Update June 21

I should say I am getting erratic again and this is not at all going to help my cause.

However, I think it's unavoidable because I just started off with my new job and have got work pressure.

This means life is going to be challenging again and I will be tested to the fullest. So bring it on!!!

My plan for June 16 was like this:

1. Revise consecutive sets concepts

2. Revise Absolute Values

3. Start with OG13 Problems

I started working on 3. OG Problems, because I thought I need to continue solving problems.

At the same time, I need to carry out revision of the problems I got wrong. I got an above average in Problem Solving and average score in DS in the diagnostic test this time.

Tomorrow or on Saturday, I will make sure I revise the concepts of problems I got wrong on OG13.

Back to solving some Verbal problems now :)

Update June 16

Ok, so I am back here, done with the exit procedures in my previous organization.


First, about what I did over last 4 days. 
I did completely revise Exponents. Also did some Kaplan GMAT 800 CR questions and got some of them right too. So that boosted my confidence.


What I am left with..in other words, the plan for today and tomorrow.


Plan for June 16:
1. Revise consecutive sets concepts
2. Revise Absolute Values
3. Start with OG13 Problems

I got a few resources to strengthen my kitty of books on GMAT. This will pressurize me to really finish these resources I have invested in, and also help me get some much needed practice and review.

That's it for now. Will update the blog in the evening :)

Balance Sheet June 11

Balance Sheet June 11
1. Revised Exponents from MGMAT Guide
2. Analyzed MGMAT Verbal mistakes. Review to be done.

Plan for June 12
1. Review MGMAT Quant and Verbal Questions
2. Revise Consecutive Integers Properties
3. Start OG 12 Review of hard questions

Balance Sheet June 10 and Plan June 11

Yesterday was kind of ok ok for my GMAT prep.
Could not totally complete identifying the weak areas in MGMAT Test, but got an overall idea of where I need to concentrate.

I also worked on a few plain math questions (number properties and exponents/roots) from Kaplan GMAT 800. With this, I can say that I am fairly getting an idea of my weak areas.

Balance Sheet June 10:
1. Identify weak areas from Manhattan GMAT Test (670) and GMATPrep (640) (done 25%, need to finish MGMAT Quant, Verbal. Also need to analyze GMATPrep Quant and Verbal from scratch)

2. Solve PS and Verbal problems from Kaplan GMAT 800 (done)

Weak areas identified:
Quant:
1. Number Properties
2. Exponents
3. Consecutive Integers
4. Averages
5. Absolute Values
6. Overlapping Sets
7. Probability


Verbal:
CR needs practice as I got all questions wrong. I think it was mainly due to lack of concentration. Will review today.

Plan for June 11:
1. Analyze weak areas: MGMAT Quant Test (final 7 questions), MGMAT Verbal, GMATPrep (640) Quant and Verbal
2. Update Error Log
3. Solve PS and Verbal Problems from Kaplan GMAT 800
4. Update Error Log

Have a great start to the week!

Updates for April and May 2012

It's 6:22 a.m. here in Tokyo and I am sipping on my tea, ready to start off with a session of reviewing my latest MGMAT Test.

Well, quick updates after the post on April 5. I lost more than 10 days in April due to chickenpox and resumed my GMAT studies around April 20, extensively focusing on SC. Had to return to India to be with my family around April end and finally got back to Japan by end of May. In the mean time, I had recovered from Chickenpox, lost my Grandpa and also changed my job. Right now, I am in this precious 1-week  honeymoon period before my next job starts. What better time to get back to the blog? ;)

The test I took yesterday came out of desperation after taking the new GMATPrep (again!) the day before yesterday. I got 640 (Q41 V37, including first attempt at IR) and was really frustrated at myself. First, the GMATPrep seemed to throw just the same quant questions at me which I had already faced in earlier tests, making me feel that I was not at all improving on them. In verbal, the story was no different, making me believe that I was really sucking at the GMAT. So I said let me see what Manhattan GMAT has in store.
It was great to see fresh questions on Manhattan GMAT and also a higher score (670, Q42 V39). This has relieved me assuring me that my meager GMAT preparations may be going in the right direction.

I am focusing on taking the Kaplan approach to solving quant problems, whereas Manhattan GMAT tests will be helpful to give an objective evaluation. Of course, since this is my third and last time that I will be taking the real test, I don't want to get it wrong and will work every day now to work towards the dream 700+ score.

Talking about the real GMAT, I think I am just a few steps away. Consistent study is the key. Focusing on basic concepts in Quant to bump up the score to 46 and getting the verbal score up to 40/41 will get me to 700. I need to make sure that I keep consistently hitting the 700+ score in practice tests so that I am confident when I take the real test. On the other hand, IR seems to be another new area that I need to prepare myself on. Will write in detail some other day.

For the time being, I will be analyzing my performance of the test today.

Plan for today:
1. Identify weak areas from Manhattan GMAT Test (670) and GMATPrep (640)
2. Solve PS problems from GMAT 800

Feels home after writing this post :)
Cheers!

Balance Sheet April 4 and 5

For the last two days I have been totally focusing on Sentence Correction.
Read Manhattan GMAT Guide and worked on the first three chapters. I have realized that the granularity that I should have looked at  is much more, perhaps a couple of levels deeper. And of course it means putting in more effort. I hope I will be able to work consistently on this and complete SC within the next two weeks.

Will continue with SC and solve a couple of problems tomorrow.

Balance Sheet April 3

Reviewed my GMAT Prep test that I gave on April 1.

Overview:
Quant: DS problems went wrong whereas PS was fine. However, there were at least 2 problems that I should have solved correctly. This meant Quant would jump from 44 to 46 or possibly 47.
Verbal: 6 SC mistakes!!! If only I got 4 of them correct, Verbal would soar to 42 (hypothetically). There were no RC mistakes, so the only area left was CR, which has improved to some extent as compared to the past.

The way forward is simple. Concentrate on Verbal, so that I pull my score up to 40+. I think with my current potential I can hit Q46 V42 which will eventually result in a score near 720.

Talking about GMAT Prep Tests, I think I will not use GMAT Prep in future as I have already attempted it almost 6 times. This means most questions simply repeat and give me a false sense that I "solved" those questions. So from now on, I will be focusing on GMAT Club, Kaplan and Manhattan GMAT Tests as my source of evaluation.

My plan for tomorrow is start with Manhattan SC Guide and make sure I concentrate on basics of SC.

Looking forward to this fresh innings of GMAT Preparation!

Back to GMAT and MBA!

I made sure I did not publish this post on April 1, just to avoid making it an April Fool's post :)

Well, what did I do since the dismal performance (according to my standards and aims) on November 5?

I took the GMAT again! I cannot call it a mistake, because I hit scores of 690 (Q46 V39) a couple of times on GMATPrep (damn! I should not be trusting GMATPrep now! Will explain the reason later..) and thought I could do it in a month's time. So I took the exam again on December 16, only to figure out a 10 point increase to 640 (Q44 V35). That was when I realized I needed to take a break :)

The new year was awesome. Took some time off and went on a short trip with friends and wifey, and then February was full with sis-in-law's marriage. Finally, I got time to resume my GMAT Prep from April Fool's Day, and the first test I took got me a 660 (Q44 V38). I think this could have been better and am working towards improving it.

Will share the balance sheet soon. In any case, I have resumed my studies with more zeal now :)

Cheers!