740 - 44 v 48 q REALLY big

[shreyas]

Hey everyone!

ME
well you dont know me but i know you ( wow what an opening line)
i have been creeping around reading the posts , without participating in any, because i never really had anything to say.
today i finished the big gmat!! first i will tell you guys how TestMagic helped. they posts helped me decide what were the potential problems i could have and mainly helped me because i knew ' i was not alone'. But what helped most was the support of my friends who had already been through the ordeal. they boosted my confidence and my superpowers

DUCKIE IN A TUB
well i started my prep on the 22nd of april:o. i had less than 30 days to go. but its not like i knew nothing about the gmat. i knew the pattern and have been preparing for various entrance tests to indian institutes for a VERY long time now.
i had taken my first full length test from powerprep in jan and had scored 600, which lead to my decision of postponing my gmat from the 20th of jan to may...because i had lots of personal problems in jan.

the first thing i did was surf surf surf. i realised that though i could easily solve the paper based tests very quickly, the online format was a big adjustment. it is easy to mail and chat but thinking and doing it was something i had to pratice. so i regularly visited sites like businessweek for praticing reading the american style of writing on the screen.

i started my prep with princeton...having prepared for much higher levels i found the content to be childs play. but i think it was a good start because it is fun to read. kind of like splashing in the pool before diving into the ocean. then i had some preparotary notes ofd some prep classes and barrons the book too....i read all their reviews simultaenously and kept a notepad of grammar rules. Barrons is big , but i found their approach to be very professional and it helped me especially in RC.

SWoosh sSWOOSH- AAAArgh!

i used to think i was the queen of the verbal section till i started on the kaplan cds. using the swimming thing again...its like diving into the choppy seas . but it built my skills. even though my plan according to the cd consisted of few tests, i took all of them.

In the kaplan and princeton cds, i got 640 ALL THE TIME. which was very frustrating. sometimes i did realllllly good in verbal , sometimes i sucked in quant...but 640 never went away .. like a mosquito in the jungles.

EVE

the best thing that my friend and guru (possible SC qt!)could have told me was to take the last powerprep test on the morning before the gmat. i scored 740 on it, which made me feel complacent and happy and which was my real score~~~

i had visualised a percentile of 99 but i got 98.... life's like that....but i did do good ( i hope).

THE TEST
Got there in the morning sun... was very very queasy ... the center was in some industrial estate light years away from civilization. Had to eat chocolate bars(my ecstacy) to get back to senses.
Went in... test started after very boring questionnaire....made me give names of scholsl before i knew my score which i think is unfair.

AWA was like playing a video game...clickity clack... very obvious faults in reasoning.....

MATh - DUCKIE IN SHARK INFESTED SEA

Math qt 1 very easy. But along came 2 and i was lost . i spent a looooong time multiplying 3 3 digit numbers. I am sure there was n easy way out but somehow, i had lost focus. I read the brand of the pencil, the instructions on the scratch paper. Then i made a choice and hoped for the best. Worse was to follow- nearly all DS seemed to be choice E .... iwas really scared. very time consuming quuestions. i was thinking 'i will get 400 something score'. Section very much like that in the kaplan cd. PLus i had noisy people around me. (snort snort) i was VERY distracted. time ran out - and thus clicked through last 2 questions

FOCUS FOCUS
When i came out for the second break i was really dejected. but i remembered some advice and decided to forget all about the first section. This is VERY important. That helped me focus on the second section( where percentile wise i did better).

Things looked bad since the 1st verbal question was a scary one. i read it for 3 mins before making a choice!!!! but after that things were very smooth. passages were the kind you find in reader's digest!!! heeheehee

My score scared me. I really expected more. But i think i progressed well. With practice and interaction with people who have done it .. i think its no big deal.

Now i have a new dilemma about which i will talk later bcoz this has gone on too long!!
bye !

[RB]

Hi Shreyas

Firstly congratulations on the awesome score.

I just wanted some advice from you if possible.

I will be sitting my GMAT in 3 weeks time. I first sat the GMAT last December after preparing for it for 3 weeks. I got 660 (49 Math and 31 Verbal).

I knew my verbal was low and so decided to resit the test, which is now in 3 weeks. I only started preparing for it couple of weeks ago but very mildly. However when I first took the test I used PP and PR Cd. But now I have bought the Kaplan CD and 800Score tests. When I took the first test in Kaplan I got a very ver scary and poor 570. In the next two I got 600 and 610. But when I went back to do PR I got 700-730. I am realy confused. I posted a similar not on this website previously, but got only a couple of responses.

The thing is that since I have taken PR practice tests before, I am not sure if the score is representative of my actual score. Do u have any idea about this, i.e. did u take the PR again and again for practice purposes, or did u just to all the practice tests once only? I just want to know whether taking it again and again, just gives u a score that is unrealistic due to your familiarity with the questions?

I don't know if I made any sense above, but if you understood any of it, then kindly let me know what you think. Right now my biggest enemy is Verbal. I seem to consistently get 30 in the Kaplan Verbal tests. It just does not go away. Like you mosquito analogy. I am very worried about my verbal score. Do you have any suggestions on how I could improve it. I seem to get 5-6 questions wrong in each section (SC,RC,CR). Are there any books I can get hold off in a ahsort tie that I have and improve on my reading capabilities and grammar?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks and congrtulations once again on a superb score.
Rohit.

[shreyas]

Hi Ro-hit
hmm... i don't know think i can tell you this will definetely help you , but this is what i think...
I guess you are pretty much into the prep , so do princeton ONLY when you feel like relaxing, or doing some stuff where you dont have to you really boggle your brains.
RC , for me , is always a dicey affair - sometimes i'm 100% right , sometimes i am 60% right. I feel that you should practice on the kaplan cds to get tough. All that freud and dna will make you tough.

That is not to say that your 700+ scores are flukes..... maybe you are just having a preset notion about the tests you take on various cds!!

So you shouldnt be too discouraged by your scores on kaplan!
About the familiarity.... the more you solve something , and get familiar with that particular style of question, the better. You will be able to spot it anytime and be sure of you reply(only dont get complacent)... so more than the score, focus on the questions

To improve my grammar.. i am assuming you are in india from your name, i read lots of american text (like business websites etc) i have learnt that due to my bambaiya english, i made many errors. The SC reviews in all the various books each have their advantages so i would say read all of them once again, even though you have little time left. It will just come to you , don't worry.
FOr CR, think of the person talking as your worst enemy...even as you read think of everything that could go against him, analyse everylittle aspect. like if the line is " give me a glass of cold water" ...your mind should start thinking things like...why do you need water, why cold, the person is assuming cold water is available, and such things. like how when watching a murder mystery you think of all possibilities.

hehehe.... it feels very strange giving advice because till yesterday i was seeking it. seriously my kaplan score was always 640(only 700 in the diagonistic) and the actual thing was much more comfortable!! btw my verbal %ile is 97 you too will conquer!![|)]

[sranju]

Dear Shreyas,
Yr score turns me green....Congrats for the same.....guys like u make us beleive that 700+ is very much within our reach.....actually, i used to think that its a big deal to scale 700...till I came across IIM CAT papers....and met guys preparing for the same......GMAT appears to be cake walk as compared to CAT....This makes me think that I wud be a failure, if I cant break the 700 barrier.
Wud appreciate if u can help me with my problem areas. Verbal, as u know, is unreliable....am aiming for a perfect score in Quant....wud u subscribe to my opinion that Kaplan and IMS test series can assure me of 51 types score in Quant?....did u find the acxtual GMAT Quant to be easier or at par with Kaplan?.
Another thing thats worrying me no end is the time break up....what was yrs?...did u spend more time on the first few quest?....am working on the assumption that all questions are weighed equally.....betw, how many quest do u think wud have stumped u in verbal?

[davvy]

Hi sranju
CAT and GMAT are two different exams and therefore should not be compared. Success in CAT should not mean automatic success in GMAT. I see lot of people comparing these two and often declaring that CAT is tougher. I havent taken CAT myself but from what i know, it is indeed a tough exam. More so because around 1 lakh students take it for odd 1000 seats or so. But again that does not mean GMAT is a cake walk. I know scores of people who got into IIM'S and were unable to break 700 in gmat. One of them got calls from 4 iim's and ended up with a 640 in gmat! Other day i was interacting with a guy and he had scored 98 percentile in cat exam this year and his gmat was 620!!!. At the same time there are scores of people who get 720-730 in gmat and were unable to crack CAT.
CAT focusses more on speed and particularly maths is very tough. But then u dont need to do all the questions correct. A friend of mine who got into IIM khozikode this year was telling me that she attempted only 80-85 questions out of 150+ questions and still got calls from premier institutes.
In GMAT no doubt questions are not that tough and u have more time, but u have to do almost all the questions correct to get 50-51.
And the GMAT verbal, less said the better. We all know how tricky it can be at times.
And on the top of it the computer adaptive nature of exam makes it a dangerous customer.
So my advice is neither underestimate the GMAT nor be scared of it.Just prepare for it with open mind and u will crack it.

[sranju]

Hi Davvy,
Tis right that GMAT is no easy deal...esp cos' , we cant afford to miss many quest....and also cos' we cant skip questions.....thanx for the examples u gave....goes to show that guys who crack GMAT are no lesser mortals.....wud be gr8, if Indian institutes also start accepting GMAT scores...btw, do u have any feedback on ISB?....heard IIMs do consider GMAT scores....u have any idea bout their average scores?

Originally posted by davvy

Hi sranju
CAT and GMAT are two different exams and therefore should not be compared. Success in CAT should not mean automatic success in GMAT. I see lot of people comparing these two and often declaring that CAT is tougher. I havent taken CAT myself but from what i know, it is indeed a tough exam. More so because around 1 lakh students take it for odd 1000 seats or so. But again that does not mean GMAT is a cake walk. I know scores of people who got into IIM'S and were unable to break 700 in gmat. One of them got calls from 4 iim's and ended up with a 640 in gmat! Other day i was interacting with a guy and he had scored 98 percentile in cat exam this year and his gmat was 620!!!. At the same time there are scores of people who get 720-730 in gmat and were unable to crack CAT.
CAT focusses more on speed and particularly maths is very tough. But then u dont need to do all the questions correct. A friend of mine who got into IIM khozikode this year was telling me that she attempted only 80-85 questions out of 150+ questions and still got calls from premier institutes.
In GMAT no doubt questions are not that tough and u have more time, but u have to do almost all the questions correct to get 50-51.
And the GMAT verbal, less said the better. We all know how tricky it can be at times.
And on the top of it the computer adaptive nature of exam makes it a dangerous customer.
So my advice is neither underestimate the GMAT nor be scared of it.Just prepare for it with open mind and u will crack it.

[davvy]

Yes ISB consider GMAT scores. Average is around 690. I had 690 , so got the interview call but was dinged after that.I blv, I was not very clear on my post ISB goals . Moroever competition at ISB was hellish this year. You need much more than good gmat score.
IIM's do consider GMAT scores but only for NRI candidates. I dont know abt others but i guess for IIM Ahmedabad, average is around 730-740.

[shreyas]

teehee!!!
hey i agree with davvy!
cat got me limping twice!
i got an 83 percentile in cat this year! i thot i was a dolt, but seriously, CAT tests more of your quant adn gmat tests your toughness and verbal.so dont compare the two!

ok for your quant...please dont consult ims notes... i did ims and also saw their cat notes.... (no class for gmat, only friennds and websites.) many profs @ ims think everyone who cracks cat is god and the rest are dirt that reflects in their notes too.

yes the kaplan math was like actual gmat. but actual gmat the sums were very calculation heavy after a point...maybe there was an easy way out but i didnt know it....yet some other sums were real teasers.... but i am good at geometry so it was cool so prepare with the kaplan cd and if you must , use formulas from ims notes. i quote my frend here who i think is right on target " the gmat is taken by people who have been working for a while unliek cat which is taken by freshers. so etc doesnt give you iit type sums, only those which using smart skills can be solved!"

time, yes of course i spent more on first 10. usually 20mins for first ten...of course you may need less because some are easy

in verbal the first one stumped me.... rc was not tough at all... cr another stumped me( hey sounds like i was smart ) but i think i made a mistake in yet another SC....the a/c was so cold my fingers were freezing. no jokes that really happened.

verbal is a relative thing. whats tough for one is cheese for another. but i think the gmat is a cute exam. you work hard and you get results....that didnt happen for cat for me for 2 years!!! so you do it! ( and remember me when you get world famous)....btw please read my post on after gmat what now.... i mean my dilemma about indian mba .....

[davvy]

Iam surprised to know that u got 740 in gmat but only 83 percentle in cat. what do u think happened??? is cat maths that tuf??? then how come some people score so good in cat and fumble in gmat. I blv your verbal was very good but that didnt help the matters in cat, where one needs extra skills in quant.
what was ur individual percentili in cat.

[sranju]

Davvy, what do u think ISB guys are looking for bryond GMAT scores?...how much shud one score to almost negate other factors....betw, do u know any other B school in India, which accepts GMAT scores?
Shreyas,thanx a ton for yr valuable input....having drilled yrself with 1300 words CAT passages, RC no doubt wud have been child's play for u.....i gather from yr post that u were bowled over by max of 4-5 quest.....were they in the first or second half?
Betw, whats the link for yr post on MBA dilemma?Which sites wud u say, helped u most...am looking deperatley for free practise material on net.