A 4 min read

A common misconception among many GMAT aspirants is that native speakers are strong in Verbal. GMAT verbal is more about meaning and logic than vocabulary or grammar. Of course, you need to have a strong understanding of English grammar, but using logic is essential to acing the GMAT Verbal. Adam Livak scored a V26 on his first GMAT attempt and a total score of 490. Devastated by his initial score, he decided to work on a better strategy and a fool-proof plan to ace the GMAT. Leveraging e-GMAT’s ‘Verbal Live Prep’ course, he managed to score a V35 and a total score of 700.

Adam eventually pursued MBA in healthcare management from Vanderbilt University. We had a chance to interact with Adam to document his GMAT preparation experience. Read below to understand the gist of his strategy for 210 points score improvement on the GMAT.

GMAT 700 – 210 Points Score Improvement in 60 Days of GMAT Preparation Time
	First Attempt	Second Attempt	Third Attempt
Overall Score	490	530	700
Quant Score	32	37	49
Verbal Score	26	26	35
GMAT Preparation Time	30 Days	90 Days	60 Days
Preparation Source	MGMAT books	MGMAT books, Magoosh Online prep	e-GMAT’s Online Courses

To ace the GMAT on your retake, read this article on 5 step strategy for a successful GMAT Retake

Adam’s 6 step strategy for a 210 Points Score Improvement – GMAT 700

1. Identified his weak areas
2. Stuck to his personalized study plan
3. Followed a proper sequence of learning
4. Concept files -> Application file -> OG files -> Scholaranium
5. Maintained an error log to understand why a particular answer is wrong or right
6. Practiced questions on Scholaranium to improve accuracy

For any strategic advice for GMAT or MBA Admissions, write to us at acethegmat@e-gmat.com. Take a free trial to get unlimited access to concept files, live sessions, and practice questions.

Rajat – Why don’t you tell us about yourself in terms of your educational and professional background?

Adam – I am from Buffalo, New York and I have had my education here itself. I have an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. I have primarily worked in the banking industry but currently, I am working in marketing for a startup. I want to work in Healthcare management. As this is a very different industry as compared to my current one, I think an MBA would open new opportunities for me in the healthcare industry. Therefore, I started preparing for the GMAT.

Rajat – You scored quite low in your first two attempts – 490 and 530 (V26). Did you use any online preparation courses or books to prepare for the GMAT?

Adam – Yes, I did. I joined gmatclub first. There I got to know of different study resources for GMAT. I purchased the MGMAT book series and also joined Magoosh’s online preparation course. I went through all the books of MGMAT and gave MGMAT mocks where I consistently scored in the range of 650-670. However, I didn’t feel confident about my preparation and was shocked to see the score of 530 in my second attempt. Despite being low on confidence, I was expecting to score around 650.

Rajat – So, what prompted you to opt for e-GMAT?

Adam – I knew about e-GMAT before my second attempt, but I assumed it is not for me, as I am a native speaker. However, after my second attempt, I decided to do some research on e-GMAT. I registered for e-GMAT’s free trial and attended a free webinar on Critical Reasoning. The pre-thinking method for solving CR questions really made sense to me. I was really in need of the right approach and methodology to tackle the GMAT. I decided to enroll in your Verbal Live Prep course, so that I could have access to weekly live classes.

Rajat – How did learning from e-GMAT’s interactive videos compare with learning from books?

Adam – Interactive videos are more powerful tool compared to books. I retained more information and took less time to understand the concepts as the videos were interesting to watch. Moreover, I followed a personalized study plan developed by e-GMAT’s team.

I followed a proper sequence for every topic. I first went through the concept files, then the practice files, then the OG questions and Scholaranium. This ensured a progressive learning for me.

Rajat – How did e- GMAT’s Scholaranium help you?

Adam – Scholaranium helped me judge my true ability in Verbal. It helped me identify my weak areas. I also maintained an error log. I would review every question and understand why the right option is the right one and why the wrong option is wrong. Scholaranium made me confident about my preparation. After a while, I could recognize patterns in questions and could easily filter out the wrong options. I developed an implicit understanding of which option is right and which option is wrong.

Rajat – So, what would you advice other GMAT aspirants? There is so much that they can learn from your experiences

Adam – Do not be afraid to go through all the verbal concepts more than once, if you feel the need to do so. Use the video concepts and recordings as many times as needed!

Everyone has specific needs for effective preparation. For me, I needed interaction, videos, and hands-on learning content, and e- GMAT’s Verbal Live Prep is the go-to course for these.

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