I almost never get headaches, but on the very rare occasions when I do, a Tylenol helps me perform at my peak. Extra strength Tylenol is innocuous---unlike Gatoraide, I'm not sure if Tylenol helps in any measurable way, but I have never gotten fatigued on test day for any stanadarized test, and for each one I use the same ritual of sleeping a lot the night before, meal in the morning, Tylenol, Gatoraide, water in the face, praying and positive thinking to get me through. I probably have greater endurance on test day due to some degree of adrenaline/positive thinking, but I regulate my nutrients very strictly in hopes that doing so will help me out in some way. Psychologically, I think it is important to have a set ritual/routine planned for test day so that your mind is calm and you feel in contrl when the questions come. That sense of calmness is very important given the unpredictability of what might appear/how you might respond when test time arrives.

FYI, I do not take Tylenol when I study or practice, only if I get a headache or become sick or need to take a test.

Thanks for your response. It appears that I have a long way to go on the Reading Comprehension portion. The problem is that on the practice OG reading comp questions, I got only 76% of the questions correctly even though I improved during the second half of the sets in the OG #12. This is probably me gaining more familiarity of the questions. I am scoring a 36 on the MGMAT verbal sections after 3 exams. I'd like to score in 40's, but it will take some work. My sentence correction has improved drastically thanks to Manhattan.

Congrats slingfox.. you are a S-T-U-D!

you mentioned that you would share your notes in one of the earlier threads... If they are ready, could you share them please ?

Yes, that would help a lot. Thanks.

For the RC, I have three key tips:

1) Read with structure in mind. i.e., the goal as you're reading is to figure out the logical flow of the passage. You can do this by asking yourself at the end of each paragraph: what was the purpose of paragraph? I basically read each sentance/paragraph trying to build a map of the argument. This forces you to read very carefully and allows you to pinpoint issues more quickly. Reading carefully also allows you to answer the scope/tone/purpose/conclusion type questions better.

2) Most of the RC are "detail" type questions. For those, always go back and check the text.

3) If the question asks you to interpret or conclude something about a particular chunk of text or sentance, read the sentances before and after the text in question as well. i.e., you need to understand the context.

FYI, after a month and a half, I finally checked to see my AWA score. Shockingly, I got a 6.0! I knew my first essay was rock solid, but I was very unsure about the second one. In the second on, I spent the first 20 minutes thinking about what to write and writing the first two paragraphs. With 10 minutes left, I just typed out some terrible arguments. Even though my arguments weren't great, I think what saved me was I had a clear template/structure in mind. Modeling the AWA after a good template is key given that your response is mostly graded by a computer (or so I hear). Whatever you do, make sure you type out 5 paragraphs that is accordance with a good template. Apparently, if you can do that, the quality of your ideas doesn't matter so much!

Thank you for the information you had provided.

This would help a lot of people, who really doesn't know how to prepare for the GMAT and they want get good GMAT score.

Wow. Amazing debrief. A MUST read for all the GMAT people who are expecting to take the test soon. Thank you and Congrats !!

very nice debrief....congrats
_________________

insightful debrief...thanks

Awesome debrief! I love your entertaining yet informative writing style. Did you ever post your notes? Thanks so much! +1.

Great debrief. very helpful. Hope many people benefit from this to plan their study plan.

thanks a lot for the detailed analysis and frequent updates... can you please tell us about the noise level and computer setup at the exam center? I wanted to know if the mouse/keyboard/scribble pad etc are all in good conditions/any distractions?

Thanks a lot for a very comprehensive report and additional answers.

very inspiring mate, great job!

This is one of the best description I have seen on this forum. Thanks a lot!

great debrief

Awesome debrief - I should have done research on the forums before signing up for the Veritas "Full" course (live class). I am getting more out of my current self-study sessions.

veritas + manhattan is a good supplement

very detailed and informative write up. Thanks