Four days to go!

I could not study much today. Just browsed through a few SC and CR problems.
Have got another 60 odd hours to prepare for the G-Day. Have taken off from work and hopefully things fall in place on November 5.

Planning to take MGMAT CAT tomorrow and Kaplan CAT the day after. After that, I will be only focusing on strengthening some key concepts.

Hoping that the last spurt would take me beyond the dream 700+ score.

4 days to go...

Test Center Visit and GMAT Prep

Visited the test center in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. I was a bit confused initially, as the entrance to the Test Center was closed and there were no signs of people inside the building. However, I could talk to the receptionist through the intercom and enter the center building. It is just like any other center, with the biometric identification and all that. Since I will be taking the Test on a Saturday, yesterday's visit was helpful because I got to know the procedures that are followed on Weekends to enter the building. I hope nobody goes to the Test Center on G-Day, already stressed out, only to find out that the doors to the Center are not opening!

Started off the day slowly today. Read about the drop in number of applicants to B-Schools in 2011 and also how that has forced increase in numbers of students accepted in top schools. The detailed article is here.

As the speed picked up, took another GMAT Prep. In fact it was a repeat of an earlier test in which I had scored 640. This time, there was improvement, but the score read an identical 690 (Q47 V39), which I had got last week.

Will focus on not losing the momentum over the next four days. Will take one full Kaplan CAT and 1 GMAT Prep before I take the exam on Saturday. Hopefully, things will work out positively.

5 days to go... 

GMAC Videos and Test Center Visit

Just went through a couple of videos by GMAC. These are amazing videos to lower your stress during the build-up to the G-Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kK-QuuZeuw

The other video on the page shows real test-takers giving some much-needed advice and counseling. Really good way to start the build-up to the test.
http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-day.aspx

Since I am an Indian, working in Japan, I need to make sure I have a passport as identification proof at the test center. Along with the passport, I need to take 5 names of schools to which I will be sending my test scores (Wharton, Booth, Harvard are already fixed. Am thinking of Kellogg and Cornell to fill up the 5).

Solved some 15 700+ questions from GMAT Club Quant set. I will now head to the Test Center near Koujimachi, Tokyo. I am quite excited already!

Will put in updates at the end of the day now.

6 days to go...

Last Lap towards the G-Day!

I am left with last 6 days for my G-MAT. Will be taking the exam on November 5 and hopefully reaching somewhere around 680+, as that is the minimum score I need for getting into the B-schools I have aimed at.

To be honest, I have a pretty good feeling about the exam. Maybe it is because I have started focusing well over the last couple of weeks, and also due to an assuring 690 on the GMAT Prep last weekend. The bottom-line is I have been able to concentrate better over the last two weeks and have consistently solved questions with higher difficulty levels.

A few thoughts on the process till now. It was at the end of April that I started with my prep, got 540 on first GMAT Prep. Then May was totally dry. June was the time when I could really concentrate. July, August and September were really full of trouble due to some issues on the professional front. And frankly, it was only in October that I found my rhythm. I would like to say that I am yet to peak and I hope the best performance comes on the G-Day.

Now a bit about the exam prep. Since I have been told that the most important part is SLEEP, I have avoided business trips over the last 3 months, and also made sure I don't get in any irregular schedules. Have taken 4 days off before the exam to reinforce my preparations. Will visit the Test Center tomorrow to make sure I am comfortable about the directions and location of the Test Center.

I think what GMAT expects from you is just an ability to use the basics of Math and Logic to solve various problems. 600-level problems have just once concept, 650 have two concepts and a twist, 700 have three concepts and a twist, and so on. The key is to keep your cool over the 4 hour Stress-Test. That is what I will be focusing on.

Will keep updating my status on the blog over the next 6 days to make sure I am focused on my cause!

6 days to go!

Balance Sheet October 24

Today was a day to take things easy. Lazed away whole day, and just studied in the evening.

Reviewed the problems that went wrong. Will need another review to make sure I am clear on my weak points.

Plan for tomorrow is to continue the GMAT Club Tests while continuing to work for Verbal. The next 7 days will be mostly dedicated to improving my Verbal scores, though I think there can not be much to be improved now.

All and all, a 710/720 (Q46/47 V42) is something I should be aiming at.

11 days to go...

GMAT Prep Debrief: October 23

I am actually living the process of sustained improvement :)

Yeah, after a couple of months of uncertainty, lots of fluctuations in scores, was able to inch forward to the dream 700+ score. Got a 690 (Q47 V38) and missed the 700 by a whisker. I am sure it was due to the sluggish performance on Verbal that I missed the dream 700+ score. At the same time, I should also say that since it is the 7th or 8th time that I took GMAT Prep, I should not be really banking on GMAT Prep scores, but should be looking at Kaplan or some other CATs to get a realistic score.

Quant started off well, and I could see a few questions on coordinate geometry and probability pretty early in the test. Was stuck up on probability, but on the whole the section went pretty smooth. As far as Verbal was concerned, the sentence correction questions were quite different, and 1 RC was also new. But I believe I made some unforgivable mistakes and that is the reason why my Verbal was so low. I need to put in most of my time strengthening my Verbal concepts so that I can score at least a 40 on G-Day.

Nevertheless, this result is very encouraging. I was kind of doubting myself when I had repeatedly ended around 640 last couple of times. I can see myself peaking now, and need to study consistently to keep the momentum going.

A pat on my back, my mission is excellence :)

12 days to go...

Revising Concepts and then a Full CAT!

That is the plan for today.
I was faced with a dilemma some time ago. Do I go ahead and churn out some more problems or do I revise some weak concepts? I decided for the latter, mainly because of two reasons. The first one being the Full CAT that I will be anyways giving later in the day. The second reason was because I should not be burning myself out 10 days away from the G-Day. Bottom line is to stay as fresh as possible to take on the challenge.

Plan for today is 2 to 3 hours of study for Quant, revising Coordinate Geometry, Combinatorics and Probability. Then moving on the the Full CAT.

I did not realize that the blog has already crossed over 100 posts. That makes it an average of 2 posts every 3 days. Need to make sure all this effort doesn't go in vain!

12 days to go!  

Balance Sheet October 22

Completed Verbal Question Set from GMAT Club Tests. Also solved 1.5 Quant Sets from GMAT Club Tests (64 problems).
Was not able to do the revision on Combinatorics, Probability and Coordinate Geometry. Will do it in first half tomorrow before taking the full test.

On the whole, I am getting more and more comfortable with tough questions now. Things are not looking as bleak as they looked earlier. Retaining my concentration all the while is going to be the key on test day.
That is the reason why I am trying to simulate test conditions to the extent possible. Look forward to the score tomorrow.

13 days to go!

Balance Sheet for this week: October 19 to 21

Since it was a working week, I tried my best to come back home and work on at least 1 Quant set from GMAT Club. I was successful in doing that for last 3 days. At the same time, I am also working on CR while I am commuting. Awesome 3 days and I am slowly feeling confident about my prep again.

Plan ahead.

1. Solve another Quant Set tomorrow, revise concepts of Coordinate Geometry, Combinatorics and Probability. 

2. Take a full Kaplan Test on Sunday.

I am sure I am slowly working towards my goal. Consistency is the name of the game!

14 days to go!

Balance Sheet October 17 and 18

Was totally glued to OG CR during my commutes to and from the office. I think I solve almost 25 problems of CR.

Have also started with GMAT Club tests. Completed the Math Question Set 1 and now on Set 2. Have 25 sets to do, add to it the 2 Kaplan CATs and Kaplan 800 Questions. Need to make sure I complete at least a few of those this week.

Maybe it is the panic, but I find myself more alert in answering questions now. Hope I am able to crack the exam on the G-Day!

17 days to go...

GMAT Prep Debrief: October 16

With barely 3 weeks to go for the exam, panic sirens have started ringing. My score yesterday was a meager 640 (Q42 V37), identical to what I had achieved way back in June. That means, almost 4 months of patchy studies have got me nowhere :(

Well, some positives were that I took the full exam, was not scared of any questions (and guessing answers) whatsoever, and have started feeling the heat of the occasion (probably) at the right point in time. The exam was a full 4-hour, 3-session exam, and I thought I managed to do fairly well, considering my verbal score peaked instead of falling down, showing that I had sapped my energy. I just want to see a 4 to 5 point increase in my final scores (Q46 V42) and will be working towards that over the next couple of weeks.

I need to be more frequent with updating the blog, so that I can keep a track of where my studies are going. All in all, I was not able to follow my time-table as well as I could, and I should say that unless I really give my 100% to GMAT in the coming weeks, the 700 score may be a bit difficult to achieve. Kind of low on morale, but I believe this should get the best out of me now. Looking forward to working consistently over the next two weeks.

Plan forward includes:
1. Revision of MGMAT Guides: Go through key concepts this week of October 17 to 22 and take exam again on October 23 or 24.
2. Complete focus on materials like Kaplan 800, GMAT Club Test, etc. This will give me the much needed practice.
3. Review of Official Guide 12th Edition. Am already onto this.

Now that the going has gotten tough, the tough should get going!
Will update the blog every day to share the progress.

18 days to go...  

Plan for today: October 16

With just over 2 weeks to go, I will be taking another GMAT Prep test today. Plan to take the whole 4 hour test.

Will revise some main concepts of PS, DS, CR during next couple of hours. Will try to simulate actual exam conditions this time.

On the whole, I should say the prep has gone well. Need to make sure that I am in best mental and physical conditions to handle the stress of the exam. I am feeling that my energies start fagging out in the last one hour of the test, where I am not able to handle the Verbal section well. I need to make sure my stamina lasts.

Will post a debrief by the end of the day.

19 days to go...

Updates on Prep and Wharton Admissions Reception, Tokyo: October 6

I am embarrassed that my resolve to update the blog had weakened over the last couple of weeks and now I am visiting after almost 2 weeks of procrastination. I think I should not waste my time sulking about the past and should talk about what I have been up to for the last two weeks.

First of all, was at the Wharton Admissions Reception, Tokyo on October 6. Met the vibrant Alumni of Wharton and got inspired with the whole outlook towards MBA. I should say my Essays will now be much balanced as I go on the lines of self-reflection and think about why I need an MBA and also why Wharton/Booth/Harvard MBAs. The most important thing that struck me about Wharton was their offer to allow Alumni revisit B-School once in every 7 years, free of charge, and take up particular courses for 7 days to brush up their knowledge or learn something new. Another aspect was also that the course itself will be changing, with more flexibility introduced in the 1st year course starting second semester. Seems exciting!

Apart from that, I spent the last weekend at work. It was very frustrating to work over a long weekend, sacrificing my holidays, but I hope I can compensate myself by taking off just before the GMAT. I still should not forget that initially I planned the exam on September 22, then pushed it to October 11 and now will try to give it on November 5. 

I am almost done with the SC, CR, PS and DS sections of Kaplan Premier. I should say Kaplan was an eye-opener. If MGMAT Guides gave me the basic concepts which I needed to tackle GMAT Problems, Kaplan gave me the test taking strategies and confidence to handle any question. Though I should say that I am yet to gain the confidence to handle the full exam, I am much better prepared at test-taking that what I was a month back. In the mean time, I took a full-time test last week and scored only 540 on Kaplan, but since I know the level of my preparation and Kaplan's level of difficulty, I am yet to give up on the dream 700+ score on actual GMAT.

Long post, but I should sum up that last two weeks have been really good as a buildup towards the test. Looking forward to next two weeks and the G-Day on Nov 5th!

20 days to go...

A very good Sunday!

When I get more than 8 hours sleep, I call that day a very good day :)

Work has been hectic and last week was one of the most hectic weeks I experienced during my professional career. Higher responsibilities make things complex, so that is what I am experiencing right now.

Back to business...Worked in a very concentrated manner to brush problem solving basics and did Kaplan CR Quiz. Also started with the PS Quiz, but could not get enough time.

Good thing is that I am now in the groove both from test preparation and test taking strategy perspectives. I am much more confident about the concepts that I would see in the problems, and also about the ways in which I can tackle the problems. I am really getting higher sense of comfort now.

A good day is about to end and I can see a long weekend coming my way. So will continue the good work. Woods are lonely, dark and deep, but I think it's just the right time to sleep ;-)

33 days to go...