Scored 750 Q49 V42 Some Advice To Test Takers
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congrats Priyadarsh.. If you don’t mind can you please share your contact number or skype-ID. I would love to discuss my strategy with you. Looking forward for your response.
Great score. Congrats Priyadarsh..!!!
Congrats on the great score 🙂 .. that was a nice write up !
Many congratulations for your awesome score..Thanks for your tips which are sure to help…. Best of luck in your career ahead…
I will stick to answering some FAQ’s rather than posting my entire preparation experience –
1. What material to use?
OG , OG VR, OG QR, Crackverbal Advanced Docs, GMAT Prep Default Question Pack, GMAT Prep Question Pack 1, MGMAT SC Guide
I can’t stress this enough – STICK TO OFFICIAL GMAC MATERIAL! CrackVerbal has done an excellent job of collating retired official questions from various sources into the advanced docs – use them well. Once you are done with all the books, you may optionally buy GMAT Prep Question Pack 1. Once you are done with all these, you should have practiced (and hopefully mastered) close to 800-900 questions of each type (PS, DS, RC, SC, CR) IMHO, fretting with non-official questions can actually be detrimental to your overall confidence.
Tip – The CrackVerbal Advanced Docs are in pdf format. I chose not to print them but to use the pdfs instead. This ensured that I had ample practice in reading questions from the computer screen.
2. Which mock tests to take?
GMAT prep tests are the closest to original GMAT than anything else. In fact, after having taken 4 GMAT Preps (Thanks Crackverbal!) earlier, on test day I couldn’t help but wonder how close those tests were to the actual experience. If you are serious about the GMAT, please make sure that you take all 4 GMAT Preps before D-Day.
My GMAT Prep Scores –
11 Aug – 680 (GMAT Prep 1)
29 Oct – 760 (GMAT Prep 2)
6 Nov – 740 (GMAT Prep 3)
19 Nov – 770 (GMAT Prep 4)
26 Nov – 750 (Final GMAT Score)
I took all the tests only once as I felt that the scores on retaking any of these would definitely be inflated.
I also bought the MGMAT Test Series. I found MGMAT Quant to be too tough and Verbal to be almost at GMAT level. Personally I felt MGMAT RC’s were really ambiguous. MGMAT scores are definitely not indicative of what your final score will be.
Observation – I used to take mock tests at CV Infantry road center. I felt not too many students were using the test lab facility. If you are a CV student and if you are serious about GMAT, please use the test lab! Apart from the tests, the scratch pad experience also comes in handy during the real test!
3. How much time to devote per day?
A number of people ask this question. I suggest that you don’t plan your preparation in terms of hours, instead plan it in terms of section-wise target number of questions to be solved per day. For example, in my case I used to solve 40 SC, 25 CR questions daily. My weekly RC quota was 5 passages. My Quant preparation started really late so I had so squeeze 75 PS, 75 DS questions per day (Do not land yourself in this situation :o).
The bottom line is – decide on # of questions per day and stick to your plan no matter what! Also, obviously, solving questions is not enough – review your mistakes. Know what you got wrong and ensure you dont repeat those mistakes again. Mark questions that you found difficult or answered incorrectly for the last-week-before-GMAT review.
Tip – Perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT tip in this entire post – Each preparation session should be timed! No exceptions. Even if you are attempting a set of questions for the first time, time the effort. I used to solve questions in sets of 10 and time each set on my cell phone stop watch. As a result, at the end of each prep session, I would know exactly how much time was I averaging for particular question types.
4. Any specific strategies for Verbal?
By the first 4 weeks of your preparation, you should know your strengths and (more importantly) your weaknesses. This knowledge should then be incorporated to make the study plan. I was quite adept at RC, so no specific strategies. CR – the CV CR book is really good. Once you are done with the Theory, practice, practice and practice! SC was my Kryptonite (at least in the beginning). Apart from the CV classroom sessions, I found the MGMAT theory book really handy for learning the basics. Again, practice is the key.
Tip – Do NOT get bogged down by grammatical jargon! You will frequently find grammar jargon floating around on online forums in response to questions. Try to isolate the concept from the jargon and you should be fine!
5. Any specific strategies for Quant?
Do NOT leave Quant for the end! I committed this mistake and found myself scrambling to completed the OG & OG QR 10 days before my final test date. OG QR questions are quite simple. OG QR slightly more challenging. GMAT Prep default question pack and question pack 1 questions are good. CV question packs, as usual, for quant are brilliant!
6. AWA & IR?
I reviewed the chineseburned format on GMATclub for AWA before test day. I had zero AWA practice. Found myself struggling for correct expressions on test day. Ultimately scored 4.5 on AWA. Conclusion? Practice at least 10 AWA essays before test day!
I practiced some IR from GMATPrep software. Scored 6 on the actual test. I had read how worrying too much about IR had taken a toll on the overall score of some candidates. Hence, I ensured that I did not worry too much with this section.
SUMMARY – Stick to the official material and CV advanced docs, do take all 4 GMAT Prep tests, Have a daily target in terms of # of questions, Time each effort & Put in lots of practice!!!
All the best guys!
Congratulations Priyadarsh for the wonderful score. Wish you a top 20 b-school admit with scholarship. 🙂
if you have OG 2016 then would you mind lending it to me for few days or selling it to me.
Please ping me @ manishdabra08@gmail.com
Priyadarsh
Priyadarsh
Priyadarsh
Very good Priyadarsh J Very useful and to the point.
Congratulations.
