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23 Jul 2007, 15:48
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Well I just got home from my first attempt at the GMAT and the results are good enough that it will be my ONLY attempt.
I got a 740 (48Q/42V)...no clue on AWA since i didn't even read that part of the OG book and always skipped it during practice tests.
Now, I know a lot of people give hugely detailed reports on how they got their 700+ scores. Sorry but my prep wasn't all that impressive. Due to a very busy schedule I didn't do as much as I was hoping to. I got the OG 11th edition for christmas from my wife but didn't even crack it for several months.
My studying consisted of just two books. OG and OG Verbal (which I only did SC out of). I recommend if you are crunched for time or pretty confident in the material to go for these. They are the best way to get used to the questions. I know a lot of my mistakes boiled down to misreading questions or not reading all the answers before choosing. I completed all the questions and kept a log of what I got wrong and focused on my weak points. Math my problem is I make careless mistakes, I decided that it wouldnt do me much good so I stopped studying math a while ago because I only had so much time and figured I would do decent on it anyways. My weakness in Q was on DS and that was cause I went to fast to think them through...it cost me today, I know two I got wrong and realized it as soon as I submitted the answer.
Most of my energy went into SC since its the one thing I struggled with. RC and CR both were just a matter of understanding how they ask questions and what they look for. SC was mind numbing since I could always narrow it down to one or two. If I could narrow it down to one it was right...if it was two I usually got stuck and it was up to guessing. I still think that SC is what hurt my verbal since I was pressed for time towards the end and there were several there so I couldn't really break them down as well as I would have liked.
I did do a fair amount of practice tests since I know that learning the test is half the battle when it comes to standardized tests. In the order of when I took them.
GMATPrep 1: 720 I took this before studying and didn't even think to write down the breakdown at that point.
Paper Tests: I did several of these and ranged from 720-790, and Q of 48-51 and V of 42-48. Paper tests are helpful but way easier and not a good indication
GMATPrep 2: 770 (50Q/44V) I should have taken it at this point but didn't have the time off from work or weekends available.
Fast forward several weeks and I hadn't studied since my last test but my test date was fast approaching soI decided to give the Kaplan CAT a try...horrible idea that close to the test. I got a 690 with a 39Q and 41V. This crushed my confidence.
I took the princeton CAT to try and recover. I got a 710 and a 45Q and 44V. Still not happy I decided to cram for a couple days before realizing it wasn't worth the stress.
My advice with the CATs...for your first test take the kaplan, second princeton...dont even worry about the GMATPreps before you take these. You will do better on the gmatprep and that will do more for you as a confidence builder than anything.
So I decided to stop worrying and just take the test to see how I did. I am happy with the results though I am a little below my goal and what I know I could have gotten a last month. If I had to do everything over again I would have scheduled my test date out and then ramped myself up for it. Instead I peaked a few weeks too early. I also would have not done the last kaplan right before...I would have been better off retaking a GMATPrep seeing a 690 nearly had me cancel my appointment until I read how horrible they are.
That said it would not be worth trying to improve my score at this point and my wife would kill me if I wanted to. Now with the GMAT in the bag and a score that I am happy with its time to attack the applications...essays here I come.
I got a 740 (48Q/42V)...no clue on AWA since i didn't even read that part of the OG book and always skipped it during practice tests.
Now, I know a lot of people give hugely detailed reports on how they got their 700+ scores. Sorry but my prep wasn't all that impressive. Due to a very busy schedule I didn't do as much as I was hoping to. I got the OG 11th edition for christmas from my wife but didn't even crack it for several months.
My studying consisted of just two books. OG and OG Verbal (which I only did SC out of). I recommend if you are crunched for time or pretty confident in the material to go for these. They are the best way to get used to the questions. I know a lot of my mistakes boiled down to misreading questions or not reading all the answers before choosing. I completed all the questions and kept a log of what I got wrong and focused on my weak points. Math my problem is I make careless mistakes, I decided that it wouldnt do me much good so I stopped studying math a while ago because I only had so much time and figured I would do decent on it anyways. My weakness in Q was on DS and that was cause I went to fast to think them through...it cost me today, I know two I got wrong and realized it as soon as I submitted the answer.
Most of my energy went into SC since its the one thing I struggled with. RC and CR both were just a matter of understanding how they ask questions and what they look for. SC was mind numbing since I could always narrow it down to one or two. If I could narrow it down to one it was right...if it was two I usually got stuck and it was up to guessing. I still think that SC is what hurt my verbal since I was pressed for time towards the end and there were several there so I couldn't really break them down as well as I would have liked.
I did do a fair amount of practice tests since I know that learning the test is half the battle when it comes to standardized tests. In the order of when I took them.
GMATPrep 1: 720 I took this before studying and didn't even think to write down the breakdown at that point.
Paper Tests: I did several of these and ranged from 720-790, and Q of 48-51 and V of 42-48. Paper tests are helpful but way easier and not a good indication
GMATPrep 2: 770 (50Q/44V) I should have taken it at this point but didn't have the time off from work or weekends available.
Fast forward several weeks and I hadn't studied since my last test but my test date was fast approaching soI decided to give the Kaplan CAT a try...horrible idea that close to the test. I got a 690 with a 39Q and 41V. This crushed my confidence.
I took the princeton CAT to try and recover. I got a 710 and a 45Q and 44V. Still not happy I decided to cram for a couple days before realizing it wasn't worth the stress.
My advice with the CATs...for your first test take the kaplan, second princeton...dont even worry about the GMATPreps before you take these. You will do better on the gmatprep and that will do more for you as a confidence builder than anything.
So I decided to stop worrying and just take the test to see how I did. I am happy with the results though I am a little below my goal and what I know I could have gotten a last month. If I had to do everything over again I would have scheduled my test date out and then ramped myself up for it. Instead I peaked a few weeks too early. I also would have not done the last kaplan right before...I would have been better off retaking a GMATPrep seeing a 690 nearly had me cancel my appointment until I read how horrible they are.
That said it would not be worth trying to improve my score at this point and my wife would kill me if I wanted to. Now with the GMAT in the bag and a score that I am happy with its time to attack the applications...essays here I come.
23 Jul 2007, 15:53
Kudos
Bookmarks
great job, and i agree it probably isnt worth the studying/stress to take it again if you are applying this fall
23 Jul 2007, 20:29
Kudos
Bookmarks
Quote:
Absolutely correct, couple of my friends did the same, and got great scores!!
Congratulations riverripper, you were spot on!!!!
Quote:
That's an awesome score on kap!!!
FP
