The GMAT is definitely one of the most daunting parts of the application and is required by the majority of business schools, regardless of your professional background, mathematical abilities or additional qualification. Although the admission process is holistic and therefore depends on more than this simple test score, it is often the base line of a powerful application and the opportunity for a student to showcase their ability to get through the academic rigor of the MBA.
We have asked Yohan Kim (MBA'19) to share his experience with this test and to detail his journey past the 700 line.
When I decided that I wanted to go to a business school, I realized that I need to face an enemy that had beaten me badly in the past – studying. To be honest, I was not the best student. Disappointed with my undergraduate GPA, I had to ask myself: “Can I really pull this off?” I reflected and saw that motivation was the biggest issue during my undergrad. I had changed my major twice. I did not know what I wanted to do after graduation.
This time on the other hand, the decision to attend a grad program all came from me. Nobody was telling me I needed this degree to be acceptable in the job market. I wanted to go to b-school and I was choosing to leave my current job for a chance of significant return in the future. In order to increase my chances, I needed to get into the best MBA program possible and in order to get in, I needed a great GMAT score – something above the average of my target schools to overcome my undergrad past.
My GPA could not be changed, but I could certainly change my GMAT score!
With the motivation issue sorted out, I was ready to begin my journey. Taking a preparation course was not a possibility, since there was none offered in the city I was living in at the time. I had to buy a book and do it all by myself. At that point, I had no clue on which books were good or bad, since I was not yet aware of massive amount of GMAT-related information available online. I just opted for the book from a reputed test preparation company, with a large number of mock CATs included. This book happened to be Kaplan GMAT Premier 2017.
The first time I attempted a practice test, I scored a 540, which gave me a wake-up call. Following this score, I decided to devote a minimum of 4 hours per day for the GMAT preparation. My goal was to finish the Kaplan book within a month and to learn all the strategies and tricks before attempting tests again. I was able to finish the book in 2 weeks, and found the test preparation to be somewhat fun, as I could definitely see improvement. After finishing the book, I took another mock CAT. I was worried but to my relief, I saw 660 (Q46, V35) pop up on the screen. It was close to the average of the schools I wanted to apply to but was still far from my target. What else could I do now?
The answer was more practice.
To do so, I needed more questions to solve. I bought the GMAT Official Guide 2016 (OG). I also downloaded a GMAT preparation software. I stuck to my schedule of studying for minimum of 4 hours per day, and took 2 mock CATs per week. After each mock CAT, I made sure I thoroughly went over any questions I guessed or incorrectly answered. As my verbal section score was okay, I mainly focused on quantitative section. By the end of the third week, I finished most sections of the official guide and took three mock tests, resulting in similar results in the high 600s but with different splits. The progress was painfully slow from this point, and I wondered if I would ever break into 700s. Regardless, I kept going.
In the 4th week, I only focused on topics I did not quite grasp 100%, which were probability, combination, and permutation. I decided to take a shot at testing and booked an exam slot for that weekend. I took a day off before the exam, and did not study at all. However, I was nervous and unable to relax. It was the first time in my life that I had studied so hard and I wanted it to pay off. On the day of the exam, I looked up some formulas, did about 10 problem-solving questions as a warm-up, and headed to the test center.
The environment at the test center was not ideal. There were people coming in and going out, as each person was taking a different test. Nonetheless, I tried my best to focus. After a grueling 4 hours, I saw 690 (Q48, V36) pop up on the screen. The mock CATs were really quite accurate! I was slightly disappointed and I ended up taking a break from studying for about 5 days. I then reminded myself that although I hadn't reached my target, I got close it within less than a month. I proceeded to revise my strategy and started again.
I decided to focus on really hard quantitative questions in order to score 50 or above. I also decided to study for sentence correction, my most challenging section, to improve the verbal score. I signed up for the GMAT Club quantitative materials, which were notorious for being very difficult, and purchased the GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 and 2 (EP1 and EP2). After another week, I tried several mock tests and started scoring consistently above 700.
It had not yet been a month since the first exam but I decided to book the second one. I felt like taking the test while my focus was still sharp would be preferable. Unlike my first attempt, I studied and practiced lightly on the day before the exam, read the GMAT idioms list, reviewed the GMAT Club quantitative questions that I solved incorrectly in the past, and reviewed the formulas in my quantitative notes. Since I am not a morning person, I scheduled my exam at 01:00 PM to create optimal conditions for myself. I got there early to prepare mentally and this time, I brought good ear plugs to keep myself from being distracted. Luckily, the test center was not as busy as it was the first time and the test went smoothly: 710 (Q49, V36) popped up on the screen. I felt a little disappointed and relieved at the same time because although I scored a bit lower than my mock test scores, I achieved my initial target of scoring 700 or above.
I scored in the 92nd percentile of GMAT test takers, and my undergrad comeback story was complete.
With this score, along with a lot of effort put into applications, I was accepted at two of my three target schools, one of them being McGill, which is where I am right now. While it is important to know that the applications are never focused solely on one test score, it was my objective to prove to myself that I could succeed in this academic challenge and by doing so, join a top MBA program with confidence. I also learned through this experience that academic performance was never about being good or not at studying: It is a matter of motivating yourself. And I hope that my story of succeeding in GMAT and getting admitted to a great program like the McGill MBA (#1 in Canada!) can encourage those who are in the similar position that as I was in a year ago.
About the author
Yohan Kim (MBA'19) did a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Economics at the Ohio State University. After graduating, he did his military service in South Korea, where he competed for an appointment as a combined Intelligence Support Officer and later as an Interpretation Officer. After 3 years in the military, he started working for GSK Engineering & Construction as an Overseas Division Manager and he was later appointed as General Manager of the Saudi Arabian branch, located in Riyadh. Yohan joined the McGill MBA in August 2017 and is doing a dual concentration in Global Strategy and Business Analytics, with the objective of getting into Consulting post-graduation.
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