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A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40)

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A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 04, 2017 1:38 am Show Tags

askul2389 Bookmark
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My GMAT journey started in 2012 when, first time, I thought that MBA would be right choice to move into management role. So I joined a very
renowned coaching institute in India. I assumed that just by attending all lectures and following methods, I would be able to achieve my dream
score of 700+. I gave my GMAT in march 2013 and scored just 520 ! (Q44 V17 IR6 AWA 4). I extended my subscription and took additional lectures
from institute. Along with coaching, I also purchased a few Manhattan books and online mock tests. After religiously studying for 4 more months, I
again gave GMAT in October 2013 and got a miserable 530 (Q44 V17 IR5 AWA 4). After few years (4 to be precise), one of my friend told me how he
B improved his GMAT from 630 to 700. He explained his study approach and recommended e-GMAT Verbal Online. After brief discussion with him and
few other colleagues (most of whom scored 740+) I devised my strategy and again gave GMAT in July 2017 and scored 710 (Q48 V40 IR2 AWA 5).
Believe me if I can improve from 520 to 710, so can you!
Joined: 17 Oct 2015 As I see, a lot of non-natives are struggling to get 100 + point improvement. So, I have tried to explain about my study approach and the resources
Posts: 66 used for prep. I hope this would be helpful.
Kudos [?]: 21 [5], given: 12
GMAT 1: 520 Q44 V17
ABOUT ME:
GMAT 2: 530 Q44 V20
GMAT 3: 710 Q48 V40 I am a non-native mechanical engineer having 7 years experience in Oil and Gas field. When I started GMAT preparation, I was almost always
confused between adverbs and adjectives & had no clue about verb-ing modifiers and verb-ed modifiers.
FOLLOW SEND PM

GMAT 1 : 520
I extensively used the coaching institute materials and their methods for SC and RC. I did not focus much on quant, since I thought being an Indian
Engineer, it would be a cake walk.
The institute always emphasized on solving SC mathematically without understanding the meaning.
For eg.
Inuits of the Bering Sea were in isolation from contact with Europeans longer than Aleuts or Inuits of the North Pacific and northern Alaska.

(A) in isolation from contact with Europeans longer than

(B) isolated from contact with Europeans longer than

1. Scan the options vertically and check the differences in starting and ending points of the options.
2. Compare any two options, apply basic rules and try to get rid of options without even reading the original statement.
3. After you get rid of 2-3 options, go to original statement and try to find out errors (if any) and then compare rest of the options and arrive at
the final answer.
I think this method is more useful in IDIOM based questions. please keep in mind that GMAC is giving more emphasis on meaning based SC
questions. Secret of cracking SC problem lies in its meaning.
I have specifically mentioned this method, since using this method blended with e-GMATs three step approach (which I have explained down) I
achieved almost 90% accuracy in SC.
For RC, I used to skim through the paragraphs and make summary of them. I did not have any strategy for RC, CR and Quant. I just completed all
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9/20/2017 A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) : Share GMAT Experience
questions from coaching institutes materials.
I just gave two gmatprep mocks and scored 650 & 660 in them ( 30 % of questions were repeated. I had already solved the questions in practice
material. I found actual GMAT very tough and scored just 17 in verbal.

GMAT 2 : 530
This time I took help of Manhttan SC, CR and RC guides. I finished all the books twice and started giving full mock tests.
I gave following mocks :
1. GMAT PREP FREE TESTS
2. 800 Score GMAT
3. Manhattan Tests
Since, I almost followed same study approach, I ended up scoring 530.

GMAT 3 : 710
VERBAL Prep:
After enrolling for egmat Verbal Live Prep, I did see enormous improvement in my verbal score (almost 8 to 10 points) in my mocks. All I did was I
religiously followed methods explained in e-GMAT.

Sentence Correction:
The three step approach by e-GMAT is impeccable.
1. Read the statement and understand the meaning.
2. Try to find out all the errors in initial statement
3. Check each option statement and get rid of options by POE method.
With this method I was able to improve my SC accuracy from 40% to 80% in very short duration of time. In order to reach 90 %, I just replaced POE
method with Point no 2 of earlier method (Comparison).
(Compare any two options, apply basic rules and try to get rid of options without even reading the original statement)

Critical Reasoning:
Prethinking approach of e-GMAT is mind blowing. I just followed this approach and I was able to solve most of the 700+ level (Assumption,
Evaluate, Strengthen and Weaken) in two minutes. You can find more about prethinking from e-GMAT lectures.

Reading Comprehension:
I was very weak at RC since beginning. I followed following approach:

1. Read first paragraph and try to remember the crux of the para and author's stand on the issue. e.g :

The fact that superior service can generate a competitive advantage for a company does not mean that every attempt at improving service will
create such an advantage. Investments in service, like those in production and distribution, must be balanced against other types of investments
on the basis of direct, tangible benefits such as cost reduction and increased revenues. If a company is already effectively on a par with its
competitors because it provides service that avoids a damaging reputation and keeps customers from leaving at an unacceptable rate, then
investment in higher service levels may be wasted, since service is a deciding factor for customers only in extreme situations.

Crux : Unnecessary investment in services can be wasteful. (author = aligned/not aligned)

Repeat this for each paragraph.

This helped me in increasing accuracy of RC upto 75-80 %.

QUANT Prep:
For quant, I completely devised my strategy. This time I just followed GMATCLUB free book and online tests.
1. Complete a topic from Gmat Club book
2. Solve 50% questions from online tests ( You can customize the tests)
3. Repeat this for rest of the topics
4. Then solve Quant tests
Even though the difficulty level of questions in gmatclub tests is little high, but if you want to score 50+ in quant, try to solve all the examples of
gmatclub tests. Believe me, its totally worth. You will see drastic improvement in your scores.

With all this, I was able to achieve 700+. I have attached my ESR for reference. If you want to know more about my prep, please PM me.
I learned a lot from GMATCLUB. Special thanks to this community!!

PS : This was written too hurriedly. So please ignore all grammatical mistakes.
Attachments

317325225_ESR-1.pdf [310.03 KiB]

Downloaded 453 times

Last edited by Narenn on Sep 07, 2017 5:40 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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9/20/2017 A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) : Share GMAT Experience

jkolachi Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 04, 2017 10:58 am
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Congrats its a great score but IR 2? did you not try at all? You might have to explain that to ad coms. Overall well done, excellent score.
_________________
Winners dont make excuses.
350--> 700
https://gmatclub.com/forum/700-q47-v39-ir-7-awa-246682.html
P

Joined: 13 Oct 2015

Posts: 210
Kudos [?]: 127 [0], given: 104
Location: Canada
Concentration: Leadership,
Accounting
GMAT 1: 700 Q47 V39
GPA: 3.3
WE: Accounting (Accounting)

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askul2389 Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 04, 2017 12:44 pm
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Yeah I know my IR is too low. I did try to solve the questions, but I could not concentrate at all, since two guys were crazily typing AWA at that
time and the center was out of earbuds! I did complain about it to center authority but they did not take any action.

Let's see how adcoms react to it :D

B

Joined: 17 Oct 2015

Posts: 66
Kudos [?]: 21 [0], given: 12
GMAT 1: 520 Q44 V17
GMAT 2: 530 Q44 V20
GMAT 3: 710 Q48 V40

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egmat Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 04, 2017 5:47 pm
e-GMAT Representative
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askul2389 - V40 is phenomenal and a huge improvement from V17. Congratulations on the same. Also, your ESR is an interesting study. You did
exceedingly well early on. You answered just one question incorrectly in the first 10, and probably 2 in the next 10 or so. But after that, you
answered almost half the questions incorrectly and yet you ended up with a V40 - 91 percentile - on GMAT Verbal.

You had nailed your Verbal score by question #20 more or less. This just shows the importance of building ability rather than focusing on accuracy.
S You probably made 12 mistakes and still ended up scoring 91 percentile on GMAT Verbal. The key thing was that you did exceedingly well early on.

Congratulations and good luck for your journey ahead. Do let us know if you need help with the next stage of your MBA journey.
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Posts: 2231 -Rajat Sadana
Kudos [?]: 8770 [0], given: 328 _________________

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1535 reviews | '4 out of Top 5' Instructors on gmatclub | 70 point improvement guarantee | www.e-gmat.com

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9/20/2017 A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) : Share GMAT Experience

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premprabhs111 Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 04, 2017 9:32 pm
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Bro congratulations again an amazing verbal improvement because of e-gmat . Even e-gmat helped me cross the 34-35 barrier to hit 40+ in my
mocks and i finally got a 720 with a q49v40

Joined: 17 Feb 2017

Posts: 42
Kudos [?]: 32 [1], given: 38
Location: India
Schools: HEC '20, Erasmus '21,
ESSEC '21
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
GPA: 3.69

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pushpitkc Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 05, 2017 2:57 am
BSchool Forum Moderator
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P Wow.. This is awesome man.

Joined: 26 Feb 2016
Posts: 1319
Kudos [?]: 518 [0], given: 16
Location: India
Concentration: General
Management, Leadership
Schools: Ross '20, Rotman '20,
Desautels '20, Carlson '20, Sauder '20,
Alberta"20, Schulich Sept 18 Intake
WE: Sales (Retail)
To increase your score from a V17 to a V40(91st percentile) is an awesome feat.
Congrats on the score and wish you all the best for the applications.
I applaud your efforts to write that debrief and hope it inspires few of the test-takers who are on the verge of giving up!
_________________
Stay hungry, Stay foolish
2017-2018 MBA Deadlines
Class of 2020: Rotman Thread | Schulich Thread
Class of 2019: Sauder Thread

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HKD1710 Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 05, 2017 6:27 pm
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Brilliant Improvement! Many congratulations on achieving this feet. could you please tell us How did you align the CATs in your prep, Which CATs
did you take and what was your strategy of taking them along with the e-gmat course. Thanks
_________________
---------------------------------------------------------------
D Target - 720-740
http://gmatclub.com/forum/information-on-new-gmat-esr-report-beta-221111.html
Joined: 22 Jun 2014 http://gmatclub.com/forum/list-of-one-year-full-time-mba-programs-222103.html
Posts: 843
Kudos [?]: 383 [0], given: 108
Location: India
Concentration: General
Management, Technology
Schools: IIMA , IIMB, ISB PGP Pro '19
GMAT 1: 540 Q45 V20
GPA: 2.49
WE: Information Technology
(Computer Software)

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9/20/2017 A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) : Share GMAT Experience

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askul2389 Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 11, 2017 1:02 am
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egmat wrote:

askul2389 - V40 is phenomenal and a huge improvement from V17. Congratulations on the same. Also, your ESR is an interesting study. You did
B exceedingly well early on. You answered just one question incorrectly in the first 10, and probably 2 in the next 10 or so. But after that, you
answered almost half the questions incorrectly and yet you ended up with a V40 - 91 percentile - on GMAT Verbal.
Joined: 17 Oct 2015
Posts: 66
You had nailed your Verbal score by question #20 more or less. This just shows the importance of building ability rather than focusing on
accuracy. You probably made 12 mistakes and still ended up scoring 91 percentile on GMAT Verbal. The key thing was that you did exceedingly
Kudos [?]: 21 [0], given: 12
well early on.
GMAT 1: 520 Q44 V17
GMAT 2: 530 Q44 V20
Congratulations and good luck for your journey ahead. Do let us know if you need help with the next stage of your MBA journey.
GMAT 3: 710 Q48 V40

FOLLOW SEND PM -Rajat Sadana

Thank you very much Rajat and egmat team! It would not have been possible without your help and support!

I have already contacted your team for further information!

Thanks Again.

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askul2389 Re: A long Journey ...... from 520 to 710 (V17 to V40) [#permalink] Sep 11, 2017 1:06 am
Manager
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HKD1710 wrote:

Brilliant Improvement! Many congratulations on achieving this feet. could you please tell us How did you align the CATs in your prep, Which
B CATs did you take and what was your strategy of taking them along with the e-gmat course. Thanks

Joined: 17 Oct 2015

Posts: 66
Kudos [?]: 21 [0], given: 12 For verbal : I followed egmat scholaranium customized tests.
GMAT 1: 520 Q44 V17
For Quant : I exhausted almost all gmatclub quant practice tests.
GMAT 2: 530 Q44 V20
GMAT 3: 710 Q48 V40 I generally used to give topicwise/sectional tests after completing theory of 3-4 topics.
FOLLOW SEND PM Also, I gave 4 gmat prep full tests before exam.

If you want to know more, please feel free to PM me.

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