How did Harshit score a 740 on GMAT despite extensive professional travel obligations and acute preparation time constraints?
The answer, according to Harshit lies in a consistent and organized approach that focuses on fundamentals rather than shortcuts and tricks and thorough analysis of every question he solved. In this article, he shares his GMAT preparation strategy and how he managed to score 740 on GMAT. He also discusses his career goals and which business schools would best help him in achieving them.
Rajat: How did you start your GMAT preparation?
I started thinking of taking the GMAT in June of last year. After speaking with some friends who had already gone through their GMAT journey, I started my preparation with the Manhattan GMAT books. I spent around 2 months studying from these books. It is worth noting that my job requires a lot of travel and I would hardly get 30 minutes of study time per day while I was traveling. When I was at home, I could study around 2 hours per day.
After completing the Manhattan GMAT books, I started solving questions from the official guide. However, my accuracy was just 40%-50%. Moreover, I was not feeling very confident while approaching questions and this made me realize that there is something amiss from my preparation.
Rajat: How did you proceed with your GMAT preparation?
I joined GMAT Club and received an email about e-GMAT’s SC webinar. I found the focus on building fundamentals first rather than relying on tips and tricks very impressive. I realized that while tips and tricks may fail you in harder questions, but a process-based approach of solving questions will hold you in good stead throughout your GMAT preparation. I immediately purchased the e-GMAT course and as suggested, completed the master comprehension course first before moving on to the Sentence Correction module.
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The interactive videos through which learning and concepts are delivered are 4 times more efficient as compared to learning from books. This was a boon for me as I was studying in a time-constrained environment due to my professional commitments. Now, I was also able to pinpoint where I was faltering in OG questions.
Rajat: What was your GMAT Verbal and Quant preparation strategy?
After completing the SC and CR modules, I moved on to RC. I took a 1-month break in my Verbal preparation to prepare for Quant. However, on coming back to Verbal, I realized that I had forgotten a few concepts related to CR and RC. Thus, for CR I decided I would solve 2 CR questions daily. And for RC I decided to create custom ability quizzes on Scholaranium. This helped me in relaxing the timing aspect as initially, I took more time to solve RC questions. I focused solely on building ability as I knew my timing would automatically improve. This helped me keep track of my improvement as I could see my improved ability after each quiz.
Confused about how to measure ability with regard to the GMAT? Read this article to understand.
For Quant preparation, I started by taking mock tests to identify my weak areas. After reviewing and analyzing my quant mock test attempts, I focused exclusively on my weak areas.
Rajat: How did you utilize mock tests to find areas of improvement?
After completing all the modules, I took my first GMAT Prep mock, and I scored a 650. This threw me for a loop as I was not able to decide on booking a GMAT test date. I had read and heard that once you start receiving a consistent 700+ score on mock tests that is when you should go ahead and book a test date.
I refocused on my preparation. This time I came to know that the new e-GMAT CR Module was launched. I found the new module to be more interactive than the earlier one. And this gave me the push to keep proceeding with my preparation. I took an 800 score mock test and scored a V47. However, I felt this was an outlier score which was not representative of my ability. Thus, I purchased more GMAT Prep and MGMAT mock tests. I consistently improved in my mock tests from a V32 to a V45 in the last one.
Learn how to analyse mock tests by following the 2-step approach detailed in this article
In the last 2 GMAT prep mock tests I scored a 760 and a 770. This was when I knew I was ready to take the GMAT. I booked my GMAT test date for October and scored a 740. What I realized was that GMAT SC was continuously evolving. While Quant questions have a definitive Yes/No answer. Verbal is trickier. A focus on building good fundamentals and using a meaning-based approach to solve questions helped me immensely.
Rajat: What was the difference in studying from books versus studying from an online course?
Following are the 3 reasons why studying online from interactive videos is better when compared to studying from books:
- Some sections in the book are not relevant to the GMAT (For e.g. Powerscore CR bible, actually written for the LSAT)
- Videos are more efficient, and information can be retained longer as it is more interactive and involving.
- Though books have good 700-level questions, the CR questions in the e-GMAT verbal module are much closer to GMAT questions.
If you want to try out the e-GMAT course that helped Harshit score a GMAT 740, sign up for our Free Trial. We can also help you with a personalized study plan and give you access to quality online content to prepare. Write to us at acethegmat@e-gmat.com. We are the most reviewed GMAT prep company on GMATClub with more than 2100 reviews.
Rajat: So what are your career goals, what do you plan to do next?
My goal of doing an MBA is to build a career in the manufacturing industry. I am not interested in moving to finance or management consulting, though they are very lucrative career paths. I am still in the process of brainstorming the exact profile, but It would be something in strategy or operations management.
My long-term goal (10-15 years) down the line is to be a part of the manufacturing sector in India. I believe manufacturing provides a lot of employment as it is a labor-intensive industry. As compared to service-based industries that are not as labor-intensive.
Rajat: Here is my advice on the same
According to my understanding, there are 2 types of manufacturing profiles:
- Core Manufacturing
- Operations
For core manufacturing in the U.S, I would suggest schools based in Michigan such as Ross. For operations again, Ross is a good school. The bonus is Amazon recruits heavily from there. Other schools you can look at include UVA Darden and WP Carey. While WP Carey is not such a highly ranked school, it provides full fellowships to students.
Read this article to understand more about how to select your target business schools
I think with your differentiated profile and clear career goals; you can even apply for some higher-ranked programs. This is helped by the fact that business school recruitment has swayed heavily towards Tech. And since you intend to stay in manufacturing, your story has a clear narrative and makes a lot of sense.
Also, your startup and mentoring experiences are definite plus points which help your profile stand out. Make sure you highlight them appropriately in your resume. AdComs look for a history of achievement and highlighting these beside your regular work experience will benefit you a lot.
We hope that Harshit’s story gives you the motivation to not give up on your dream of acing the GMAT. In case of any questions please write to us at acethegmat@e-gmat.com.
