Some more GMAT tips

Recently an acquaintance, one of my brothers buddies, emailed me asking about some GMAT tips. I noticed that I have not written anything on that topic so here it is. I will try to answer the basic questions people have when they think about taking the test (or when they think about taking the MBA plunge). Will write the same things that I replied to this guy.

1. How much time needed for preps ?

‘That depends ! ‘ on individual. Why not take a test now without preparation and see how you score. You will know exactly how much preparation you need (I know you are mature enough). You will find a lot of online tests for free  – try mba.com first.

2. Which books to refer ?

I referred to a limited set of materials as I had limited time. Depending on how much time you have you can refer to more. however, doing the official guide thoroughly is a must.

3. When should I take the GMAT ?

Check the university websites you want to apply to and note down the application deadlines etc. All of them have several rounds of applications (mostly starting from July/Aug) and its better to apply in Round 1. They sometimes also mention the time during which you should have taken the gmat (not too long back, and not very recent – like a month as well !, so check this first).
In general, for applying to schools which start their session in Aug/Sept 2013 (for example) applications will start July/Aug 2012 and for that ideally you should take the test before end of May (or stretched to June).  For Indian b-schools, deadlines tend to be later, so you can adjust accordingly, so check school websites individually.

4. Prep guidelines ? Mug Vocab, regular practice or what ?

Vocab is not so critical for GMAT as it is for GRE, so no need to mug. I believe for most of us Indians, Quants (QA) is also not an issue. Verbal is something which needs practice and tuning. So start early on that, and do that as often as possible. For grammar basics, buy a Wren&Martin English grammar book early on and go through it once.

5. What score is good enough ?

    Score is something which puzzles everyone. Remember that GMAT is only a necessary condition for entry and not sufficient. I would say its only 10% sufficient. This means that a good score would only mean you have fulfilled only 10% of criteria for admission. However, a poor score (less than 650 perhaps) would not take you anywhere unless you have an excellent academic record throughout + excellent career progression + extra curriculars.
For US b-schools, at least for the top 15, as an average Indian with engineering background, you must have at least 720-730. Check www.pagalguy.com, they have discussion threads on various schools and profile/GMAT scores of people who were admitted in prior years. I know people who have made it to good top 20 schools in the US with 680-720 as well, but they had excellent application/essays, recommendations, top-notch work experience and very good extra curricular to back it up. Also it makes a good case for scholarships if the score is good.
Also be aware of the average/minimum gmat score required for admission reported on school websites. You must add 20 to that score as they all put Indian applicants into a different pool where the competition tend to be (naturally !) intense. So the average GMAT score of Indians who get through is 20 more than overall class average.

Feel free to post any questions on this thread.

Here is my GMAT experience post – http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/my-gmat-story/
Also there is a post about mba abroad in general – http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/thinking-of-doing-an-mba-abroad/

Like almost every other thing in the world, read these with a pinch of salt !

A word on AWA for GMAT

Now that I am done with GMAT (My Experience with GMAT) with an AWA score of 5.5 I can give some gyan on improving your AWA score in GMAT and something about preparation.

1. Be consistent in preparation – Read a lot, may be one or two essays a day. No need to spend more than 5-10 minutes per day on this. But avoid last minute reading.  Many people concentrate on the AWA only in the last few days and try to cram everything they read. This is a bad strategy unless you are a news reporter or someone who is a skilled writer.

2. Do not use heavy lingo – Try to gather strong arguments and not heavy phrases or jargon. Essay should be written in simple language and the reader should be able to comprehend.

3. Have arguments that are strong -Think with a cool head and list down all the arguments that you think are relevant here. Also think about what other information you could add. If you come across a lot of arguments, do not write all your arguments in the essay. As it might go very long and remember time is always ticking. Stick to the strongest points.

4. Think through the essay first, and outline how you want to format it. Dont just start the essay as soon as you see the topic.

5. Assumptions – Most of the times the statements being provided are based on some assumptions. Read them carefully and find out the hidden assumptions.

6. When preparing for essays – Do not just blindly read the essays. Read the subject first, what is asked and then try to list down points. No need to write the whole essay, and then when you read the essay, see what are the points you missed and how you could have improved the structure of the essay.

7. The format and structure of the essay – while there is no template to follow for essays, you must space them out carefully. Separate logical statements into paragraphs. Think about how your ideas should be conveyed to someone who reads them. Starting and concluding statements should be strong and have an impact on the reader.

8. Grammar – Your essays should have ideally no grammatical errors. But it is fine to have a few mistakes here and there but not too many.

9. Revise – You must read it once before submitting. Its is a MUST to do.

10. Save time for the end – For revision and do further editing you must save some time. Do not write till the end. And do not try to write a very long essay. Two to three strong arguments are often good enough.

11. While taking prep tests, take them once in a while. This helps in making you ready for the actual test in which you will have to sit through long hours. If you can attempt the AWA in each test. But in the last 2-3 tests that you take (mostly GMAT prep tests) , you must take the AWA seriously. Send them to friends for review as well if you can. It helps.

12. Read from trusted sources – Do not read from just any source. Buy a book or a CD. Reading magazines and newspapers also helps but when it comes to essays you must have a collection of some good AWA essays to read and get a feel.

13. Read the instructions and tips from the GMAT official guide very carefully. I read them twice, once when starting the preparation and then one day before GMAT (i had nothing to do that day )

14. Do not panic if till the last day you are not confident about your essays. Remember AWA is the easiest part of the whole GMAT test. So take it lightly and do not worry too much.

15. If you can not write grammatically correct sentences, then you must refer to a good grammar book and have a solid grounding in English grammar before thinking about GMAT.

My GMAT story

Done with my GMAT on 05 aug 2009.

My Profile : Indian IT Male, 6 years Exp.
GMAT booked : 17th June 2009. Preparation started the same day.
GMAT taken : 05th August 2009.
Preparation time : 50 days.
Score : 720 Q50, V38. (overall 94 %ile) AWA – 5.5

Books and materials referred :
1. OG12. (The Official Guide by GMAC)
2. Kaplan Verbal workbook
3. Kaplan Premier 2009
4. Manhattan SC Guide
5. 1000 SC. – One of the most commonly used Sentence Correction material referred by students. Search over the internet to get it.

Tests taken prior to GMAT (not in chronological order):

1. GMAT Prep1 – taken thrice – : 700 (Q49, V37) , 700 (Q50, V35) , 740 (Q49, V42)
2. GMAT Prep2 – taken twice – : 720 (Q50, V38), 730 (Q49, V40)
3. MGMAT Free test – 670 ( Q48, V33 )
4. MGMAT 1 – 640 – ( Q46, V32 )
5. MGMAT 2 – 680 – ( Q48, V34 )
6. MGMAT 3 – 710 – ( Q51, V36 )
7. MGMAT 4 – 720 – ( Q51, V37 )
8. MGMAT 5 – 710 – ( Q49, V38 )
9. MGMAT 6 – 680 – ( Q49, V34 )
10. Kaplan Test on CD – 1 – 590 (Q48 V28)

Here is a summary of what I have to say about my GMAT experience and advice to others.

1. Regular practice is the key. How many days you take, depends on the individual, but I think one should be in touch always. One month practice, then break, the practice is not the way. You should be in the zone when you are taking the actual GMAT. For this, one has to build a momentum , and carry that to the test.
2. At the time of the test, staying focused is the key. Take a lot of mock tests to make yourself aware of test environment. To gauge time strategies etc..
3. GMATPrep tests are the key to success. You should use them wisely. Retaking them helps, but you should not retake within 2-3 days else there is a repeat of questions and you will get skewed scores. I would suggest one should take the GMATPrep tests atleast 3-4 times. Save GMATPrep 2 for last 5-10 days of your preparation and take this test in absolute test environment with AWA, breaks etc. Try to score as much as in GMATPrep2 and do look at where you went wrong.
4. For any materials other than SC, i dont think you need to go for materials beyond OG. Take the OG seriously, and keep a error log. Revisit OG once completed. For PS/DS I reinstalled GMATPrep quite a lot of time and got a lot of new questions. It is a huge bank !
5. For SC, Manhattan SC Guide is a must. I also referred to the 1000SC series.
6. Kaplan books and tests are a waste of time, in my opinion. Kaplan tests have different styles of questions, esp in Verbal, and sometimes I didn’t agree to their CR answers. So I found them useless.
7. For AWA, one must practice writing, and that too in test environment. Sometimes 30 minutes seem very less a time.