Sathu haru ho..

As you all know there are lots of GMAT books in the market.... but what is the ideal one to buy and start preparing? what is the best GMAT book? Also, please share your experience with GMAT.. like time took to get ready for exam, score and stuffs like that...

have a great day..

best place to start for GMAT the local library..
check some books from there.
I am looking at Cracking the GMAT by Princeton Review.
Pretty good, more on general tip side than content.

Shabi et al,

GMAT is not difficult.
The material is easy.

What is difficult to most is to muster sustained focus and concentration to do the exam within the given time period.

It's always the other things (i.e. pressure, worries, nervousness, panic attacks etc) that distract the brain, and people do not do great
on GMAT.

As such, GMAT is NOT an intelligence test, but a test of 'self-discipline' and focus under timed conditions, if you will.

Here is a strategy used by someone who scored 750.Based on that friend's experience, here is what I recommend:

1. Set aside two hours a day/six days a week for practice for at least a month, if not more. Make sure that you have ZERO distraction. Having Ani Choying Dolma's music ("ful ko aankhama . . .") playing softly in the background reportedly boosts your practice scores . . . this is what I have been told.

2. Time yourself, and do as many problems as you can.This friend
used Kaplan's "GMAT 800", the one that supposedly has the hardest
problems.

3. When doing problems, use logic and analysis whenever you can -- that is to say, even GMAT verbal is not an English exam per se, but
an exam of logic and reasoning. From your public library, you can borrow an LSAT book, and practice the LSAT verbal reasoning test for GMAT verbal (argument),and that should give you extra practice for GMAT verbal.[So long as you get a subscore of 40+ on quant and can present a strong TOEFL score, that is, assuming English is not your mother tongue, you should be fine for most b-schools.]

4. Keep a neat log of all your mistakes and errors (nicely labelled and all that) and study them again and again. This is important. GMAT is all about NOT making mistakes. Obsessing over your mistakes prior to the real exam helps you make fewer errors on the real test.Also, keeping tracks of mistakes sharpens your pattern-recognizing ability.

5. Start every practice session by reviewing all your past errors
and mistakes, and understand why you made those errors.

6. If you have access to a white board, use it to solve problems or to understand/finetune the concepts. There's something about the human brain which helps it retain things better when they are written up on a white board for all the visual muscles to get worked up about! Use this to your advantage.

7. Get enough physical exercise a day. People do worse on exams when they are under stress. Exercise helps keep out stress.I recommend plenty of laughter and smiles.

8. At the end, don't stress too much about the exam. GMAT is only one small part of your application package. If you have strong math and english grades from your previous courses, they will help somewhat offset a relatively low GMAT score.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.

oohi
ashu

Thanks Ashu... muri muri dhanyabd! I will try to follow your suggestions...

Shabi, honestly, i just opened one of the oldest book (2002) and am doing the assessment tests.... but i've just won that official review and GMAT 800 in ebay..so, it must be one the way... besides, kaam pani khojdai chu ..so, i have not been able to focus on GMAT yaar.. I am planning to do it at least by November.. (but i dont know)...keep me updated hai mero pyaro sathi shabi .. hehehe.. once i really get started, i will update u as well but now.. i am ashamed of myself... ...

goodluck others...

Ashu and Jhilkay Dai,

I thought i am not gonna do much unless i invest some money bought book worth $150 as refered in beatthegmat site. Found this site very useful.. Did my math review in the first day but most of the time i was busy gathering material.

I will do good and i am starting to feel some sense of strength and direction in me.. at least now i know i have the direction, material and goal.

Ashu, it was great of you to give such a valuable suggestion, i will remember it as much as i can .

Take care and keep on posting !
SHABI

Shabi, any progress?... i'ven't received the book yet yar...

Hey Ashu,

have you taken GMAT? If so, which b-school did you go to?

Hi Jhilkay,

I got the books yet to come .Thoda thoda padna suru garae starting to sit about 5 hrs daily on average it happens to be 3 hrs..CR of Kap800 and OG ko siddyioo. I am revising math concept and sentence correction side by side.. just a week ta vayo ni... lets see where i'll reach.

What about yours ...?? Pls update me

Shabi

?

Jhilkey,

K vayo............. no update

Hapako ki ky aho

Shabi

Hi all - i been preparing for this for few months and scheduled to give it next weeks, i see most of the tips reg study material is given, i can surely help on other stuff ... for a start visit kaplan website and mba.com, u'll get loads of info ...

also, there a free full length gmat test (timed) on kaplan and also 2 free full length gmat test on mba.com once u sign up as member (which is free). i suggest make use of these towards the end jus before u sit for the test ...

yeah and most imp .. gmat is jus a score to evaluate ur quantitative skills so u can handle the rigor of the program .. they want a more rounded candidate with right kind of backgorund, demonstrated leadership quality, with a vision like wht u intend to do with ur mba, how ur past exp is going to complement it and stuff ... all these stories need take a lot of time and introspection and infact u may find it harder to come up with a story on this than prepare for the test.

for eg - (from a columbia b-school grad) - admission committee wud rather give more pref to a guy who has exp of setting up his own company then someone whos worked for 6 yrs in an investment bank ... so the point is get ur story right ... start introspecting

good luck all

also - dont get intimidated by the glossy hype that only the extraordinary ones get into top schools, there are alwyas few outstanding ones who are made to apprear in their website or brochures .... i have even seen mediocre ppl get into ivy-leagues ... just coz they had their stroy right .... dont undermine ur story ... tht will sell ...

North Point ,

Hai ni timi kti vo prepare garna lagako ?? Ani ni din ma kti jati padayou timi lye.. i ma referring to OG,Kap and Prinston book, has been 3 wks but havent tried yet any of the simulation tests as i am still reviewing maths . I am planning to give at the end of sept and its too near....... ma k garu

Shabi

Shabi - if you giving it in sep i suggest u really get into it, GMAT exam is really no big deal, if you can put ur head down and grind it for 4-6 weeks you can still get good scores (note - work on pacing/timing). But applying to the best is a much bigger process where they need a story.

If you giving in Sep, I suggest you spend atleast 3 hrs a day and grind it on weekends for like 8-10 hrs ... side by side think abt which schools to apply that match ur background and work on a story.

heres a little insight - according to Ben Baron, a VP with Kaplan who holds his MBA from Harvard and who worked on Harvard Business School's Admissions Committee, MBA admissions officers want candidates whose applications essentially tell them: "Here's why I want to go business school. Here's why I want to go to your school. Here's what I plan to do with my degree. These are my strengths. These are my weaknesses. Here are some things I'm most proud of. And I hope you accept me.

as you speed up on ur preparation ... feel free to ask me, drop me email at jim_d@rediffmail.com as I rarely visit sajha

Shabi!

How r u doin'? It looks like your bit pressured.... take it easy, keep up with ur practice.. u'll be fine.. Sounds weird huh? suggestion from a guy who haven't even started looking at the books in depth...I really haven't focused on GMAT yet.... I have been interviewing with few companies and just waiting for the follow up.. will see how it goes... Once I get reply , i will start focusing on GMAT.. ..

North Point your suggestions are great... keep posting hai....also, let us know the schools ur applying for (if it is okay with u)...

Good Luck guys!

Hello Shabi, I hope your preparations are coming along well. I agree with almost everything that northpoint had to say in his post. However, here is a little story about my admission process. After much hard work I received a 700+ GMAT score, I have tons of extracurricular activities, volunteer work on my resume, my statement of purpose was also good (if I may say so myself). However my undergraduate GPA was just 3.5. I had applied to a couple of top ranked programs in my field of interest and other good programs. Two top ranked programs rejected it. I received a response from both of them about a month ago, one said my GPA was not close to what they wanted. The other school said, our admission standards for international students are very high. Very rarely do we accept international students with lower than a 3.8 GPA.

I am in a good program right now, but definitely not in my 1st and 2nd choice schools.

That is not to say that just because my experience was this way, everyone else's is. I am sure if you come up with excellent statements of purpose and already have a good UGPA, you will have no problems whatsoever.... Afterall GMAT is just one component of your overall application.
Wish you all the best!

Shabi, exam diyou ta?

khoi... GMAT padna lie gyaab nai bhaye jasto cha ni..?

update pls...

What exactly, it is meant by good statement of purpose??
How it should be like other than good english???

Thanks Sillygirl,

Jhilkay, yup you are right I am into GMAT.. finished the math portion and also SC of verbal part.. almost done wiht CR too. I have date on sept 28 so had to do. I am enjoying these days......... and my schedule has been at least 5-6 hrs of study only...!! I badly want to join the college of my choice...of bay area.

Rest is all fine. You too start.........hey better late than never........whats your target score mine is at least above 650 lets see what happens

I checked a lot the recent updates coundnt find any so though you all too started hibernating :D

SMILE ALWAYS AND ENJOY GMAT
SHABI

I am crying these days... I haven't started the gmat at high pace yet but just a beginning is killing me... Can anyone give an idea of solving those DAMN CRITICAL REASONING QUESTIONS please..........update please! Sabi i will contact you once ur done with ur exam...

goodluck!

shabi, how did you do on your GMAT?