Introspection - what went wrong?

For last couple of days, I have been introspecting to figure out what went wrong. Clearly, my first attempt isn't worth repenting, because I knew I hadn't been prepared, but the second attempt was more satisfying and learning experience. I fixed the G-day only when I was confident of doing well. So, did I just have a bad day or I wasn't ready for the G-day? Did I have a false sense of confidence before the GMAT? It's the questions like this that I am trying to answer in this post.

As reflected in my GMAT score (Q-48, V-25), I didn't perform to my level in both the sections. Before the G-day, while analyzing the FLT scores, I felt that my Quant score can be anywhere between 49 and 51 and only my concentration level will determine whether I get 49 or 51. But, somewhere in my thoughts, I knew that I can even get meager 48 on a bad day. At the end of Quant section, I had a fair idea that I didn't do well. Having experienced the kind of traps that Pearson sets, it's very easy to fall for the trap if one is not alert. I think I must have fallen for such traps. I wasn't even worried too much about quant score. So getting 48 on a G-day didn't surprise me at all.

What surprised me was the verbal score. Critical Reasoning & Sentence Correction was my strength. I was almost certain to sail through the Verbal section on CR & SC. In the FLTs before the G-day, I was making only occasional mistakes in CR & SC. For most questions in the two sections, I was able to find the logical fallacy in CR and Grammar error in SC. Powerscore LSAT Critical Reasoning bible had certainly helped me. For SC, I had not memorized the Idiom lists and rather relied on finding the grammatical errors in the sentences. I was able to do it with good accuracy level.

RC was an exception. In the last 2 FLTs that I took before the G-day, 70-80% mistakes were in RC, with weighted Verbal score being 43+. Ofcourse, I scored 750+ in both the FLTs, 770 & 760 to be precise. My strategy in RC was to follow the mental passage map with MLIC's anchor phrase look-up approach. But, I wasn't confident in RC. This was one area where I could go wrong. I relied more on my CR fundamentals to answer tricky questions. So, RC might have brought my score down.

Finally, I didn't sleep the night before the G-day. I wasn't worried; I was excited. Silently, I was planning the party afterwards and was framing the GMAT debrief. In both my attempts, I noticed this change in me. Though I tried my best to get some sleep and later remain focussed during the test, I think this had a big impact on my GMAT performance. deprived of sleep, I wasn't at my best. Even the Red-Bull didn't work :-). For those who are yet to take on GMAT, I can not emphasize enough on the importance of getting sound sleep and remain calm before the G-day. This is the deadly mistake that one can commit.

Finally, there are few lessons that I got from the last G-days.

1. Don't neglect Quant - Getting a 50-51 in Quant is the key to 700+ score and MUST for 750+ score.
2. Focus on RC - Minimize the mistakes and have a well-practiced approach to RC.
3. Sleep well before the G-day - This time it will be a surprise G-day for me. Will treat it as another FLT and nothing more.
4. Practice more on SC/CR.
   

Wish me Goood Luck...!!!

The Journey so far..!!

My MBA preparation journey started in June-07. I already knew the GMAT format and had all the necessary preparation material. While exploring the application deadlines I realized that I didn't have enough time for 2008-2009 session of ISB/IIMA, so I took GMAT appointment for 18-July. The count-down had started... I had 45 days to prepare for the exam. As the G-day approached, it became clear to me that I wasn't prepared. I knew that I needed luck on my side to reach 680-710 score. On the G-day, I scored 640 (Q-48, V-31). Clearly, luck wasn't on my side, but more importantly my approach to GMAT was wrong from the starting itself. So, I started preparing again and decided to take on GMAT once I felt confident of reaching 750+ score.

It was clear to me that I needed to brush-up, or rather learn, English Grammar. I wasn't thinking critically. I relied more on my instinct while answering. Even in Quant section, I would rush and make mistake. So clearly, I needed a thorough preparation in all areas for the second attempt. I perpared a plan in Excel sheet (Yes, I'm in IT Industry!) and started preparation with full vigor. The first one month went in english grammar, my weakest link. This time I also corrected my approach. I wouldn't leave a question until I understood the errors in all five options. I wasn't prepared yet, but had certainly improved a lot.

Critical Reasoning was next in my plan. I came across an e-book on critical reasoning. This book helped me in understanding the different logic fallacies, difference between an argument and a factual statement, etc. I wasn't satisfied yet. I was still making many errors and more importantly found myself at loss while choosing the right option. Then, I got Power score LSAT Logic Reasining Bible. This is the ultimate book on critical reasoning! I read this book completely and solved every single question. After completing this book, I also did OG-11 CR questions and saw dramatic increase in % correct answers. I was doing Ok!

I spent the next two weeks for Quant preparation and practice. Towards the end, with good concentration, I felt my accuracy is good. This time, another difference in my approach was to actively participate in the discussion forums. The best forums that I have come across are prachi_pareekh_gmat (yahoogroup) and Gmat_May_2007 (google group) groups. A typical preparation day for me would start at 9-10PM. I used to spend the next one hour in solving all the questions posted in these two groups. I would work as per my prep plan for the next 2-3 hours.

By Sept. end, I felt I am ready to take on GMAT again. So, I took the appointment for 3-Nov and prepared another plan for the last one month. I bought MGAMT 6 full length tests. was taking FLTs every week and later on almost every alternate day. I was consistently scoring in the 710-770 range.

And eventually, G-day approached. I couldn't sleep the night before. But, this time I wasn't worried at all. In fact, it was the excitement that didn't let me sleep. The 5 hours passed..saw score of 600 (Q-48, V-25) staring at me!! I was devastated yet again!

Dealing with failure

My recent tryst with failure took me by surprise. I had gone to conquer the test, but 600 score had me grappling with low confidence and self-esteem. I felt as if I have been conquered by the test. It saddened me just to think that after 3 months of hard work this is what I could achieve. I didn't have energy to take on the test again. All I wanted to do was to take a break! Meet friends... Go out again... spend time with my little daughter...

And the last two months have certainly done wonders to me. I believe my mind had completely given up that day, or at least that's what I would like to believe. Either way, I certainly learnt a lot and would like to continue learning. Do I have a choice?