Wednesday 8 June 2011

Cracking the GMAT


Saturday was a very important day for me.  I knew I’d taken a big step in my life. A step that is going either take me forward, or make me rue the day I made this decision.

I’d decided to pursue an MBA.

I didn’t make this decision on Saturday though; this was decided by my family ages ago. Probably when I was doing my O Levels. But unlike most stories you hear about families deciding their children’s futures, I’m not against it. (Well I’m not against the actual decision, is what I mean. I really should try and be clearer).  Not just that, but it’s a prospect that’s actually particularly appealing to me. I’ve always wanted to pursue management – why settle for an MSc when you can have an MBA?

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Before I can even dream of starting this new journey (in Harvard maybe? It could happen!) I have to face (and ace) the GMAT. And from past experience (SATs, what else?), I knew that this was not going to be easy.

The problem is, I’m hopeless when it comes to English. I can speak the language (good enough for people to make sense of what I’m saying anyway), but actual grammar is something I’ve never properly studied. I happened to look at a sample piece of Reading Comprehension (hereby RC) on www.beatthegmat.com (hereby BTG), and I’m a little embarrassed to say that I didn’t even get to the end; my brain just stopped understanding, and hence my mind just stopped reading.

Thankfully my math is a little bit better. Engineering probably helps there.

About six months ago though, I took a sample test from an unofficial site, since I was a newbie at this GMAT thing and knew nothing about BTG. I scored a 740. Ever since then, my target has been 750+. Guess I won’t know if that’s a reasonable target until I take a practice test from an official source.

So why was Saturday important? Well, it was the day my books arrived. My faithful companions for the next three and a half months, as I try my best to master the test (I rhymed! Too bad that isn't going to fetch me a 800). Ordering the books itself required a huge deal of mind work; after reading countless reviews by both students and experts, I finally own the following:

GMAT review:
The Official Guide for GMAT Review

GMAT quantitative (math):
GMAT Quantitative Review
Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guide: Number Properties
Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guide: Word Translations

GMAT verbal:
GMAT Verbal Review
Powerscore Critical Reasoning Bible
Veritas Prep GMAT Reading Comprehension
Manhattan GMAT Preparation Guide: Sentence Correction

I’m going to take a lovely break and tour Europe for the next 15 days. But when I come back, that’s when it’ll all begin for me.

Wish me luck!

9 comments:

  1. Good luck with your GRE. Hows your prep going?

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  2. MRI!
    I know exactly how you feel!!! Hang in there. I know that you will do the best that you can! :) And just you wait and see! You will surely get that MBA! :) Remember when I was studying for the GRE? I didn't score as AWESOME as I wanted to but I'll still be studying for my MA! :) With a little faith and studying, you will do great!!! :)

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  3. Natalie:

    Thanks so much! Yep I read through your posts on the GRE. It's good to know that it's not the end of the world if your score is bad, nor does it mean you need to let it get to you. I hope it goes well. *fingers crossed*

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  4. My suggestion:

    Keep out both Powerscore Critical Reasoning Bible and Veritas Prep GMAT Reading Comprehension.

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  5. I love the Powerscore CR Bible! That's what I'm going through now and I think its great.

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  6. Nice Post... Cracking GMAT exam is never easy. So for those aiming to pursue their management studies in a Top B-School should score 700+. Because all top B-School never give admission to those who score average in GMAT exam.

    Best Regards
    Online Sentence Correction

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  7. Cracking GMAT exam is not easy. So for those dreaming to pursue their MBA from a prestigious B-School should crack GMAT exam with good score. There are three difficult section of GMAT exam. So first of all you should do time management for all these section. There are Online Courses are available for GMAT exam. e-GMAT offer most comprehensive courses of GMAT exam. They are the best in the industry. With their course, you can increase your verbal score by 8+ points and GMAT Verbal Section score by 4+ points. The best thing is that they offer 25% of their course FREE of charge.

    ReplyDelete

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