740 (Q47 V46)

This last weak has been pretty crazy. I basically convinced myself that I was going to cancel my score last week. Why, you ask? I did not feel that I was ready based on everything that I was reading on this message board. Now don't get me wrong . . . I definitely think this site is brilliant (Thanks BB) but I do think you should take things that you read here for what they are: opinions.
Ultimately you must trust yourself.

Sources used (in order): Petersons, Kaplan, PR, PP, OG

The only scores worth mentioning are PP (740, 730) which seem to be the best indicator of how you'll do. It's funny because with every ETS exam I took, I thought I did horribly, but I always ended up right in the same range. I think you're best off if you just go in there and let the test do the work. The algorithm is pretty amazing at adapting to your ability, always keeping you on the edge of where you're comfortable. If you fall off track, you often have time to make it up. Do not get flustered if you stumble early.

The quant seemed to be more difficult than OG and PP, but my scaled score was not all that different from what I got on PP - take that for what it's worth. I had a few combination/probability questions, no coordinate geometry, lots of data sufficiency. Don't prepare for specific types of problems. Just get used to dealing with new problems. I am a big believer in the "Aptitude" part of CAT (i.e. don't try to learn too much, concentrate on adapting to new situations)

I thought the verbal was as easy as anything I've worked with in the past. If you are scoring well in verbal in OG, you should be prepared to do well on the real thing. SC was extremely straight forward . . .I had one bold faced argument . . Two short RCs, and two long ones (75-100 lines). Verbal really carried the day.

AWA was really easy - I wouldn't spend more than an afternoon on these. You'll have enough energy and motivation to pull something out of the air when it counts.

By the way, I kept an error log, but never actually made it back over these problems. I think I would have been better off spending time after each set looking at the solutions.

I broke up OG into fourteen 100+ problem sets to get my stamina up. However, nothing I simulated was able to match what I faced. The most important thing is to have as clear a head as possible. I slept well, ate well and exercised, but I was still having trouble focusing after I stumbled early in Quant. You really just have to push through it, because chances are you're doing significantly better than you think you are. This was the case for me. I hesitated before deciding to accept my scores - this would have been one of the biggest mistakes I've made.

Anyway, this is a horribly organized and poorly written account of my experience. It is late, and I am rather worn out. I will be back on to check for any questions that you may have.

If anyone is looking for books, I have just about everything in 2004/2003 (OG, Kaplan, Arco, Princeton, Verbal books, Math books). I will make an especially sweet deal to anyone who wants to take the whole load - only for serious Gmatters

Good luck to everyone.

Now on to the apps. Trying to decide where I might have a chance with 740, 3.5 from top 20 U.S., and two full years at a boutique economics consulting firm. - perhaps i need more work experience . . thoughts?

Regards,

Htown