Thank you E-GMAT!

After an unsuccessful GMAT attempt, I became the typical ‘GMAT pessimist’, believing I am not cut out for the test, and questioning my capabilities to get a higher score. After some soul searching, I garnered the strength to read up a bit on the web, understand if I was alone in this battle and other’s experiences. On multiple platforms, I saw many people speaking very highly about DJ. With a demanding job, I was always against the idea of taking coaching / external help, but as I read the powerful stories of previous candidates, I decided to try e-GMAT and scheduled a call with DJ. While I will detail out the reasons below, but to put it out there – HE IS BRILLIANT. HE IS MORE THAN JUST A GMAT GUIDE – A FRIEND, A MENTOR, A LIFE COACH, and at times that support just becomes more important and helps you pull through 😊



After my initial consultation call, we both agreed that while my quant was strong (I was consistently scoring Q50 in mocks / actual test), my verbal needed improvement. For me, this was surprising given I am quite eloquent with English and use it as my first language, but DJ has an uncanny skill of telling you exactly what you need to improve (ofcourse, along with telling you how to do it). In my case, he immediately pointed out that my CR was weak, and as I spent more time than required, I lost out on other sections, causing me to rush towards the end. We designed a personalised course for me, and we started within a few days.



For CR – I started from the basics. First the concept files, which I think are super useful. Seeing Payal solve the questions, pre-thinking becomes second nature and often you figure out the answer before even reading the choices – this actually helps you save a lot of time– EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED IN CR. Also, I think the modules for CR are extremely well structured as they gradually increase difficulty and build upon concepts, making it easier to understand the process.



Next, I took up SC. As I was comfortable with SC, DJ asked me to only go through specific files, which again, I found brilliant. In hindsight, I should have actually gone through all the files because I have heard from multiple sources that the e-GMAT SC course is unbeatable!!



Once I finished the concept files, DJ guided me to start taking quizzes. Again, he drew out a methodical plan – starting with cementing quizzes (to build ability) and then gradually moving to custom quizzes (to apply the concepts in GMAT time constraints). After every test, I would send him a report with my attempts, and he would send me detailed video analysis or guide me on how to track progress. I think this is very important, because GMAT prep needs to be tactful – if you aren’t working on your pain points, you will never get better! DJ is super responsive in his e-mails and you don’t really feel like he’s guiding you remotely – I think that’s very important, particularly when you are preparing in a crunched timeframe.



After completing the quizzes, we went on to the mocks. Again, DJ would help me analyse each mock and suggest remedial steps. His insights into the psychology of candidates and the test make his suggestions and analysis highly meaningful (if you follow them entirely).



While I have spoken about his great tutoring skills, DJ is a great mentor and a friend. For me, that was the game changer…because of covid I had to postpone my test multiple times, and often got frustrated with the experience, but DJ helped me keep calm and guided me on how to navigate this situation. I feel it’s really helpful to have someone give you moral support during the stressful prep - it makes the journey enjoyable and keeps your spirits high; for me, that was DJ! 😊