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740 (98 %).....Yes, please save a spot for me.

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lhotseface
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Prep/Strategy/Materials [#permalink] New post   07 Apr 2006, 19:36
Here goes...

I studied for about a month in September 2005 and then lost focus after a 3 week vacation. Since I was going to apply for Fall 2007, I wasn't in a hurry to take the GMAT.

Beginning of this year, I started studying again and used the resources listed below. I didn't work through all the material..I had more than I needed. I have the tendency to buy/acquire all sorts of material without giving it much thought.

Resources

1. Princeton Review - Good Verbal, Average Quant.

2. Kaplan/Kaplan 800 - I used it last september and didn't give any test. Most people here say that Kaplan tests aren't representative...so I didn't bother.

3. Princeton Grammar Smart - Must read for non-native test-takers

4. OG 10th edition/11th edition - Same set of problems for the most part.
*** BEST resource for Verbal ***

5. MGMAT SC guide - Good for the basics. Works in conjunction with OG.

6. GMATClub - Problems for all sorts of resources...probably the only thing you need for a variety of problems.

7. GMATClub Challenges - Took challenges 17-25. Fosters creative thinking and good time management. I am sure if I had taken the ETS test, I would have scored higher in the Q section. Highly recommended !

8. GMATClub stickies by Honghu, Paul, YWilfred and others.

9. Permutations/Combinations - Various resources on the net. I had gotten really good at these questions. My favourite question type...

Practice Tests

PP2 - 760 ( OG overlap )
PR1 - 740 with AWA
PR2 - 690 with AWA
GMATPrep1 - 730 with AWA ----------Accurate Score Predictor
GMATPrep2 - 720 with AWA
Manhattan GMAT exams - 650, 690 - Didn't find them too useful.

Strategy for Quant

Nothing much except that I was forced to backsolve a few times. I am not good at it. It is not something that comes naturally to me. I would suggest that you get in the habit of using it for some of the tougher problems. Getting a strong foundation of concepts is more important than solving more problems.

Strategy for Verbal
RC - Active reading, relate main idea of all passages. If you have ample time before the exam subscribe to The Economist...covers a variety of topics which are well written.

SC- Has been said before..you must be able to eliminate all wrong answer choices based on grammatical principles. Can't think of any short-cuts. Knowing various idioms helps a lot.

CR- LSAT material including 1000 CRs. GMATClub forum!

AWA
Used to brainstorm on 5 issues before I went to sleep every night. Try to spend some time on AWA. In the actual exam, you wan't a good start to your test and expend the minimal amount of energy possible on this section.

I avoided GMAT on saturdays. It is very important that you recharge every week !!!

In the middle of my prep, I lost steam and stopped studying for about 5-6 days. My wife inquired why I had stopped. I replied that I am re-thinking this whole GMAT business. She told me fine and that it is entirely up to me about what I want in life.....But don't wake up 5 years from now and regret that you didn't do it because you got lazy....OUCH !!!! Don't need more motivation than that....

I will add more if I remember...

As always questions are welcome, I owe much to this forum. It is payback time...
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vivek123
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[#permalink] New post   07 Apr 2006, 21:35
Hey lhotseface,

That's awesome score :-D
Congratulations, your hard paid off. Do share your practice scores.

All the very best for your applications :good

It's party time buddy :beer :banana
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gmat_crack
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[#permalink] New post   07 Apr 2006, 23:39
Late in the party... hummm

Congrates Buddy and Good Luck for your application. :musband
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SunShine
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[#permalink] New post   07 Apr 2006, 23:39
Congratulations, lhotseface.

Excellent scores....
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joemama142000
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[#permalink] New post   07 Apr 2006, 23:49
congrats lhotseface! That is an excellent score. I hope to be in your shoes one day. Please stick around for the rest of us. Can you give a more detailed progression of your verbal strategy? :musband
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lhotseface
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 00:46
Hi Joemama142000,

Is there a specific question type that you want me to talk about ?

joemama142000 wrote:
congrats lhotseface! That is an excellent score. I hope to be in your shoes one day. Please stick around for the rest of us. Can you give a more detailed progression of your verbal strategy? :musband
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 01:10
My question is how much did you improve in verbal from begining of preparation to the end? Are you a natural? What was your hit rate in the 1000 documents? How did you improve you hit rate?

I am very up and down in verbal in all sections. However when i take an exam the average stays in that range(32-38). I would consider my best section sentence completion however, i feel that is what hurt me on the exam. in the 1000 series, i usually do sets of 25. At times i get over 80% but others i get 60%. My second worst is RC, I dont beleive there is much i can do here. I feel that my stamina is good for the section but my hit rate is around 70%. CR is probably my worst-i feel. Any advice? I feel like i am at a stalemate
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lhotseface
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 01:14
Wish I was there...

Professor wrote:
lhotseface,

This is what you are. :wink:
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Paul
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 08:40
Hi Ihotseface, let me join the rank of the many to send you my heartfelt congratulations! Do keep in touch like many of us did after the exam :)
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Re: Prep/Strategy/Materials [#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 14:22
lhotseface wrote:
7. GMATClub Challenges - Took challenges 17-25. Fosters creative thinking and good time management. I am sure if I had taken the ETS test, I would have scored higher in the Q section. Highly recommended !


First of all, cong-A-ratulations! :)

A question, where can I download challengens 17-25?

Thanks in advance...
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lhotseface
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 14:41
I don't think that anyone is a natural at standardized tests. I used to create mini-sets of RCs, CRs and SCs from 1000 series and old LSAT tests. My timing strategy was 90 seconds for SC, 2 minutes for CR and RC ( per question including readling time ). I forced myself to read the questions first for CR and also the first question for the RC (usually - what is the main idea ?).

For CRs, it is important not to read the answer choices before you have some idea as to what would constitute an answer to a given question. Readling the answer choices before knowing what you are looking for is troublesome.

The answer choices are selected in such a way so as to muddle the issue in your head. Be clear as to what you are looking for. For BF CRs, make sure you figure out what the conclusion is before reading the answer choices. You will be able to eliminate quite a few answer choices that way.....my 1 cent !

joemama142000 wrote:
My question is how much did you improve in verbal from begining of preparation to the end? Are you a natural? What was your hit rate in the 1000 documents? How did you improve you hit rate?

I am very up and down in verbal in all sections. However when i take an exam the average stays in that range(32-38). I would consider my best section sentence completion however, i feel that is what hurt me on the exam. in the 1000 series, i usually do sets of 25. At times i get over 80% but others i get 60%. My second worst is RC, I dont beleive there is much i can do here. I feel that my stamina is good for the section but my hit rate is around 70%. CR is probably my worst-i feel. Any advice? I feel like i am at a stalemate
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lhotseface
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Re: Prep/Strategy/Materials [#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 14:46
There are 25 challenges that you can purchase from GMATClub. If you are a regular contributor, the moderators grant access on a case-by-case basis.

https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=17979

Matador wrote:
lhotseface wrote:
7. GMATClub Challenges - Took challenges 17-25. Fosters creative thinking and good time management. I am sure if I had taken the ETS test, I would have scored higher in the Q section. Highly recommended !


First of all, cong-A-ratulations! :)

A question, where can I download challengens 17-25?

Thanks in advance...
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 14:48
Thanks, paul.

I will stick around as I will only be applying for Fall '07. Do we have any active members that can help evalaute my profile ?

Paul wrote:
Hi Ihotseface, let me join the rank of the many to send you my heartfelt congratulations! Do keep in touch like many of us did after the exam :)
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 17:48
Depending on which schools you want to apply to, I would suggest you to check the sticky list on the mba ambassador forum. Furthermore, you can ask accepted.com mba game forums to evaluate your profile. If you want, and when you'll be ready, I can conduct a mock interview for you.
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[#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2006, 23:29
lhotseface wrote:
Thanks, guys ! I call myself a wannabe mountaineer...:).
Anyone from the Bay area ?


allabout wrote:
Lhotseface, brother mountaineer,



Yep, bay area, LD, A'BAD..

Great Score, I was kind of dull today..your score surely cheered me up..
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Re: Prep/Strategy/Materials [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2006, 21:40
[quote="lhotseface"]
7. GMATClub Challenges - Took challenges 17-25. Fosters creative thinking and good time management. I am sure if I had taken the ETS test, I would have scored higher in the Q section. Highly recommended !

Practice Tests

PP2 - 760 ( OG overlap )
PR1 - 740 with AWA
PR2 - 690 with AWA
GMATPrep1 - 730 with AWA ----------Accurate Score Predictor
GMATPrep2 - 720 with AWA
Manhattan GMAT exams - 650, 690 - Didn't find them too useful.


AWA
Used to brainstorm on 5 issues before I went to sleep every night. Try to spend some time on AWA. In the actual exam, you wan't a good start to your test and expend the minimal amount of energy possible on this section.
quote]

Hi, I have few questions:

1. Why do you say ETS tests would have helped?? Weren't the tests you had taken enough?

2. How many exams did you take in a week?? As the exam date was approaching did you take more tests?? BTW ....Great Practice scores.!!

3. AWA ... every night ... for how many days did you do this. Where did you get the issues from?


Thanks
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lhotseface
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[#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2006, 22:18
Chiragr and resamed ( fellow bay area residents ),

Good luck for your GMAT ! We should meet some time over coffee and start networking before b-school...:)

chiragr wrote:
lhotseface wrote:
Thanks, guys ! I call myself a wannabe mountaineer...:).
Anyone from the Bay area ?


allabout wrote:
Lhotseface, brother mountaineer,



Yep, bay area, LD, A'BAD..

Great Score, I was kind of dull today..your score surely cheered me up..
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lhotseface
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Re: Prep/Strategy/Materials [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2006, 22:26
Riuscita wrote:
lhotseface wrote:
7. GMATClub Challenges - Took challenges 17-25. Fosters creative thinking and good time management. I am sure if I had taken the ETS test, I would have scored higher in the Q section. Highly recommended !

Practice Tests

PP2 - 760 ( OG overlap )
PR1 - 740 with AWA
PR2 - 690 with AWA
GMATPrep1 - 730 with AWA ----------Accurate Score Predictor
GMATPrep2 - 720 with AWA
Manhattan GMAT exams - 650, 690 - Didn't find them too useful.


AWA
Used to brainstorm on 5 issues before I went to sleep every night. Try to spend some time on AWA. In the actual exam, you wan't a good start to your test and expend the minimal amount of energy possible on this section.
quote]

Hi, I have few questions:

1. Why do you say ETS tests would have helped?? Weren't the tests you had taken enough?
I think I wasn't clear...I meant that the pearson VUE quant. section is/seems more difficult than the ETS tests. I haven't taken the ETS test but gauged my ability by comparing my challenge scores with those people who scored 50-51 on the ETS tests. The GMATClub challenges have a "ranking" which you can relate to the actual GMAT scores of people who posted in this thread.


2. How many exams did you take in a week?? As the exam date was approaching did you take more tests?? BTW ....Great Practice scores.!!

Last week before the exam, I took only one test - 4 days before the GMAT.
I used to take one full exam every 10 days and the math challenges twice a week or so.

3. AWA ... every night ... for how many days did you do this. Where did you get the issues from?
The list is available on page 739 - OG 11th edition.


Thanks
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duttsit
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[#permalink] New post   10 Apr 2006, 09:20
Way to go!!!
Congrats friend.
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