HOW I WENT FROM A 520 (in my mocks) TO A 740 THANKS TO EGMAT

In my first year of undergrad, it was as I was searching for information about what the gmat as an exam entailed, that I stumbled upon a comprehensive explanation of the same on the first website that I clicked.
The egmat website.
The blog post there offered an extremely thorough, easy to understand overview of the exam and its sections, what a percentile score really meant, and why the gmat as an exam might be right for you.
The clarity provided through this post was what I would say, solidified my desire to attempt the exam and piqued my interest in learning more about what egmat as a platform had to offer regarding the same.

The very next day, as I went through the free modules offered, I marveled at how easily a concept such as ' +ing- modifiers' that i had struggled to retain post my elementary school days, was one that I was able to understand through the concept file illustrations and then apply almost immediately after being taught the concept, in an interactive application file quiz.

That very evening, I booked a free strategy consultation with one of their experts and was introduced to Vaibhav, who helped me chart out my gmat goals, taking into consideration my time commitments and strengths and urged me to avail their free sigma x mock test to have a better understanding of where it is that I stood, not just in terms of my cumulative quant and verbal ability, but also in terms of my sectional ability in each of the subsections under verbal and quant.

The fact that egmat offers a sigma x mock test that uses analytics to provide the following information to *everyone* for free is almost akin to a godsend, and I can tell you with complete certainty, that attempting that mock test regardless of where it is that you are at your gmat prep journey or how it is that you are prepping , will be a game changer for you.

What set egmat apart for me was the transparency with which every step of the process was detailed.
The meticulous 3 step approach that is explained to you, the personalised study plan that is offered, that takes into consideration your strengths, commitments and goals, the access to a student forum that allows you to see other queries posted on a topic, ask your own, with the guarantee of receiving a response within 24 hours, and the active involvement of a team of strategy experts that are there for you at every step of the way, were all attributes that I was made aware of on that very first day itself, and is what motivated me to purchase the course.

On my very first mock test, i scored a 520 ( 26th percentile; Q31 , V31) and the analytics for the same was what was used by the egmat testprep company to help chart out an action plan that was tailored specifically for me.

By the end of my gmat journey, what i had achieved was a 220 point improvement from my intial score , with my final score of 740 ( 97th percentile ; Q47, V45).


Below, i shall enumerate some of the reasons why EGMAT 'works' :

1. They do not promise you instant miracles. Instead, you are guaranteed 'improvement' over a period of time, provided you follow the plan charted out for you.
I was given reasonable targets at different stages of my gmat journey - to grow from 520 to 570 , 570 to 620, 620 to 650, 650 to 680, 680 to 710, and then 710 to 740+.

2. Stage 1 of each module entails a diagnostic quiz for you to figure out where it is you stand, and on the basis of your performance on that, through the PACE feature of the course, you are told which module files you must work on and what you can skip, effectively saving you time during your prep.

3. Each concept file within a module is followed by a timed test that replicates an online mini exam. So, even for 5 questions, you are given a test that is timed for say 15 minutes, I.e, the amount of time they find you should ideally take to solve those questions.
In addition to this, there are also untimed process and application learning files, where you can take your time solving one question, before being shown a video solution of the same that maps out the process skills to be used and breaks down the steps to solving that question.
Since several of the questions on learning files of this kind are usually gmat style questions of medium-hard difficulty , the approach followed to teach you how to solve these questions is very effective in cementing the method in your mind.

4. SUPPORT + VALIDATION. The gmat journey can often be a lonely one. The impact of the lows felt may sometimes erode one's confidence , and the lack of check-ins at regular intervals may just adversely affect the 'accountability' you may take in your learning process.
Egmat recognises this, and thus, makes it a point to validate not just the final score, but also the effort you put along the way at every level in your journey.
Emails that celebrate your performance on the final application/ practice quizzes of each module are sent when you score greater than 85 percent on them and they serve to affirm to you that you're on the right track in your journey.
In addition to this , the support team of strategy experts are just an email away, there for you to reach out to when things 'Do Not Go According To Plan'. They are quick in their responses, efficient in their communication, and possess the right balance of empathy and firmness as they chart out improvement plans for you.
My strategy expert Harsha was someone i sent extremely lengthy emails too, detailing not just my progress on good days but also the sheer panic i felt when things didn't go according to plan. At one point in time, i think i even sent him my timetable for the day, asking him how i could rework it better! Strategy experts like Harsha, I found, went above and beyond in the role they played - doubling as progress trackers, motivators, problem solvers, and even life coaches!
In addition to this, my subscription, which was set to expire on the 26th of June, was extended free of charge until the 1st of july (the date of my gmat) so I could access the resources and produce optimized results on my final exam.
All of this is indeed something that I will always be indebted to egmat for.

5. Cementing
The cementing approach to strengthen your understanding of not just the concepts learned in stage 1 but also their application in all possible types of gmat style questions, is by far the most life changing aspect of this programme.
You are taught to identify several process skills like I.simplification, ii. Translation, iii. Consider constraints, iv. All cases and so on while learning a concept in stage 1. In stage 2, it is as you are giving your medium and hard level tests on their cementing platform called Scholaranium, that you are taught how to make an error log to efficiently identify your errors, record your learnings and create an effective review system that saves you time down the line in your final revision process.
The error log approach compels you to go beyond the traditional reasoning of a 'silly mistake' or ' took too much time' (in fact, egmat maintains fervently that there is no such thing as a silly mistake) for incorrect questions and delve deeper into which process skill you might have overlooked and pin point exactly which part of the application stage you may have faltered in.
The goal here is to change how you respond to errors - and to encourage you direct your focus from " what went wrong" to identifying " why it went wrong".
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this the most 'crucial' takeaway for your gmat prep.
I can assure you that this cementing process, when done properly, is what takes your learning to the next level - gets you that 85th percentile and above accuracy and instills in you, unwavering belief in your ability to take on any question posed to yoy on the final day.


6. Other features like a focused approach to work on your TAKT time on questions where you exceed the time it should take to solve a particular question or topic, curated review lists for each test that highlight the questions you may have exceeded time for or rushed through in, with a threshold time offered as information to evaluate your performance against, the ability to bookmark questions so you can review them later by simply clicking on your user profile, and even a forum that allows you to review other student queries posted on a topic and ask your own, are also what sets egmat apart as the perfect learning platform for anyone looking to improve.

Looking back at my gmat journey, for all the learning curves that i did end up experiencing, for the bumps and stumbles, and even the things that I wished i'd done differently along the way, i know that the one decision that i can say with certainty that I will be eternally grateful for making, is choosing egmat.