Balance Sheet June 29

Had an unbelievably hectic day!

Whole day went into meetings so could only do one RC question.
Did a PS problem on RTW, and that's it.
So tomorrow have to cover both Quant and Verbal.

Hope I get some time for myself...

Balance Sheet June 28

Was not able to do anything due to lack of sleep and too much work.

1. Quant: Did few DS and a couple of problems.

2. Did just a bit of OG RC.

Will put in double effort tomorrow to get back the lost time.

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Quant: Continue DS review. Review Probability, Area and Volume.

2. Verbal: Continue OG RC, start with MGMAT SC.

Am tired...

Balance Sheet June 27

Had a hectic day today. Worked from 8 in the morning till 10.30. Got back at 12.30 :-o

Got some time in between so did the following:

1. Quant: Reviewed DS. Still having tough time. Need to revisit my basics. Lost out on Probability, Area and Volume. Completed the GMAT Club Diagnostic Test in Review mode.

2. Verbal: Continued OG RC. Getting more than 80% accuracy. I think now it's only SC and CR that are a problem. Just touched on MGMAT SC Guide.

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Quant: Study Probability, Area and Volume. Continue DS review.

2. Continue OG RC. Look into some CR and SC questions.

Started filling up Wharton and Harvard applications. Also need to fill in basic details for Booth.
One good thing was attempted an impromptu question sent by a friend and was able to somehow reach the answer. Need to keep on the good work!

Will sleep now...

Balance Sheet June 26

Was a good day of studies and routine chores.

1. Quant: Started the morning with a few DS questions. Also started with the GMAT Club Diagnostic Test. Need to work on solving the problems under test conditions. Worked on Overlapping sets.

2. Verbal: Solved another couple of RC problems. Got pretty high score. I think SC will be the key.

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Quant: Continue reviewing DS. Work on Probability, Area and Volume.

2. Verbal: Continue OG RC. Also start with MGMAT SC Guide.

Over the last couple of days, I got a feeling that the speed and earnestness with which I had studied earlier are kind of waning. So I think I need to devise some other ways to motivate myself and bump up the score higher.

Will write more on my application plans next weekend.

Enjoy! 

Balance Sheet June 25

1. Quant: Could only look at some RTD/W problems but started with DS Review. Will take up Overlapping sets and other parts tomorrow.

2. Verbal: Completed OG SC and did some OG RC Problems. Got 5 wrong out of 24. RC has been good, and need to keep practicing.


Plan for tomorrow:
1. Quant: Continue DS Review and look at overlapping sets, geometrical formulas and probability. 


2. Verbal: Review OG SC and simultaneously look at MGMAT SC Guide. Also continue RC. Need to Review CR too.


All and all a slow day to be honest. Spent some time catching up sleep. Need to buckle down and see through it that I am ready for the GMAT Club tests starting July.


Way to go!

Balance Sheet June 24

Today was a hectic day. Had meetings all along the day and when I had the time in the evening, failed to utilize it effectively.


1. Quant: Finished with basic translation of Word problems to Algebraic expressions. Lost out on Overlapping sets as well as RTD/W :-(

2. Verbal: Did another 20 questions in the OG SC. Lost out on OG RC.


Though the time for practice was lost, I should say the day was productive in the sense that I was able to think a bit on the theme for my MBA application story. It is a big stride forward and will share the details when the time comes. 


The weekend is here and it means more time of highly satisfying studies. Looking forward to tomorrow and Sunday.


Plan for tomorrow:


1. Quant: Overlapping sets, RTD/W problems, Geometrical Formulas and DS. Haven't started DS review though have been talking about it all the week!


2. Verbal: Complete OG SC and start with MGMAT SC Guide. Simultaneously work on OG RC.


Also need to share that I have put a tentative deadline till August 15 for completing the basic reviews and getting over or basic studies. At the same time will also work on 700+ level problems by giving GMAT Club tests. The G-Day may fall some time around third week of September :-)


Cheers!

Balance Sheet June 23

Worked well today. Started off with RC ;-)

1. Quant: Did Inequalities and Quadratic Equations as well as VICs. Also started off with a bit of Word Translation. Have to work on DS review to strengthen these concepts.

2. Verbal: Did OG SC and reached 100 question mark. Got 35 wrong and need to review them before the Independence Day weekend. Also did RC and got 2 wrong out of 11 questions.

Plan for tomorrow:
1. Quant: Continue MGMAT Word Translation guide, mainly Overlapping sets and RTD/W and do some DS.

2. Verbal: Continue OG SC and OG RC. Start with MGMAT SC.

I should say the basic level for taking off has now been reached. From now on, I need to strengthen this foundation, as in get all the basic questions right, and continue taking up tougher challenges. A lot of learning awaits me.

Important thing is that now I am able to identify the basic patterns. For example, understanding what principle is tested in Quant, simplifying and rephrasing DS questions, finding out the main and subordinate points in RC, identifying the premises, assumptions and conclusion in CR, and working on the grammar, meaning and concision of SC questions...

And what is important is that quite some people out there are making sure my anger is fueled. I really thrive in such situations ;-)
Bring it on!!!  

Balance Sheet June 22

Used the day to gather more concepts.

1. Quant: Reviewed Fractions, Decimals and Percentages. Kept VICs for tomorrow. Also looked into a few interesting problems shared by a friend.

2. Verbal: Did some SC problems. Bottom line is that my SC abilities are good when it comes to overall grammar, but when it comes to GMAT specific study, I am way below par. I am getting accuracy of around 50% right now, and that may be the reason behind the surprising score of V37 in GMAT Prep. Need to go through MGMAT SC Guide and fortify my basics.

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Quant: Work on VICs. Also start with some DS review.

2. Verbal: Continue OG SC and start with OG RC. This is pending for last 3 days.

Had a good day for myself. Learnt a new way to tackle a tough problem. Also got 2 GMAT Club PS problems right and got 1 CR wrong. On the whole going fine. Need to accelerate on the climb now, as another 5 Quant and 10 Verbal raw points stand between me and the dream 750 on GMAT Prep.

Cheers! 

Balance Sheet June 21

Got some time for myself today as well. Could get through all the topics for today but was not able to do the extra effort on Probability.

1. Quant: Reviewed planned areas of FDPs, Equations but could not complete till Quadratic Equations.

2. Verbal: Did 20 problems from OG SC and got 9 wrong!!! Need to consolidate SC.

Also did 4 problems from GMAT Club and got all correct!

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Quant: Inequalities, Quadratic Equations and VICs. VICs is something I really need to focus on!

2. Continue with OG SC. Need to start OG RC too. It's pending since the beginning of the week.

Try to make space for review of Probability or at least Word Translation.
I am sure I am inching towards the dream 750! Need to work more and apply myself more...

Cheers!

Balance Sheet June 20

Everything went as per plan...Got some quality time for myself.

1. Started with OG SC: Got 4 wrong out of 20. Was expecting 20 on 20. Need to push up the performance. The key is that I aim at at least 95% correct answers to get to 90% percentile on Verbal. SC is the easiest part in it. Need to focus more.

2. Did Quant as per plan. Did Factors and Multiples, Odd and Even Numbers,  Positive and Negative Numbers, Consecutive Integer Sets, Roots and Exponents. Did not do the sums. Just focused on the concepts. Things should start flowing only around next week. Also started off with Equations, Inequalities and VICs.

3. Extra effort: Revisited Combinatorics. Realized I just need that bit of revision every day to keep my memory fresh :-D

Plan for tomorrow:

1. Continue OG SC. Need to complete 20 problems a day to reach 140 at the end of this week.

2. Start with OG RC. Haven't at all touched RC in a whole week. Need to focus on that.

3. Quant: Continue with Equations, Inequalities and VICs. Need to also revisit Fractions, Decimals and Percentages, so will do FDPs and Quadratic equations as per plan and then try to push ahead.

4. Extra effort may come in the form of Probability.

Am not doing any problems as of now. Just gulping down new concepts and trying to digest and assimilate them in my system. Will take the next test only over the Independence Day weekend. That too, not the GMAT Prep, but tougher tests from GMAT Club.

Jai Ho! 

Aftermath of GMAT Prep No. 2

Have been significantly relaxed over the last two days...and this is something that is really worrying me.

Am telling myself not to be complacent and throw it away. 20 days of study has resulted in a 100 point increase in the scores, need to pump up Quant by 5 and Verbal by 10 points on the raw score. Am already aware of the weaknesses and the only thing that remains is applying myself and practicing harder.

May sound a crazy post, but I think I need to come out of the state of accomplishment as soon as possible. Need to reaffirm my commitment to the dream 750 (Yes, I thought pumping up the target by another 50 points is a good way to motivate myself!) and start working again.

Did just a bit of study in the morning. Did some Combinatorics and OG SC.

Will put in the Balance Sheet later in the day. Have to get back to study and work on the 4 areas allocated for today...

I know this is me thinking out aloud, but that's what a blog is meant to be, isn't it? :-)

A very lazy day!

Did practically nothing today...
Just revised the Advanced Number Properties section from MGMAT Number Properties Guide.

Need to push up the tempo now. Have planned the following for tomorrow:
1. Quant: Factors and Multiples, Consecutive Sets, Exponents and Roots.

2. Verbal: OG RC and SC. This will complete my OG.

Need to remember the dream figures of 47! I need to consistently hit Q47 V47 before I start with GMAT Club Tests.

Looking forward to work from tomorrow as well as the coming weekends. Need to shrug off the complacency from my system!!!

Bhaag bhaag DK Bose....

Debrief on GMAT Prep Test No. 2

Went out after the increase in score and took the whole day off to refresh myself. Played pocket billiards and enjoyed my evening.

Came back and went through the mistakes. Here are a few points that I realized.

1. I got only 21 questions correct out of the 37 questions in the Quant section. In spite of this, my Quant score went up to 42. This has been a rise of 11 points from my earlier raw score. This means my efforts in Quant have been in the right direction, and probably Quant is an area where I can hope to see further increase. The problems that I messed up last time were too easy and the increase in scores means I have started coping up with the easy problems. This time I messed up slightly difficult problems, mainly related to exponents, roots, coordinate geometry, probability, combinatorics, etc. Even before the exam I was not satisfied with my preparation and understanding of these areas, and it has come to fore now. Good part is I have been able to identify these areas and will put in efforts from now on.

2. I did not see a significant increase in Verbal, but realized SC was the weak area this time. Also that CR has not really improved to the level I would have liked. This means Verbal also needs a good lot of effort if I am thinking of improving the score.

I got Q42 and V37 today, leading to 640 total. Frankly speaking, had my scores not changed from the ghastly 540 that I got in the prep test in beginning of May, I would have bid farewell to the whole MBA process concluding that it is not my cup of tea. But I am all the more motivated after the test today.

As per the GMAT Club Score Translation Table, I need to get at least Q47 and V47 in order to achieve a score of 750 and above on the practice tests. This means I have to improve my current scores in Quant and Verbal by 5 and 10 points each. The reason why I am keeping a higher aim is because it is said that questions on GMAT Prep are easier than real GMAT. So once I am consistently getting 750 on GMAT Prep, I can start thinking of scheduling the exam ;-)

So, to sum it up now, after almost 3 weeks in the prep phase, I should say I am happy with whatever has happened till now. Of course I am very much aware that this is just the first battle in the "MBA War". The GMAT is just one of the elements needed for MBA. B-School Application, Admission formalities, Interviews and of course the MBA program, and life after MBA will demand much more from me...

As I love to say it..."A pat on my back...my mission is excellence!"

Balance Sheet June 18

Started off with a lazy day and slowly picked up speed.

Took the GMAT Prep and got an unofficial score of 640, a 100 point jump from the one I took for the first time.

I am pretty happy the way the prep is going and will now look forward to concentrated study for weak areas. Will write a good debrief later in the evening.

Am happy to see the gap between the dream 700 close as I work day by day :-D

Balance Sheet June 17

So today, after 17 days of sustained prep, I have been successful in completing OG PS, DS and CR.

What remain are RC and SC, which should ideally follow at same pace...HOWEVER, just like today, I can see that my work is increasing by the hour and I need to optimize my efforts if I want to make best use of the small time span at my disposal.

1. Quant: Completed PS and DS. Also completed Quant prep schedule. You can find it in my Dropbox folder here. Feel free to use it, and if you think it is helpful, just drop me a message. Will now be working in cycles to revise these topics on a daily basis.

2. Verbal: Completed all problems in CR. I could get a score of around 30 wrong out of 124 (somewhere near the 75% mark. Not bad :-) ) Will now concentrate on the remaining parts of the OG.

Plan for the weekend.
1. Try a full-fledged GMAT Prep test again, just to see the effect of this preparation.

2. Quant: Will revise some major concepts and DS before I give the GMAT Prep test. I think I need to focus mainly on DS.

3. Verbal: Will also need to revise RC and SC, and then take on the exam.

So looking forward to the weekend!   

Balance Sheet June 16

Having really packed days in this week...

1. Completed OG DS. The big issue that I have is the approach to DS. I believe I need to review the OG DS thoroughly now. Accuracy rate somewhere around 50% only! This means I need to strengthen Quant to the utmost.

2. Did CR and got 8 out of 11 right. Am almost about to end OG CR, so will do a quick review and move ahead to SC. Idioms are waiting for me and RC too.

I believe the prep is going pretty well. I was able to identify my weak points, broadly speaking Quant, and specifically speaking some number properties, word problem translation, exponents, roots, combinatorics, probability and coordinate geometry. Continuous review and practice is something that will take me to my goal.

On the verbal front, I was able to identify CR as the weak area very early in the prep process and focused on it. Thanks to MGMAT CR Guide, am now more comfortable with that weak area. Will now post detailed strategies about how I tackle these areas.

Will write more tomorrow and over the weekend...

Balance Sheet June 15

15 days in GMAT preparation, I am seeing what exactly are my weak points.

1. Quant: I have realized that Quant is the major hindrance even now. Earlier, it was more from the PS perspective, but now it is becoming a pain even in DS. I believe it will take some practice to get used to DS again and need to keep practicing. Also need to revise the concepts every other day. Speaking about what I did today, it was another 30 problems to get only 50% accuracy.

2. Verbal: Verbal is going pretty ok, though accuracy has come down and giving me trouble. Did another 20 problems at 70% accuracy. Haven't yet started with RC and SC. I am somehow sure I can pull it off.

Practice is the name of the game. Will give another GMAT Prep exam coming weekend.
Good news is that I will have whole of June, July and August to continue with my GMAT preparation...Will keep updating the blog!

Balance Sheet June 14

Had the whole morning so worked on a few concepts.

1. Quant: Studied MGMAT Number properties. Revised Exponents and Roots! Also worked on Geometry Guide as well as Fractions and Decimals Guide.

2.  OG CR: Did 10 got 4 wrong :-(

3. OG DS: Am really continuing the bad run. Got only 8 correct out of 20.

Will sleep now...Worked from 7:30 to 10:30! This is one reason I want to do an MBA....Lesser working hours!!!

Number Properties and other areas of Quant

Have been going through the MGMAT Number Properties Guide for last couple of days. This has been really a revelation as I am able to see the actual expanse of Quant. And I am yet to revise Probability and Combinatorics!

Now I understand why it takes you at least 1 month of good study to consolidate your basics! I am happy that I am able to look at the GMAT from a different perspective and also have enough time to prepare for it. Random thoughts....heh heh!

Looking forward to more study today and tomorrow. Plan to start with the prep exams from this weekend.

Balance Sheet June 13

Had a very hectic day!

Could only manage 10 CR (got 4 wrong) and some basic Number qualities.
Need to catch up tomorrow.

1. OG CR: Going well. I don't see CR or even whole of verbal section being a problem.

2. Quant: Started with MGMAT Number Properties guide. Did Integers, Positive/Negative, Even/Odd, Consecutive Integers, Exponents. Have to revise the rules every day now.

Have to get up early, so sleeping early tonight...

Balance Sheet June 12

Had a nice long day for myself and could reflect on the strategies going well and wrong.

1. Quant: Need to take up Quant only after I thoroughly brush up some basics. MGMAT Guides will be a great help in that. Will take me approximately a month to complete a thorough review of these concepts.

2. Verbal: CR came back to normal (9/10) when I did not fiddle around with the stopwatch. I can assume that lack of concentration due to stopwatch (since there was no other means of distraction) would be the cause. So won't try to time every problem of CR on stopwatch. In any case, I did 10 CR problems in 14 mins (approximately 84 secs/problem), so time should not be my concern. Need to complete OG and then move ahead to other problem sets to strengthen this area.

3. Revision: Also found out I am bad at revising new concepts I learn, which makes me forget them easily. Need to take down notes and periodically review them until I thoroughly understand these concepts.

Was a long Balance Sheet. Guess I have covered qualitative aspects till now, so will move ahead to the Quantitative aspects.

1. OG DS: Did not resume OG DS. Will resume only after thoroughly revising some basic concepts. Did Combinatorics revision, studied Probability concepts. Need to revise and strengthen them.

2. Quant: Started with MGMAT Number Properties guide. Plan to move ahead and complete all the 4 guides for Quant within a month.

3. OG CR: Got back on track. Did 20 problems, got 4 wrong in first 10 and then only 1 wrong in next 10 (though the difficulty level is supposed to go up). Blamed lax attitude and lack of concentration. Should be good from tomorrow.

Plan for tomorrow:
1. Work starts again, so will be a bit constrained. Need to review Combinatorics and Probability. Also have to review number properties and continue with it.

2. 10 more OG CR Problems

3. A few articles for RC. Also need to try out AWA.

That's all...Will hit the sack now...

Probability

Read some basics on probability and did some CR problems. Got 4 CR wrong, mainly because I was trying to play with the stopwatch and calculate the time taken for each CR problem. I think that really had its toll on my concentration. A good lesson is just start the stopwatch, do 10 CR problems in one go and then calculate the average time. Realized how small things may affect your concentration.

Also tried out some problems on GMAT Club tests, but failed miserably. I think the reason behind this is poor preparation of Number properties. I guess I will have to revisit the basics again and try tests some time after next week.

Will go out to the swimming pool as temperatures are around 95 F (35 C)...

Luckily am not going out for dinner with my colleagues. Will be able to use another 2 hours for Number properties!

Combinatorics

Sat around till late (it's 1 a.m. here now) doing Combinatorics.
The MGMAT Word Translation Guide which has Combinatorics explains it in a very nice manner. I would recommend doing this thoroughly to all GMAT aspirants.

Tomorrow's plan is to revise the concepts learnt today, and learn more on Probability.
Also, need to continue with CR and start with sentence correction at some point of time.

Prep is going steady, as I enter the 12th day. I am really happy that this business trip has been productive from my GMAT prep perspective. Hopefully, I don't lose the momentum after getting back to Japan.

Balance Sheet June 11

I have realized that possibly Quant questions mainly about Inequalities, Combinatorics, Sets, Coordinate Geometry and Probability are going to make a difference. They will be the hurdle that will stop me from achieving 700+ score.

1. Revised translation of word problems, rates, ratios from MGMAT. Working on it.

2. 10 CR, got 2 wrong. CR is going really well.

I think I should be able to take a GMAT prep exam around next week.

Will continue with other topics of Quant tomorrow.

Balance Sheet June 10

Could not do much preparation today.

1. Did 10 CR and got all correct.

2. Worked on Word problems and found that is the trickiest part and need huge practice to reach a high-scoring level. Will slog now on MGMAT Guides to ensure PS and DS go well. Will change the course of action.

AWA, SC and RC will take a bit of a backstage now. Will focus on Quant.

That's all for today...

CR going well!

It was a great way to start the day!

Got a new contract going on the work front. So that instills a lot of confidence in myself.

And then when I sat for 10 CR problems, got all of them correct! I am not trying to brag here. I am just acknowledging the effectiveness of good methods mentioned in MGMAT guides and other places like GMAT Club. Thanks to these resources, I feel my MBA prep is going pretty well.

Need to strengthen my concepts for better score in DS. So will now sit down and do the MGMAT Quant guides.

Balance Sheet June 9

Really got quality time today to work on 3 different areas.

1. Did DS from Question 41 to 100. Unfortunately, I am still not getting enough correct answers. It is becoming an area of concern and I think I need to first look at MGMAT books for Math basics and then resume DS.

2. Did 20 CR problems too. Only got 3 wrong! Thanks to MGMAT CR Guide, I am slowly getting the hang of it. Hopefully, the good run continues.

3. Looked at AWA in detail. Read the sample argument and issue analyses. It was a good experience and will start working on this from this weekend.

Plan for tomorrow:
1. Revisit MGMAT and work on exponents, probability, combinatorics, sets and coordinate geometry. These are the trickiest areas for me in the whole Quant section.

2. Continue with another 20 CR problems.

3. Start with SC.

That's all for now. Looking forward to a good day tomorrow.

DS Problems

DS is really looking dreadful now!

I have an accuracy rate of only 60% in DS, which is really bothering me. Am really thinking hard about what is going wrong. Most of the times, I don't read the questions well enough and end up making silly mistakes. I need to get out of this habit.

Have set DS aside for the day, and will not work on AWA. Good thing is that I can balance my work and MBA prep well.

Need to be positive!

Balance Sheet June 8

1. Completed Error Log for Quant, and then overwrote the file with an earlier version. Lost all the data. Don't do this mistake.

2. Started with DS, solved and reviewed 40 problems. Left with another 130 to go. Should get over by this weekend.

3. Researched B-Schools and zeroed down on Wharton, Harvard and Booth. I know these are too high aims, but why not? ;) I need at least 720 + score on GMAT for these.

4. Looked at AWA and will start practicing that from this weekend.

Am dead tired!

See ya tomorrow...

AWA, B-School research and DS Strategy

Well, today was a great eye-opener.

First, I looked at AWA for the first time. Getting used to AWA is a task in itself. Not that I am not used to pen down my thoughts, but the very fact that I need to remember the template makes me pretty nervous. I went through the AWA template given by Chineseburned on GMAT Club and found it really helpful. I am already so much indebted to GMAT Club and its members, that I think I will be dedicating this blog to all of them. They all are such a great help!

Back to the templates for AWA. Went through both the templates in detail. The analysis of an argument talks first about properly defining the argument, then analyzing its weak areas and suggesting how they can be strengthened. This is more of an objective analysis, and you need to analyze the assumptions, the flaws in deduction and provide with better solutions to these weak areas. And your conclusion in the end should summarize your analysis.

Analysis of an issue, on the other hand, is more subjective. Once you restate the issue as seen by both parties, you can take a definitive stand, and then prove how your stand is correct. Of course, you need to support your point of view as well as prove how the other point of view is not logical. In the final conclusion, you need to state that though there is room for various opinions, you strongly claim that your stance is correct.

Phew! Was blown out in the first hour of the day when I read all this. I think I need to work on these pretty hard. And I have total of 30 minutes (that means 15 mins each) to handle these two questions during the actual GMAT. (Updated on June 9)

What followed this was a chat with my friend, Surya. He was very prompt to point out the bigger picture to me, about time-lines of MBA admission processes. I got my act together in the evening and got the information about Wharton, Harvard, Berkeley-Haas, Kellogg and Booth. Berkeley has only 240 students per class and I thought Kellogg was also another option I can drop off. So the best three are Wharton, Harvard and Booth, and if not these, then Kellogg, Berkeley and one more. Another important thing is I need to make sure I have at least a score of 720 on GMAT, to even reach the average level of GMAT scores in the classes of these B-Schools. Need to really slog my a** out in the coming two months.

Two months?! Yes, I realized the first rounds of admission processes for these schools start as early as September, and even if I apply in round 2, I need to put in my application by December 2011. This easily means I should be over with my GMAT by September or October, the earlier the better. So will now go full throttle to crack the GMAT!

Worked on DS in the evening and found out I was taking it too lightly. Not only was I getting quite many problems wrong due to silly mistakes, but I was not really trying to put in a linear equation for each option. Yes, it struck me that if we are able to create a linear equation (an equation with only 1 variable, preferably that whose value is asked) from either option, or both options or none, we are able to answer the question. Of course, no need to solve till the end, but understanding the problem and creating the equation is most important. Will use the strategy tomorrow.

Sorry for the long post. Will publish the balance sheet in a couple of minutes. Almost 11 now and really want to sleep...

Thanks Surya, for making me aware of the big picture!

Update on June 9:
I was wrong about the AWA. These are two 30-minute write-ups, meaning I will have 30 mins to handle each one of them. Life looks a bit easier now ;-)

Balance Sheet June 7

Forgot to wish my parents on their anniversary! Luckily I could use the excuse of being in a different time zone....

Bought the GMAT Club prep tests. One of the very few investments I have made in my GMAT prep. Will take the exams once I have ample time.

1. Completed OG PS Review. Realized that the problems are not as tough as they seemed. Need to brush up my concepts well now.

2. Read a few editorials on the Atlantic, NYT, etc.

Plan for tomorrow:
1. Continue with OG DS.
2. Try OG CR.

Out of energy...Sweet dreams to myself ;-)

Balance Sheet June 6

1. Reviewed OG PS from Problem 120 to 170. Quite a lot of silly mistakes like 24/4 = 8 ($%^#$%)!

2. Read a couple of long articles on New Yorker and Economist.

Looking forward to the changed strategy tomorrow onwards. Let's see how it works out.

Plan tomorrow:
1. Continue with OG PS Review. Try to complete by Wednesday.
2. Do a couple of CR problems. CR is really suffering due to lack of time.

Am quite tired now and will sleep as soon as I get back!
Catch ya tomorrow...

Change in Strategy

The day started as usual, but one hour after reaching office, I was working at full throttle. Even now things seem to be still out of control and hopefully the workload will be lower tomorrow.

As mentioned all through the Balance sheets and earlier posts, silly mistakes in PS are really irritating me. I can see now, during my review that how much I could have done better. And this means I genuinely need to put in more time and concentrate harder. 

And yes, my strategy should change from now on. I think it will be better if I solve 5 PS, 5 DS, 2/3 RC, up to 4 CR and 5 SC everyday. This will prepare me better as I will be on my toes every day. After all, the final exam will have all the sessions in one go, and I won't get 3 days to take the GMAT, section-wise :-)

I also need to work on AWA. I have simply not done anything at all for that. My plan is to complete PS review this month and start working on DS, while simultaneously tackling whole of Verbal section each day. I think this should be a good way to practice. The other reason why I started writing the blog was to get used to writing my AWA on the computer screen. Though Blogger has an automatic spell-check, I think I will need to turn it off some time later to ensure perfect GMAT simulation and start writing AWA on the blog itself.

Planning to use the coming weekend for more intensive study. Looking forward to a GMAT Prep test some time next weekend. I hope I am fully prepared in a couple more weeks, and another month should ensure that I perform really well on the practice tests...

Balance Sheet June 5

It's already June 6 here...12:02 a.m. in my clock...

Went out golfing, but did some review.

1. OG PS: Reviewed till question 120. Another 110 questions remaining. I can already see that factorials, exponents and some number properties are giving me a tough time. At the same time 80% of my mistakes have been silly calculation mistakes. I guess we all know that silly mistakes are a real no-no in GMAT.

Didn't do anything else. Will work hard on RC and CR tomorrow.

Looking ahead to a good week. Happy Studies!

Balance Sheet June 4

Quick recap of what I did today...

1. Completed all PS 230 questions from the OG. Reviewed first few questions from the 54 wrong. Need to speed up on reviewing as I have a hectic week coming up.

2. Need to also work on Verbal. I think I should start working on 5 Problems every day of each section. That may be a better and comprehensive approach.

Plan tomorrow:
1. Complete review of wrong PS questions.
2. Read MGMAT Verbal guides.

Just able to make it within the day. Will go out golfing tomorrow :-)

What a waste...and what a day!

I am definitely not in one of my best moods...at least was not...

Please don't take me otherwise...I am not angry at GMAT for throwing extremely difficult problems at me, nor am I mad at myself because I could not solve all the sample problems perfectly. I am mad that I spent half of my day walking around in a shopping mall with my colleagues. Or maybe I am being so obsessed by the "90th + percentiles" that I am not letting myself enjoy.

After an hour of good study in the morning, I thought that we were just going out for lunch and was pumped up to come back and continue where I had left. I realized that slowly I was getting hang of how to tackle the problems and wanted to get back from lunch ASAP and get back to my problem solving. But no! We went to a mall, where I ended up buying things and those who drove me there bought virtually nothing. Then again went to an organic shop, etc. My heart was screaming that I was losing time, with the whole day of golf lurking ahead tomorrow. Sorry to let it out here on the blog, but I thought I had wasted my day.

Enough of negativity. Positive things are that I am slowly but surely getting the hang of handling PS. And I completed the 230 problems from the bible (Official Guide I mean), albeit getting 54 wrong. 10 were silly mistakes and I am confident that after the review and a little more practice, I can really expect myself to perform well. That means, I will be able to work as per my plan of utilizing the Independence day weekend for practicing more and more.

Just one point about PS. Those like me who come from an arts/language background, we tend to get scared by numbers. GMAT exploits this fear and throws many numbers at us. DON'T PANIC! Divide the number by 2 or by 3 and you will surely reach something that makes sense. Simplification, Factorization are very very important things that I learnt in PS. I am constantly telling myself, it is not only the numbers that are important, but selection of the principle to solve the problem is much more important. As the books say, once you understand the problem, 80% of your battle is won. I really respect those who have written these books and are guiding people like me.

Way to go! Will put the Balance Sheet later in the day :-) 

Balance Sheet June 3

The day started with a pretty hectic first half and here is what I did today.

1. Did OG PS from 171 to 190 (in fact, continued till 194).The problems are getting real tough now and it's difficult to understand the question. Got 7 wrong and 13 right...Total of 40 wrong out of almost 200.

2. Read a bit from MGMAT RC guide. Should start solving problems soon now.

Have to ensure that I do a good job tomorrow before I go golfing on Sunday:

1. Complete OG PS

2. Review the mistakes. Also need to create notes for weak areas. Roots, exponents, probability, coordinate geometry, etc.

That's all folks. Will post my observations after I review the mistakes tomorrow.

 

Boa noite!

Problem solving...Math

As I am slowly moving up the OG PS, I have started finding it difficult to even comprehend the questions in one go. No wonder the questions did seem easy in the beginning and slowly have become quite tough.

I was able to solve 20 problems today and got 7 wrong. That means an amazingly low score of 65% correct answers. And if I am dreaming of the 90th percentile and above, I will have to make sure I don't miss on these questions. Especially because PS is more tangible part of the Quant section.

On the other hand, while reading MGMAT Guides on SC, RC and CR, I have realized that luckily, I have the awareness on the areas that have been highlighted and need to practice, practice and practice. Haven't yet started with actual practice of verbal and guess have to up the bar starting this weekend. For the time being, am looking forward to good review of Quant. and moving ahead to DS.

Well, the day has been good so far. Not much of hassles on the work front. Things seem to be quite comfortable. Also have a game of golf coming on over the weekend. Hopefully, I use my weekend wisely and continue at this pace. I also need to revisit the concepts of sets, probability, coordinate geometry, formulas, ratio and exponents, etc. (oops! did i list up all of them???) Just looked at he structure of this paragraph and realized that I started thinking about GMAT after the first three/four sentences. Guess it is a good sign!

Will post the Balance Sheet in some time...

Balance Sheet June 2

Here is the Balance Sheet for today...

1. Did OG PS from 151 to 170. Got 3 wrong, one of which was a real silly mistake. I have realized that out of the 33 mistakes, at least 10 could have been avoided. Need to increase my concentration and stamina.

2. Read MGMAT SC guide. Now I am simultaneously doing verbal while taking care of Quant. Read a passage on World Aids Day out of the Economist. I think I am doing pretty steady on RC and SC. The challenge will be CR.

Accounts Payable (tomorrow's tasks):

1. Work (of course!)

2. OG PS 171 to 190 (Try to push further coz work will be light tomorrow. Friday in US means Japan has Saturday and workload is low)

3. Read a passage and do some CR.

Accounts Receivable (what do I expect to gain today?):

1. Good food

2. Sleep!

That's all folks. Signing off for the day!

Thinking about the MBA

Hi all,

I had a great start to my day today, getting up late and reaching the company almost 15 mins late (now that is a crime in Japan, especially when you do that without prior notice....just kidding!). Rushed to meet my colleagues and apologized a few times. After that, was completely drowned in meetings till lunch, went to lunch and ate some Indian food.

Had 2 hours break before the next meeting, so did a quick-fire set of problems from the OG. Missed on just 1, so was really happy that I was able to get back to winning ways. Guess the whole set of problems focused more on mixture, ratio, number properties and geometry. Am thinking of doing another 10 problems before I end the day.

Now, getting back to the topic of this post. There are some questions I need to answer during this journey.

1. What school will I be going to? What will be my concentration?
Though I am pretty sure that I need to do a full-time 2 year MBA course, I need to seriously think about which school to join while working towards GMAT. I would love suggestions from friends, alumni, well-wishers and all those who can give me inputs. I think I will also need to think more deeply about my concentration. Till now I have been thinking of taking up Marketing/Strategy/International Business/General Management. I discussed with a few people and think that since my forte has been communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds, International business can be a good option. Of course, Marketing and Strategy is another set that I am looking at. I think the solutions will materialize in the process of studying for GMAT, writing the blog, reviewing the whole process and most importantly, looking at what I want to do in future by realizing and leveraging my potential.

2. The "Million Dollar (Hundred thousand dollar?) Question"! How much will it cost?
Another major concern in the MBA journey will be the cost of MBA. Looking at the top 20 B-schools, I see courses at Wharton, Stanford, Harvard, etc. all are in the range of approx. $ 80,000 to $90,000 per year (that makes it $160,000 and above for 2 years). I hope to get covered financially on this as it is impossible for me too rake up so much moolah (unless my company decides to pay for it!). I will read more on this, but just jotting this down as a point to consider during the journey.

I guess I can only think about these two points right now, and my mind is more interested now to take on the remaining problems in the OG. Will send out the Balance Sheet for today after I do that. Also need to read a bit on SC and DS.

Cheers!

Balance Sheet June 1

I am back!

Will not really elaborate much as I did in earlier posts.

The title of this post is self-explanatory, or I think so...

Quick recap of what I did today.

1. Problem solving: Did OG PS from 144 to 151. Counted my total mistakes. 30/151 is a high figure. Realized the huge effort I need to put in to PS & DS if I really want the dream 99th percentile.

2. Browsed through some inspiring GMAT debriefs on GMAT Club.

3. Started writing my GMAT and MBA blog, so that I force myself in action. I need to come out of the lethargic attitude that has developed from 5 years of corporate life. (Yeah, the sadistic me awakes when I try to motivate myself!)

4. Started with RC prep. Read MGMAT RC Guide and found out RC is pretty much similar to CR (not in the sense of R*C = C*R :-p Poor joke?).

The GMAT Verbal section looks at how you are able to analyze facts, assumptions and logical conclusions as well as their co-relations. I am really happy that I had Logic as an elective in my high-school. It really strengthened my base for looking for these various elements and their connectors in the verbal info that has been provided.

Tomorrow's tasks:

1. Work (I am working right now, so cannot neglect that)

2. PS (Solve from 151 to 170 if possible. Aim at completing PS by this weekend. 80 problems in 4 days)

3. Continue with MGMAT SC and RC guides. Read a few articles from one of the websites in my bookmarks. (Have bookmarked The Economist, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired.com and Scientific American. Scientific American is a terrific resource for science-related readings)

Looking forward to the dinner tonight. Guess we'll go for a sushi ;-) C ya around...

The GMAT Club...

Well, I am back...sooner than I had expected :-)
The meeting was cancelled, so shot off some reports, and back to the blog.

And before getting back to the blog, was browsing through this amazing pool of GMAT resources on the net. Yes, the GMAT Club!

First thing that really impressed me was the helpful attitude of the GMAT Club. The members and moderators are all extremely talented and in spite of that, have very strong values of helping others by sharing their experiences and resources. If at all I am able to get beyond 750 (I know how much of a lazy a** I am and also know my limitations), 85% of the credit will go to the GMAT Club for keeping me motivated throughout the GMAT journey.

Once you check out the link, you will surely get addicted to the GMAT Club. Since I managed a meager 540 on my first GMAT prep, I really needed some stories that would convince me of comebacks. I have read some great debriefs on the GMAT Club forums which have re-instilled confidence in myself. So I would encourage all aspiring MBA applicants to use GMAT Club, be it the iPhone apps, the resources contributed by GMAT Club members or the GMAT Tests (offered at a charge). The GMAT Club rocks and can change your perspective on GMAT preparation.

What has really impressed me is their tradition of offering free GMAT prep tests over long weekends (they had one over the memorial day weekend last week - May 28 - 30). I am looking forward to taking some tests over the Independence Day weekend (July 2 - 4) and will share my experience on those.

Slightly off topic, right now i am working towards completing all the problems in the Official Guide and then moving ahead to Data Sufficiency. I also have the Manhattan GMAT guides and am simultaneously working on strategies for Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Sentence Correction.

Another thing off topic :-)
For those who are completely new, here are some GMAT abbreviations. I recall I had problems in understanding the lingo (I still do) and want to help people who encounter them:
GMAT Test Structure:
AWA: Analytical Writing Assessment
1. Analysis of an issue
2. Analysis of an argument

Quant: Quantitative Section
1. PS: Problem Solving
2. DS: Data Sufficiency

Verbal: Verbal Section
1. RC: Reading Comprehension
2. CR: Critical Reasoning
3. SC: Sentence Correction

And now that I have already gone off-topic twice, I guess it is time to conclude the post. Needless to say, I will be back!

The GMAT and MBA...

Dear All,

It is great to start with this blog and share my experiences on the professional front. Of course, I am aware that there are tonnes of similar blogs on the net and I am not at all one of the most regular people to update my blog, but still want to maintain this blog as my diary that will help me reflect through my MBA process.

So first things first, how did i get into the whole MBA world?
Well, I have done masters in Japanese language and am currently working in an IT JV and selling Japanese IT products all over the world. I have always had interest in setting up my own venture (and I still have interest in that) and have wanted to get professional qualification for doing it. A friend of mine has already done his MBA from the US, and I was motivated by another American friend of mine to get into a good B-school. I also realized that after 3 years of working in a Japanese corporate, I did get the necessary exposure, but desperately wanted a change. Getting an MBA in the US was/is obviously the key for the door that will lead me to this change.

When did i start taking things seriously?
It was around the end of 2009 that I started looking towards doing an MBA. I quickly registered on The MBA Tour and decided to attend their events in July and September. It was great to attend the events and one of them matched me even to Cornell. At the same time, i participated in a business plan competition with my friends and was selected as one of the finalists. All this motivated considerably, but I had not taken my GMAT prep seriously and was still lazing around.

It was only after the catastrophic March 11, 2011 Earthquake in Japan (am yet to write a post on that...do keep a track of it on my other blog), that I started feeling the heat professionally. Not that I have any insecurity in my job, but just that I wanted to move out of the Japanese corporate world (promise you, as a foreigner it's tough to hang around here). Of course, another reason was that my work brought me to the United States (and I really love my company for giving me so much exposure) and my resolve to do the MBA from here strengthened all the more.

I think that is enough of background and I should now focus more on sharing what I am doing right now to help others avoid doing some mistakes I have done in the past. Of course, since my journey has just started, any comments or suggestions are surely welcome. I want to maintain this blog so that I can contribute my bit about my dream journey towards cracking the GMAT and doing an MBA from the US.

That's all right now. Will share another post once I am back from my meeting that starts in 15 mins from now. Hope I won't get drained and laze around after the meeting.

Cheers!