My MBA Journey

Took the GMAT, got a 760!

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:51:34 -0800

This is from my GMAT debrief post over on GMATClub. You can see the post and responses at http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-i-got-a-760-q48-v47-awa6-0-on-my-first-try-107409.html

I know there are many other debriefs from high scorers, but reading posts on GMATClub with suggestions on how to study helped me a lot so I thought I would share what worked for me. A little background on me, I’m a Software Engineer and native English speaker. Typically in school I’ve done well in Math and ok in English.

I decided back in June 2010 that I wanted to take the GMAT. I found a few example GMAT quantitative and verbal problems online and when I tried to do them I failed miserably. I knew I would have to get some study guides so I hopped on Amazon and bought a couple of the top rated GMAT prep books. This was before I knew about GMATClub and the books I got turned out to be terrible (and I haven’t seen them recommended her on GMATClub). In July I discovered GMATClub and began reading the suggestions and debriefs. Based on the suggestions here I purchased the following books:
Manhattan GMAT 8 strategy guides

Official GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition

Official GMAT Quantitative Review, 2nd Edition

Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition

Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition (so I would have more real practice questions)

GMAT Test Simulation Booklet (the yellow scratch pad)

I began studying in October 2010 and for the first month of study I went through the MGMAT strategy guides. I took notes in a notebook for each guide, made flash cards for any concepts I had difficulty on, and did all the practice problems at then end of each section in the guide. After completing the guide I had a two to three hundred flashcards. I would review the flashcard deck once a week all the way up to the test date and I gradually pulled cards out of the deck as I became confident that I would remember them. The cards covered formulas, number properties, verbal rules (ex: parallelism rules, what to check for subject verb agreement, etc.), and example problems. The MGMAT guides in my opinion were indispensable. I found them easy to read and understand and they covered all the background material needed for the GMAT extremely well.

After I completed the MGMAT guides I took my first practice test at the end of October. I opted to use the official sample test from GMAC and I scored a 720 (Q49, V39) if I remember correctly. I was pretty happy with the score, but I noticed I really struggled on DS and SC problems.

I spent the next 1.5 months leading up to my official exam practicing all the problems I could find. I would do about 5 problems at a time, timing each problem, and then go and review the answers/explanations. It was at this point that I started keeping an error log using a template I found on GMATClub, although I probably should have started right from the beginning. I found entering problems to be very time consuming so I only entered problems I got wrong or had a lot of difficulty with. Since I initially struggled with DS and SC I focused on those problems for a couple weeks. I found the problems in OG Verbal Review and OG Qualitative Review to be easier than the problems in OG10 and OG12 so I worked through the entire DS section of OG Quantitative and the entire SC section of OG Verbal which really helped me feel more comfortable with those type of problems. Then for the next several weeks I worked on all the hard problems I could find. I did problems from towards the end of each section in OG10 and OG12, the brutal SC from the GMATClub verbal SC forum and the Hardest Quantitative Questions tests from GMATClub tests. Going through all these difficult problems really helped solidify my understanding of concepts. Working with difficult quantitative problems also really helped me learn how to find the answer in the quickest way rather than trying to solve every problem using the normal approach (which can be time consuming). The final two weeks leading up to the test I went through all the problems I had entered in the error log and carefully went over the explanations for problems I continued to get wrong.

Also during my final month of study I took 3 more full sample GMAT tests (including AWA sections) so I would feel comfortable with the rigor of going through the entire testing process. On the sample tests I scored a 710 Q45 V42 (MGMAT), 730 Q49 V41 (MGMAT), and 760 Q51 V42 (GMAC) in that order (Q & V score may be off by a point or two since I’m writing from memory). For my final test I also followed a suggestion I had read on these forums and drove to the actual testing place so I knew exactly where it was and then drove home and took the test. Since I am an Engineer, I don’t have to write a whole lot so my AWAs left a bit to be desired. However I found chineseburned’s AWA guide to be very helpful and I did about 5 practice AWA essays outside of the tests to get used to writing essays under a time crunch again and examine what type of spelling/grammar mistakes I made when there was no spell checking.

Finally test day came around. I got a good solid 8 hours of sleep the night before and in the morning I did one last review of the flash card deck and a few sample problems to get myself in the right mindset (my test was scheduled for noon). I brought some water, snacks, and a 5 hour energy drink to the test center. Right before the test I took the 5 hour energy to keep me focused and alert during the test. The AWA section went well and I took the optional break to get some water. I had a bit more trouble on the quantitative section than normal since there seemed to be more problems than usual that hit my weakest areas, but I felt it went ok. Again I took the optional break to get some water and snacks since I was starting to feel hungry. Shortly into the verbal section I needed to use the restroom and towards the end it was getting pretty bad which I think may have caused me to move through problems quicker. At the end I got my score, 760 Q48 and V47. The quantitative was a point or two lower than my average on the practice tests, but the verbal was a full 5 points higher than my best on the practice tests. My guess is I was second guessing myself too much on the verbal section, and because I needed to use the restroom I just went with my first instinct. My suggestion would be to take a practice verbal test where you just go with your first instinct (especially on SC problems) and see if you do better or worse than normal.

Summary of Suggestions:
Use the MGMAT 8 strategy guides

Read chineseburned’s AWA guide

Take notes AND make flash cards

Go through lots of difficult problems. I got OG10 and OG12 since they have little overlap.

Get a good nights sleep the night before the test

Do some light reviewing and practice problems the day of the test to get your head in the right mindset

Use the restroom during the breaks if you think you need to go in the slightest

For the verbal section try a practice test where you go with your first instinct (although, do go with your second instinct if you are 100% sure your first instinct was wrong) and see how you do

Get the GMAT test simulation scratch pad so you are comfortable using it

Thank you GMATClub, the suggestions I found on here were a huge help in formulating a study plan and this forum was a great resource for difficult problems.

First practice test

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:40:00 -0700

It has been over a month since the last update. In the past month I have given two speeches at Toastmasters. While it was pretty nerve racking each time, I can already tell that I’m starting to become a better speaker. I’m pretty laid back so unsurprisingly the main areas I need to improve on in public speaking is vocal variety and enthusiasm. I’ve also completed team leadership training with Volunteer San Diego and I’m scheduled to lead my first project at Feeding America beginning in September which I am looking forward too.

During the past month I’ve continued to work through the MGMAT study guides. As I mentioned previously, there are 8 study guides covering different topics tested by the GMAT and each guide is at least a couple hundred pages. The way I’ve been studying is to read each chapter, take notes, and make flash cards. Once I complete a chapter I do the sample problems at the end, but I usually skip the sections that refer to questions in the OG (Official Guide). My flash cards are divided into different stacks based on topic and I usually try and review at least one or two stacks at the start of each study session. This weekend I finally completed my first run through of all the guides which is quite a relief since it seemed like it was never going to end. Up to this point the only problems I’ve been doing are the ones at the end of each chapter.

After completing my first run through the guides I decided to take my first practice test to see where I stood. I downloaded the GMAT prep version 1 program and took the first practice test. The GMAT prep program is a program released by GMAC, the creators of the GMAT, that emulates the GMAT test taking software and provides a timed sample GMAT test. I skipped the AWA (Analytical Writing Assessment) part since I was only concerned with benchmarking my score on the quantitative and verbal sections. In the quantitative section I was definitely a bit rushed for time and had to guess on a couple problems due to time constraint. On the verbal section I still felt the time pressure at the end, but I wasn’t forced to make any guesses due to time. Upon completing the test I received a score of 49 for the quant section and 42 for the verbal section with a grand score of 740 overall. I was very pleased with my results because they were better than I expected. Up to this point I haven’t worked through a whole lot of practice problems, which is why I didn’t feel well prepared going into the practice test.

After completing the test I decided it would be a good time to start my error log. An error log helps you keep track of which problems you get wrong or have trouble with, and optionally those you get right as well. This helps you review problems that you’ve had difficulty with in the past as well as determine which areas you are weak in. There are several templates for error logs available here. In hindsight I wish I had started keeping an error log even earlier. I think it would definitely have been useful to have kept track of how I did with the end of chapter problems in the MGMAT guides. After going through all the problems I got wrong or had trouble with on the practice GMAT, there were two areas that I clearly struggled with. A large portion of the problems I missed in the quantitative section were data sufficiency (DS) and in the verbal section nearly all the problems I missed were sentence correction (SC). I can’t say I’m that surprised since I could already tell these were areas I was weak in. I’ve begun going through and analyzing each problem I got wrong and trying to figure out why I got it wrong and how to solve it correctly.

Going forward I will need to formulate a plan to address the two areas I’m weak in. I also need to get a lot more practice problems under my belt, but that shouldn’t be a problem since I have OG10, OG11, OGVR2 (OG verbal review 2nd edition) and OGQR2 (OG quantitative review 2nd edition).

Studying for the GMAT

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:45:00 -0700

I’ve spent the last couple weeks starting to prep for the GMAT. I mentioned in my previous post I had started reading the “Open Book” available at GMATClub, but it was only really meant as a formula reference so using it to try and review was not very beneficial. I figured I needed to get some real review material so I loaded up on some books off of Amazon.

Here is a list of the books I got:
1) Manhattan GMAT (MGMAT) 8 Strategy Guides
2) Official Guide for GMAT Review 12 (OG12)
3) Official Guide for GMAT Review 10 (OG10)
4) Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review 2nd Edition
5) Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2nd Edition

The first book is a series of 8 review guides and the other 4 books primarily provide practice questions (with answers) from real GMAT tests. I’ve made it through the first 3 books in the 8 series MGMAT and I’ve found the guide to be extremely helpful. I would say it is a must have for anyone planning on taking the GMAT. So far my studying strategy has been to read and take notes, make flashcards for things that need to be memorized and take the end of chapter tests. After I finish making it through all the guides I plan on using the OG questions and the GMATClub Forum tests as practice. The plan is to take the practice tests and keep an error log to evaluate what type of questions I’m getting wrong and why I’m getting them wrong so I can concentrate on improving areas I’m weak in.

I’ve also started attending a local Toastmasters chapter. While I don’t expect it to help me much with getting into a MBA program (unless I take a leadership role), I expect it will help me develop as a public speaker which should be a very useful skill.

Lastly I’ve also began volunteering at a local foodbank (Feeding America) on the weekends. I hope to start taking more of a leadership role there to help develop my leadership abilities which is currently the main weakness in my profile. My current job’s career development path is rather slow (at least 4-5+ years before they even think of letting you start to manage small projects) which is why I’m focusing on demonstrating my leadership abilities outside of work (although I plan to keep my eyes open for any opportunities).

It is also worth mentioning I’ve changed my sleep schedule in order to fit in time for the GMAT. I usually sleep about 8 hours a day, but I’ve noticed in the past I also feel refreshed if I get 6 hours of sleep (although I’m more likely to be tired if I don’t hit that time exactly). I’ve started sleeping 6 hours a day which adds 2 hours to my day, ensuring I have time to study every day. So far it has been 2 weeks since I’ve implemented this and the only side effect has been being a little more tired throughout the day, but it hasn’t been that bad.

First Post

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:14:00 -0700

I’m using this blog to keep a diary of my journey to try and get a MBA. I’ve thought about getting an MBA for a while, but I’ve recently decided to really pursue this path. Since I’m currently at least a couple years from applying the blog will probably be fairly sparse for now, but hopefully it will help document everything I learn along the way.

Current Profile:

23 year old male.

Undergrad:
School: University of California, San Diego
Degree: B.S. Computer Science
Honors: Tau Beta Pi & Phi Beta Kappa. Graduated cum laude.
GPA: 3.709

Grad School:
School: University of California, San Diego
Degree: M.S. Computer Science
GPA: 4.0

GMAT:
Not taken

Employment:
I’ve been working 1 year as an entry level Software Engineer at a company that does 1/2 government, 1/2 commercial work.

Target Schools:
Stanford (first choice), Berkeley, Harvard

Reason:
My primary reason is entrepreneurship and I already have 1 failed attempt (tried bootstrapping a website as a side project). If entrepreneurship doesn’t work out I would like to get into strategy consulting in the tech industry or become a C-level exec at a tech company

I am currently planning on applying in 2012 for the class of 2015 which gives me about 2.25 years until round 1 applications are due. I feel my current weak area is leadership. I’ve had a lot of leadership experience in high school and in the classroom setting in college, but I know I need to continue to develop my leadership skills. I’m planning on joining Toastmasters which is an organization that helps members practice their public speaking skills. While public speaking doesn’t make me nervous, I do tend to stumble over my words since my mind is racing ahead of my mouth. Hopefully Toastmasters will help develop my public speaking skills as well as provide me with leadership opportunities.

Another thing I’m exploring to develop my profile is learning Bengali. I can speak the language a little bit, but my vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar leave a lot to be desired. Schools like seeing international experience and hopefully improving my Bengali to conversational fluency will help towards that end.

I’ve also started studying the GMAT by brushing up on my grammar and math. I got English Grammar for Dummies which I found to be very useful. I’ve already read it once, but it contains a ton of material and I know I will have to read it again. I’ve also started brushing up on my geometry and trigonometry. I’ve also started reviewing math concepts using the GMAT Club’s Math Book http://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-math-book-87417.html

I’m also hoping to start doing community service again. I did a lot of community service in high school (>500 hours), but that won’t help me unless if I resume doing community service. I was planning on starting community service again anyways, but now that I’ve decided to pursue and MBA in earnest, it gives me a little extra motivation.

Lastly I’ve been browsing the forums at www.gmatclub.com/forum/ to get an idea of what I should be doing and the best way to improve myself as a candidate.