How I Beat the GMAT with a full-time job - MBAkarma
How I Beat the GMAT with a full-time job
GMAT is just another villain you have to beat
O boy.
Do I have a story to tell.
Prologue
’Twas the summer of ’09 and I was working in an organisation that, to say the least, did not believe much in two words- Work and Life.
No, I wasn’t actually billionaire playboy by day and dark brooding vigilante by night. But even on good days our condition was somewhat like this-
No Work. No Life.
During this time, one of my colleagues introduced me to the whole concept of GMAT, MBA among other useless things.
Somehow in the midst of all the madness, I was able to take a Sunday off. (Yup I had to take an off on a Sunday. Things were quite amazing back then.)
I took a mock GMAT test without any prep.
If you were waiting for a high-score-in-the-first-attempt story, sorry to disappoint, but I got a 480 (or a 460, who remembers the exact score after 10 years).
Point is the first score was bad.
Chapter 1- Who Am I?
Better than Einstein in school, but that isn’t saying much 🙂
Never scored more than 80% during high-school never scored less than 70% either. Basically I was the definition of ‘Average’. If you look up in the dictionary, you might find my picture next to the word Average.
Plus I pursued graduation in the creative fields. Very off-beat, the course never required me to touch any mathematical subjects.
In short, average student, no engineering background, no quant background.
Just great.
Chapter 2- The Warm Up
Frankly, I was not overwhelmed by the difficulty of the questions from the onset. Most of these were basic algebra or probability. Someone, like me, who did not have any advanced knowledge could actually take a realistic shot at such questions.
Though I fared poorly on the first mock test, I clearly remember feeling- ‘This isn’t so bad. I can solve these questions given time.’
‘Given time’, yup, that’s the trick.
I mean given time you can even beat Dormammu, right? What’s a little GMAT then?
Can you beat the GMAT in time?
Any Quant GMAT question in itself is not very tough. It can be tricky, but not tough. In fact if most ‘average’ students are given a single tough GMAT question with an hour to solve, most would be able to do it. The whole deal of solving multiple questions in a limited time and in an exam setting is a bigger challenge.
Verbal is another devil though. One needs to have a history with the language to be able to slay this section. Not exactly a scholar, but I have always been decent at the grasp of the English language, even though it is not my mother tongue.
My trick in solving verbal was very simple- eliminate the incorrect options rather than select the right one. Read a lot of English books throughout childhood, I may not be able name the exact rule violation, but I can point out a fault in a sentence structure when I see one.
Game on.
Chapter 3- Rules of the Game
I referred just 2 books over the course of my preparation. GMAT Official Guide and Kaplan 800. Referring too many sources, books or online material can lead to confusion. Select just 2-3 books or sources. Do not let too many cooks spoil your GMAT broth.
I had two rules while preparing.
Rule # 1 Answer ALL questions correctly.
Easier said than done, I became obsessed with solving GMAT problems. Initially I did not care about the time I took to solve questions, as long as I got them right. Any question that I got incorrect, I used to flag and return back to understand the fundamentals of the solution.
Rule # 2 Never repeat a mistake.
Slowly I started understanding the pattern behind each question. If you look closely, the types of questions on the GMAT can be classified into 4-5 buckets. Most questions are just repeat with the figures being changed. With enough practice you become like ‘Neo’ and start seeing the ‘Matrix Code’.
Identify the pattern in GMAT
Chapter 4- Practice. Practice. Practice.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. With your #@*& job how did you find time to practice?
I had begun enjoying solving the GMAT questions. Heck, it became an obsession. If I did not solve a few questions every hour, I’d start getting withdrawal symptoms.
I figured if I cannot find time at home, I will carry GMAT problems with me at all time.
Every day I would carry a photocopy of a few questions to the office and solve them in any breathing space that I got. Lunch break, meetings, commuting to work or if I was waiting outside the CEO’s office for an appointment. I’d sneak these questions like a junkie would cocaine.
(No I wouldn’t really know the first thing about cocaine. Honest.)
Every scrap of paper that came my way was filled with attempted solutions to multiple problems. And I mean every piece of paper. I once received a receipt in an envelope from my life insurance company. In the next one hour this is what the envelope looked like.
My GMAT Obsession
I have saved many such papers (and specially this envelope) as a souvenir for close to ten years now.
Go ahead and judge me.
Chapter 5- Building Stamina
My obsessive practice was helping me get most answers right, irrespective of the time I took to solve a question.
Since my practice times were random, it led to an unplanned and unforeseen benefit. I would be looking at a question at any arbitrary hour of the day and could be ranging from just one question to five questions at a time. In my urgency to solve a question before I was called upon for a meeting or something similar, my reaction time improved drastically.
I could now start recognizing the pattern of the question remarkably quick and started finding the GMAT as a game that I have to win. And that is what I truly believe the GMAT is. A game, with a set of rules, and whoever can identify these rules will be able to crack the exam easily.
Know your game
The challenge from here was to start taking mock tests. When I took a mock test I realized that I was able to solve questions, but was not able to hold my concentration for long. My mind started wandering.
I solved this problem by resetting myself with each new question. There is a slight lag in moving from question to question. I used this lag to close my eyes and pretend that I am sitting down to solve just one question. And then with a renewed attention I focused on answering the next question. It sounds silly, but zoning out and zoning back in between two questions, really helped me. Everyone has their own style, and this was my unique way of dealing with concentration lapses. I already had developed the skill of solving one question at a time; this further helped me as I was able to break down the test into smaller parts and was not getting overwhelmed by the length of the exam.
I started consistently getting 700+ in the mock tests.
Chapter 6- The week before
I planned to take a leave for the week preceding the actual test. The 2009 global recession had just hit, and my company was willing to let go of people rather than give them time off.
Well, left with no choice I literally had to threaten them that I was willing to resign if I did not get time off. My bluff worked and my manager gave me seven precious days to get in the groove before the exam.
I booked an appointment at 9 am for the next Sunday. The test centre was slightly over an hour’s drive from my place. I knew what my routine was going to be on the D-Day.
For the next seven days I followed the exact same routine. Get up at 6. Get ready by 7. Have the same light meal- a glass of milk, one banana and a toast. This would fill me up without making me feel drowsy. Shut myself in a room; take a mock test at 9.
7 Glasses of Milk. 7 Bananas. 7 Toasts. 7 Days. 7 Tests.
Bring it on.
GMAT? No fear.
Chapter 7- The D Day
The evening before the test I went for a walk and talked to myself. One of the very few times I have done this in my entire life. I spoke to myself reminding that it is just a test and what I need to focus on is one question at a time.
I talked.
I listened.
Totally weird.
Slept well the night before; it being a Sunday, my father was enjoying his day off. I had already bribed him to drive me to the test centre as I did not want the added stress of driving. Instead I wanted to use this one hour to get into the zone.
Exact same strategy on the test day. Shake myself off between two questions, fresh restart. Tiny break to have some water between the sections and back again. I was on top of my game. This is necessary to understand for all test takers. As mentioned earlier, the GMAT is like a game and your performance in a game also depends on the particular day. Are you in form, did you wake up on the right side of the bed and so many other factors.
Following the exact same routine for the last week had absolutely tuned my body clock and there were no surprises. Due to this practice I used to feel the most energetic between 9 to 12 in the morning. That helped me on the test immensely.
And then I answered the last question.
The test asks me for a final submission before it can show a score.
Here goes nothing.
The wheel spins.
And the score pops up.
Drumroll.
750.
Three months led to this.
I scored 730, 750 and 770 on the last 3 mocks.
So all things considered a decent score.
Three months of madness.
As I walked out the test centre manager shook my hand and congratulated me.
I was completely zoned out.
My designated chauffer (AKA Dad) is patiently waiting outside. He spots me from a distance.
As soon as our eyes meet, something comes over me and I do this.
Victory. In Style.
A Happy Ending.
Epilogue
It has been ten years. I still get goose bumps when I recall those three months.
And I frequently get to relive those moments with several applicants every year as now I run my own B School Admissions Consulting firm.
And take my word, GMAT is just the beginning.
Still have questions? Reach out to us on info@MBAkarma.com to get a free consultation on your career goals.
Fulfill your B-School Dream
