GMAT

While I am on my way to be done with my GMAT and get eligible to write “my GMAT” story, I thought of contributing as an introduction, information which many to-be-gmat-givers may find useful as they start on this journey. I would address the most often asked questions and the best way to approach the exam and resources which are of help.

GMAT differs from CAT. This is especially for the Indians to understand. Indians consider CAT as the only examination possible of the highest caliber and often wonder whether GMAT is tougher. While CAT may be ranked amongst the most competitive examinations around the globe, GMAT is certainly tougher. The duration of the exam and the adaptive marking process makes the GMAT score more over the CAT. This is an exam which requires speed as well as accuracy, but both along with tenacity. That makes all the difference. While questions may appear from any topic randomly for a section, their difficulty varies depending on your answer and it is mostly said that even the top ACE candidates find it hard to answer 8 questions correctly in a row in the GMAT. A single question correct may get you a coveted 760 and the same one wrong may put you into the average 710 bracket. While luck does exist everywhere, a human brain usually finds it tough to focus with time. It is this aspect of the exam that expects you to perform after 4 hours, at your peak with 5 minutes of breaks in between sections, which makes its comparison with a marathon race inevitable.

Don’t refer to any GMAT material sitting out there on the World Wide Web. There are ample questions and materials available for Critical Reasoning (CR), Reading Comprehension (RC) and Sentence Correction (SC) to be more precise, but hardly the owners know what really is checked during the GMAT. The choice of topics, the language used and the concept tested are often different.

Apart from using Quant materials to increase the mathematical skills, don’t even think of using IMS and TIME materials for CAT in place for GMAT. CAT passages are often detailed and the questions refer to answers which are direct. GMAT has more variations and uses passages which are dry and often structurally different than the English we read. For the same reason, make it a habit of reading the New York Times or The Economist as a routine especially the “Opinion” section.

If you haven’t appeared for any CAT examinations before, please make sure you go through the GMAT review book available from Princeton Review. Though the book is targeted for an audience who target 650+ scores, it is the best in the market to introduce you to GMAT across all the sections. Complete it once before moving on with the Official Guide and other materials. Consider Kaplan only when you are done with your preparation and you feel a need for an extra practice and curve in your preparation. Of all the books from Kaplan, Kaplan 800 is the best and is a very good collection of tough challenging problems. The 7 books, 5 on Quant and 2 (one for SC and one for CR & RC combined) from MGMAT (Manhattan GMAT) is a must. I would reiterate the fact that a GMAT preparation is not complete unless you are done with at the least the 6 from MGMAT series. The one for CR & RC can be an exemption. Official Guide (OG) and the official guide reviews for Quant and Verbal are a must. Their importance has been stressed upon again and again in every book written for GMAT.

From a test series point of view, MGMAT seems as a sound option. Their questions are tougher than the real GMAT and give the best review analysis of your exams. The type of metrics they provide for every test you write is something you should see to believe. Giving thought on those reviews is what pushes you up the curve from a 650+ to a 700+ achiever.

Two websites in particular, Beat the GMAT and GMAT Club is of immense help. Both have a huge list of followers, varied questions get discussed during a day which is very ideal for ample practice and both have people from all the test preparation companies to help you with your doubts and preparation process. You can also view threads where recent achievers and losers discuss their plans, what worked for them and what didn’t and also the exert advice offered by the real time professionals.

Rather than going for a 6 hour or so taxing schedule for the preparation, a healthy effective focused 2 hours a day schedule can work out more in your favor. Typically, candidates need anything from 3-4 months to be ready for their target score. Starting with the GMAT exam provided by Official GMAC Website is a great way to gauge where you are and plan the way forward. Needless to say, a candidate placed at 650 at the very start of the preparation stands a better chance of soaring up to the 750+ mark, but examples of even a 200 points progress is all over. Consistency matters more. Nothing can harm you more than a 2 days break in your study plan. The plan has to be followed religiously and quality of questions should be given weight age over quantity. The same reason goes in for the fact as to why so many professionals would always ask you to keep out of the so called 1000SC, CR & RC question sets.

Review is more important than study. A day spent in review after every 6 days of study can ensure that you don’t falter in your work done till date. Keeping a track of the errors is very important and often keeping an “Error Log” is suggested. Pondering over the concept tested against the number of questions answered should be a priority. Timing of 2 minutes per CR, 1.30 minutes per SC and 1.45 minutes per RC questions is ideal. Data sufficiency is trickier than it seems and Quant often involves tricks than calculations.

That is all I can share as of now. I am yet to take my GMAT, as said already and if destiny has it, I will surely let all of you know how my GMAT journey was in a more minute detail. Hope this post was long and of use to the new GMAT-takers and feel free to comment if you need any further help.