Cracking the GMAT

I wrote my GMAT in 2006 and ended up with a score of 700. This post is about where I was to begin with and how I got to this score.

When I decided to write the GMAT it was seven years since I had taken a look at Math. I am not your average Indian who ace's his Math exam. I work at it! and work I did.

To begin with, I decided to go and get myself the required material. A little bit of research told me that I needed the Official Guide (OG) and Kaplan 800 at the very least. I borrowed any material I could find from my friends. Additionally I went and bought some CBSE math books for Class 8, 9 and 10, at the local book store. Compared to what the OG costs, these are cheap!

Next, I put in some solid study hours. I spent a month accumulating the material and once I was ready, I spent 14 weeks preparing for the test. Since I was working full time this meant, waking up early in the morning, staying up late at night, giving up my weekends and NO vacation. Wow, not a lot of fun you say. Let me make it easier, it is definitely NOT a lot of fun. But its what I wanted to do, Clarity of purpose is useful here. Okay, I did take a day off every two weeks. :-)

I would recommend you take one of the 3 tests which come from GMAC (available free online) after you have gone through the material. Preferably in your first or second week of studying. The score will tell you where you stand without any preparation. I would add that I found the difficulty level with the real thing way higher.

There are plenty of sites out there offering course ware and prep tests you can purchase/download. If you have the money, I would recommend. You can also look at the many books available on the GMAT. Many of them come with full length tests. Princeton offers a course for about $1,000 (please verify rates in your country/area) and has great material IMHO.

I did about a 100 questions everyday from the OG and a test every weekend. I did not re-visit questions that I got wrong, but I have read posts from some test takers who say that it worked for them. Your mileage might vary.

Early on, I realized that I was strong with my Verbal and that I needed work on my Quant and work on my Quant I did. 14 weeks worth. I also made cheat sheets, I think they were about 20 pages worth. :-)

Kaplan 800 is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it. Keep it for the last month. Also maintain a schedule. Don't do just quant, quant and more quant. Make a calendar and work towards your test date. Split between, Quantitative and Verbal exercise, make your brain adapt.

Get your grammar straight, I bought a high school grammar book so that I got my either or, neither nor and the rest of it straight. 8 years of business writing had ruined me grammatically. I converse and write fluently, but grammar was an eye-opener. I had picked up a few bad habits over the years.

Don't don't don't practice before test day. If you are not feeling so hot on test day, don't attempt the test, forgoe the money. It is extremely important that you NOT psyche yourself out on test day, be relaxed, calm and look at your cheat sheet a few hours before test time. So don't ask a friends test score or put undue pressure on yourself. You can always take the test again. What is important is that you give you best honest attempt!

Oh yes, and do visit the test center once before so you know where it is and how long it takes to get there. Also chose a time of the day that works for you. Remember its a 4 hour test, so take adequate nutrition. Your brain works only when your body has enough glucose!

Remember to attempt all the questions and DO NOT spend too much time on a question. The best test takers are ones who know when they are spending too much time on a question have already narrowed down their choice and are able to take a guess and move forward. Remember the test is adaptive. Irrespective of what you may have heard, I believe what they say in the OG is correct, your answering that first N questions does not guarantee a better score. That my 0.02 rupees on that topic.

For the numerically inclined, I know of a bunch of people who have scores in the 720-750 range and who got admits in wonderful programmes. Remember the GMAT is one of the factors to your admission. Its NOT the only factor. There are people with awesome GMAT scores not making an admissions and conversely I know of people with lower GMAT scores who did get admission.

Use all the resources you can afford or borrow, spend the time, put in the effort, stay focused.

Best of luck!