Destination and a new beginning

Ok, I admit that I should have posted this a long time back. I was hoping for a better result. Finally after so many twists and turns, there is only one word for my score - DECENT

710(Q-50,V-37,AWA-5.5) wrote on 7th July

There are mixed feelings. Inspiration, elation, sadness, confusion all blending in. Now What? Is this score good enough? Should I write again? The answer depends on my school selection and profile strength both of which are unclear to me. Therefore I have decided to close this issue by end of July by taking the help of a consultant.

So what happened to the overconfident guy who was claiming to ace in GMAT? Well he is still there, little shaken but still going strong. I have been through so many diverse and difficult situations in my life that I have learned the importance of calmness. After GMAT, the main thing that was bothering me was my self image. To counter this, I was repeatedly thinking - I AM MORE THAN MY GMAT SCORE. But still I was not convinced. I was in agitated state. So I just waited to get myself into calm mode again. I watched my favorite movies and had great food. Once I relaxed, the whole GMAT preparation journey went through my mind.

I started my preparation for GMAT in mid-April. I used to study on alternate days because of professional commitment, my own lack of self-discipline and extraneous factors like power-cut, social commitments. So basically I studied for around 35-40 days. +1 for getting a decent score in so less time.

On looking back, I feel I should have devoted more time for verbal especially sentence correction. On GMAT day, I performed well in AWA thanks to myohmy. Then Quants was a breeze as well. But in verbal I started slow. I still remember I spent around 5 mins for the first verbal question. Then I realized my poor beginning and brought about a sense of urgency while keeping my accuracy. I was going alright but my speed was a little bit slow. In the last I had around 8 questions with 8 mins left. I had to finish it anyhow and so there was guesses. It brought down the score in VA to 37 :(

But I am happy and proud. Feels good about the whole process and all in all it was fun. It has taught me to think in an analytic and structured manner. Now its the time for new beginning which involves school-shortlisting, essays and recommendations. Let another yatra begins.

P.S. - Since this blog was created to capture my GMAT journey, I am going to change its outlook and expand its scope to serve as my B-School journey. Keep visiting :)

The last week

Just 7 days more for my GMAT. I am super confident in problem solving and data sufficiency. As long as I am frequently using pen and paper, there should be no problem in these two sections. I commit most mistakes in these sections because of miscalculation and misunderstanding and that happens when I try to solve all questions in my head.

Reading comprehension can be aced as well. But sometimes I screw up a whole passage by reading it fast and not getting the meaning. I just need to consciously tell myself that there is no hurry and comprehension is of utmost importance. I also need to understand that all lines in a passage are not same. It is ok to read some lines twice or even thrice. But all in all after reading a passage, I should grasp its meaning fully. After that, I have observed that I was able to answer questions very fast and accurately.

Critical Reasoning has been my strong point till now. I have able to manage a good accuracy in this section. I guess this is because paras are small and I naturally read them slowly. Also while reading itself, I evaluate the passage and find any shortcomings in logic. So many times without even reading options, I have an answer. And when my though-out answer matches an option, I just know that has to be the answer.

And last is my biggest weakness - The Sentence Correction. I have been performing poorly in this section. And I think today only I discovered how I can perform well in this section. I used the elimination technique. Basically again it is important to use pen and paper in this section. After reading the question, I write ABCDE in the paper. Then I just cross out the options that I know were incorrect. That always leave me with two or rarely with three options. Reading them second time and comparing them gives me an answer which I found was correct more than 90 percent of the time :). It might sound obvious but earlier I was wasting focus and energy by predicting the right answer without even properly reading the options. That was a very bad strategy. I ended up scoring low and loosing my confidence. Instead of finding right, finding wrong works better for me in SC.

Last days, I am just focusing on OG-12. I am writing in a diary all the small lessons that I get while solving OG-12. On the G-Day, I will just read those lessons in the morning before going for exam. That way, the gist of my whole preparation will be absorbed by me in a small time.

The Last Mile

Just a little over two weeks are left for my GMAT. Nerves are shaking and plans are made and remade but no solace to soul. My recent performance in GMATPREP-1(resetted) was disappointing. I again 690-ed with less score in verbal.

I performed well in quants. I could have done better because I wasted around 10 minutes in between by allowing myself a break. For some time I lost the confidence and was feeling sad. But today when I sat to review my performance, I got the rational view of my capability. I realized my mistakes were mostly due to less concentration. Since I came from work and was extremely tired, I guess some mistakes were allowed.

I also reviewed my performance in verbal and realized that I did mistakes in CR and SC. The most interesting thing is that I was just reviewing my incorrect answers. When I reviewed the correct ones too, I found that I did answer some pretty tough ones too. So I am feeling good now as my preparation is not waste and I have improved.

Therefore my advice is to review all the questions after the mock. The correct ones especially will give you solace and confidence in your abilities.

I guess I am going to do great on 7th July. With calm mind and a smile on face, I, like a smooth criminal, will slice questions into pieces.

32 days to go

Preparation is getting more serious and intense as the time is approaching soon. I was not getting time even for blogging. 31st May and 1st June were specially very busy days. I managed to celebrate my birthday amidst blackout as well as carry out my night shifts. If thats not enough, I also submitted my entries for the BTG Scholarship and the Reliance Stanford Scholarship. Although done hurriedly, I guess I learned a lot and did a decent job.

Mocks is the theme of this month with as many as 15 mocks to be slashed by 30th june. I appeared for GMATPREP-2 on 2nd June and it was discouraging in the sense that I managed to get only 650. Verbal was especially low. But the the good news is that the majority of errors were in SC and little bit in RC.

So I am happy that I can overcome my weakness because I am already on to Manhattan's SC guide and it will be done by 10th june. As for RC, I think it was only because my concentration was wavering and I was restless. Perhaps it was because of night shifts.

Anyways, today also I will appear for a mock and see what happens. Mocks give me discipline and a sense of urgency in my preparation. Bye till then :)

Seeking Frequent Help is Surest Way to Stall

Growth requires resistance. Without resistance, there is no addition of potential. So when it comes to GMAT preparation, if you come across a difficult problem, seeking solution immediately is stopping yourself to grow out of that problem.

When you come across a problem, your mind starts to find solutions to that problem. You should gift your mind that opportunity. After brainstorming, if you seek help, then it is going to be branded in your mind forever. Also the mind has its share of exercise and practice. This is the way to learn any trade and making it the second nature.

Personally for me, Mathematics is my second nature and I do not have to exert myself or brood over math problems. But for Sentence Correction, I sometimes spend up to 30 minutes on a single problem and still ends up being unsure of the answer. It is because its various rules are still not itched into my memory and to burn them I need to bear the pain of thinking hard. So basically I try not to seek the solutions and instead try my level best to come with an answer with an explanation. After that, when I see the solution, there is an AHA moment and the learning remains with me forever :)

Goodies along the Way

One great thing with GMAT and MBA apps for International B Schools is that you get so much encouragement in form of scholarships. Recently found a great one, thanks to A and CrackVerbal.

This is a chance to study at Stanford for free of cost under Reliance DhiruBhai Fellowship Programme. The deadline is near - 31st May 2011. So hurry up. Finish the application and give your best shot.

Journey So Far...

With just 43 days left for my G-Day, I would like to see how far I have come.

1) Finishing OG-12... Well I have not finished OG-12 because my strategy of finishing was not giving me full benefits. Instead I am nowadays reading Manhattan's strategy guides and solving OG-12 questions along the way. This is working more beneficial as I understand the concepts in a better way. Also the study is more methodical. I am already done with more than 60 % of OG-12 and hope it would be finished by 10th June.

2) I have written one Mock GMAT so far. Thats OK and I am satisfied. There will be one more mock in the month of May and the whole June would be dedicated to mocks and reviews. Mocks are very important and I intend to appear for as many as 12 mocks.

3) So all in all, I am going to finish OG-12, Manhattan's 8 strategy guides, 12+ mocks and if possible Princeton's Verbal Workout. It feels right. I want to say here that Manhattan's material is excellent and I have simply fallen in love with it. I don't think I need any other material other than it.

Please let me know if you agree with me? Are you also studying the same way? I have feeling that this strategy is laser focussed and well rounded. I need your opinion on this.

Take care then..

Sentence Correction - Subject Verb Agreement

Yesterday's Mock taught me the importance of practicing daily and remembering the rules. Subject Verb Agreement in Sentence correction is easy to do if one has done an intensive reading through out his life. That person will be easily selecting the right answer without even knowing the grammatical rule behind it.
I too got quite success like this. But I believe its important to know the rule also. Because GMAT creators know this and they might tweak with the question. Therefore I am trying to familiarize myself with the rules. Instead of memorizing them, I am looking at them regularly so that they become my second nature. I am posting here one such revision note.

All the best for your journey fellow Bloggers.

My First Mock

I today appeared for my first mock GMAT. It was the GMATPrep-1. I scored 690(Q-49, V-34). Not so happy with my performance. It should definitely go up.
One thing is reaffirmed that Mocks are very essential. Start them early and appear for many mocks. They are going to help immensely in the preparation.
So now I will take a break and after that will proceed to complete my essays for BTG scholarship.

And Essays

Today in the morning when I was feeling helpless, I started thinking about life after gmat. To calm my nerves, I started imagining that I have scored a perfect score in gmat. But the next step scared me. Application essays seem like an ocean with no predetermined formula or structure. In GMAT, I can quantify my progress and have a rock solid plan but for essays I had nothing.

To be honest essays are haunting me from last one month. I assume my fellow gmat-takers would agree that its difficult to focus just on gmat and not worry about the apps. People say to me about not worrying about them and just focusing on gmat. But I am not able to do that.

In my spare time especially in plant when production is happening smoothly, I tend to think about my achievements, my goals and my influences. I think think think but nothing concrete comes up. Also I am not able to pen down my thoughts because I am unsure what I am doing.

"Begin with the end in mind" - I remembered this line and realized I must understand the essence of admission essays. And right now I am totally clueless about it. Understanding the essence or core is more like a zen thing. Its like understanding poetry or philosophy or music. Only after a person has spend a considerable amount of hours spending on these things, they start to truly understand it.

After preparing for 1.5 years for CAT(Common Admission Test), I now truly understand CAT. After failing 3 job interviews in a row, I now truly understand interviews. After spending 4 years or so reading books about philosophy and spirituality, I truly understand it and after spending 20 years with 4 musical instruments(in an amateurish manner), I truly understand music(at least I think I understand).

I have started to understand GMAT too. But I am a new pupil for admission essays. So again the same line - "Begin with the end in mind" helped me. I have decided to read 3-4 sample admission essays daily to understand what end product I want. There is some pretty good material on the internet along with the adcom's comments. It really really helps. I can get a feel of its powerful impact just in one day when I went through 3 admission essays today morning.

My dear fellow GMAT takers, please try doing this and let me know your opinion...

Love

Detailed Plan for MileStone-1

MileStone 1 – Finishing OG-12 (By 15th May 2011)
PS - 230
DS - 174
RC - 139
CR - 124
SC - 140

I am already done with some questions. So subtracting that, my target would be
PS - 198
DS - 140
RC - 131
CR - 114
SC - 105

With a total of 8 days with me, My daily target would be
PS - 25
DS - 18
RC - 17
CR - 15
SC - 13

AWA would be done on the off day. Also your first mock has to be taken on the off day.

Incentives

Scholarships are great motivators. Beat the GMAT 2011 is having this scholarship for all the international applicants. I recommend everyone who is writing GMAT this year to apply for it.
I want to thank Beat the GMAT for encouraging students.

Hiccups

My itinerary is simple. I do not foresee any hiccups except one. And that would be this.
I am expecting the maximum damage to be of 6 days. And in those 6 days also I am hoping to get an hour or two to be in touch with the material.
I am allowing this interruption because it is very much in line with my goal and I have a plan for using this idea and starting a club in my dream college. My IT background plus experience in developing programs and games should help me here.

Take Off

Still not started properly with my preparation. There are some other chores which are keeping me from GMAT prep. Meanwhile I will share my study plan -

/* Taken from my gmat diary */

It is always advisable to start with the OG. Therefore my first milestone would be to finish OG-12. The second milestone would be to finish Manhattan’s material which would give me ample practice with the problems. I am targeting 8-10 mocks before the D-day. Mocks are going to start from 8th May 2011 onwards.

1. MileStone 1 – Finishing OG-12 (By 15th May 2011)
2. MileStone 2 – Finishing Manhattan’s Series(By 31st May 2011)
3. MileStone 3 – Finishing Princeton’s Material(By 15th June 2011)
4. MileStone 4 – Finishing Kaplan plus other Material(By 30th June 2011)
5. 8 Mocks(To be updated)
Accumulating Mocks -
2 gmatprep
1 manhattan
2 barron
1 veritas
Total 6 so far(To be updated)

I hope I stick to the plan and the schedule.

The Beginning

Today I registered for the GMAT. I have been preparing for it for last one month. After skimming through OG and surfing through internet, I believe that GMAT can be cracked in 2 months. My D-Day is going to be 7th July, 2011
It is a feeling of satisfaction. Now the game is serious. I can feel the focus developing inside me.