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.

Mock-3 - Veritas

Scored 720(Q-51,V-38). Felt better. Again improvement is required in the verbal.

Tryst with the Truth

Yesterday I had an appointment with the "truth". I came from plant at 2 pm and spent some time watching southpark. Then after a quick nap, finally I started the meeting with "truth" at 6.30 pm.

I was feeling very tired and could not concentrate on what is being asked. "Truth" asked me 2 questions for which I had 60 minutes to answer. I did it more quickly and did not bother about looking back at my answers. Then started the rapid fire round related to numbers. By the time I was finished with it, I was told that I would have to face another rapid fire round of questions related to words.

Too tired, I decided to utilize the 10 minutes break option given by him. I took it and decided to use it for a short nap. But I got lost in time and woke up after 2 hours. But "truth" was still there waiting for me. But I decided to postpone it and did let the "truth" wait for me.

So my plan of appearing for Veritas free mock GMAT was not as I expected. But today I will go and finish the verbal portion of the test. I am eager for the outcome of the result.

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 :)

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..

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.

A Sine Curve that is my Inspiration

Success depends on continued efforts. Make more efforts. Main cause of failure is fading of inspiration. I am having these moments in my life when I have to put effort to meet my goals. The motivation and the resolution just slips away. How skillful you maintain your motivation is indeed an art.

That rage of fire is missing. I need that fire every minute in my life. Otherwise the game is over. I today went for walk as the weather was pleasant. Following things came to my mind as the reason for my sluggish progress.

1. Believing I can do everything - When I started my GMAT journey in April, I had only 4 goals for the next 6 months. First is 8 hours of sleep. Second is 2 hours of yoga, meditation and exercise. Third is 8 hours of duty in the plant. And fourth is devoting my remaining time for the preparation of GMAT and MBA apps. But over the time I started to get involved in other things. Like playing guitar, attending functions, watching a movie. People say taking occasional breaks is good but this is not working for me. I always think that today I will relax and from tomorrow I will be super disciplined. And it never happens. So the message is clear. Be BRUTALLY clear to your initial commitment and stick to it like fevicol. You have to SACRIFICE. There is no other option.

2. Forgetting my Failures - I was highly motivated to crack GMAT because of my previous failure in 2-3 affairs. Simply remembering my failing moments make me strong and more determined. I instantly forget all my pains and start putting more efforts.

So I am going to try these two actions items and watch the outcome. I have to study and finish one chapter from Manhattan SC guide everyday. Also on Monday I will be writing my first ever mock GMAT. So I will update the score that day. Now I should leave and study. Bye.

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.

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.