GMAT™ Examinee Spotlight: Anisha Kumar
Name: Anisha Kumar
Undergraduate university: University of California at Berkeley
Program Enrolled/Business school attending: UCLA Anderson School of Management
What’s your background?
I’m Indian American and grew up in Southern California. When I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2017 with a degree in Bioengineering, I was fully intending to become a doctor. During my gap year, I worked at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center by helping patients through clinical trials. When I realized that I had other interests, I joined a medical device company called Arthrex as a systems engineer and gained an appreciation for the medical device industry.
How did your GMAT journey begin?
My first step was to take one of the GMAT practice exams without any preparation. Having not read anything about how the exam was structured, certain question formats were very unfamiliar, like the Data Sufficiency problems. Taking this first exam helped me understand where I was and what I needed to focus on.
What additional resources did you tap into on your journey?
I used the Manhattan Test Prep books to start with and took all of the official GMAT Practice Exams over the course of four months. After my first attempt, I purchased the Enhanced Score Report to determine what aspects I needed to focus more on. I then used Target Test Prep to boost my quant score, GMAT Ninja’s Sentence Correction videos on YouTube and the PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible. After these additional resources, I was able to hit my target score on my second attempt!
What were your admissions outcomes?
I received a Forté Scholarship with significant tuition coverage at two schools. I’ll be joining UCLA Anderson as a Forté Fellow for the Class of 2024!
What advice would you give to others?
The GMAT is just one aspect of your application. Make sure that you spend as much time on the other parts of your application as you do on the GMAT. Applying to B-school is a very reflective time period so try to enjoy the ride as much as you can. I can definitely say that through this process, I’ve learned so much more about myself.
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