660 - Make Better Decisions and Be Realistic !

[rohan.nanda]

I will keep this simple, short and full of takeaways.

I just finished a 2nd attempt at the GMAT. I got a 660(V:35; Q:46)

When I started my GMAT journey 4 months ago, I was one of those typical over confident kids who thought that the GMAT was nothing compared to the GRE(which my friends took in college so I knew how tough it was). I had come out of the Indian math system and I thought I would cruise thru to the 700's.

But that's the problem. The GMAT is a completely different ball game. Keep that in mind and read the following:

1. The GMAT is a gamble between Time and Accuracy and you have to figure out a strategy, topic and sub-topic wise, to get the maximum score you possibly can.

2. The psychoanalysts (psycho's as I like to call them - no offense guys !) capitalize on following things:

a. Bad assumptions
b. Getting lost in the flow - Hastiness and Carelessness
c. The inability to accept defeat and move on - getting stuck
d. Bad decision making

Don't fall in the traps that they've set out for you. Follow MGMAT's way of analyzing problems, and spend more time understanding how they set the trap and why you fell for it.

3. Reiterating the previous point - DO NOT MINDLESSLY DO A MILLION PROBLEMS. I read somewhere on this forum that the GMAT is all about insights. So the more problems you do, the more insights you develop. But the point is, developing an insight is a major process. Make sure you perfect that, even if you practice few problems

4. Make better decisions - be smart !

See the Q, get a feel of it quick and know what you want to do: Skip, Educated Guess or attempt. That was my algorithm.

5. MGMAT's resources

The paid tests, course work and the umpteen number of free links and gyaan (Hindi for knowledge) up for grabs is great and MGMAT is so technical in their method and content that it can honestly help people achieve the best scores they can possibly get. So enroll with them if their in your area, hopefully they chalk out a full-time plan on opening centers in India. (The big P*******n company is reigning supreme here, putting kids in the game but not telling them how to get good at it)

6. For those of you planning a retake, narrow down to a realistic target. This is very important so that you strategy can be designed accordingly.

7. Don't be afraid of RC - seriously ! It's what boosted my V from a 27 to a 35. Follow MGMAt's guide, unpack / break the first para, keep the author's point and tone in mind and you'll ace the RC.

To follow up on my story, read the link below:

post72942.html?sid=dab5a60b8a7d78cfbebff9822bc8770f#p72942

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for sharing your story with us - your fellow students really appreciate it!

I love what you said and I want to second something (and change the wording just a little). In advising people not to do a million problems, you said:

So the more problems you do, the more insights you develop.

As you noted, that's what leads people to think that they need to do a million problems. The sentence should really read:
So the more problems you ANALYZE, the more insights you develop.

We can't actually analyze problems until after we've finished doing them, but the analysis afterwards is FAR more important than doing the problem in the first place - and takes longer to do! :)