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Tuck submitted.

29/11/06

Good luck to me! I'm just waiting for the interview call now...

*sigh*

I hope I get in. Best case is that Tuck announces they want to double the class size and want to increase international diversity. Then I might stand a much better chance!

But there is no rest fo the wicked, or the MBA applicant. I've got Fuqua and Yale to keep me busy!

Edit

Edit edit edit! Whoa! I'm back to reworking my essays for Tuck.
Given my relatively low GMAT score, I have to present essays that will shine like a lighthouse at midnight.

:(

I think I'm editing the 6th or 7th edition. And once I'm done with Tuck, I've got to do Yale and Fuqua. I guess I'm not going to be doing much for the next month.

The voices in my head are saying retake... retake.... retake... retake....

I'm pretty damned sure that if I had more resources and spend a solid month on verbal alone (including RC/CR) I am able to push my score up to 700....

Retake? Y/N

:(

And....

And the GMAT beat me.

And it beat me viciously.

With a great big stick.

:(

Q47(81)
V34(71)

Total 650

Verbal was a disappointment.

Nevermind. I shall take comfort from the fact that every school says

"While we take the GMAT score into consideration, it is not the only factor that we look at. We are looking at applicants as a whole package, more than just their GMAT scores."

I so hope that is true.

Not only is there no space for self-doubt in MBA applications, there is also no space for self-pity.

GMAT - 1 day b.

GMAT Prep gives me 630. At least I'm consistent although my verbal seems to fluctuate between 27 to 40 points. Very confused about that.

I hope I fluctuate on the high end tomorrow.

Quant is quite stable at 45 points maybe I can push for 47 points by not rushing.

I aim for at least 680. I hope.

Argh.

This sucks.

Good bye people.

I'm off to have something nice to eat and dream of electric sheep.

GMAT - 1 day

In movies, at the end of a countdown, when the dead line comes; you will see a collage of actions shots, sometimes with a voice over saying what was accomplished. Unfortunately, as the GMAT comes tomorrow, I don't really have a voice over in my head saying what I've accomplished.

Lessons I learnt from preparing for the GMAT.

i) Get Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction - not just for the explanation, but for the 6 online CAT tests that come alone with the book.

ii) Use flashcards as early as possible - spend 30 minutes to 1 hour a day starting from 3 to 6 months before the GMAT. You want to internalize everything on those flashcards.

iii) Use the Official Guide. It's the official guide! How can you not use the official guide? While we're on the Official Guide, download the official GMAT Prep for the 2 sample CATs as well.

iv) Kaplan is a grey area. A lot of people use Kaplan, I used Kaplan. The 2 sample CATs are a lot harder than other sample CATs. There are a bunch of sample questions (by topic) on the CD that comes along with the book. I think Kaplan is a decent primer to the GMAT. Only thing is that the sample CATs don't have answer explanations.

v) Practice. You don't have to practice 24/7, just do maybe 30 - 50 questions a day on the weekdays and 1 CAT a day on the weekends.

What I wish I had done

i) That I had done more sample CAT tests.

ii) That maybe I should have bought the entire set, for Manhattan GMAT, or maybe even just the Problem Solving book.

iii) That I had used GMAT forums to help find the solutions. I did my prep like a hermit.

What I feel I've accomplished.

i) My maths skills have improved. A lot, since from day one. When I first started preparing for the GMAT, I thought calculators were allowed (I obviously didn't read the GMAT properly). I scored lower while using a calculator as compared to now, when I'm not using a calculator.

ii) My verbal skills have improved. Although, not as much as I would have liked. I've gottten the basics down, but am lacking a bit on the high level stuff. I'm hoping that I make my verbal mistakes on questions that aren't counted.

Am I ready?

No. Not ready. Give me another month, or maybe longer. But school deadlines are around the corner, so it's time to bite the bullet and hope for the best.

GMAT - 2 days

Kaplan is a real pain. Not only did I do badly, but I am also unable to get the answer explanations. Bah.

:(

I scored a 550, an improvement of 20 from my last score of 530. Well, At least my score didn't go down :P

I have no idea how some people can score 700+ on the Kaplan.

2 days before the exam. I think I'll take a GMAT prep test tomorrow. Have a few drinks.

For now, it's back to the flashcards and Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction.

I think I'm going to eat steak for Monday night dinner.

I need a good meal! :P Something like a last meal. hah.

GMAT - 3 days

Manhattan GMAT up to 640. Even though I messed up badly on the first 15 quant questions. Hope that messing up doesn't happen during the real test. Damn it.

But up to 640 is a good sign. I want to run a Kaplan CAT, but I don't have enough time. I think I'll do a Kaplan tomorrow and see whether I've improved from 530. I hope I have.

I'm just 80 points short of my target of 720. Hmm.

GMAT - 4 days

4 days 4 days 4 days!!

I can feel myself approaching everything like a GMAT question. Soon, I will peak on exam day and be one with the CAT! Muahahah. The GMAT will do nothing but assure me of my greatness.

Alternatively, I'm going to die and get a sub-600....

:(

I heard if you do enough GMAT sample tests and questions you dream of it too. Literally.

After GMAT comes, financial aid, recommendation letters and essays. Although I will not apply if I score less than 680. (less is acceptable for statistics, money, time and distance)

I wish they let me bring my iPod into the exam center. I hope Starbucks is open at 9am.

GMAT - 6 days

Instead of revising my past questions and completing at least 2 CAT tests, I did a handful of Data Suff. and read through flashcards. I feel so unaccomplished. Flashcards are good though, provided you dedicate a little bit of time everyday to read them.

I think that above all things, the GMAT imposes consistency in your life. If you're inconsistent in your revision, it's going to be so hard because there is simply too much too cover.

If you're in Singapore, are you going to catch Phantom of the Opera at end-March/early-April 2007? I've booked tickets to watch it. Not very cheap either. I think the tickets are a bit overpriced. :(

6 days

GMAT - 7 days

Ah. The last week of prep for the GMAT has started. Will I be able to do a good job and hopefully cut 700 and above? I don't know. Prep today was normal, did a short round of quant. Made 2 careless mistakes. I hope I have the presence of mind on the day to read everything carefully.

I think there's too much GMAT on the brain when I start to dream about GMAT scores.

:(


-----

I have realised that after 1 1/2 years of saying that I want to do finance and be in the finance industry and after 4 months of saying that I want to do corporate finance, I've begun to believe that I say. I turned down IDC because of several reasons,

i. my family wants me to continue in finance (I know it sounds dumb, but yeah)
ii. I've actually come to believe my nonsense about wanting to go into corporate finance.

I wonder whether it was the intelligent thing to do?

GMAT - 8 days

Each day that creeps by brings me oh so closer to the GMAT.

And I still feel so unprepared.

Redid a bunch of Manhattan GMAT questions, I would say there was improvement over the last time I did them. So that's good. Wasn't really planning to revise today as I originally wanted to go to the gym. However, I was discouraged by the heavy rain... so, what else was there to do other than to sit at home and look at the GMAT.

I wonder what happens if I screw up the GMAT, but have award winning essays. With my strange work experience/background, would I stand a chance of getting in anyway?

:(

GMAT - 9 days

I managed to push up my Manhattan GMAT score to 610! It's a great relief comparing it with yesterday's score of 530. Just maybe, I might be able to do it after all!

Hopefully, the next stop will be at least 650, then a 700 before the actual GMAT.

While in the midst of preparing for the GMAT, I realise that even if I don't take the GMAT, I will be a better person. At least verbally and maybe in logical thought. It has been a long and tiring trip. And at the end of it all, I may not do too well. Regardless, it has been interesting.

Well, back to the question banks.

I have 1 Kaplan CAT exam
4 Manhattan GMAT CAT exams
And I could reset a GMAT Prep exams

Yup. Enough to give me an exam a day with one day for rest.

Onward ho!

GMAT - 10 days

No practice yesterday due to certain commitments.

Practice today on the Manhattan GMAT gives me a combined score of 530. Manhattan GMAT pretty different from Kaplan and GMAT Prep in their questions. But Kaplan and Manhattan both give me the 530 neighbourhood, at least I know I'm consistently bad....

*sob*


I think I'll hit myself with another round of Kaplan after this....

Woohoo!

:(

Edit:

At least Kaplan gives me some good news. I'm hitting the high notes with my quant now. Wish I could say the same about my verbal. Does it take time to get to know a certain prep's style? I guess that affects you score, so if you're jumping from Manhattan to Kaplan to Princeton, they each have their own methods question styles, so your score is likely to fluctuate or even drop everytime you try a different school.

GMAT - 12 days

Nothing achieved today as I was busy talking it up with IDC. If I don't do an MBA, I wouldn't mind working with them. However, I'm torn between staying in the finance industry and moving off to IT research.

I have to make a decision by Monday and let them know whether I'm in or out.

Hmm.

Manhattan GMAT account up and running. I'll tackle their question database this weekend and hit hopefully 2 CAT tests on Saturday.

......

12 days seems so short.... damn it

.....

Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the blackburner
You know you got to help me out

You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

GMAT - 13 days

Alright! I'm on track for my quant. Scoring 24/25 from the Official Guide (I divide the questions into groups of 25). Heading on with learning my idioms with PrepforTests.com's list of idioms. Pretty decent list.

I should hopefully be getting Princeton Review books tonight.

I've got an interview tomorrow with IDC (International Data Corporation) to be a research analyst. What do you think? I heard IDC has the usual long hours and stuff that puts hair on a man's chest. Stay in finance or move out of finance? If I stay in finance, I'm going to move into corporate finance - which I already have started the ball rolling by asking my friends for contacts in corporate finance (investment banks/merchant banks/corporate finance advisory).

I think I'll just head for the interview, see how it goes and only worry about it when they offer it to me.

GMAT - 14 days

With my sister, I've been planning on what I'm going to eat on GMAT day. Taking her word, the menu is as follows

8.30 am - Tuna (spring water) + lemon + mayonnaise, fruit juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
9.15 am - Coffee (probably 2 shots of espresso)
10.00am - GMAT Starts

Mid-way, probably an energy bar and *maybe* an energy drink. Depends on how I'm going and whether I need to be charged up again.

Today, practice was good. I swept through the practice questions in time, under the 1.5 minute mark. Either the questions were getting easier, or I'm getting better. Made two careless mistakes that could have easily been avoided by reading the questions more closely. Carelessness will kill me!!! Have to be aware of what I'm doing !! :(

Should I throw in an application for Chicago? I'm aiming for Tuck, Fuqua and Yale. Given my possibly poor GMAT and lack of leadership quality bla bla bla, I wonder whether I'm being realistic.

nevermind.

There is no place for self-doubt in MBA applications!

GMAT - 15 days

Forgot to post yesterday night's posting. So I'm posting it today!

Managed to catch up with an ex-classmate who took the Princeton review. She's supposed to pass me her notes and all but couldn't find them. Should be getting them tomorrow (hopefully) - however, in the meantime she's passed me Barron's.

I wonder how good Barron's is.

If anything, I will take a look at Barron's after I'm done with my OG. Quant has improved a lot in my second round, I'm make far fewer mistakes.

I'm weak in my Idioms, so I'll have to brush up on that.

http://www.prepfortests.com/gmat/tutorials

and Spidey Notes (hope the link works - thanks to Venus)

more to come about what happens today and my thoughts.

as well as vs. and

When do you use as well as? And when do you use and?

10 minutes later

Edit: Chicago Manual of Style Online

Q. A few of my colleagues in the office seem to be making no distinction between “as well as” and “and.” I find the dictionary definition (“and in addition”) less than clear—although notably the examples pair only two items. Surely you would not provide a list including items “one, two, three, as well as four”?

A. Sometimes there is a distinction. “As well as” can act as a conjunction meaning “and in addition” (or simply “and”): He was handsome as well as clueless. But it can also be a preposition meaning “besides” or “in addition to,” in which case it’s not an exact substitute for “and.” That’s why we write, “He was handsome and funny as well as clueless” rather than “He was handsome, funny, as well as clueless.”

GMAT - 17 days

My scores are getting worse and worse. I hit a 610 on the GMAT Prep.

But strangely I'm doing better and better when using the Official Guide. Am I taking the CAT test wrongly? This is disheartening :(

I put in 6 hours of practice today. And hopefully at least another 6 hours tomorrow. My timing for quant is getting a bit off. Going too slowly. Longer questions are taking me about 2'30 minutes to solve, I've got to work on the speed.

I've got a rough schedule. Hit the practices and books until 9pm. I find that I start cracking after 9.30pm.

I'm going to crack if I can't get my scores up.

GMAT - 18 days

GMAT in 18 days and all I could do today was 15 Sentence Correction questions! Of which I got 2 wrong. So, that wasn't too bad. Could have been slightly better though.

Time was spent doing my optional essay and reworking a recommender's letter. Unfortunately, my recommender although provided insightful information, was a bit too brief and didn't give clear examples. I shall have to rework parts of the recommendation.

:(


IDC - International Data Corporation is a market research/analyst company specialising in technology. Basically it collects tons of data, like how many phones sold, how many ink cartridges sold, etc and collates it and analyses it.

GMAT - 19 days

19 days more!

I'm starting the second round of redoing the OG questions. Unfortunately I was unable to get very far when I realised that I had to complete one last essay explaining my choice of recommenders.

I decided to request two former supervisors for their recommendations instead of asking my current supervisor for a recommendation. Given the senior management's view that MBAs are a waste of time and only meant for old people, I feel that asking for a recommendation might jeopardize my position in the company.

Pity.

Well, that makes one more essay to write. *sigh*

By the way, anybody work for IDC or know about working for IDC?

I'm interested in finding out a little bit more....

Please drop me a line! Thanks

GMAT in 20 days

I seem to do better in the OG then in Kaplan or other revision books. Am doing decently well for the OG's Problem Solving. Stumbled a bit at the Data Sufficiency - I know I stumbled because I was thinking out loud, but marked the wrong answer even though I had reasoned the right answer out. Must be a bit tired now.

Target - 50 questions a day until I finished the whole OG (will probably leave out Reading Comprehension though). I think I need to target 75 questions a day, but that would be closer to the exam.

Essays for Tuck are good, more or less there. Still thinking about the optional essay. Should I write about my own activities even though I am listing them down in the application form? Should I write about how I have matured?