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The_Gmat_Killer · 2009 September 9th, 03:37 AM

Took the exam today. 710(Q 48, V 39). Debrief will follow soon

eravi11 · 2009 September 9th, 03:52 AM

Congratulations...good score...awaiting debrief.

Dawgie · 2009 September 9th, 04:54 AM

Gmat Killer when you get a chance list your materials, time frame, and study schedule. Thanks friend and congratulations!

The_Gmat_Killer · 2009 September 9th, 04:59 AM

Its been a long and arduous journey. I have been planning to take the GMAT since time immemorial. But the lazy *** that I am, never got to make it. As mentioned in my blog, I took the GMAT in october last year and scored a dismal 610(39,34). I still cant believe how I got a 39 in quant. Something went horribly wrong and I am still clueless. Let by gones be bygones, I started preparing again from october 08. One month into my preparation, I got bored. Just couldn't sit down to study( I never liked studying ). I forced myself to study but couldn't. I would study for 10 days and then stop. This went on for about 8 months. In the process I postponed the exam atleast 5 to 6 times( thats $50*6). My source of encouragement is my gf who kept egging on. She believed in me more than I believed in myself. Trust me it helps when theres someone to encourage you.
Anyways I was planning to take the exam sometime in JUNE. But then the worst thing happened. I lost my Job. I spent one month sitting athome doing nothing( I got a new job within 15 days) . I regretted wasting 1 month. IF i had spent that month preparing for the exam I would have scored even better.
Anyways I scheduled the exam for 8th sep. I fininished all the Manhattan GMAT tests by last month. I will talk about the scores later. So in the last month, I just concentrated on the GmatPrep tests. I took 4 of those and my scores were 700,680,730,710. The last one was hearbreaking as I scored a 47 in quant. I took the last test 4 days before the final exam( last thu). I decided not to take any more exams as if I score less it will break my confidence. And trust me confidence plays a very important role during the exam.

The G Day
My test was scheduled at 4 pm. I am not an early bird so preferred taking the exam in the afternoon. I didn't study the whole day yesterday and infact I spent most of the evening yesterday at a wine bar. I just didn't want to think about the exam. I have a type a personality. So I get stressed out pretty easily. I knew if I can keep my calm , I can conquer GMAT. Arrived at the test center 1 hr ahead of time. As expected the test admin asked me if I want to go for the exam staring away. I thought what the hell.

The AWAs
I never practiced AWA. Didnt even spend a single minute on it. AWA is something which you cant mug up. Writing comes to you naturally. I knew I am not the guy to score a 6 on AWA . But I knew I couldnt score less than 5.
The first AWA was easy. Finished it within 25 mins. Spent the last 5 mins reviewing what I had written. The 2nd AWA( analysis of an issue) was no big deal either. In fact unlike the first one, I didnt have to jot down my thought on the scrap book before proceeding. I finished it within 20 mins with 10 mins to spare.

Break
I took the break deliberately. I had stocked some fruit smoothies and some electrolytes in the locker. Had some of the drinks and then went to the rest room and washed my face. In the process I kept on telling myself that its just another exam and no matter what, dont panic.

Quant

The first quant question was easy. It was so easy that I couldnt believe that GMAT could throw such easy questions. In the process I started double checking, thinking that I haven't missed any tricky part. The 2nd problem was wordy but was able to solve it within a min. Then doubt began to set in. Till the 15th question, most of the problems were very easy. I just couldn't trust my instincts. I kept on rechecking my answers thinking that I might have missed somethhing. My target was to finish the first 10 quant questions within the first 25 mins which I managed to do so. Then the questions started getting trickier. I never lost my calm but at one point I lost my patience. When I was on question no 20, I just wanted to get over the exam. I stopped caring about how I am doing. I just couldn't concentrate. All that occupied my mind was just finish off and get out. Somehow I kept my composure and moved ahead. I made some educated guesses in the process.
Once I was done with quant, I knew I had screwed up badly. But strangely I wasnt sad. All I was thinking was , just get rid of the exam and get back to your normal life.

Break No 2
Took the 8 mins break in between. During this break I thought of what cubicle had said( thanks buddy). The verbal section was probably the last test I am gonna take. So give it your best shot. I drank some fruit smoothies and some vitamin water.

Verbal
Verbal was tricky from the start. The first SC question I got took me atleast 4 mins to figure out. I was still not sure if I got it right. I got my first reading comprehension at question no 6. reading comprehension used to be a problem for me till the last year. Then I started reading lot of online articles. Every day , religiously I would read. This helped me a lot. Anyways, I the RCs were pretty easy though I encountered some lengthy CRS. They were so long that it took me a while to find out what I am supposed to figure out. SCs kept coming, some were pretty easy and some were tricky. Then I got a lengthy reading comprehension at around question no 20. I was expecting that and it made me happy. That meant that I was doing ok. I was left with 15 mins for the last 14 questions. Then I got another reading comprehension at question no 40. I didnt want to waste time so I made some educated guesses.

Final Result
I didnt know what to expect from the exam. I knew I had screwed up in quant but I knew I did good in verbal. When I saw my score I was more than satisfied. Atlast I was able to join the 700+ club and trust me, being out of school for such a long time, its a big deal for me.

The practice tests
Gmat prep 1- 700(49,33)
Gmat prep 2-680(49,31)
Gmat prep 3- 730(49,41)
Gmatprep 4- 710(47,40)

Manhattan GMAT scores ranged frm 680 to 740 with Q ranging from 48 to 51 and verbal from 35 to 44.

If you have any specific questions, do feel free to ask me.

Last but not the least, I can't tell you folks how grateful I am to this site. TM rocks. Thanks to all you guys for taking the effort to contribute to this forum. And of course, how can I miss Erin. Thanks a ton bro for maintaining this website. You ROCK

PS: One thing I will suggest everyone. Take both the breaks. Trust me it helps.

kodeprasad · 2009 September 9th, 05:37 AM

nice score!!

All the best for the apps!!!

wanna-do-MBA · 2009 September 9th, 05:54 AM

hi,
your efforts and the result has encouraged me to become more active and start taking the Gmat prep seriously.
i am a newly married, newlylanded imigrant in Canada. i am really interested in doing MBA but am very lazy with my Gmat. i have been trying to prepare for it for the past few months but there is always something happening in my life. either im travelling with my hubby or attending some dinner party etc. i dont know how to be consistent. i remember how consistent i was in school and sometimes i think tht i hve changed forever. i also fear tht even if i get into MBA, i might start behaving without consistency again. which can result in bad grades and waste of money.
i have less than two weeks left for my next tripwith my husband and i want to apply to a university before that. all i need to do is give Gmat. could u please guide me if its possible to prep for and attempt Gmat in one week. i obviously need exceptional marks too. will really appreciate thy help.

rick21 · 2009 September 9th, 06:04 AM

GMAT Killer congrates on thy Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay!!!!11 score ..i still feel you scored atleast 2 point less in quant becoz I have seen thy explanations and u r really good at them ..so was it just your state of mind or were the qs really tough [tougher than Manhattan GMAT also ?]

The_Gmat_Killer · 2009 September 9th, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick21

GMAT Killer congrates on thy Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay!!!!11 score ..i still feel you scored atleast 2 point less in quant becoz I have seen thy explanations and u r really good at them ..so was it just your state of mind or were the qs really tough [tougher than Manhattan GMAT also ?]

Quant was easy. I messed up. I just couldn't concentrate. Manhattan GMAT questions are way tougher than the real thing. But the Manhattan GMAT tests help build the pace and resilence. Also one important thing . Always have a backup. In case of GMAT, verbal was my backup. I knew if I screw up in quant I should be able to make up in verbal. Afterall getting a 51 in quant and scoring 710 is no better than scoring 47 in quant and getting a 710

The_Gmat_Killer · 2009 September 9th, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanna-do-MBA

hi,
your efforts and the result has encouraged me to become more active and start taking the Gmat prep seriously.
i am a newly married, newlylanded imigrant in Canada. i am really interested in doing MBA but am very lazy with my Gmat. i have been trying to prepare for it for the past few months but there is always something happening in my life. either im travelling with my hubby or attending some dinner party etc. i dont know how to be consistent. i remember how consistent i was in school and sometimes i think tht i hve changed forever. i also fear tht even if i get into MBA, i might start behaving without consistency again. which can result in bad grades and waste of money.
i have less than two weeks left for my next tripwith my husband and i want to apply to a university before that. all i need to do is give Gmat. could u please guide me if its possible to prep for and attempt Gmat in one week. i obviously need exceptional marks too. will really appreciate thy help.

If you ask me, I would say starting from scratch it would take around 8 to 12 weeks for an average person to get a decent score in GMAT. Try taking the GMATPrep tests. They are the real indicator of your preparation.
You can try out this tool.
GMAT Score Estimator (Beta)

The_Gmat_Killer · 2009 September 9th, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawgie

Gmat Killer when you get a chance list your materials, time frame, and study schedule. Thanks friend and congratulations!

Time frame would be 6 months in and out and 2 months of serious study. Overall I would say 3 months of serious study. For two months I studied 1 hr a day and 3 to 4 hrs on the weekends. As my quant and verbal concepts were crystal clear, so all I had to do it improve on speed.

The materials I have used are, OG 11 and 12, Manhattan GMAT SC, critical reasoning Bible, and the last but not the least TM and google

. I have some materials that I have collected from different forums. I will post those soon. Also the GmatTimer from GmatClub was a life saver. You can download it from here
http://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-timer-56014.html

2009 September 9th, 03:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
The_Gmat_Killer here I come Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NYC Posts: 164	610 to 710 ..good riddance Took the exam today. 710(Q 48, V 39). Debrief will follow soon _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Its never too late http://mbadreaming.wordpress.com/

2009 September 9th, 04:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Gmat_Killer here I come Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NYC Posts: 164	Its been a long and arduous journey. I have been planning to take the GMAT since time immemorial. But the lazy *** that I am, never got to make it. As mentioned in my blog, I took the GMAT in october last year and scored a dismal 610(39,34). I still cant believe how I got a 39 in quant. Something went horribly wrong and I am still clueless. Let by gones be bygones, I started preparing again from october 08. One month into my preparation, I got bored. Just couldn't sit down to study( I never liked studying ). I forced myself to study but couldn't. I would study for 10 days and then stop. This went on for about 8 months. In the process I postponed the exam atleast 5 to 6 times( thats $506). My source of encouragement is my gf who kept egging on. She believed in me more than I believed in myself. Trust me it helps when theres someone to encourage you. Anyways I was planning to take the exam sometime in JUNE. But then the worst thing happened. I lost my Job. I spent one month sitting athome doing nothing( I got a new job within 15 days) . I regretted wasting 1 month. IF i had spent that month preparing for the exam I would have scored even better. Anyways I scheduled the exam for 8th sep. I fininished all the Manhattan GMAT tests by last month. I will talk about the scores later. So in the last month, I just concentrated on the GmatPrep tests. I took 4 of those and my scores were 700,680,730,710. The last one was hearbreaking as I scored a 47 in quant. I took the last test 4 days before the final exam( last thu). I decided not to take any more exams as if I score less it will break my confidence. And trust me confidence plays a very important role during the exam. The G Day* My test was scheduled at 4 pm. I am not an early bird so preferred taking the exam in the afternoon. I didn't study the whole day yesterday and infact I spent most of the evening yesterday at a wine bar. I just didn't want to think about the exam. I have a type a personality. So I get stressed out pretty easily. I knew if I can keep my calm , I can conquer GMAT. Arrived at the test center 1 hr ahead of time. As expected the test admin asked me if I want to go for the exam staring away. I thought what the hell. The AWAs I never practiced AWA. Didnt even spend a single minute on it. AWA is something which you cant mug up. Writing comes to you naturally. I knew I am not the guy to score a 6 on AWA . But I knew I couldnt score less than 5. The first AWA was easy. Finished it within 25 mins. Spent the last 5 mins reviewing what I had written. The 2nd AWA( analysis of an issue) was no big deal either. In fact unlike the first one, I didnt have to jot down my thought on the scrap book before proceeding. I finished it within 20 mins with 10 mins to spare. Break I took the break deliberately. I had stocked some fruit smoothies and some electrolytes in the locker. Had some of the drinks and then went to the rest room and washed my face. In the process I kept on telling myself that its just another exam and no matter what, dont panic. Quant The first quant question was easy. It was so easy that I couldnt believe that GMAT could throw such easy questions. In the process I started double checking, thinking that I haven't missed any tricky part. The 2nd problem was wordy but was able to solve it within a min. Then doubt began to set in. Till the 15th question, most of the problems were very easy. I just couldn't trust my instincts. I kept on rechecking my answers thinking that I might have missed somethhing. My target was to finish the first 10 quant questions within the first 25 mins which I managed to do so. Then the questions started getting trickier. I never lost my calm but at one point I lost my patience. When I was on question no 20, I just wanted to get over the exam. I stopped caring about how I am doing. I just couldn't concentrate. All that occupied my mind was just finish off and get out. Somehow I kept my composure and moved ahead. I made some educated guesses in the process. Once I was done with quant, I knew I had screwed up badly. But strangely I wasnt sad. All I was thinking was , just get rid of the exam and get back to your normal life. Break No 2 Took the 8 mins break in between. During this break I thought of what cubicle had said( thanks buddy). The verbal section was probably the last test I am gonna take. So give it your best shot. I drank some fruit smoothies and some vitamin water. Verbal Verbal was tricky from the start. The first SC question I got took me atleast 4 mins to figure out. I was still not sure if I got it right. I got my first reading comprehension at question no 6. reading comprehension used to be a problem for me till the last year. Then I started reading lot of online articles. Every day , religiously I would read. This helped me a lot. Anyways, I the RCs were pretty easy though I encountered some lengthy CRS. They were so long that it took me a while to find out what I am supposed to figure out. SCs kept coming, some were pretty easy and some were tricky. Then I got a lengthy reading comprehension at around question no 20. I was expecting that and it made me happy. That meant that I was doing ok. I was left with 15 mins for the last 14 questions. Then I got another reading comprehension at question no 40. I didnt want to waste time so I made some educated guesses. Final Result I didnt know what to expect from the exam. I knew I had screwed up in quant but I knew I did good in verbal. When I saw my score I was more than satisfied. Atlast I was able to join the 700+ club and trust me, being out of school for such a long time, its a big deal for me. The practice tests Gmat prep 1- 700(49,33) Gmat prep 2-680(49,31) Gmat prep 3- 730(49,41) Gmatprep 4- 710(47,40) Manhattan GMAT scores ranged frm 680 to 740 with Q ranging from 48 to 51 and verbal from 35 to 44. If you have any specific questions, do feel free to ask me. Last but not the least, I can't tell you folks how grateful I am to this site. TM rocks. Thanks to all you guys for taking the effort to contribute to this forum. And of course, how can I miss Erin. Thanks a ton bro for maintaining this website. You ROCK PS: One thing I will suggest everyone. Take both the breaks. Trust me it helps. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Its never too late http://mbadreaming.wordpress.com/ Last edited by The_Gmat_Killer : 2009 September 9th at 04:53 PM.

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2009 September 9th, 03:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
eravi11 So far So bad! Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 631	Congratulations...good score...awaiting debrief.

2009 September 9th, 04:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dawgie I JUST got here. Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4	Gmat Killer when you get a chance list your materials, time frame, and study schedule. Thanks friend and congratulations!

2009 September 9th, 05:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
kodeprasad This user's posts are moderated. Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 335	nice score!! All the best for the apps!!!

2009 September 9th, 05:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
wanna-do-MBA I JUST got here. Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	hi, your efforts and the result has encouraged me to become more active and start taking the Gmat prep seriously. i am a newly married, newlylanded imigrant in Canada. i am really interested in doing MBA but am very lazy with my Gmat. i have been trying to prepare for it for the past few months but there is always something happening in my life. either im travelling with my hubby or attending some dinner party etc. i dont know how to be consistent. i remember how consistent i was in school and sometimes i think tht i hve changed forever. i also fear tht even if i get into MBA, i might start behaving without consistency again. which can result in bad grades and waste of money. i have less than two weeks left for my next tripwith my husband and i want to apply to a university before that. all i need to do is give Gmat. could u please guide me if its possible to prep for and attempt Gmat in one week. i obviously need exceptional marks too. will really appreciate thy help.

2009 September 9th, 06:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
rick21 Within my grasp! Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 227	GMAT Killer congrates on thy Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay!!!!11 score ..i still feel you scored atleast 2 point less in quant becoz I have seen thy explanations and u r really good at them ..so was it just your state of mind or were the qs really tough [tougher than Manhattan GMAT also ?]

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