MADHUSIMTA BETTY

The idea of pursuing an 2nd MBA, had been put in my mind by a professor in IIMC during my training there a couple of years ago. But as Navneet put it, it was only in Oct last year that we seriously considered going for it. The meeting with Rashmi was important; it was sort of `the final push' and we joined ScoreLeap. My diagnostic test score was 560(35, 31). I could not complete the exam, that is, ran out of time, in both sections!! I knew time-management will be a problem for me as I had faced similar issues during CAT.

Once the classes started, I realized that I needed to really work on my QUANT (where I was the weakest in class!)Verbal was okay for me and luckily RC was my strength. For reference, I just went by OG 10 & 11 as well the ScoreLeap books.

As the classes progressed, I was quite impressed with Kalyan's single-minded focus on `score' rather than `knowledge'. Another factor is discipline, and without the pressure put by Kalyan for `homework' & the famous `impositions' , I wouldn't have made the extra effort needed. Also, the class size being small, we all got a lot of personal attention.

Meanwhile, had a small hiccup in the form of an accident. Had to defer my test date. Pressure increased in office as I was off-action for almost a month....deferred the exam again to 2nd April.

I gave my 2nd diagnostic & got a 540. The same story…could not complete the exam.This really got me down. And after 2 months of classes and hard work, my score actually dipped! Met up with Kalyan. According to him my problem was obvious, I was not skipping!! His told me that at this stage, DONOT bother about score but look at using all strategies and (esp. for me) complete both sections, even if it meant skipping more than required.

---(In the meantime, Navneet gives his GMAT and got a 680. He does everything right in the practice tests, even hit a 760 and then on the exam day DOESN'T do any of those!!.

My learning from his experience was not to change strategy on the exam day. I think the difficult part is trusting Kalyan when he says that "skipping' works. Its easier to skip during the Preps, but on the exam day, one gets greedy and it becomes more difficult to implement these strategies. ) My main challenge at this juncture was to complete both the sections every time I give the Preps. At the same time I had to make sure that I don't compromise on easy questions. So I had to learn to skip but not recklessly.

Kalyan's advice paid off, as in my next diagnostic, I got 710(46, 41). My QUANT was still a concern, though. 36 to 46 is okay but I need to at least hit a 48.Went back to OG 10 & 11. Revised all Qs I had got incorrect and practiced a few more. Gave more tests and the scores started improving. My QUANT would range between 47-49 & verbal 40-42. Overall 700-730.

(Navneet gives his GMAT again and (we…uew!) hit a 730…relief, relief ) 2nd April not too far away and nerves refuse to settle. Rush to Kalyan and he says:please SKIP, maintain RC standard and best part: its okay to be nervous D-day arrives. I tell myself: I am going to approach this as I did my last Prep.

AWA: goes off fine. Just followed the format.

QUANT: Starts off fine. Skipped the one's I couldn't do! Made a couple of silly mistakes...aargh! ! Could have done better!

Verbal: Skipped the initial SCs or just did them very fast. Unfortunately the 4th RC was in the last 7 questions. Hence, I decided to reserve ample time for the last RC even if it meant getting less SC right. Overall Good (or so I thought!!).

Score: 700 (48, 38). By my standards, it's a good score in QUANT & bad in Verbal-quite different of what I was expecting! 85 percentile in both sections and the over all an okay score.

A big thank you to Kalyan and Rashmi for all the support and guidance. GMAT is the most `different' exam I ever faced and I needed their expertise to be able to crack it. As I had posted in another blog, GMAT is a proper `management test', more depends on self-management than on knowledge and this is exactly what Kalyan focuses on. Here's wishing the aspiring test-takers all the very best,

Cheers
Madhu