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aps_can
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 19 Aug 2003, 20:00
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Dear All: Directors, Consultants, Managers and those who score 700+.

I've a request to all to give as many opinions as possible to my query as most of the people preparing for this test must be feeling like me.

I The gap between scoring 600/610/540 ( my kaplan scores, similar to many 700+scorers kaplan score) and say 700 in PP and FINALLY a score of 700+ or +- 40 in actual GMAT.

II When I scored 600/610/540 in Kaplan I felt i could have done better but for my silly calculation mistakes(PS) or maybe oversight in DS or SC. I admit i'm not so good in CR and RC.

III. According to me people who score 700+ have their fundamentals in place and would be thorough enough not to make silly mistakes like I make and they'll be better geared to do all the questions right in the first attempt( as i feel there was hardly 1-2 questions in kaplan Q which i felt was too difficult). Also people who score 700+ won't be so scared of RC and CR as I'm.

I've done OG thoroughly with hardly 16 questions in CR, 10 in PS and same numbers in DS, troubled me, and many many more in RC.

Could you see the paradox??? I still have a week left for my gmat.

Can somebody guide me where am i wrong and what I need to do to reach 700. When I came to this site I felt that my 700 is not going any where, but now when i'm through with my preparation and I'm not so confident. PLEASE HELP!!! I NEED 700 IN MY GMAT NEXT WEEK!!!

Thanks for going through such a long message

aps_can
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aps_can
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 20 Aug 2003, 11:42
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IS MY QUERY SO STUPID THAT NOT A SINGLE PERSON OUT OF THE 16 WHO VIEWED IT COULD REPLY!@!#@$#$%$# :?
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Lisa12322
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 20 Aug 2003, 11:46
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aps_can
IS MY QUERY SO STUPID THAT NOT A SINGLE PERSON OUT OF THE 16 WHO VIEWED IT COULD REPLY!@!#@$#$%$# :?
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No need to get upset. You only wanted responses from "Directors, Consultants, Managers and those who score 700+. ". I haven't taken the test therefore I didn't respond.
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toujours28
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 20 Aug 2003, 18:23
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Hi,

I haven't taken the test yet either, but am also hoping for 700 (or higher, of course :P ). I also think that a lot of the mistakes I've made on practice tests are silly mistakes, that I then validate when I see the answer among the choices (evil choices - must double check). But I'm hoping stress on the day of the test will make me more careful, not less.

I'm leaving the last PP CAT test for the night before the real thing just so I can get a good score on it (I ought to, since I'll have seen most of the questions in the OG I assume) and go into the actual test feeling confident about it. Maybe you can try something like that? I really think that confidence and mastery over stress are vital to getting a 700+, since I have a few friends who got so nervous during the test they had to read everything 5 times and didn't get to finish all questions. I am trying to psych myself up so that doesn't happen to me.

Sorry about the ramble, I realize it might not be what you're looking, particularly because I have no results yet to validate it, but let me wish you good luck anyway ok?
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 22 Aug 2003, 09:50
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As a disclaimer, I have not yet taken the GMAT...but have studied for the past 3 months, score about 740 on PP and about 660 on Kaplan. I'll put in my two cents.

I think the single biggest thing you can do to improve is to take one question at a time. Sounds dumb and simple, but if you make that question all you think about in your mind, not worrying if it is #2 or # 37, or if it is easy or hard, then you will improve your score. Also, when your get your answer, esp. is PS, plug it back in, or get it two different ways - quickly of course. You also need to be at the point where you do not need to consciously think about timing, it should be natural.

Fianlly, AkBrah said something about this earlier, and its sooooo true, when you study, IT IS THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU MISS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR SCORE!!! When you miss a problem, in any section, learn why. What good does it do you to study and make the same mistake again and again? NONE!! I keep a notebook - three sections - one for math, one for SC and one for CR. When i get a problem wrong, I write it down in there. This gets added to EVERY time I study. Before I do some SC practice, I review that section in my notebook. Sound crazy?? I dunno, but if I am putting all this time into studying, why not be the BEST. At first I loved doing PS problems - bc I would get 98% of them right. What good does that do??? I didnt want to do SC b/c I would write soooo many wrong sentences in the notebook. but thats the only way to improve.

Also, I do RC at the end of my practice sessions, when my eyes are the most drained and it is the last thing on earth that I would want to do at that time. I figure that way those are the roughest conditions that I will face.

good luck
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aps_can
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PREPARATION PARADOX!@#$!#@@$#% 22 Aug 2003, 12:30
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Now even i feel it must be the stress on the test day that does the magic of making or breaking ur GMAT score.
I liked the suggestions given by mciatto of making the notebooks one for each PS,SC and CR. I already have notebooks for SC & PS but not for RC or CR can u tell me, mciatto, how u track ur weaknesses/ mistakes in RC and CR, I've just marked the questions I've done wrong and normally those questions are wrong as i could not decide between the last 2 choices and the choice i missed was the right one and so when i actually check the answers i can figure out why i was wrong. But i failed to understand how to put them in an error sheet to improve further. Please share ur experience.
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