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Sunday, December 13, 2009

GMAT-Reading comprehension Workshop at CSQUARE Learnings

Is it a tough game conquering Reading Comprehension on GMAT!!!!!!??

We have a key to your hitch. Interaction with the connoisseur of GMAT with focus on reading comprehension will certainly make the trail smooth and easy. Kalyan Chakravarthi ,Founder & Director of Csquare Learnings pvt ltd., will conduct RC workshop himself in Bangalore to answer all your queries so that you learn to conquer the most perplexing section on GMAT.

To Learn more about Kalyan Chakravarthi visit: http://in.linkedin.com/in/gmatspecialist
As Csquare learnings has always stretched its wings to facilitate GMAT aspirants, its another attempt to make your flight towards your dream college successful, happy and enjoyable. At Csquare Learnings our history is our challenge - a legacy of energy and innovation, as we strive to excel in our training every day. Our experience in working with a diverse set of students has made us progress. Presently, we are on a move to build a platform that will create new horizons and foster innovative thoughts to connect and share valuable experiences.

This workshop will act as a podium to discover the best strategy to conquer the most apprehensive section on GMAT -----“READING COMPREHENSION” .The strategy is called FIRE – The most popular strategy in the GMAT world provide only by Csquare Learnings. FIRE not only helps you to understand GMAT RC’s better but also gives you command over the anxiety about RC’s on GMAT. This workshop will focus on
  • Better method to read passages
  • Better time management on RC
  • Tackling different types of questions in RC
  • Approach to arrive at right answer
  • Method to resolve confusion when left with last 2 options
  • Tackling unfamiliar topics.

Please find the details of the workshop below
Date: 19th (Saturday) & 20th (Sunday) December 2009
Venue: Csquare Learnings Pvt Ltd
#425,1st Floor, 80 ft road, 6th Block,
Koramangala,
Bangalore 560034
Fees: 7000/-
Contact No: 080-40821000
Number of seats: 25
Website : http://www.csqrl.com/
To seize this opportunity register by 18th Friday December 2009. We look forward to seeing you.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 700

I approached Csquare Learnings after I got a GMAT score of 600. It was around 1st week of Aug 09. My score was 30 verbal and 42 Quant. I had initially planned for just 10 hrs of classes, which I planned to finish in two weeks. But due to professional commitments I gave long gaps between classes in the first month. We pretty much pulled up in September.

Though initially I had thought that I needed help with just verbal but at CSquare I realised that the standard of quant required in GMAT has to be really high. The average score in CSquare was 49. So I took additional 5 hrs for quant to make my concepts strong. This really prepared me well. Now the training was over and I had to practice. Here again I ended up giving a 20 day gap in the beginning of Oct 09. My standards went plummeting once I went out of touch with my trainer but I kept doing the official guides. My timing was at its worst by the end of the 20 days. On 21st Oct 09 my trainer asked me to remain at CSquare and practice whole day. This was the point that gave me the boost in my preparation.

For eight days I practiced religiously and discussed my difficulty areas with my CSQRL trainer. I implemented the suggestions deliberately. Following the FIRE strategy in RC ensures a lot of success. It is better to follow the strategies religiously as told.

I believe CSquare Learnings gave me a truly personalized attention and helped me make a personal strategy keeping in mind my strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the eight days I realized that I was peaking and this was also the time when I was giving my best in terms of time and attention. I was practicing around 10-12 hrs a day. I consulted my trainer and decided to take GMAT on 30 Oct 09 as I knew I can't sustain this performance for long. I guess besides everything thing else, taking the test at the right time also matters a lot. You should be able to identify when you are at your peak performance. After my test I have come across a few friends who were not guided as well as me and they waited too long before taking the test. Although, initially they were scoring much better than me but on the final day they spoiled their scores.

I am fortunate that I got the right guidance at the right time and Csquare’s personal attention that helped me reach my goal in just 8 days!!

Regards

Mayank- 700 (Q48 V38)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 700

Sachin 700 [M - 49 V - 37]

Disclaimer: This post would mainly help if you are struggling on Verbal. Also, this worked for me, please adapt what is most suitable for you.

Here's my experience:

My goal was to reach 80% verbal.

Difference in my two attempts:

Previous:
I had completed OG10, 11, Scoretop, Kaplan, Manhattan, Sets (about 25 - great to overcome timing issues + some real GMAT type questions - it's a must!)

In SC and CR, I could easily remove 3 choices. The problem was to select from the last two remaining choices. My RC was ok.

I had read Manhattan SC, but still could not relate to GMAT style (of when is present continuous or past perfect is correct / incorrect). I used to go by what sounds good.

Current:
I took 1-to-1 tutoring at Csquare Learnings. I must say, Csquare is an expert in GMAT question types and pattern. I had decided to take GMAT in next 10 days since I wanted to submit my new scores after the deadline. No choice, but to get up at 4:30 am, drive 20 KMs and attend class at 5:00 am. Rush to office by 8:30am phew! (remembered my 12th class timings). Didn't have much time but to follow their rules.

SC: Csquare made SC very simple with few basic rules like when is -ing, having + ed, were, had been etc. are correct / incorrect. Just follow blindly and apply it! This led to easy elimination of many choices within seconds. I was now more looking for the rules, instead of, spending time in what sounds good.

CR: Csquare gave a trick to paraphrase CR in a new style and to write down the conclusion before looking at answers. This worked amazingly especially for assumption and weakness type questions.

RC: Their RC approach (FIRE) is nice, Again the key in RC is to paraphrase and identify the trigger points.

Followed the rules for each question type and I could see improvement in practice tests.

Quant: I hardly touched for 15 hours in this attempt. Just revised GMAT prep 175 questions in VIP section and solved all practice questions. I was more focusing on verbal to cross the 80% barrier.

-----------


On the test day:
Completed all the practice questions for the month. Do it religiously!

Quant:
Found tougher than my previous attempt. Was surprised to see quite a few DS questions. After completing math, I knew, it was not a 50.

Verbal:
Started great. First 3 questions, I knew, I got it right. This time, I spent more time on RCs (pretty similar to Sets and GMATprep standard). My approach to RCs was different this time - Kalyan explained that in RCs the answer is in front of you, just we need to paraphrase and identify the trigger points.

In SC and CR, with the new rules, I was now pretty confident on choices I was selecting. If I was not sure on some question, then I made sure that for the next question I gave attention to avoid consecutive errors (heavy penalty on GMAT!). Struggled in last 3 to 4 questions. Had just 4 minutes left. Completed the survey.
Could not believe, when the screen flashed - 700 and V – 38: 83%.

ATB!

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710

Divya Reddy 710 [M - 47, V - 41]

Three months ago, I ascended on the mammoth task of preparing for the GMAT exam. Like most other MBA aspirants, I was armed with a deep rooted conviction to secure a good GMAT score but lacked the know-how to do so. I spent a month and a half on an exhaustive (quite literally) study plan- researching GMAT material and analyzing and practicing various GMAT approaches (Princeton/ Kaplan included). At the end of this stint, I took the GMAT Prep 1 and got a ‘scintillating’ (as Kalyan would say, at his peak of sarcasm ) 560- M 43 V24. It was after this futile attempt and thereof much needed ‘reality check’ that I came to Kalyan of Csquare Learnings for help.

I had always been strong in Quantitative but Verbal was the monstrous Goliath that I needed to slay. The Csqrl coaching classes, quite effortlessly, taught me to do just that. The sessions were geared towards building a conceptual understanding of the tested GMAT topics, understanding and implementing strategies (bizarre, is what I thought they were at that time!) and practicing the classic ‘Practice, Practice, Practice’ approach.

I took tests every fortnight and I saw a marked improvement in scores. My improvement in tackling Reading Comprehension passages, amongst other things, requires special mention. The RC Strategy- FIRE approach (very appropriately tagged, I must say!) made the Verbal section a complete breeze, in every sense of the word. At the end of understanding and repeatedly using the strategy, at the cost of sounding vain, I found it quite impossible to go wrong in any of the RC questions!

D Day-
I went to the exam centre with a Red Bull (not quite literally!) and three Cadbury Crackle bars (don’t worry, I’m not embarking on the quintessential Bollywood success narrative!) and returned with a smile that (for some insane reason) has still not wiped off from my faceJ.

To begin with, the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section was quite effortless. I blindly followed the templates that were given by CsquareL for both Issue and Argument.

The Quantitative section was slightly trickier than I had anticipated, nevertheless, stayed calm and saw it through. I saw quite a few questions on Number Theory, Profit & Loss and Percentage and a couple on Permutation and Combination. I ran short of time towards the end as I had ended up spending more time that I should have on a particular P&C question. I ended up guessing the last four questions which probably explains the dip in my Quant. Score as compared to how I had fared in Practice tests. In retrospect, I think ‘staying calm’ was my saving grace in this section.

For Verbal, I followed a very simple strategy (again imbibed from one of the many Csquare ‘gyan’ sessions). I first assessed the difficulty of a question, if I felt the scope extended beyond what I knew; I simply skipped it (got a head start by skipping the 2nd and 3rd questionsJ). This ensured I did not waste valuable time on a couple of Sentence Corrections and Critical Reasonings that could have been experimental or that I would have got wrong in any case. I devoted additional time to RC passages and ensured that I was confident about the answers I was giving. To my surprise, I got a 5th RC passage at the fag end of the test, with only 7 mins. left. Even with the time constraint, I could not move away from using the FIRE approach for the RC passage (suffering from compulsive obsessive disorder had nothing to do with it J just kidding!)

Contemplated on whether to Cancel or Report Scores. Decided to go for it. Prayed And Prayed. Hoped for a 650
Got a 710 M 47 V 41.

I have just one word (actually, more than one) of advice for future GMAT test takers, having been (??) there and done that…focus, keep your calm, have faith in and practice Kalyan’s techniques i.e Csquare’s techniques (although they might seem logically bizarre at first, they are winning strategies, truly) and give the test experience your all. And believe me, if I can do it, so can anyone.

Good Luck!

Csquare learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 760

Vishal 760 [M - 49, V - 42]

Here is my experience from taking the GMAT:

I started my GMAT prep sometime in April, though I did not do too much for the first two months - spent some weekends reading and doing the practice questions in the OG, and other books (Princeton Review & Barrons – FYI, Barrons, is really bad). I then realized that I was not spending enough time on studying and also that my focus was not settling in any place – I would travel through the Internet over the weekdays, save stuff, and then try an look over it during the weekends!! This is when I decided to start looking for a training place, so that
(1) I could put in daily efforts into my prep, and
(2) Get some focus and direction.

I had seen CSquare Learnings, during one of my visits to Mast Kalandar, and it interested me – so I went inside and I spoke with Vinayak. I then visited the Princeton center in Indiranagar (was not very impressed with what I saw) – AND the next day I enrolled at CSquare.

I started going to CSquare sometime in early June. I took my first GMAT prep during the first weekend, and I scored 650 – this was pretty encouraging as I was targeting a pretty high score (I had said 800 when Kalyan asked!!). I analyzed the results and found my weak areas, and then started working on them along with the regular stuff being covered.

Like Kalyan and his team mention, there is absolutely no need for going outside the material provided in the 10th and 11th OG. Although, I did not get any questions directly from any of the OGs (though, I cannot say for sure in Verbal, since I did not complete OG 10), but the pattern was relatively the same and you can expect the same thought process involved. In my opinion if you have done the two OGs and have been able to analyze the results for what you got wrong, and also what you got right (both equally important) you will be able to do quiet well.

So, now coming to exam day:
I scheduled my exam in Chennai – no dates in Bangalore and I wanted to get it over as soon as possible. I had a peaceful night before the exam and then on the morning (my exam was to start at 5:30PM) I got up a little late, and then started looking through my notes from class. Once that was done, I solved some questions, about 20, from the OG (which I had earlier gotten incorrect) –
Note here:
Please do NOT look at the answers for the questions you are doing – I got ¾ incorrect and that left me unhappy and nervous for quiet a while. Anyway, after this it was time to leave, and I went to the exam center, got there by about 4:15PM, and the folks there got me started on my test at 4:30PM itself since no one else was there – it was actually really good that the test started off immediately otherwise sitting there for an hour would have been torture!!

Quant:
This went well – I knew I got two incorrect for sure, but I did not let that bother me. As Kalyan says keep moving don’t stop… Surprisingly, I did not get any probability questions!! I took the break, ate some chocolate and then went right back in.

Verbal:
This is where I was a little nervous – anyway went at it – applied the techniques from Csquare for all – including the RCs. Worked out really well. The only thing was I had only 1 minute left for the last two questions, but they were SCs and I was able to complete the section with about 5secs to spare.

So, that’s it about my experience. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 740

Komal 740 [M-50, V -38]

Thanks for all your wishes. I am glad to receive such a good score.
This would have not been possible without the direction and guidance I received at CSquare. Special thanks to Kalyan and Csquare Learnings for guiding me all through this long journey of GMAT and for showing tremendous confidence in my abilities. As you know, this is my third attempt @ GMAT. Without Csqrl, a score of 700+ would have only remained in my dreams considering the fact that I am just an average guy (in fact, below average on verbal before coming over to CSquare).

I think most of you would have already gone through my earlier debrief. So, in this debrief, I would specifically focus on what I did different since my last attempt (with a score of 690 on Aug 30, 2007)

Applying the time saving technique for CR

When I analyzed what went wrong in my previous attempt, I found that I used to exhaust lot of energy in solving CR questions. As such, there was no problem with accuracy. On an average, I used to take 2.5 to 3 minute for CRs. I used to think/understand each and every choice before eliminating. This in turn affected my RC. So I realized that there is definitely some problem with the way I am attacking CR.At this moment, Csquare helped me in fine tuning my approach and technique for CR. Based on his observation of my workouts, they suggested the corrective actions. The corrective action is that not to think much or understand about each choice for CR but rather eliminate based on a single word that falls outside the scope. That made a difference. I could solve CRs mechanically. The time saved from CRs helped me further in RCs.

Noting down ABCDE on the scratch pad

In my earlier attempt, I used to note down ABCDE and strike each one OFF as and when I solve each question. This time, I have written ABCDE on the scratch pad during AWA section of the exam. This saved 3 minutes for my VERBAL section.The other difference is

This time, I have gone to the exam with a lot more positive frame of mind treating this third attempt as just an experimental (I just told to myself that I have some decent score -690- already to rely on. So I am not going to lose anything even if I score less)

*Few general suggestions that might be helpful*

These are some of the things that are inculcated as differentiators in the course @ CSquare. But I would like to specifically stress upon. I see these as the success factors for achieving high score at GMAT (especially for an average person like me).
1. Direction is very important. Doing hard work without proper direction will only be in vain. I have gone thru that painful experience before joining CSquare. I learnt this in a hard way.

2. Approach and strategy/techniques make a lot of difference to score more than the concepts. We need to know our enemy and hit it right.

3. It is a myth to assume that good grammar and good reading habits are necessary for a 80% verbal score.

4. Be open and be ready to unlearn your earlier techniques (in case you have done some preparation already before coming to CSquare).

5. Be patient. Any new technique requires some good amount of practice before we see the result. Give your 100%. I strongly believe that the techniques that are taught at CSquare are developed after closely understanding the enemy. My experience is that these techniques actually work very well in the exam (more than on the practice questions).

6.Be ready for the humility. You may see the worst of the enemy during the actual exam. Be prepared. Don't get panic. Be composed.

Hope this helps. If you have any further queries, please mail me. I will be happy to share my experience.

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710

Trivikram Prasad 710 [M - 42, V - 43]

Being out of academics for over 13 years, I was finding it very challenging to study for the GMAT. Kalyan and Csquare made the whole experience of preparation and training effortless and systematic. I admired their persistence and their energy to ensure I did my homework assignments on time.

They identify the weak areas of each student and focus really hard on them. For example, before joining Csqrl I was really struggling with SC and RC. I felt SC was like an ocean and unless I read all the grammar concepts, it was impossible to do well in SC. As for RC, I found it boring and difficult. Csquare really helped me with these two weak areas. Moreover, Csqrl made Reading Comprehension a breeze and I completely lost the fear of answering this section, rather, I looked forward to answering RC questions.

With his expertise on the GMAT, Kalyan and Csquare made my life easier on SC by guiding me on what was important from GMAT point view and was not with respect to SC. His approach to SC not only increased my accuracy but also my speed. On RC, his strategy is unique and it works if one has an open mind and the patience to follow exactly what he says. He made RC interesting and easy for me. I can say this with confidence because I did really well on RC in the actual GMAT.

The Csquare Trainers have superb teaching and coaching skills and teach you exactly what you need to do well in the GMAT. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a high GMAT score.

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 740

Suresh Tata 740 [M50 V39]

Dear friends:
I would like share my personal experience with the exam. Although my verbal score is not great, I am sure this would help some of you.

Before coming to Csquare:
=========================
I have been preparing for a long time (almost a year). Tried out various things includingone-on-one course from Princeton. None showed me theright direction. I am good at Quant from the beginning. My weak areas are RC and CR.None of the course helped me on these. The only thing I finally was told –that the onlyway to improve RC and CR is:
a) To do more and more practice
b) To improve my reading speed and comprehension abilities
As you know, this is a HARD way and it is not an easy thing to do thousands of questions hoping to improve in RC and CR and similarly developing the reading habits (reading newspapers and books). Can't develop such things overnight.
Moreover, none of these gave me a confidence that I can get 700 on GMAT.

Around 2 months back: -
========================
I was lucky to know about Csquare Learnings from one of Kalyan's students. After joining Csquare, my approach to attack the exam is altogether changed.
One thing I slowly started realizing is: Direction is very important for this exam. I got this needed direction @ CSquare. There is definitely a structured way of attacking CR and RC questions.

Key to this exam in my opinion is:-

For Verbal (OG 10, OG 11 and GMAT prep tests are enough):-
----------------------
1) SC - Need to just follow rules that were mentioned in the class @ csqrl. Going anything beyond these rules will only impact the score negatively. I have found almost all questions on actual GMAT are crackable by applying these rules and you can definitely complete each SC question under 45 sec. Please be ready to skip SCs on actual exam and definitely keep the SCs under 45 sec (from the beginning of the exam till the end). Otherwise, you will definitely be short of time.
2) RC - need to 100% follow FIRE approach given by CsquareL. Give importance to analyzing the passages rather than giving importance to doing more and more passages. Analysis is the KEY. Analyze each question and each choice for traps even though you got the answer right. One thing I learnt over time: Most of these passages follow the same basic patterns; even the questions are also framed using the same set of finite patterns.
3) CRs - I found the CR questions relatively harder on the exam. Last 2 choices are always tricky. By following the proper elimination strategy, we can reduce the no.of mistakes. While reading the argument, look for the basic skeleton and keep your full focus on conclusion.

Exam approach for Verbal:
-----------
The exam approach should be tuned based on the relative importance - RC>CR>SC. Try to get passages pakka.

For Quant:-
------------
OG 10,11 and 12 is enough to score 50. Nothing else is required. Be careful on easy questions on the exam. Each of these easy ones has a trick in it. While practising the questions, always look for easier ways of solving the questions rather than the HARD way. Hope this helps.

All the best for your preparations.
Thanks,
Suresh

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710

Sourabh 710 [M - 50, V – 35]

I gave my GMAT recently and scored a 710. (M 50, V 35) Here is my experience of the whole journey.


I met Kalyan at Csquare Learnings in mid January and after meeting him I was totally convinced that I'm joining them for my GMAT preparation. I started the classes in the end of January and was done with my GMAT by May. Similar to most of the people, my weak area was Verbal specially Sentence Correction and RC.

Thanks to Csquare, by the end of the course, RC became my strength and I could answer SC questions with greater accuracy. Following Csquare Trainer's advice, I only focused on OG 11 and OG 10. Once I was done with them, I revised OG 10 and 11 two more times. I always believed that Math is my strength and focused more on Verbal. But Rashmi made me realize that every mark in Math is important and can make the difference in the final score. A score of M 47 and V 35 could have made my overall score slip below 700. Thanks to Rashmi for making me realize the importance of Math and teaching me like a strict school teacher.


I kept on giving GMAT Prep in every 3 weeks time to track my progress. My GMAT Prep Scores were 640, 710, 680 and 740.

AWA
A week before my exam date , my trainer gave me the AWA template and I studied that template for sometime before giving my last GMAT Prep with AWA to get a feel of a 4+ hr test.


Test Day


AWA: Following Csquare's advice, I made sure that I swift through the AWA without getting on my nerves.

Math
I found Math more difficult than normal GMAT Prep test. After first 3-4 questions I realized that I'm taking too much time on the difficult questions. I realized that those might be the dummy questions and are just coming up to exhaust me. I skipped 2-3 very difficult questions that came at in between and were taking more than 1.5 mins to solve. But some how in the end I was getting a little nervous about the difficulty level of Math. At the end I though I will score around 47 in math and with 750 being my target, I needed 50 + in Math.


Verbal
I made up my mind that I have to perform well in Verbal for a score above 700. I relaxed myself during the break and asked myself not to think about Math. I found Verbal comparatively easy than Math. I followed all the strategies told by Kalyan (of csqrl) and I never allowed any question to bring me down. RC's were my strength and I found them quite easy. For the first time in 3 months, I finished my Verbal Section with 5 mins to spare.Score Time
I was praying to see a "7" as the first digit of my score. I didn’t care about the last 2 digits. To my surprise I scored a 710 with 50 in Math and 35 in Verbal. I expected more in my verbal. But anyways, as far as I crossed 700 it's ok .


My advice to all
- Follow
Csqrl 100 %
- Don’t take Math lightly, Follow
csqrl's advice on Math 100% :-)
- Don’t get nervous by difficult questions, they are part of the game.

Csquare Learning-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710

Prachi Mishra 710 [M - 50, V - 35]

It was August; exactly two years back I was in a exam center taking GMAT Exam. Dying to see to 700, but to my surprise saw only 580. I was SHOCKED I was almost in tears. Felt disgusting about myself, that after all rigorous the preparation for GMAT, I couldn’t score 700, my dream score. Lost hopes and decided I will never take GMAT in my life.

After 18 months, in Feb, I was in Belgium (Onsite work ). During the same time when one colleague was preparing for GMAT, my heart started beating for GMAT once again. From her I started my preparation all over again. This time I don’t want to take chance, so planned to take formal training, enquired about my institutes but none was convincing. I was very disappointed.
I continued my research: One day, one pagalguy thread….punjuabipriti raves about a GMAT specialist in Bangalore tried posting on net to get the contact details

Four of the students responded again positive feedback….

Get to call up and talk to this man…hey I got to go down to Bangalore for coaching…do I know someone in town ..NO

Do I want my GMAT 700 score..YES despite all the odds still yes….

I called up Kalyan while in Belgium interrogated about the price and then how long the coaching would take and where will I stay??????????????????????????????????????????

Answer: No problems we will work it out………

Called up my father; arrange for the tickets; I was returning back to India after a year badly wanted to stay home but even holidays from office were a constraint

Requested my onsite PM to send me back early…stayed at home for four days and off to Bangalore Reached Csquare Learnings ( Kalyan’s institute) and joined classes.

The coaching aggressive and focused…Only the study notes…after one and half months we are through….then what everyday go to coaching center and after giving every test sit and analyze it with Kalyan.,

This teacher despite the entire busy schedule he would still find time…meticulously cleared doubts…. Suddenly I had to leave for my workplace midway… how I will study from a distance…once the work load comes everything would go down the drain.

But still came back studied and started clearing doubts via phone and mails…was too nervous…but one man’s confidence always told me I could do it…one person was damn convinced that I was a 700 bracket candidate and that was my teacher at Csquare Learnings. To tell you Csquare is NOT just an institute, it the POSITIVE ENERGY that you get no where else. in my case they were not just a GMAT training Institute but a strong supporter who confided in my capabilities more than me myself. Always there to solve my doubts and reduce my tension levels:)

Went to Mumbai and gave the exam. 710 my dream score hats off to C-Square its team. Csquare Learnings is NOT just GMAT training institute but my God.

Good Luck!

Csquare Learnings-Student feedback-GMAT Score 720

Nitin 720 [M - 49, V - 40]

Preparation :
I took a total of 6 weeks (taking away 3 weeks in between, when I didn't have time to do any prep) to prepare for the GMAT, at the rate of ~2 hours per day. The only material I used, as recommended by Csquare Learnings, was the 10th OG (actually managed to finish just 60% of this) and 11th OG.
I downloaded the GMAT Prep SW and gave a test before I started prep. I scored 650 (v-34,m-47). I booked the GMAT date at this point, taking Kalyan's recommendation on when I should time it. Since time was limited (courtesy a hectic and stressful job), I was always hard pressed and the few days I finally managed to take off before the test helped take work off my mind.

Further tests (I used only GMAT prep SW):
3 weeks into prep : 620 (V-28, M-47). I was trying to apply some of the methods Csquare trainers had suggested for verbal. Since they were new and I didn't have sufficient practice, both accuracy and mainly time suffered.
------work got crazy during this time, effectively a 2-3 week break. So I'm not counting this in--------5th week : 710 (v-40,m-48) No repeats in questions surprisingly! But I didn't have enough time in verbal again - of the 10 mistakes made, I did 6 in the last because I had to blindly select and finish since I had no time. Learnt the value of balancing accuracy and time.
6th week: 760 (v-44,m-49) couple of repeats in verbal and math. But I managed to finish verbal in time, which was my main objective.

Test day :
I'd chosen a morning slot since I'm most active at this time. I slept well the previous night and took a taxi to the venue. I didn't drive since I didn't want ANY stress before the test!

Math: I'd never reached a score of 50/51 in my preps, but I'd never gone below 47 ever, so I was relaxed. Finished with 2 mins to spare; could've gone faster, but I seem to have double-checked a few answers just to be sure...

Verbal: I knew that this section would be trying for me in terms of time.....and it turned out to be true. I took longer to answer all questions types (versus practice time, maybe since I was extra cautious) and the RCs I got were all on the abstract topics that I don't like. In the end, I had to blindly click on answers for the last 4 questions to finish in time. Bad!

Score: Verbal - 40/90%
Math - 49/90%
Total - 720/96%

Thoughts/advice:
In retrospect, I should have done some more practice than what I'd done, both for Math and Verbal. Make sure you follow Csquare's guidance on practice - it is crucial to master the methods taught! I should have also done some additional practice tests to help with my timing in verbal. (Kalyan took this feedback and he will soon be starting a Student Center on the website with practice questions in GMAT format. Good for you current students!).

A special point to note:
Make sure you follow the methods Kalyan and Csquare teaches fully. Following them half is as good as not following them at all! And please try to constantly evaluate yourself in the beginning and take Csquare's help to counter any issues....it makes a difference. You have to fine tune your own test strategy to make use of your strengths and counter your weaknesses - these are different for different people.

Csquare Learnings-Student feedback-GMAT Score 710

Nikunj 710 [M - 49, V - 38]

First of all a lot of thanks to Kalyan, Rashmi and all the trainers at Csquare Learnings who helped me though the process.

My struggle with GMAT began quite early this year in March. I was preparing on my own till end of July and frankly was getting no where. In May I moved to Bangalore, and sort of started to panic. I had already finished Princeton, Kaplan and most OG at this time and also given about 8 practice tests, but my performance was not improving. In fact by the end of July I decided to take the GMAT with whatever preparations I had done.Fortunately I found out about Kalyan and Csquare online on pagalguy.com. I met Rashmi and was convinced that this was the right place for me. And I would say that the preparation really started from then on. The strategies really worked. Specially the RC ones. I just suggest follow them blindly and as csqrl would say do the OG again and again.

I was pretty confident before the d-day. I really had put in all that I could. The AWA section went off really cool I finished both the essays in about 20-22 minutes and then used the time left to relax.

Quant started off really well. I saw some really simple question but at question 19 it got tough, I remember that I spent quite a lot of time on 19, 20 and 21. But then after spending 3 minutes of each of them, categorized them as experimental and moved on. A few of the DS were tricky and 19, 20 and 21 were certainly unsolvable.Verbal also went off pretty smoothly, not under any pressure until the last 4 question for which I had only 4 minutes left. I got 5 RCs 3-3-4-3-2 question respectively. Except for the 4th one all were one paragraph types (but this was a huge passage) and the 5th one was a rather long 80-90 lines (that too single Para...talking of some weird connection between technology and socialism). I am sure without the strategies that passage would have been two times tougher than I already feel it was.
CRs were fine, I did observe 2 questions directly following the pattern of OG question, I actually remembered OG question as soon as I saw them on the screen. Otherwise I would say CR was normal. SC was also normal, except for 3 questions. 2 of them were of those uncommon types where 'being' was right. But it was easy to spot them as other choices made horrendous mistakes. One question also violated the, “which" rule, I was quite surprised to see this, but here again the other choices was unelectable for various reasons.
On the whole before the score I was sure that I had done well, so I went ahead and pressed the submit button, the story after that u guys already know...710. Once again a million Thanks to Csquare. Also for all the support and help of my batch mates.

Good luck! And hope that you all do great!!!

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710

Naveenth 710 [M - 48, V - 40]

I would like to thank Kalyan, Rashmi and Csquare Learnings for your support and wishes. That I got 710, somehow still didn’t sink into me. This being my second attempt, I was frantic to get above 700 and good that I did. In the first attempt I made a 680, and as Rashmi always told me, that’s the worst score anyone can get. One would never be sure to give another attempt though he/she may not be satisfied with the score. I decided to give it another go and with one and a half months from the first attempt I gave my second GMAT. And the rest as they say is history :)

Though I would like to say that my preparations paid off and I had quite some good luck on that day, I did meet with a glitch. By the time I could finish answering the last question in the Math section, my time expired. And as there is a penalty for the not completing in time, I was extremely disappointed that my score would turn out to be bad in Quant. I almost lost hope, got uninterested and lost all my mental energy -- all symptoms of pessimism. I took the whole time off in the break to somehow console myself and face the next section, i.e. verbal. As they say, even if you fail, fail with honor, I mustered enough strength to face verbal, and the efforts paid off. Quite dramatic, but then made a real difference. Thanks to the experiences of all the other students that came along with the coaching in Csquare Learnings.

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 710


Jyoti Malik 710 [M - 49, V - 40]

I joined Kalyan in March end and gave my test in end July. My diagnostic score was 620(39/37) and finally I managed a 710 (Q49/ V40). Especially for non techies like me, I would say that the Quant strategies really help.



My experience on both sections is as below:
QUANT:
I found the questions okay but went a little slow rechecking my calculations as this is where I used to make the max mistakes. I missed out answering the last 37th QS in quant, which can be unnerving, as it had never happened in any of the diagnostics. I did not find any repeat QS from OG 10, but the pattern is fairly similar. Among the new ones, I found probability QS in data sufficiency but it was fairly simple.



VERBAL:
Again verbal section was pretty okay except for first RC which was on a science related topic with lot of specific info, whereas I was trying to recover from the shock of leaving one QS unanswered in quant and keeping calm. Surprisingly, I did not get a single Idiom in sentence correction but plenty of modifiers and parallelism.

I thank Kalyan , Rashmi and Csquare Learnings for guiding me so well with my GMAT prep and for the best prep guidance that I could get. The prep material and strategies are more than sufficient for preparing and the two things required to crack this exam are just practice and confidence & I have got a lot of help on both from CsquareL.

I wish the rest all the best for their test and apps.

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT score 710

Jayesh 710 [M-50, V -36]

I gave my GMAT in July. Got a score of 710(50 in Quant, 36 in Verbal). Below is my journey.
I joined Csquare in March. I earlier did some coaching with career launcher for CAT. That experience was pathetic. It's like it was zero effort from their side. Just giving books doesn't make any difference. I was not satisfied with my CAT experience and so wanted to go for GMAT. I searched on NET for institutes. Found IMS but I just don't want to repeat the same mistake. Then in pagalguy.com I found one thread referring Kalyan and Csquare. I went to Csquare to check out. Their confidence level in their tactics and smart work really pushed me to join the institute. I knew I won't regret this decision :)

Rashmi started taking my classes. Believe me from the start to the end it was effortless. These people have done their homework :). It was like hard work was done from their side. I was just following them :) In my first diagnostic test I scored 530(41 in Quant, 19 in Verbal). That disappointed me a lot. I asked them whether I need to put more efforts and the answer i got was flat NO. Their confidence in their strategies and testimonials I went through gave me the confidence that the same will work for me also.

Earlier I thought we would be given lots of material for practice. Well, only thing we were asked to do were 11th OG and 10TH OG. I used to ask a lot about more practice questions but now i believe that OG is sufficient. Just want to add here that you will find some of the questions from 10th OG directly in the real exam. So it will be great if you have done 10th OG few times.
There strategies for verbal are really very good. With practice your speed and accuracy will definitely increase. I was following rashmi and Csquare blindly :). In my second test I scored 650(49 in Quant, 27 in verbal). That increased my confidence but at the same time this was not the score I wanted. So I kept on putting efforts. I always tried to complete my assignment on time. So at the end I didn't had any backlog. Please make sure you do the assignments on time. Try as much as possible not to leave anything for future. Fortunately I didn't have much work in office at the initial stage so it wascomfortable going.
After the second test, I got fever. Fortunately, kalyan was shifting to the new building so I had 2 weeks to recover :). I gave my 3rd test and scored 690(37 in Verbal and 49 in Quant). Our classes were over by then and I was going on leave for 15 days. Work was quite hectic for that period and I just couldn't read anything. But I didn't have any backlog so I didn't feel much pressure. I went on leave and on the first day itself went down withviral fever. That took me 7-8 days for recovery. After that I had 1 week so I kept on practicing the strategies and watching a lot of TV :). On 3rd I gave another test and scored 720(50 in Quant, 36 in Verbal).

On the D day...
On 4th I went to see my center once. I chilled out whole day and watched 2-3 movies. On 5th I reached MG road at 11:30. Went for one cheese burger. As my exam was at 1:45, I didn’t want to take heavy lunch as it will make me feel sleepy. I had 2 snickers withme. The center was calm (unexpected as it is beside a heavy traffic road). I did the formalities and wrote my essay following Csquare's template. In the break I finished one snicker and took some water. After that I did quant. I found some questions directly from 10TH OG. The paper was OK. I didn't want to think how it went and enjoyed my break with a snicker :). I was in mindset that I would give it again if it didn't go well. I went for verbal. I didn't find any difficult passage and questions were fine. After the exam you have to fill some forms. I kept my fingers crossed and went for Report Scores. Not disappointed :)

My Advice...
Please follow Csqrl 100%. They know exactly what they are doing. Try to keep as less backlog as possible. Don't try to go for any other material and do the OG as told by these guys. And very important, don't take quant lightly. Even if you are very good please do the OG at least twice. The only strategy in math is to follow each and every step in notebook as time is not a constraint but accuracy is.
Best of luck to all
.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT score 750

Gautam 750 [M - 47, V - 45]

" GMAT is a game. It isn't about math skills or knowledge of grammar. It's a combination of time management, intelligent guessing, mentally moving past short-term failures on individual questions and an attitude that you can and will crack this test.

Csquare Learnings teaches you exactly those skills in their course. The first time I took the GMAT, I got a respectable score (690), but I felt I could do better.The problem,
ofcourse, is that it's a lot easier to raise a low score than a reasonable one.

Csquare puts you through a program that makes you look at a GMAT problem and quickly zero in on the most probable answer. You learn how to rapidly diagram a problem so that you realize what information you need - the entire basis of data sufficiency.The assigned homework is structured in such a way that applying the basic concepts the GMAT tests becomes second nature. The trainers at Csqrl always impress upon you that you are your own worst enemy when it comes to the GMAT; that the problems really aren't hard, and that the worst thing you can do when faced with a question you can't immediately deconstruct is to let it prey on your mind through the next few questions. I took the test again after spending about a month with Csquare and boosted my score to a 750."

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT score 700

Cijal 700 [M - 46, V - 39]

Aim
I wanted to get an MBA degree. I specifically wanted an International MBA degree. I knew I wanted to take the GMAT, but had absolutely no idea how to go about it. Some of my friends had taken it earlier, but the experiences had been mixed. Many people whom I thought would breeze through the exam didn’t and that got me worried.

Problems
I am a software engineer working in Bangalore, in a 'high profile technology services company'. My work schedules were as hectic as they were erratic making planning up for anything more than a day away, nearly impossible. The project I was on, was nearing its completion, a full 2 months after its deadline. So, I was under a lot of pressure too. Discipline and planning ahead were never my strength.

How I got there
GMAT required focused preparation, and I wasn’t in a position to focus on anything but my work. But I had to take the GMAT this year. So, I started off the research on how to start off preparation for GMAT, by typing "GMAT" into Google. Princeton Review and Kaplan said most of the resources. I came across Kalyan's and Csquare Learnings name in a BB (pagalguy.com) with some very positive feedback. So, I thought I'd check up with them. After the demo class, I was relatively sure, how I wanted to go about my GMAT training. Starting GMAT Demo Exam Score: 580

More Problems
Just as I started off my training, my project went in from 'Red' to 'Dark Red'. I was working on weekends also. But, I stuck to Csquare's timings. I attended their sessions 6 hours a week, and worked approximately 1 to 2 hours everyday on the material (on 'most' days). I did not touch Princeton or Kaplan, but stuck to the OGs as per Csqrl's advice.

The Week Before the Exam
I took a week leave before the exam to get into shape. I had not been spending as much time as I would liked to for the preparation. My demo test scores were still a tentative 680, a far cry from the Holy Grail of 700. I worked through the whole week as per Kalyan's instructions. Meanwhile, I was already hearing horror stories of folks, who've got 700s in the GMAT official demos, going into to complete meltdown during the exam. This got me really spooked. I put the exam completely out of my mind on the day before the exam. I mentally prepared myself, to take it lightly. If I screwed up, I'd just write it again. That’s all there was to it. (Ok, I’ll tell you what really happened. The fact is I got cold feet the day before. I was on the verge of panic, when Kalyan calmed me down. He prepared me to write it again if I screwed up. So, if you can accept the fact that you are going to write this exam again in a month or so if you don’t do well, you will be in a much better shape to take the test.)

The Exam
I was at the center an hour earlier than my schedule and I started my exam half an hour early. The AWA's were a breeze. I had 5 minutes remaining at the end of it. I had a very healthy habit of calculating the correct answer, but marking the wrong one for data sufficiency questions. I was extra careful about this in the Math section. I thought I did my math really well compared to my last tests. But, then never really gave much thought about it (heeding Kalyan's advice). I had close to 5 minutes left at the end. Verbal felt much tougher than my earlier tests. I was struggling with a few questions, but instead of struggling harder with them, I jumped right over them to the next one (another advice from Csquare Learnings that I am grateful for). The verbal turned out to be a bit of a squeeze in the end. My verbal hadn’t gone as well as I'd wanted it to.

700
The final scores were a bit of a surprise. 39 in Verbal and 46 in Math. I had received the highest verbal score I'd ever received on any of my demo tests. At the same time, the section I'd done well, turned out to be a few points less than my previous score. But, what the heck, the screen in front of me proclaimed that I had got a 700 and that was what mattered the most. My AWA scores later came in at 5.


After thoughts
I certainly could have done better if I'd put in enough time. But, if you look at it the other way around, I had done really well for a guy who was working close to 60 hours a week. The very fact that I could get the discipline I needed was the turning point. Thanks to Kalyan , Rashmi and Csqrl. I'd managed to get a 700 under very trying conditions. I am very sure that I wouldn’t have managed to get even close to this score with my own preparation. Kudos to Csquare and let me wish them all the best with the institute.

Csquare Learning-Student feedback-GMAT score 710

Anuj 710 [M - 49, V - 38]

Sometime in October last year, I decided to do an MBA and started preparing for GMAT. Without revising a single math or English concept, I gave my first diagnostic test and got a 550. It had been a long gap since I studied last so I was hopeful of improving the score much better. I was as confused with Verbal as others are. I went through Princeton and OG 11 and lots of questions available on net but it was all direction less. Finally I gave my GMAT in December and got a score of 650, an improvement of 100 from the first diagnostic but still below my expectations.

I decided to give it one more shot and this time with some guidance. I searched online and came to know of Kalyan and Csquare Learnings through one of the forums. Luckily I did not go anywhere else and went to Csquare first. I was impressed after talking to them and decided to get coaching from them. I did not check any other institute. It was 3 months of hard work and expert guidance from Kalyan and Csquare before I took my exam the second time in July end.

I did a lot of practice and was getting good scores in GMAT prep software as well as a very good accuracy in OG questions. I was full of confidence before the exam. Anyways, I went for the exam and fared badly in it. I got a 650 again. My Verbal score was less than the first time score. I was extremely disappointed. I could see 2 mistakes in my approach at that time.

1. I was overcautious while attempting all the questions. I was not too keen on skipping the questions at that time.
2. I did not follow some simple strategies which could have saved time. I will discuss those strategies later.


So I was left with very less time for about last 10-12 questions which messed up my score.
Like any normal human being, I was very unsure about taking the test again or just forget about it. Getting the same score twice and after so much practice, getting a lower score in Verbal was shattering.


After talking to Kalyan after the exam, I gained my confidence back. He had full faith in me and wanted me to go for it again. So I decided to go for it again. I took the first available date after a month of my first exam date. I practiced the same content again. Not much difference in preparations as such. Again I took my exam in September.

This time got a score of 710 [M - 49, V - 38].

Csquare Learnings-Student feedback-GMAT score 710

Nakul Agarwal 710 [M - 44, V - 42]

I recently gave my GMAT. Just wanted to share my experience with you. Well my GMAT experience is just like any one else's. I gave GMAT in September and scored pretty decently (when compared to my starting scores). I thought of giving GMAT about 5 months back. Did some basic research like what is the syllabus, what are the sections etc and quickly identified two things. First that with 5 years of experience, I need to score in and around 700 to get into a good B- school. Secondly, that I can’t do it alone. I need some direction as to how should I go about it.

I got Kalyan's reference from a forum in MBA.com(I am not sure of the site). I liked his small batch approach. Had a talk with 1-2 of his previous students and then decided to start with the classes. I started with the morning batch. In my diagnostic test I scored 580. That was depressing because 700 seemed far. In the batch of 8, we started with SC, CR and then onto Math and finally RC. I strictly followed Kalyan's deadlines, instructions and timetable. I was daily spending 3 hrs doing the 11th OG (trust me don't even think of any other book. OG is more than enough). In the beginning it was really difficult. All my answers were wrong :(. But slowly I started understanding what was required. I began to identify the pattern and understood what the question is asking for. I started getting SC's correct. That gave me confidence. I gave my second test. That was a disaster. I scored 530. Even lower than the first time. Boy was I shattered. I still continued working with the 11th OG and the next time I gave test I scored 650.

By this time we had virtually covered everything in class at CsquareL. Still 700 was at a teasing distance. By this time my D-Day (GMAT exam date) was only 2 weeks away and I had virtually completed my 11th OG. Kalyan told me to start working on 10th OG. Also he gave the presentation with questions, which I started doing with time restrictions. This exercise gave me a very good practice to keep track of time. I was basically able to manage time with my questions. Here I gave another test. Kalyan told me that this time skip those questions that you feel will take longer. Also that the first two RC's are the score boosters . If you can get them correct your verbal score will automatically increase. I did exactly that. I skipped around 3-4 math questions and 3-4 SC and CR. Score - 700 (Math - 47 and Verbal - 36). Now that made me really happy. Beyond this point I decided that I don't need to improve on anything else just that I need to keep in touch with everything. So 2 more tests and try completing 10th OG as much as possible. I did just that. I completed SC and CR completely. RC around 65%. Math – 90%. After completing everything I gave another test just before the d-day I scored 690.

On the D-day.
Went to the center with only one thought. Just give your best shot and don't worry about score. Specially don't let the mistakes prey on your mind. The AWA writing was straight forward and with the template in place that was a piece of cake. Then started the Math. I skipped the first question itself. Rest went pretty well. Completed math with 1.2 minutes remaining. Skipped around 2-3 questions there. Took a break. Thought to myself, math was pretty decent. Now in verbal just keep your cool and get the first two RC's right.
Started well with verbal. With SC I kept it very simple. Just reading the question once will tell you whether you have identified the rule it is testing. If you could identify that spend time on it otherwise skip it. Gave special attention to RC's. I did spend a few seconds more on every RC question, just to be sure. Got 2 long passages first. Third one was a short passage. I was expecting the fourth one to be short as well. But that was a long passage. That took me by surprise, but I had sufficient time left so I did that easily. In the end I completed verbal section with 13 minutes remaining.

My Final score - 710, (Math - 44, Verbal - 42). I know I should have scored better in math.My advise to all the test takers. Just follow Kalyan's and CsquareL’s rules religiously and only work with OG's. That's more than sufficient for getting a good score.
Best of luck guys...


Happy GMATing :)
Nakul Agrawal

Csquare Learnings-Student Feedback-GMAT Score 730

Madhu Kurien 730 [M - 50, V - 40]

I took my GMAT in October and got a score of 730. I would like to share with you my test preparation and test taking experience.

I am from Bangalore and I have been working with Infosys technologies for the past 7.5 years. I started planning for GMAT from March and was looking for good guidance in this regard. After visiting Princeton Review, Kaplan and TIME in Bangalore I chanced upon Kalyan from Csquare Learnings through one of his students. I found his method of approaching the test very interesting and was convinced that his plan would work well for me.

Kalyan’s approach is to channelize our efforts in the right direction. In GMAT, I learned through experience,how you study matters and not how much you study. I mean you can browse through hundreds of materials on the internet, books and CDs but finally can end up missing out on the basics. With Kalyan at Csqrl this will never happen. He will make sure we have a solid base before we start attacking the test.

The classes started in May and I took the GMAT in August. Even after preparing well and continuously scoring 750+ in the preparatory tests, I was not 100% confident on this day. I did my AWA session very badly and was therefore out of composure when I started attacking the math session. But the performance in AWA session had its impact throughout the math and verbal session as I kept on thinking about how badly I did there.

Not surprisingly I got a score of 540 at the end of it.

I was disappointed to say the least. However I came home and after taking some time to get over the failure, I sat down and wrote the “what went wrong “points. They were:-

1)When you are attempting to answer one question never think of any previous question nor be worried about the questions that might come later.
2)Never get nervous under any circumstance. I kept on repeating “there is always a next chance “
3)Don’t stick around a question for more than 1.5 mins, If you don’t know just skip. (One important lesson from CsquareL). Trust me this works!!

I registered for the next available date for GMAT which was in October (Require minimum 31 days between 2 attempts ).Just brushed through the concepts for the next one month. 2 days before the exam took the final mock test and got a score of 770. The day previous to the exam I tried my best not to think about the exam. Went for a movie and slept early.

On the exam day, I went to the center at 8.30 AM. My test was at 9.30 AM.Got through the AWA session with confidence and then cam to Math. The first question I skipped was 8th and then in the end skipped around 3 questions.I was satisfied with the performance in Math and after the 10 mins break attacked the Verbal part .Here also it was smooth going till around 10th question which I had to skip.

In the end I got a score of 50 in Math and 40 in Verbal and a composite score of 730 ( 97 % ) with 5.0 in AWA.

I thank Csquare team for the excellent guidance and support it has given in my GMAT journey. Also request students to follow his methods and work hard to get a great score!!

Csquare Learnings - Student feedback - GMAT score 750

Vishant Jain 750 [M - 50, V - 40]

Before preparing GMAT, I was actually chasing CAT for two years. After giving CAT in vain two times, I decided to go for GMAT. Having a background in CAT, I was confident about maths but was very scared of verbal. Last September, I decided to take some personal coaching in verbal & heard about Kalyan(Founder at Csquare Learnings) through pagalguy I met him but could not join his classes because of having less than 2 years of experience. This July, I met Kalyan again & decided to join Csquare Learnings as I felt I can get a personal attention as well as a perfect regularity required for my preparation here. Luckily, I had a small batch of 5 of us too, which helped in good learning & extra attention from Kalyan.


My score of diagnostic test was morale boosting 730(M49 V40) but proved to be dangerous as it took me in a little comfort zone. Further, high work pressure in my job didn't allow me to give sufficient time to prepare. Here, I must give my sincere thanks to my batch mate Rajesh who consistently inspired me to work harder and to find time out of my work busy schedule. This was Rajesh only because of whose motivation we use to sit together to study 2-3 hours everyday consistently to prepare after our classes were over. That period of one & half month gave a real boost for my preparation and that ¡s when I gained the required confidence. We did the 10th OG together once & discussing the questions together helped a lot in understanding the questions & different approaches to answer them. Finally in all, from preparation point of view, I did 11th OG once, 10th OG twice, practiced few more old GMAT question papers which I got from Csqaure Learnings and took 6 GMATPrep software exams with following

Scores:730(M49 V40) (diagnostic on July 20th, 2007)

690(M50 V30) (took this one in between the course to check my progress, didn't tell this to any one. ;). This was an eye opener for me.

730(M50 V38) (after the course)

740(M51 V38) (one month before the test)

770(M51 V43) (2 weeks before the test. Many questions were already seen)

710(M51 V34) (just 1 week before the exam)

I was pretty confident before the d-day because of the consistency of 700+ I was having in last few prep exams. Really had put in all that I could but was worried for inconsistent verbal scores in prep exams. The day before exam day, I watched the two Hindi comedy movies DHOL & DHAMAAL & the India-Pakistan one day cricket match to cool off the building exam tension.On D-day, got up at 5:30 in morning, revised SC idioms for 15-20 mins, got ready & left for the test around 7:00 to avoid the morning traffic chaos of city. Reached at centre at 7:30, So, I passed one hour by chatting with other candidates. Finally check in & other things began at 8:30.Adminstration staff was very supportive & I didn't have any problem at all during the whole exam. Test environment was very calm & relaxing.


D - Day

AWA section:In analysis of argument, I was asked to discuss on implementation of advanced IT software is good or bad for an advertising company. Being a B.Tech. in IT, it reminded me of the basic course in our graduation “IT in businesses" and the question which was asked again & again, "pros & cons of IT" . So, a cakewalk. Followed the template & put 3-4 argument. Confidence level went one up. The issue question was: "People have a duty to disobey the laws which they feel are unjust". Not much problem. Followed the template.

Math section:Math also went coolly. My experience was that the questions were actually easier than the ones in prep software. Got 2-3 seen questions. In fact, I got a bit worried in middle whether I am answering them correctly because I got only 2-3 questions which seemed hard while in prep software I used to get so many hard questions. So, in between, I slowed my pace & be bit cautious. Nothing surprising, went smoothly, finished the section with 10 mins remaining.

Verbal Section:I was bit worried for it because of my inconsistency in prep software scores. The best thing I did was that I could hold my nerve here & didn't worry much about how the test was going. I just kept on answering every question with my best effort & didn't let the tension build in mind. With this I progressed well keeping an eye on time and I think the thing which was important that I did not mess up things towards the end because of shortage of time. Took nearly full 75 mins to finish the section. This too was smooth with nothing surprising as such.Finally, after the software asked for some personal information, the magic figure appeared on the screen...750!!! Delighted, thanked god for it and everything ended happily. One girl in my slot got 740, chatted with her for few minutes & then I left.

My suggestions for the exam day: keep yourself calm & don’t get tense at all; more you stay cool, better will be your performance. Follow the strategy Csqaure Learnings gives(which helped me). Utilize your spare time in AWA or math to relax and in writing ABCDE for your verbal section on scratch pad to save few minutes in verbal section. Rest, Actual GMAT software is similar to the prep software, so make yourself use to of it.

Few points which I think were differentiators in my preparation:

About the scope of preparation, other than classroom sessions at Csquare Learnings, Ill strongly suggest to stick to 11th & 10th OGs only. While 11th OG is easier than 10th OG and good to start with, 10th OG reflects the actual level of difficulty in GMAT exam. These two are more than sufficient to get a good score. Level of difficulty as well as design of questions in actual exam is completely similar to the two OGs. So, practice them well.
DO NOT refer to any XYZ coaching's material because the difficulty level & design of questions in them are completely misleading & may hurt your preparation. If you feel the need of some more preparation, then I w¡ll suggest referring to some old GMAT papers. These papers can be found over internet in the form of old prep softwares and some pdf files. Analyse very well whatever you practice, note down the mistakes you are making and correct them. Also, Practice sufficiently on a computer screen because most of us have never taken any of our exams on computer screen before; this can cause a little discomfort in the actual exam if you don’t make yourself use to of it & your time taken per question will be more.

2. Plan your preparation according to your strengths & weaknesses. Every individual has different background & time which he or she can devote for preparation. So, my strong suggestion is to plan accordingly. Check your preparation levels regularly & once you feel that you are confident to take the exam, then only take it whether it is in 2 months or in 6 months. Don’t just rush for exam if you get one or two good scores in prep software. Consistently getting good score is very important.

3- GMAT is not an exam of tough questions; it is just a very well planned exam. So, focus on your strategy. Keep your mind cool & understand the tricks & traps in OG questions.

4- For those who are good in math (as most of we Indians are), I will suggest to be bit careful. As Rashmi rightly says, there are well planned traps put in math questions in which you can easily fall if you take math preparation lightly. So, do practice math well. I think, with a relatively little effort than required in verbal, it is easy to get a 50-51 in math which can boost your final score greatly.

5- For verbal:

RC: FIRE strategy given by Csquare is a very good strategy to approach RCs, especially in the last RC in exam which tends to be more difficult & the brain at that time is completely exhausted, so, understanding is very low. Make sure that you practice it very well. As each one of us has a unique background & our own ways to approach RC, my personal opinion is that a little customized version of FIRE to suit your needs can do wonders, do consult Kalyan at Csquare at different levels of your preparation & I am sure you can hit RC perfectly.

SC: Follow 100% what is told in class & that is perfectly sufficient to break SC questions in 45 seconds each. No more & no less preparation is needed.

CR: Practice a lot to understand the design patterns of questions in OGs. You will get similar patterns in exam such as Country X's plan on issue Y; Governor of city X said something...etc.Finally, Thanks a lot to Csquare team for their support & sincere efforts, without them touching the magic number 750 was impossible.Best of luck to everyone for your preparations. If I can be of any further help to anyone of you, please mail me anytime at mailto:jain.vishant%40gmail.com

Csquare Learnings - Student feedback - GMAT Score 770

Neeraj Kakkar Score 770

My Experience:

I am a typical small town Engg. Grad working with an MNC for last 9 years. Started thinking about doing a US MBA since last year. This year decided to take the GMAT. Booked a date of in July

Became a member of Sentence Correction.Com, GMATclub.Com, and Scoretop.Com etc. and tried other sources (class room coaching) for study. But by the end of September, I realized I am not moving anywhere. The strengths (read it math - problem solving and critical reasoning) remained strengths and weaknesses (data sufficiency, reading comprehension and mother of all sentence correction) remained areas of improvement.

Got to know of Kalyan and Csquare during some other coaching class. First was really apprehensive of one more class, but my adventurous nature pulled me to his doorsteps for “let’s check him out too”. Attended a complimentary Reading Comprehension Class and what luck, I struck Gold. After the first 5 minutes I was more than convinced of the value he adds to any individual.

Their strengths are -

1) Small group size ( rather than paying Rs. 10 k and sitting in a class of 20 people it is always advisable to pay high and sit in a class of 4 people)
2) His understanding of GMAT as a test is phenomenal. I do not know my wife as well as they know this test. At the end of the day I could predict the next moves of GMAT courtesy his talent.
3) Focus and Focus and Focus on what one is supposed to do, does not let one wander in wilderness
4) The dedication to job (read it making your career) is exemplary in C square Learnings.

What material to read and how to read is something you will get to know when you join Csquare Learnings. Anyway I am writing my experience for last two days, copybook of how they advise you to behave for the benefit of reader.

The day of the test and one day before:

· Watched Season 2 of Friends – I still believe that was better than 5
· Slept @ 9.30
· Woke up @ 4.30
· Went Jogging – 1.00 hr
· Center @ 8.00 ( the parking on the side of the center is bad, pl. park in manipal center only)
· Cheerful staff at center, very welcoming
· Good sheets/ papers/ pens --- no problem
· No. 3 table ( no luck with numerology)
· Put the template on the argument first and then started thinking

For template contact the group coordinator
· Similar with issue essay
· No stress first hour.

· First Break – “Red Bull” and “Mars” a lethal combination
· Math everything was easy. Finished 15 mins before. Was sure of 51 there. Suggestion – Heroism does not lead to anywhere. Utilize this full time. My final score will reflect that
· Second Break – “Red Bull” and “Mars” part 2 – the sequel was better than original
· Verbal – first sentence correction question and I knew the answer.
For the first time thought 800 is possible.
First RC para Q5 – Came back to earth. 800 is not worth it.
· Finished with 10 mins left. Saw the score and cursed myself for saving those 15 mins in math section.(M 50, V 44)

But the center staff was happy with my score. The lady told 770 is the second highest, only one guy received 780 before. So the day ended happily and I reached office by 1.15 PM.

So here I close for the day, but the trick to success is that whenever you join the course at Csqrl , pl. follow it ditto and have faith completely.

Cheerio

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

India's Best GMAT Coaching Center



......We educate individuals

GMAT Training Institute in Bangalore/Hyderabad/New Delhi-India.

Who believe they can get 800 on GMAT......

Csquare Learnings was formed in response to the growing demand for high quality and personalized GMAT preparation.

Our mission at CsquareL is to provide students with the streamlined solutions that are necessary for the success, given today’s higher standards for what defines a competitive GMAT score. Our faculty have drawn on their passion for teaching, their experience in taking GMAT Exam numerous times and the insights gained from their research to educate GMAT aspirants who have not only secured outstanding scores but gained admission into TOP B-schools in the world.


Contact Details-

Bangalore :
No. 425, 1st Floor, 80 Feet Road, VI Block,
Koramangala, Bangalore 560 034. India.
Email : info@csqrl.com
Contact : 080-40821000

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Banjara Hills, Opp: Care Hospital,
Hyderabad 500 034. India.
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