760 On My First Attempt While Working Full Time

Hi everyone,

I am writing this post to walk you through my GMAT journey in the hopes that you might find it useful. At the very onset, what I have written is not meant to be prescriptive. It is a record of my experience with the GMAT exam and how I prepared for it - if, through this post, you can find even one idea that helps you in your journey, I would have done my job of giving back to the gmatclub community. I have broken this story down into three parts: 1) choosing a study plan, 2) preparing for the GMAT, 3) leading up to the test and the test experience.

Before that my daily schedule (high level):

Wake-up: 6:30 am
Sign-in at work: 8:00 am
Sign-off: 6:00 pm.
Work Out and Dinner: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm.
GMAT Prep - 9:00 pm - 11:30 pm

Choosing a Study Plan
I decided to take the GMAT in May this year, hoping to apply to business schools by the first round of deadlines in September. I knew a few folks who had already taken the GMAT, so I reached out to them to learn about their prep journey (read quite a few posts from the gmatclub - all very helpful) - a few suggested Manhatten Prep, some suggested Math Revolution, and some others suggested e-GMAT. Everyone who suggested the e-GMAT course raved about its verbal infrastructure and how that was especially important for non-native English speakers.

I chose the e-GMAT because of its strong verbal infrastructure. I knew I had a comparative advantage in verbal over the others, because of my background in public policy. I develop and analyze policies for a living, so CR and RC are, in a way, a part of my job. I had also done my research and knew that breaking the 41/42 mark on the Verbal section in the GMAT exam increases your score substantially as long as you are hitting a Q48/49. Since my undergrad is in economics and I also do a fair bit of data science (for fun), my quant skills are decent. So I wanted a course that could complement my existing strengths and help me break the V41/42 threshold. I set a V45 target for myself.

Before starting the course in June, I took an official mock test to see where I stood. I started with a 650 - Q44 and V35. I realized I was relying too much on my instincts on SC. And while your instincts can serve you well (depending on how strong your foundations are in verbal), they won't take you too far when you start getting those hard (>700) type questions. My accuracy on >700 SC questions was abysmal, and I knew that was holding me back. e-GMAT treats SC like science and breaks down each sentence into various components - one then analyzes each component independently to see if they fit together well. Does the meaning of the sentence make sense? And if it does, does the grammar fit well into it? Once you can comfortably answer those two questions, picking the right answer becomes easier.

Preparing for the GMAT
I input my mock test scores on the e-GMAT diagnostic report and they gave me a plan for the next three months. I tweaked that plan to suit my own goals. So through the course of the three months, I spent 70 percent of the time on Verbal, understanding the "science-like approach to sentence correction" and 30 percent of the time on Quant.

For SC I started from the very basics - what is a sentence and built on my prep from there. For every module, e-GMAT starts you off with a pre-assessment quiz. This tells you where you stand before taking the module. Then after you complete the module, they do a post-assessment quiz to show you how far you have come. The "pre-assessment, prepare, and post-assessment" structure was very important for me since I got to see my progress daily.

I would study the module, take the post-assessment quiz and then attempt 10-15 OG questions daily. Once you complete each module on the e-GMAT in its entirety, you can take "cementing quizzes". These quizzes are there to test how far you have come and how well you understand the concepts you have studied.

For RC and CR, I read 4-5 articles a day from the economist on topics I was not used to such as geology, and other sciences. I did not dedicate as much time to learning the basics of RC and CR but spent a lot of time doing mock questions daily. In addition to the 10-15 SC questions, I would do around 3 RC and 10 CR questions daily. You will notice as you read more your RC and CR automatically improve. That said, if you are not a reader then e-GMAT does have some very helpful tips on tackling RC and CR too and they follow the same "pre-assessment, prepare, post-assessment" structure here.

For quant, I focussed predominantly on the word problems section since they make up for the most number of questions on the GMAT. The section is broken down into topics, and each topic starts from the basics. Once you are done with the concept file, you take post-assessment quizzes and see how well you understand the section. I would often couple my preparation with about 20 questions from the OG daily.

Leading Up To The Test and The Test Experience

Through the course of my prep I took four mock tests:
June (before starting my prep) - 650: V35, Q44 (official test 1)
July (mid-July, a month into my prep) - 740: V42, Q49 (official test 2)
July (last week) - 690: V38, Q47 (official test 3)
August (1 week before my test) - 720: V41, Q48 (official test 4).
I never attempted the AWA or the IR sections of the official mock tests. I would suggest you do. Doing so will give you a good sense of the entire exam and how long it takes. Also, IR and AWA can be tricky for some people, and you don't want any surprises on test day. My third mock score threw me off a little bit, but my performance was a function of how I was feeling that day. I had not slept well and was tired. It is important to know what you need in terms of prep for test day to be your optimal self. In my case, it is a good night's sleep and a light breakfast. Another important factor (for online test takers from home) is to prep on a whiteboard with markers. Make sure you are comfortable using a whiteboard before test day. Using it for the first time on test day can be detrimental to your performance. I started working on a whiteboard 2-3 weeks before my actual test. Small things, such as the smell of the marker, being used to erasing after solving 2 or 3 questions, getting used to the feel of the board, etc. may seem minor but can prove to be useful on the test day.

My actual test day was alright. I logged in 15 mins before the test was scheduled to start. The proctor checked my room through the camera and performed the formalities and I was on my way. My last tip to you would be to start your exam with your strengths. The GMAT allows you to structure your exam the way you like. Always start with the section you are good at. That sets the pace for the rest of your test. Imagine not performing well and moving onto the next section - you are already demoralized. So you might not be your best self in a section you would otherwise ace had you been happy and confident. Now imagine starting strong - you are happy and confident with your performance so far, you move to your relatively weaker section but because you have done well so far, you perform better than you would have as a disappointed test taker. That is the approach I take - does not mean it is correct.

Remember, the GMAT is just an exam and you can take it multiple times (ideally you would not have to but not doing well is not the end of the world). Also, it is just one of the many factors in a bschool application (assuming you are applying to bschool). If you don't do as well as you would have liked, IT IS OKAY. Be honest in your preparation. Be kind to yourself. And you will do well :)

Final score - 760: V47, Q48, IR5, AWA6

If you'd like to talk more about the exam, my prep, or just get to know me better, feel free to connect with me on Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/pratiquekain