I wanted to give lots of exams so that the final day would feel like yet another practice test.

-- I never practiced essays until the last month. Went through the 800score awa guide which has an excellent overview of the essay section. Outlined a few essay topics from the orange book and wrote probably 10 full essays as part of the exams I gave in Jan. That was all I did for the essay part.

-- Did'nt really study for RC except noting down a few strategies from the MGMAT book (justify every word etc.). I did the RC questions of the green book in a couple of hours and got all questions right, so did'nt worry too much about it.

- In the last week, I gave the GMAT prep exams again (scored 770 and 780). I also gave two MGMAT Cats (score 760 and 750). I reviewed my SC notes two days before the exam as well as all the math notes.

Exam:
- I went to work a day before the exam as usual because I wanted to stay active. Slept 11 hours the night before the exam though. Woke up really refreshed. Had a good lunch (high carb/low fat), practiced some problems for half hour to warm up, packed some snacks (OJ/bananas) and went off to the center.

- Started off with the essays. I felt I did good on them (still have to see the official score), but I remember writing lots of examples and relevant points. The topics were not that tough...argument had some obvious flaws, though had to read it carefully to get all the nuances.

- Went for my break but I did something extremely silly. I overestimated the time and when went back in, had lost 45 seconds. Please be extremely carefull with the break time. Remember that it takes the admin a minute or so to sign you back in and it will take you a couple of dozen seconds to settle back down. Neverthless, I did'nt lose heart and just focused on what was ahead...that was not the time to castigate myself.

- Math section did not go as good as I wanted. I could'nt feel that confidence and was solving problems in fits and starts. My hands were shaky and I had that funny feeling you have just before going in for an interview. To get your A level performance, you should feel completely calm (as if you are sitting in your living room, feet on the couch, laptop in hand and just solving away). It was'nt like that for me. Neverthless, I stuck it out and managed to attempt all problems except for the last one, which I was about 15 seconds away from solving when the time ran out).

-Went for my break again, ate a little bit, and this time decided to go back early and wait on the desk. However, as it happens, once you enter the room, you have to start the exam (they don't let you take the break within the examination room). So I screwed up my break again and this time only used up 5 minutes of the alloted 10. Luckily before going back in, I had done some talking to myself basically saying that "Everything depends on verbal now...Math has gone so so and essays are good....you can still crack it by doing well in verbal as you have done in so many exams. my attitude was something like I am going to give it my best shot with a calm composed mind and if I don't reach my target score, so what I will try again." I remember feeling confident throughout the verbal section. When I started, I just knew I was going to do well on that section. My advice is that you should try to control the exam instead of the other way round....they keyboard and mouse are in your hands. Be calm and confident...talk to yourself. Take an active approach towards the exam while being composed and unrushed at the same time. Its an attitude that you need to develop until it becomes a habit.

-Found the SC's to be relatively easy in verbal. RC's were tough esp towards the end. CR's were tough too esp towards the end (got a couple of tricky analogy types...which I spent 3-4 minutes on). I finished on time...things were a little tight at the end...but I remember having plenty of time for the last problem.

-That was it. I clicked through a few screens, closed my eyes, said yes to seeing my scores and gave a whoop of joy on seeing the results. It was a great feeling of relief mixed with a tinge of excitement. I had lost the pen cap so helped the admin look for it but they were in a rush to let me out as it was 8:30 PM. Gladly obliged them (The cap turned up in my pocket a few days later...a good souvenier)

Tips:
Here is a brain dump of things I would/would not recommend.
-Orient yourself with the exam a little bit and then give the GMAT prep before you start your real prep. Do this only if your exam date is 3-4 months away as by then you would have forgotten the questions so you can safely retake it (Don't worry...all the questions won't repeat if you reinstall...I took both the exams twice). You can also take the MGMAT practice test in addition to the gmat prep exam. When giving these exams, remember to provide an answer to all questions even if you guess blindly, as o/w your scores will be skewed. This will help you understand what the exam is like and make your weaknesses apparent (math or verbal or both). you will also have some idea of how much improvement is needed.

-Attack your weaknesses first. I don't think its possible to improve your scores by a significant margin until you really learn the concepts. Your mental abilities have to move up first, which will only happen if your fundamentals are strong in the body of knowledge which is tested. You don't need a PhD in math, but in whatever limited topics are tested, you need to be extremely good with the concepts. Same with SC...without knowing the content, you will not improve. Just solving SC/math questions is a very inefficient way to learn concepts. Learn the theory of a topic, then practice it by solving ~100 problems or so. Then move on to the next topic. As there are only a finite number of topics (maybe 10 or so in math + SC), it is doable.

-Test yourself after you finish a couple of topics. Don't wait by saying that I am going to learn everything and then start tests. Thats risky. You should see your scores trend upwards, or otherwise you need to seriously rethink your strategy. Note that testing yourself is not dependent on how much time has passed. It is dependent on how much you have studied. Its pointless to test again and again without learning new stuff.

-Get a study partner who is as motivated as you are and roughly at the same level as you or slightly better. Obviously, you have to do the studying, but it helps to compare notes with people and learn from each other. It also keeps you on track.

-Just remember that the first rule of GMAT is to finish the entire section and give your best shot to every question. I do believe that initial questions count more than the later ones, but I also believe that trying to artificially jack up your scores by devoting more time to the initial questions does'nt pay off (maybe it pays off slightly for the first 8-9 questions, as in if I know I can solve a question in 40-45 seconds more I will do it...but I won't do this for every question in the first 8). If you think that you can take half an hour to finish the first 10 questions, forget about it. how do you think you will gain those 10 minutes back? Imagine you are running a marathon...you can run real fast in the beginning and get ahead of the pack...but if you are not a good runner...you will just get spent out and will fall back. so once again, the first rule is to finish the section. never ever fall so far behind during a test that you can't catch up without blind guessing. follow this from the first test that you give. Its just not allowed. period.

-Take the exam at a time when your mental abilities peak. If you are an early riser, don't give the exam in the afternoon. If you are a late riser, don't give it in the morning. Give practice exams at the same time as the real thing. I believe that these itself can make a 10-20 pt difference in your scores. your mind is stressed enough as it is...don't load it up more.

-For math (I know my math scores are not stellar, but I worked hard at it and had I not, they would have been even worse) : As I said earlier, to really improve, you have to learn the concepts and then practice. MGMAT books are a good start. Also refer to other sources that explain particular topics well and have problems available (see reference at end). Once you get the hang of a topic, do problems in timed mode (initially its ok to forget about time as you are learning a concept). after that, keep a stop watch and say that you have 2 minutes or max 2.5. Don't sit around thinking about it. Thinking when the clock is ticking is very different from thinking when there is no time constraint. you have to acknowlege the clock but not let it affect your mental processes. that skill will develop if you solve problems with a stop watch in hand (don't be cheap...buy one...it costs like 7 bucks).

-If you are taking the MGMAT class, do the labs early on. I really regret not doing the strategic speed guessing lab until the end. It really has some good techniques for guessing.

-For verbal : I think anyone can crack verbal because there are fewer skills you need to master.
--- RC : GMAT RC's are not fuzzy which is good. They may be subtle but they are not fuzzy. Fuzzy is when two reasonable people can come up with two reasonable answers. Subtle is when everyone who notices details will come up with one answer and those who don't will come up with another. Conversely, if you are answering wrong, or you are not sure of the answer, it is because you are probably not noticing details. Practice RC's in a timed mode until you get the hang of comprehending every tiny nuance of language. When reading, do so with the aim of understanding the broad point the author is making as well as the details he is giving to support that point. Actively focus on this goal and this habit will help you. Go through the MGMAT RC book and make a list of strategies that are helpful to you (this will depend from person to person). Follow these strategies from day one.

--- SC : MGMAT SC book is all you need for the content. It will give you a solid foundation. You should know every concept in that book by heart. You should understand the implications of every rule they describe. Top this off by practicing the OG guides multiple times and may be also portions of some of the other online resources.

--- CR : CR is mostly about practice. There are very few concepts to learn. Noting details helps a lot here as well. Make a list of strategies and solve a few hundred problems and you will be well on your way.

- My general take is that GMAT is definitely beatable. You just need to stay organized and focused and you will get a respectable score. Don't lose hope even if your first scores are low. Have a target score in mind and slog it out. The target score should be a function of (time available, other strengths/weaknesses). Of course there is an upper bound on the score you can get (I just can't get a 51 in math without considerable investment of time), but this upper bound is sufficiently high for all people....your capacity is more than you think. Good luck! hope to see you in Bschool.

- For those who can't finish a section in time, here is a tactic that helped me.
-- I draw a table before starting a section. This table will tell me how far behind I am.
Table at question 0 looks like this.
Question# TargetForTimeRemaining ActualTimeRemaining TimeAvailableForNextSet
8 59 75 16
16 43
24 27
32 11

After each set of 8 questions, I will fill in a row in the third/fourth columns. The calculation is simple TimeAvailableForNextSet = ActualTimeRemaining - TargetForTimeRemaining. For e.g., after the 16th question, my table may look like. I only do this after every 8 questions, so it does'nt waste more than 20-25 seconds during the exam. But it keeps me on track.

Question# TargetForTimeRemaining ActualTimeRemaining TimeAvailableForNextSet
8 59 75 16
16 43 39 12
24 27
32 11

You can use this in verbal too...the third column is optional...experiment with this and it will help you stay on track.

Materials used:
I used the following resources
- MGMAT math books (all except FDP)
- For algebra - http://www.purplemath.com/
- For algebra - http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu
- Select topics from "Quantitative aptitude for MBA examinations" by Abhijit Guha -- This is an indian author so may not be easy for all to get, but its a pretty good book with lots of problems. It really helped me in Prob/Perm/Comb. available at http://shopping.sify.com/shopping/book_ ... 0&cid=4805
- MGMAT SC
- misc online problem sets for SC and CR
- OG (orange book, purple book, green book)
- www.gmatclub.com -- they have a good collection of timed sections which cost 80 bucks for 25 math and 5 verbal sections. The math sections are slightly tougher than the real thing even though they are non adaptive (I would say their questions are 700 level).
- 800score awa guide

Scores on practice tests:
GMAT prep 1 - 690 (gave it in early 2007)
GMAT prep 2 - 660 (sept 07)
MGMAT ptest - 550 M27 V39 (sept 07)
MGMAT CAT1 - 700 M43 V41 (early dec 07)
MGMAT CAT3 - 740 M47 V45 (late dec 07)
MGMAT CAT4 - 700 M44 V39 (Jan 12th 08)
MGMAT CAT5 - 760 M49 V45 (Jan 19th 08)
GMAT prep 1 - 780 M50 V47 (Jan 26th 08)
GMAT prep 2 - 770 M50 V46 (Jan 31th 08)
MGMAT CAT6 - 760 M51 V42 (Feb 2nd 08)
MGMAT CAT1 - 750 M48 V45 (Feb 3rd 08)

Thats a huge writeup...hope it helps some of you, as other debriefs helped me. Please post any questions and I will be glad to answer them.

-gimli

[Grumppee17]

Amazing debrief! Thank you......it's good to hear how you're doing.....I've gone from a real gmat 420 to a MGMAT 660....I know that's an improvement and I was able to take away some pointers from your post. Thank youuuuuuu :)

[Halo3]

Great post!

Can someone please comment on the difficulty of GMATclub tests. I'm a ~ 680 scorer and got ~2/3rds of them right on my first test. I thought they were in the 640-730 range. The only "easy" questions were those where I knew they were trying to 'trap' me.

The questions are waay shorter than MGMAT questions, which reduces reading time by ~3 minutes and also reduces the stress you go through trying to read through 200 word questions on a Quant section.

Overall it's a great value. Good supplement to MGMAT since MGMAT doesn't have an abundant supply of nonCAT questions in that range.

[Guest]

Gemli,

First, congratulations on a great score. You definitely deserve it. Also, great debrief. Second, I am very interested to know how you were scoring on the GMAT Challenges. i have been practicing with them and I would like to know you scores on Quant and verbal. I find the questions a it tough, but very similar to the GMAT practise exam.

[abedinbhuiyan]

Hello,

Can rate the all 5 MGMAT Quant guide in terms of difficulty

Such as 550+, 600+, 650-750+ etc.

One more thing why didn't use MGMAT- FDP.

Thanks in Advance.
BR

[shaebrown1]

You are having good score congrats i generally get confused in quant as it just slips down from my mind i scored 357 and thinking to take a retry.
http://www.theodoreenfield.com

[alisha18a]

Your post is really helpful and inspiring!. Thank you

[donaldb894]

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[DanaM722]

I loved your debriefing! I felt like I was with you during the prep and exam. Every detail was valuable, and when you reached the part where you said you saw your score and it was amazing I felt like beaming myself!!! hehehehe. I'm so happy for you! You worked hard and you earned it.

I don't even dream of reaching 600. The school I'm targeting has a very low admission score. I haven't studied math since high school and I'm 37 this year so even if I get below 400 is a blessing in the beginning during my prep. I really have 0 expectations but I don't have anything going in my life and suddenly this is like the MAJOR GOAL right now heheheh. We'll see.

Thanks for sharing. Wish you all the best

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