The day I took the GMAT again!!

Well, it all began in January 2008 - my GMAT preparation started. After dilly-dallying for almost 9 months (yes, you heard that right - 9 months!!!), I finally thought I should give a shot at GMAT. Booked the 1 pm slot on 5th Sept 2008. What happened in the exam is another topic of discussion. At the end of it, my score - 680(Q-48, V-35). Though my scores may not be the best, I was on the top of the moon when I returned. The reasons - (a)I had not prepared that well, (b) I literally thought I screwed up my exams, especially when I started sweating in the examination hall, (c) I was never confident of touching that score. Hence, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted.

Well, after that, my MBA appications went the way they went. Applied to 4 colleges - interview calls from 3 of them. Rejected by one, waitlisted by the others. Considering the market situation at that point of time, I backed out. I did what I felt best at that time.

Days and months went by. I did a lot of personal changes in my life in the meanwhile. Worked hard in office, got some recognition at work, got involved in business, became a part of Landmark education, worked for NGOs, etc. Then came the point of deciding how to go about my MBA application this season. Got started with my research all over again - met college representatives, spoke to a lot of students, started college research, and all the stuff people usually do for abroad MBA applications. Now, a very important question - do I re-write GMAT? If yes, when? What if I score lower? Will that negatively affect my applications? What impression will that leave on the admissions committee? Do I have the confidence to start all over again? Can I do this????? Wow!! I made a wreck of myself.

Then I thought - What if I am able to score higher? What about 740? What if I am satisfactorily able to manage my study and the application at the same time? This is my last and the best shot at improving my candidature, and guess what - this is the easiest. Do colleges only look for high GMAT averages? Or, do they even look for candidates who do well, who think they can do better, and actually back themselves to give another shot. At one particular MBA fair, I posed this question to a college representative - how do you view lower GMAT scores? You know what seh replied - if you have an average score, and you look at improving it, and god forbid, you are not able to do that - this just means that you are someone who is looking to aim high, irrespective of the results. The important thing is to try - not pass all the time. In my opinion, this is so very important - after all, MBA is all about managing businesses - if you fail once, it does not mean you are out of the game!

Anyways, there goes my GMAT preparation again. This time, I wanted to make sure I am totally committed to it. I made a plan, got all resources ready, and started my ride. First week, just going through the basics. Second week, started with the MGMAT tests (got 6 complimentary tests with the Manhattan SC Book). Got a score of 610 in the first test - Disheartened, broken, brusied. Got up, dusted myself, dived into complete analysis of the exam. Very important and funny part of GMAT practise tests - exam for 3 hours, analysis for 6 hours. Well, I did a thorough analysis this time (unlike last year). Barring some silly mistakes, I realised that I was not able to translate my studying into correct answers on the exam. Even though I got many answers correct during practise sessions (untimed), under timed conditions, I was scampering for help. This was my biggest downfall.

Went to the next test - 650. Saw some improvement - again dived into the analysis. I loved the analysis part, because there is so much to learn that I may not have learned during the practise sessions. The best part was that now I could easily recognise the areas I went wrong in. Another test - 680. Wow!! I was happy with this - steady progress. Again the same round of analysis. Now my confidence level was really increasing. I was feeling better about the test; I was able to visualise a 700+ in my actual GMAT exam. 2 days later - another test - 680 again. Not bad!! Lets go on - next - 720 !! I was delighted to see a 700+, 5 days before my exam. Now I was really hooked on to the GMAT ways. So much so that I was able to predict the next move of the ecam, and was ready to tackle it heads-on. I was beginning to like this game. Next day - 720 again. Ok, that's good. Atleast I haven't dropped.

1 day before my GMAT - I wanted to take the GMATPrep this time to get used to the format and the screens of the actual GMAT. Since GMATPrep is known to throw up a lot of expected questions if you have taken up this a multiple number of times, I took this a little lightly. But, to my surprise, almost all questions were new. They were perhaps put into the questions pool based on actual GMAT exams in the last one year. Anyways this got me pretty ready for the actual thing the next day, when I would have faced a lot of new questions. I ended up getting a 700 on this test. I was freaked exhausted by the end of this. I had given almost 5 full length practise tests in the last one week. Now I was just looking at attacking the real thing - I was confident I will actually touch a 700 on the real thing.

11th Oct 2009 - 9 am - GMAT take 2! I got ready, blah blah, and reached the centre at 8:30 am. Got inside the room, finished the formalities, etc. AWA section - argument topic was pretty decent, not much of a problem. Issue topic was a little dicy, but at the end of 30 mins, I was ok with however I did. Quant section - to my surprise, all easy questions. Within no time, I was at question number 10. I was surprised with this - last time, GMAT gave me a horrible time with quant. Then, as they say, it was nothing but a lull before the storm. Real bouncers followed after that - I was somehow able to manage a few, ducked for a few, and slammed a few others. At the end of quant, I was not really tired. I was just waiting for verbal to begin. (Because, as I noticed in the practise tests, my verbal scores increased considerably - started from 30->35->38->38->41->41). I really enjoyed solving verbal questions in my mock. On the real thing, I thought I was going well in verbal. Some long, winding RC passages blew me off. Some tricky CR's and then some good SC's I was good so far; at one point of time, I thought I am doing well on this section. Also because, I saw 2 bold-faced questions, which generally appear when you do well on the test. Then suddenly - I lost complete concentration, my eyes were just not able to focus on the screen, I was so tired that I could not even sit on the chair, the temperaute in the room increased, I just wanted to get up and run away. I had a large chunk of questions remaining. Took a deep breath, closed my eyes, concentrated on my breathing, and decided to move on. Could hold on to that for a few more questions, but not completely. I finished the test with more than 4 mins remaining (which is a good amount of time for an exam like GMAT). Just scampered through the remaining formalities. I so badly wanted to see the score - in the hope of a 7 in the hundreds digit (yes, in spite of the verbal mishap!). But alas - 660 (47,34). I couldn't believe my eyes - I was just hoping the digits would change by themselves. I wanted to yell out to the centre guys and ask them to check with the system. But that was not to be. I was heartbroken - how could this happen? I was so well prepared, much much better than last time. I am a 720 guy - I would like to believe that. I returned home - broken, shattered, but decided never to give up.

Here starts my new journey - with this first post of mine. My life is in for a changes now, and this shows in my blog name. This blog is going to capture all my moments of MBA application - the highs and the lows. I do not know whether anybody would like to read this blog, but this is something I will continue until I get my first successful application call, and maybe beyond that. A low score on the 2nd attempt on the GMAT is not going to pull me take my eyes off my goal. GMAT is nothing but a filter; I am going to make sure my profile stands out irrespective of my GMAT test scores.

This is a moment of transformation for me and for my entire life!!!!!