Overcoming Self-Doubt: An Inspirational GMAT Verbal Journey
Self-doubt is something we all face at some point in our lives. For some, it stops us from leaping into the great unknown, resigning us to ask “What if?” for the rest of our lives. For others, this self-doubt is made worse by those we encounter. Keeping us in our little glass boxes and stopping us from realizing our full potential. But today, I want to share with you a story that shows that, often, self-doubt is nothing but just words, and when we realize that we are the masters of our own destiny, life has a funny way of pushing us to be where we were meant to be all along!
Anirbaan Das: The Unyielding Pursuit of GMAT 740+
It is August 29, 2021. Cue a fifth OVERALL, and the first since our working together, attempt to score a GMAT 740+. Cue self-doubt. Cue his wanting to give up on the GMAT altogether and apply with a previous score of 710. Cue my demanding more. Cue my unshakeable belief in the once-in-a-generation talent and his ability to score a GMAT Verbal V44 (98th %ile). Cue an inspirational story of monumental achievement.
This is the story of Anirbaan Das, whom many of you know as Mr. X (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/success-story-mrx-paramjit-das/), my first private student to score a V44, pioneering the trend of many of our students scoring a V44 and what we at GMAT30 consider a ‘solid’ GMAT score. He is the first student to have sent me his OWN notes, which he made after going through the recordings diligently, for further correction. Such was his dedication that he scored 800 in his mocks in the final week leading up to the exam.
The Unfortunate D-Day: From Mocks to Reality
However, on D-day, Anirbaan, unfortunately, didn’t score beyond a GMAT Verbal V40. Perhaps it was the stress of the applications in a couple of days. Perhaps it was the sleep that Anirbaan had sacrificed. Or perhaps it was the difficulty of the paper. Anirbaan seemed resigned to his fate. Writing the GMAT many times does have an important, often-overlooked mental effect. All of this is against the backdrop of a V40 being a very solid GMAT Verbal score already (90th percentile)!
Resilient Decision: Defying Setbacks
However, around the second week of September, with the mental pressure of applications reduced somewhat, I got in touch and encouraged Anirbaan to re-write the exam. He was skeptical at first, understandably so, but my belief in him remained steadfast. There was, in my mind, absolutely no way that someone who had scored 800 in the mocks and made such efforts to go through my classes would score anything less than a V44.
Anirbaan’s Triumphant GMAT Attempt and USC Marshall
We didn’t prepare formally the second time around, although I provided guidance, pro-bono, over Whatsapp — if you have put in the WORK, we WILL be by your side through to the END (we embody the #unlimited in #unlimited doubt solving). And so it happened on 23rd September 2021! Anirbaan finally scored a dream V44, a fabulous overall composite GMAT 740 (97%ile). This score enabled him to get admitted to the prestigious USC Marshall School of Business.
Master of Destiny: Life’s Way of Guiding Us
Had Anirbaan stopped after his fifth attempt, we wouldn’t be witness to one of the most inspirational GMAT successes. Sometimes, when we realize that we are the masters of our own destiny, life has a funny way of pushing us to be where we were meant to be all along! Congratulations to Anirbaan on displaying a tremendous GMAT score improvement. We wish him the very best for his MBA at USC Marshall and beyond!
(Some of) our sessions with our achievers:
Keval’s testimonial on scoring a GMAT 760 (99th %ile)
𝐔𝐣𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚’𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐕42
𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐲𝐚 𝐌𝐮𝐤𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐕40
𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐲𝐚’𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐕40 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩
𝐔𝐣𝐚𝐥𝐢’𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩
