I'm 37 years old, native English speaker, graduate education, 10+ years of work experience in education. I needed at least 600 on the GMAT to be accepted to my top choice MBA, which I got today (unofficial score was 670).
How many questions you have skipped in the verbal section and still got a V38 or plus?
There were a few questions that stumped me. Maybe three or four where I read and reread the five options, and there were either two that were equally strong, or there was no answer that was appealing.
I didn't skip any, though. I finished the section with about 7 minutes to spare. My unofficial score was V42 I think.
Which of the verbal sections was easy for you to go with? Questions from which section (SC/RC/CR) has been easy for you to answer and why?
Sentence corrections are typically the fastest to choose a response. But I think I have a higher score in reading comprehension, because I have better skills in that area.
How did you attack the SC/RC/CR questions? Would you recommend your strategy?
I read and reread until it makes sense in my head. For RC I want to have a very clear understanding of the differences of the multiple choice options, and then go and look for the answer.
Do you think you could have gotten a few more points by doing/not doing any particular thing during/before the test?
Better sleep for three or four nights prior to the test. But I have two kids under age 3 so that's wishful thinking.
What was your weakest point for the test?
Quantitative.
How was the environment at the test center? Any suggestion or recommendation?
Online GMAT. Being able to use my own office as my test room was glorious. Great chair, monitor, keyboard, mini-whiteboard, lighting, temperature, and no disruptions.
Make sure you go over all the rules very carefully the week before. The mini-whiteboard is the most important part - but you could even lose your water bottle if it's not transparent. Don't get caught on the little things. Have a great test day.
Launching the test was difficult. I recommend starting the process 15 minutes ahead of time if you're computer-savvy, 30 minutes if you're not, and as soon as you get stuck, use the pop-up in the bottom right hand corner to "talk with an expert" via instant messaging.
Roughly how many questions you have practiced before the test? (Number of questions Quant and Verbal)
I did all the practice questions on the official GMAT prep, including the two practice exams. I also used mathisfun . com and some free GMAT apps including
MAGOOSH, although not exhaustively. I also googled "gmat pdf" and got a 500-page prep document, which I used sparsely. More for math.
Except the Official GMAT source, questions from which source you will recommend to the fellow students if someone runs out of official questions? For math,
MAGOOSH had some good stuff.
How much time you have spent preparing IR and AWA sections? Any advice? IR doesn't really require any separate preparation. You're using verbal and quantitative skills simultaneously, so your prep for those sections should serve you well. Just do the official prep to get an idea of the kinds of questions you'll be asked.
I wrote up a single AWA for the first official practice test, as I was not worried about this section. As this is the last section, your brain might be a bit foggy by the time you get here. If you have months to work on your mental endurance, lucky you. Otherwise, get some fresh air during each break, stay hydrated, bring a few small snacks - I scarfed down mandarins, kiwis and bananas during the breaks, after using the restroom.