08/16 690

Since my last post (see https://gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1974), I finally took the test a second time this past Saturday and got a 690 (92%) with a 44 (74%) on the quant and a 40 (90%) on the verbal. A couple of days before I took my last PR test and scored a 740 (47M 46V). I was pretty satisfied and got the confidence boost I needed. I was a little disappointed when I saw my final score on the screen but I guess a 690 isn't that bad. At least I should be in the hunt to gain acceptance to a decent b-school. I may give the gmat another try sometime after I submit my applications. At this point I think focusing my energy into creating a top notch application would be more beneficial than getting a few more points on the gmat. Next time I take it I just won't elect to send my score report to any schools. If I get a 730 or higher I'll just pay the extra money to have my score sent. This way if I don't do well no one will know.

IтАЩm an extremely bad test taker because I get nervous and I think my nerves took over again and caused me to drop the ball in a couple of places. Now that I have a good score under my belt I think I wonтАЩt be so nervous next time around and will actually do my best.

Any way here is what I thought of the exam.

Quant:

The quant was somewhere between PR and Kaplan in terms of difficulty. There was one combinations question, simply a ratio of one combination to another. I think I got a math error and got that one wrong though......duh. There was also one simple probability question. I do suggest learning to deal with problems that require a table. You know the kind, if 50% of the cars rented are used and 20% of the used cars have A/C.......blah blah. I saw 3 or 4 questions in which I used a table to get the answer, including at least one DS. The most difficult question I encounter (around #17) seemingly required a table but was too complex for me. There were just too many variables and ratios for me. You were required to find the ratio of one to another. I took way too much time and eventually guessed. It was probably experimental. The advice on this site is correct.....after question 20 the test DOES get easier. Nothing very complicated after 20.

Verbal :

I didn't get to a RC until ~#10. But when I did get one, there were two back to back. BE WARNED, IT DOES HAPPEN. The second one was probably experimental. The first time around (38V) I only got tough CR's at the end of test, including one bold face. This time I got some long ones in the middle ~#15. There were two bold face CR's this time. One was difficult but I think the right ans. finally became obvious and the other one seemed pretty straight forward. The SC's all seemed pretty easy. None were exceedingly long. I think I got most of them right but with SC I could never tell.

The following is my advice. My first ever test was a PP in which I got a 550, so I think I represent a poor scorer that need to work hard to improve. My recommendations are probably overkill for you smart kids out there.

If you have a lot of time (~6 months) start off with PR and do the first three test. If you have trouble with the math section pick up KaplanтАЩs math book. Then move on to the Kaplan CD and take 2-3 test. Do the Kaplan problem sets in between each test. Final take a PP and see where you stand. Then move on to the OG guide (that way the PP will be representative). If you got well over 600 on the first PP then your better of starting from the middle of every section rather than doing all the easy problems in the beginning.

For the OG guide I suggest using a stopwatch to time every question. I actually didnтАЩt start doing this until late in the game when I started doing gmatplus problems, but once I did start doing timing every question, it became a whole different ball game. I FINALLY developed the sixth sense everyone talks about. Prior to trying that method my biggest problem on math was time management. IтАЩd also write the time it took next to every problem so I can see where I spent too much time.

After doing the OG guide you should take the last of your PR and Kaplan test and see how much you improved. If itтАЩs been awhile since youтАЩve looked at the OG you could try the last PP but it wonтАЩt be representative. DONтАЩT leave Kaplan as your last test before the real thing, it will shatter you confidence and throw off your timing. Do a PP or PR test.

Something that worked for me, but I donтАЩt know if I recommend because of price ($79), was the Maple Leaf International study guide. Their quant study guide is FAR better than anything in kaplan or PR, FAR better. I really started seeing improvement in my quant. It also came with a long PreProgram assignment that I took over the weekend. A few days later I took my fifth 800score test and got a 57 on quant, previously my highest score was a 41. So I think MLI had a lot to do with it. The package comes with 3 test. The test has a DOS interface and some of the questions are from the OG guide. I tried one and it was a waste of time. DonтАЩt look towards this package for practice questions. The sentence correction guide was superb and better than anything IтАЩve seen. Although, they use OG questions as examples so be careful. The CR guide was good too. The RC guide was a waste of time, not useful at all. If youтАЩre a low scorer this guide should help. I think if I had this early I would have shortened my study time immensely. It really gives the basics well, unlike Kaplan and PR that hardly tell you anything.

In retrospect, I believe doing Kaplan and PR RC and CR is mostly a waste of time. The questions just donтАЩt have the same feel as ETS. Kaplan RC passages are very convoluted and youтАЩll never see anything like that on an ETS test. If you run out of official gmat questions just move on to LSAT questions, theyтАЩre practically identical and there is a plethora of questions available out there.

Anyway, excuse the length of this post. I just wanted to give back to the site that has helped me SO MUCH. This is probably the BESTGMAT RESOURCE ON THE WEB, in my opinion . If anyone has any questions feel more than free.