Astounding 755 in GMAT Focus Edition - Divyansh Agarrwal, 100th Percentile | GMAT Topper
Summary
TLDRThe video features Divan, who achieved a remarkable GMAT score of 755, sharing his preparation journey. Initially intimidated by long passages and new question types, he overcame his fears through structured study plans and consistent practice. He emphasized the importance of time management and leveraging online resources, particularly for Data Insights and Critical Reasoning sections. Divan also highlighted the motivational impact of personal stories and the importance of confidence and focus during the test. His unique approach and dedication led to his outstanding performance in less than two months of preparation.
Takeaways
- 📚 The speaker initially found the GMAT exam intimidating, especially the verbal section and long passages.
- 🔄 The speaker adopted an unusual order for tackling the GMAT sections, starting with Data Insights, then Quant, and finally Verbal.
- 🌟 The speaker achieved a high score of 755 on the GMAT, which is considered a phenomenal score.
- 📈 The speaker's preparation involved a strict adherence to a study plan provided by the coaching team, focusing on base sessions, live sessions, and mock tests.
- ⏳ The speaker dedicated around 45-50 days for GMAT preparation, prioritizing it and spending 5-6 hours daily on study.
- 📉 The speaker faced challenges with Integrated Reasoning and Critical Reasoning, requiring extensive practice to overcome.
- 💡 The speaker emphasized the importance of having faith in oneself and not getting discouraged by difficult questions.
- 🕒 Time management was crucial, especially in avoiding spending too much time on a single question, which could affect the rest of the test.
- 🔍 The speaker found using the online portal for practice questions to be beneficial, particularly for Data Insights, as it helped with speed and accuracy.
- 📊 The speaker's mock test scores improved from 650-700 to 700-750, indicating progress and effective preparation strategies.
- 🤔 The speaker actively sought doubt clarification and understood the importance of learning from mistakes to improve their approach.
Q & A
What was the speaker's initial feeling towards verbal sections in the GMAT?
-The speaker initially found the verbal sections intimidating and would panic when faced with long passages, worrying about how to find answers within them.
How did the speaker approach the GMAT test day?
-The speaker started with the DI (Data Insights) section first, then Quant (Quantitative), and finally Verbal, which was an unusual order not commonly recommended by others.
What was the speaker's GMAT score and its significance?
-The speaker scored a 755, which is considered a phenomenal score in the GMAT context. Adding the 55 points that were part of a past deal would have exceeded 805, suggesting a near-perfect score.
How long did the speaker prepare for the GMAT?
-The speaker prepared for the GMAT in less than two months, around 45-50 days.
What was the speaker's daily routine during the preparation period?
-The speaker spent five to six hours daily on GMAT preparation, doing lectures or practicing questions, six days a week, with Sunday being a half-day.
How did the speaker manage time management issues during practice?
-The speaker used the last two weeks for mock tests and sectional tests to work on time accuracy, especially to avoid spending too much time on single questions.
What was the speaker's strategy for dealing with difficult questions?
-The speaker focused on questions they were confident about and moved ahead without dwelling on difficult ones, trusting that some tough questions were expected to be missed.
How did the speaker utilize the portal for practice?
-The speaker used the portal for Data Insights practice, finding it helpful for sorting lists and using the calculator, which would have been difficult with PDFs alone.
What was the speaker's experience with doubt support during preparation?
-The speaker found doubt support crucial, especially for Quant and data sufficiency, as it helped understand where their approach went wrong and to improve their process.
How did the speaker's initial mock scores compare to their final GMAT score?
-The speaker's initial mock scores were in the range of 650 to 700, and after focused preparation, they improved to achieve a final GMAT score of 755.
What advice does the speaker have for others preparing for the GMAT?
-The speaker advises having faith in oneself, focusing on questions one is confident about, and not letting difficult questions demotivate or waste time.
Outlines
😰 Overcoming Verbal Section Intimidation
The speaker describes their initial fear of the verbal section due to long passages and difficulty in managing time. They share how they used specific strategies to handle sections in an unusual order and emphasize the importance of self-confidence. A notable achievement mentioned is scoring a 755 on the GMAT with only two months of preparation, thanks to a structured study plan and mock tests.
🧩 Mastering Critical Reasoning and Data Sufficiency
The speaker discusses the challenges faced with critical reasoning (CR) and data sufficiency (DS) questions, highlighting the importance of specific techniques like the negation test. They mention frequent mistakes in quant and DS, which were overcome through practice and understanding traps. The speaker emphasizes the role of the portal and consistent practice in mastering these areas.
📊 Efficient Preparation for Data Insights and Time Management
The speaker focuses on their preparation for the data insights (DI) section, noting the difficulty of maintaining speed and accuracy. They utilized the portal extensively for practice and improved their time management through mock tests. The speaker also shares their daily routine of studying 5-6 hours, six days a week, and the importance of consistency in achieving a high score.
🎯 Strategies for GMAT Exam Day Success
The speaker describes their exam day strategy, including an unusual section order of starting with DI, followed by quant, and ending with verbal. They emphasize the importance of being vigilant in the DI section and adjusting to unexpected question types. The speaker highlights the role of mock tests in refining their approach and managing time effectively during the actual exam.
💡 Motivation and Support in GMAT Preparation
The speaker reflects on their motivation, stemming from a college talk on the GMAT's impact on future opportunities. They highlight the importance of inspirational videos and success stories in maintaining their determination. The speaker also credits the doubt support from the preparation team, which helped them understand and correct their mistakes in quant and data sufficiency.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Intimidating
💡Sectioning
💡Penalize
💡Confidence
💡Mock Tests
💡Percentile
💡Data Sufficiency (DS)
💡Integrated Reasoning (IR)
💡Time Management
💡Doubt Support
💡Motivation
Highlights
The speaker initially found the GMAT intimidating and would panic when faced with long passages.
The speaker mentions an unusual test-taking order, starting with the Integrated Reasoning section first.
The importance of self-belief and not being intimidated by difficult questions is emphasized.
The speaker scored a 755 on the GMAT, which is considered a high score.
The speaker's preparation time was only 2 months, showcasing efficient study strategies.
The speaker strictly followed a study schedule provided by the coaching team.
Mock tests and sectional tests were crucial for timing and accuracy practice.
Verbal was a challenge, but the speaker overcame it through practice and strategy.
The speaker found the Optimal Theory helpful, especially for primary purpose questions.
CR (Critical Reasoning) was new to the speaker but was mastered through specific strategies.
Data Sufficiency questions were initially difficult but improved with practice and doubt clarification.
The speaker utilized the portal for Data Insights practice, finding it beneficial for time management and strategy.
A daily study routine of 5-6 hours, 6 days a week, was maintained for focused preparation.
The speaker's initial mock scores were in the range of 650-700, showing room for improvement.
The speaker found the diagnostic mock on the portal and official mocks helpful for identifying weak areas.
Doubt support from the coaching team was crucial for understanding mistakes and improving.
The speaker's section order on the test day was DI, then Quant, and finally Verbal for strategic reasons.
The speaker faced a tricky non-math DS question but managed to regain focus using test strategies.
Quant section was completed without time issues, and the speaker used remaining time for review.
Verbal section passages were shorter than expected, allowing for time savings and focus on the longer passage.
The speaker suggests starting portal practice earlier for better familiarity with the test format.
Maintaining self-belief and focusing on strengths rather than perceived weaknesses is advised.
Transcripts
for me veral was always something that
seemed very intimidating I I used to get
scared seeing a long passage and then
start off I started sort of panicking
how will I finders in such a long
passage and on the test day I sort of
Stu through the Section sectioning as
first di then important them it's a very
unusual order let me tell you though
I've have never heard G tends to make
things tougher for you and then you
always saying that g will penalize me
more for missing out on easier questions
as compared to missing out on hard I
guess the most important thing is to
have faith in yourself that you'll be
able to do good and even when you're
seeing something difficult don't just
feel that it's something that you don't
do and just move ahead and try to focus
on all those questions that you are
confident of and in the end it might be
that it was one of those tougher
questions that the G expected you to
miss all right so we have Dian with us
and very proudly I'd love to announce
that he scored a 755 which is one of the
most phenomenal scores seen around in
the GMAT Cit overall so if I actually
add 55 to it which used to be the deal
that okay any score that you get you add
55 this will exceed 805 by that logic so
he has scored in the previous version in
near perfect 800 or even more than that
which is not even possible but that's
what and uh he took only 2 months of
preparation time so this is another
thing and when we look at the score
report also you can actually see the
session that we are disc discussing Data
Insights verbal Quant so every
percentile is very close to 100 so i'
really want him to tell so thean I'll
stop the screen and I will invite you to
start your camera hey hi Divan so first
of all congratulations since yesterday
it has been fantastic your mail was
received uh probably in the afternoon
sometime around 12 uh probably 1 and
we've all been exceptionally happy with
the performance so just take us through
your journey you said you in a way
started in May sometime preparing and
then in not even mid July we can say so
it's not even half of July and you got
the score so how did you plan the entire
preparation what were your weak areas
and how did you go about the whole thing
right from the beginning till the end
just give me a chronological order of
your
preparation so uh I I had that that uh
you guys share this has the schedule of
everything starting from the pre from
the pre course work the base sessions
and the live sessions so I tried to
follow it as strictly as as as possible
and I I sort of didn't have any other
commitments in this past one and a half
mons 45 50 days so I I put GM as as my
priority and just followed that step by
step so starting with the with the CR
Basics the KC Basics the sessions and
then going on to each of the live
sessions with the the pre-work then the
session then the postwork so it was it
was all just doing it
pretty sticking to sticking to the plan
provided by the top person team and then
I kep the last I sort of tried to give
the last two weeks just for mock tests
and sectional test so that I can work
more on my time
accy because it's very easy to get gu
with a question and then spend 10 15
minutes on it and then you realiz I just
have five minutes for the last five
questions or 10 questions so that was
really important uh to so that was
something that I really had to work on
right especially in topics like Data
Insights where you get a multisource
reing pth and then it becomes very easy
for you to just spend 10 minutes on it
right so I the last two weeks just to
rush it up so okay uh what were your
challenge areas let's say you said
verbal first you did as for the plan was
there any challenge with verbal with the
way you used to approach let's say
passage or a CR question versus with the
way we explained it I mean was there a
difference in the thought process here
yeah pretty much a lot so for me verbal
was something that seemed very
intimidating and uh so I I used to get
scared seeing a long passage and then
start of I started sort of panicking how
will I find
the chers in such a long passage but the
the way you taught it in the session
and by practicing it slowly slowly I got
the confidence to read the entire
passage and then figure out what parts
what parts to look for for relevant
relevant question and then the Optive
Theory it really help especially in
primary primary purpose questions right
coming to CR CR was sort of a very new
thing for me like these of questions we
haven't really done in past School exams
or or anything so it was a it was a new
thing and uh the the sort of tests that
that we T from the we
the negation test how to pick out
strength withness all those sort of help
me build a mindset that how to approach
us your see question what keywords you
look at and basically how you it so
that you feel more comfortable looking
at it and then you can get to the right
right all right just did you make those
kind similar mistakes and did you fall
for traps in Quant and Di as well I mean
DS particularly did that happen or you
feel that that was pretty basic for you
I mean initially I'm asking did you make
those trap based mistakes in Quant and
data sufficiency indeed data sufficiency
definitely like I I have often found
myself
just thinking how did I miss this or
there are so many TRS in GMAT that you
feel contion is very straightforward but
when you check your answers you find out
that it was wrong right those sort of
things just sort of come with practice I
had to send a lot of mails regarding
doubts and all get to understand what I
was missing in a question once you do
enough number of questions you start of
you start getting to move the TRS that
if this is what they're trying to say
this might something I have to look
after again go with the
same and uh how did you prepare for data
insight as you said speed was a
challenge particularly in MSR kind of
questions so initially did the portal
come in handy again and again you had to
do a I believe you did a lot of practice
in there so just
trying all Data Insights was through the
portal only on the the th Marathon
sectional tests topic byse
test I try to try to I try to do as much
Resource as possible and uh also the
portal also sort of makes it easier for
you to solve those questions this would
have been very difficult to look at in
the form of PDF or something like that
right right right so the port really
helped me get Knack of things like
sorting the lists and chosing the
calculator whereever needed so all those
stuff really put me put me better in the
exam right and as you said you worked
only for one one and a half oh sorry
around less than two months around 45 50
days what was your routine like because
you said you put yourself completely in
this situation so what did you do every
day and how about consistency did that
help as well like did you have this as a
mission that I have to crack it soon
like that yeah definitely so I sort of
have my joining coming up coming up in a
few weeks and I was like I have to have
I need to get a scho before I start my
job because once I get get into it it
might be very difficult I just had that
sort of thing in my mind so right now I
I spend more or less five to six hours
daily uh either going through the
lectures or doing some sort of questions
and just try to do it at least six days
a week maybe Sunday was a day I sort of
took half day my
stud and what could have pulled your
score down what was the initial thing
that was just not improving and it took
a lot of effort and time eventually to
fix it using maybe the material using
maybe the PDF practice using maybe the
portal practice whatever yeah
so I'd say integrated reasoning and CR
questions those through needed a lot of
practice and even on the day of the test
I was pretty scar that I'll miss
something here and there in in the di di
question so were you extra careful or
what how did you really go about that
because this happens a lot if you're
being too carefully lose out on time so
how did he manage that then so that sort
of that is what uh the B test and
section test help me to P to be careful
yet to be in a Time
manner so you stri that balance
eventually right if you practice so much
really good and uh tell me what were
initial mock scores like and how did you
use the portal how did you use the
official marks in which order like did
you do the official marks first did you
do the portal Mar did you keep a mix and
what were initial scores like and how
did you improve further yeah so uh I
first that typ diagnostic Mo on the
portrait then the then one of the
official mock list and then I saved the
second one for the
last because I've heard that it's sort
of on the easier side and that will help
me gain confidence before the right
actual Pap and the test so between these
two between these two marks I gave the
marks available on the top 1% portal and
my score was in the range of 650 to 700
in the top 1% total and around 700 750
in the in the two okay
professional and uh what were the
challenges let's say on our portal which
what brought your score down is it just
the difficulty which obviously is a
little higher definitely we have
maintained that but what was the other
reason probably like time management or
would you say some areas you did not
know very well Mastery or what would you
say so each of the mocks sort helped me
find out which area I need to focus on
so so whenever I I gave a mock I didn't
spend the test of day working on which
part I lost most of my marks on be it
due to time time mismanagement or some
concept in CR or in so the mo sort of
help me build up on the on the separate
Concepts and that is how I was able to
deflect the final score in the in the
official Mark as well as the also you
wrote particularly about the doubt
support so
I mean I also remember having seen a lot
of your Mals in the past when your final
mail came that okay this is the same
person who got the score all right so
how was that support uh from the
teammates of and uh like whatever it is
yeah so I I feel that it was probably
the most important one of the most
important things for me especially in
questions from Quant and data
sufficiency because I I wasn't da uh I I
I always try to look at what I did wrong
where did where did
my Approach go wrong and for that I
needed someone to just help
me understand the the process a bit
better and that's why I I did like even
even while solving the PDFs or the mods
I used to just send questions and be
like this is what I thought and it's not
matching up to my uh my thought thought
thought process if you could please help
me out where I went from right and
especially in topics like NC and and and
all that you I remember seeing a lot of
mails from you that okay I understand
the solution but what is wrong in my
answer my Approach I think this used to
be a standard template of asking a lot
of emails like that yes yes so you you
were fine with the solution you said
that solution makes sense to me but I'm
not able to understand why I'm going
wrong right this
time all right so you did get scores I
mean eventually probably got the high
score on your actual exam maybe is that
right all right so let's come to that
and what was the section order first of
all and uh like how was it section by
section Quant your score is perfect 90
so it seems that you may not have made
any mistake or maybe maximum one mistake
in there but just describe the order of
sections and did you find anything
unusual how did you find the pacing on
the exam and so on please just describe
it fully yeah I sort of stroke to the
section sectioning as first di then qu
and then F okay in sort of my last 56
box also because I di needed maximum of
my like I I had to be most Vigilant
there and you sort of get a bit
complient as the test go on so I wanted
to be as fresh as possible for the DI
section and then do the Quant and get
done with all the tougher parts so that
I can just focus on the screen and read
read properly okay that is how I planned
my
mhm it's a very unusual order let me
tell you though I mean I've never heard
this would be anybody's order in in
general but Okay carry on please yeah so
and and on the test day I started with
with di first and I felt that I was
doing pretty good I was also doing it in
proper time but then then I remember
getting a non-math DS question and that
just took me a bit off track did you do
the practice that that we had provided
by the way for nonm DS yeah I did do but
uh I just never felt that it'll
be it was a bit a bit trickier than what
I thought okay okay yeah it was more on
CR lines as compared to anything to what
problem and uh so then I I did try to
gather myself back and after a after
spending 2 2 and half minutes I was like
I remember someone saying
one of the sessions that GMAT tends to
make things tougher for you and then you
always saying that GMAT will always
penalize me more for missing out on
easier easier questions as compared to
missing out on hard on right that this
might be a hard one let just move
forward on the remaining n
questions so and then uh so that's how
my di went qu was pretty anything else
unusual on the DI section except for
that one question anything not most of
it was similar to the questions we have
on the right the question that you're
talking about also I think CR question
type data sufficiency we have had and we
have a full-fledged test also and we
have Incorporated in some of the content
already so anyway that's great and uh
yeah about the Quant section anything
unusual in there did you finish in time
just yeah qu was prettyful for I felt
the questions were relatively easier as
compared to the as compared to the box
we have I did it in around 35 40 minutes
the remaining 5 5 minutes to just go
through the questions once to make sure
I haven't done any sort of calculation
mistake right and then verbal to it it
was pretty good like the I didn't face
the time the time problem and the
passages were I got four car passages
and three of them were slightly shorter
than what we have in the MS right so
that really helped me because I was
planning my according to the mo so it it
helped me save on time right the less
number of paragraphs and eventually I
had time to spend on the longer passage
that one passage that I got right so it
all sort of H Me overall overall
anything unusual on the entire test that
you would say that that threw you off
that this sort of a question or this
sort of concept I've never seen before
anything not really most of it all of it
was sort of covered in in the mo
lectures nothing that
unusually all right and you also talked
about the motivation aspect uh in the
email and the fact that I came to your
college and then that's how you got
introduced to the GMAT so tell me how
does that help I mean does that really
put you back on track some days when
you're slacking what was the motivation
actually because yeah so I I had heard
of this GMAT in the past couple of years
but when I started looking the moment I
started looking seriously was when you
came to our college and gave a talk on
how it can help us shape our future
right and that is when I sort of started
having this feeling that I need to cck
this right and then the the sort of
motivation like I I went through a lot
of your videos with the past quers you
talk about their Journeys and some days
you don't perform very well on a
particular and you sort of feel that I
might be not well enough to do it but
when you listen to those stories that
it's fine to uh it's fine to get a good
score in a couple of months you just
need to have have faith in faith in
yourself and it's most important to have
good mood a good environment on the
final of the of e exam so those videos
really help me to keep on going and uh
keep on trying to improve my school even
if I sort of got disheartened by a
couple of months okay and uh did you for
reading comprehension particularly do
the initial awareness videos or the
remaining no the world videos just give
that as well if that helped as well
because uh I want to be very sure that
you know what is the component that
really helped you quite a lot so just if
you did I don't know about that bit so
just ask so I went through the initial
awareness video I couldn't do all the
the yeah you took a very short time
frame definitely but I did spend most of
my time doing reading comprehensions the
the passages on the Cari guide the to
800 level questions and that was what
really really helped me get a knack of
doing such such questions right right
any special tip you will have for people
uh in general now that you've seen your
preparation you're on the other side
that I should have done this but I
didn't or I did this and this was the
best thing so dos and don'ts of sorts
please tell
yes I start I'll first start it's
something I felt I didn't do really so I
sort of started using the portal a
little later than when I should have
started using so the portal DA has a lot
of lot of content and it will always
help you to do more questions in a Time
manner that is something I probably felt
I could have done a bit sooner yeah and
apart from that I say that I guess the
most important thing is to have faith in
faith in yourself that you'll be able to
do both yeah and even when you're seeing
something difficult don't just feel that
uh it's something that you don't know
and that you just bring down your SPO
just move ahead and try to focus on all
those all those questions that you are
confident of and in the end it might be
that it was it was one of those tougher
questions that the Gat expected you to
miss right oh that's a good approach I
think mentally I think it it's peaceful
in this sense that if you really really
adopt this principle all right so all
the very best and thanks for the time
today and apart from that I'm not sure
whether you're looking for admissions
this year or next year so talk to my
teammate auri I think he will be able to
guide you personally on how we can
really help you with this journey as
well in case you decide to go forward I
mean a lot of students from your college
have already helped so I'm sure you know
about them and uh let's really make one
more addition to that illustrous list
already right right right thank you all
right yeah thank you bye-bye by by
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