The worst i could perform..

Did you really get 300 on TOEFL with 1 hour preparation???? Commonn!!!!!

Yeah, no need to give up half way; you have to nail it.

Actually, I have passed it with XXX but with much moooooore than 1 hour of prep

Thanks BB for your reply, although i didnt get the thing about TOEFL.

All i wanted to say about TOEFL was, i haev heard it is required for education in US from a non-native english speaker and that it has lot of grammar. Since, i saw on some websites exclusive forumns for TOEFL i thought TOEFL might also require some extensive preparation for a month or so. But what you have written it seems it takes only an hour. I neer knew that. Do give me some inpust as to what is really required.

i rememeber during my college days, there was a guy in my class who studied very hard for TOEFL(arouns 1 to one an half months) and score 670(paper based test). So i thought it might be taking that much time to study. But if what you say is true then it's a good sign. Tell me how much does this TOEFL score matter. Is it just another formailty for application process or is it givenm weightage like GMAT.

Well, i thought yesterday a lot about what went wrong. I did like to list here so that it benefits someone. I prepared a lot for SC and CR and skipped preparation for RC and i guess that let me down. During the paper also i wasnt able to judge the RC questions. there were 40 passages(70 lines, 45, 30, 45). 30 line passage was absolutely crazy, it took a lot of time. Also, the first 2 passages formed my verbal test question number from (2 to 10). So i virtually started the test with RC rather than having a feel of SC or CR.

SC also wasnt strightforward. I remember Stolyar saying that SC is been made difficult. I feel it is. It was worse, nothing like OG at all. But i feel i was fine with them, since i was able to find the errors but time was a problem. If i am not wrong then i guessed last 3 questions blindly, but that shouldnt have got the score so low i feel. Because 24 in verbal suggests, my preparation was worthless.

I feel that i should give the exam but i guess it will take some time, since after yesterday's test i am totally down and dont feel like looking also at the books. But i shall give it in a month or two. May be miss the deadline of October also and apply later by December. Don't know abt that also, whether that idea will work or not.

evensflow....First of all, you need to take a long, deep, breath of fresh air and clear your mind of all the negative thoughts and depression. You have to think that you can nail the verbal section and TOEFL, realise that and take it from there!

You have an awsome quant score, so all you need to do is work hard on verbal, both for the GMAT and TOEFL, for a better score on the GMAT. I took the TOEFL in December last year, I took it without any preparation at all, I scored a 267, I was pissed off by the centre manager, some problem with my name etc. etc., otherwise I'd have gotten a higher TOEFL! Anyways, One thing I've noticed about the Verbal section of GMAT and the TOEFL is it's useless to prepare with any grammar book or a Wren & Martin, that kind of bbok. What you need to learn is "GMAT English", which is based on "American English" which is substantially different from the "British English" I suspect you might have studied, read in China.

I suggest you read long and windy passages written by American authors on American websites, concentrate on the passages, don't let your mind wander and get a grasp of the sentence formations, the colloquialisms used etc etc. Read US newspapers online. Watch American TV shows, all these will help you improve your English!

Me and you can work on it, how can It not be like on official guide, your puzzling me?


How about your CRs, you seem smart!

Most people wish they had 600 or above, feel grateful for who you are!

About TOEFL, I meant that if you score poor on TOEFL, you should not have taken the GMAT path; instead play with TOEFL until you get it and only then move up. it si sort of like drinking - you dont' start with vodka in the morning You may drink tea, coffee or milk, but not Vodka.

I had prepared so extensively to the GMAT RC and SC that I saw no need to spend more than an hour on the TOEFL. I had only one hard question during the whole test that took me around a minute to bust - it was an article question and I did not catch that immediately since my language has none of those.

I have also used a TOEFL book to prepare for grammar, so I was not afraid none of that.

The only part that is different is Listening. it is pretty easy on the PC with earphones. There are conversations and they are so easy that during one of those I was thinking about smth of my own such as what will I be doing tonight and where should I go while in Moscow that I completely missed the conversation - I got back only when I heard a guy say "What does the woman mean?" so I had to guess this listening

I definitely think that if TOEFL is a problem, then GMAT should go only after that.... that's why I jumped on this issue.


Theoretically if you got other content in the first 10 Verbal questions, you may have scored higher, so that's another reason to try again.

-=-

I actually find an old GMAT book very helpful - it is full of TOELF grammar and grammar only for international students. It is very short and very effective for prep in contrast to Grammar books (those are indeed useless). It does not have "TRICKS" or other "SMART" things - it is just plain rules and grammar that international students have the most problems wtih. Unfortunately it is not sold anymore because it is 1994 edition, but I think there are a few on Amazon. Check here:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/searc ... 84-8475173

Don't buy anything later than 1996 edition. 2000 edition sucks and I had to return it.


-=-

Spending alot of time with one question is foolish. RC's is something that is easy compared to SAT. Did you take the SAT?

Well, keep trying, its alot tougher life these days, job market, etc. Usually, you have to have work experience to get into a MBA program.

PUt it this way, life isn't fair all the time.

OKies guys thanks a lot for your advice. I appreciate it a lot.

I am back at mywork place and concentrating on my job. I have started to work on my application now. So, while i go along with that i have decided i shall take my GMAT again.

Thanks BB for your suggestions. I guess over the past two days my mind was pretty clouded and i was just thinking of all bad things and totally negative. Which is what i dont want to do now. I am positive now.

Oh yes, about TOEFL, you were right. I tell you i was totally mad after that debacle. I had a talk yesterday with my friend. And he advised me the same that i finish that up asap and it should hardly take a day or two.

For lazerbud's info, i am from india and not china. i have attended my basic education wih english as my first language. I have a good background of english and i read a lot(from Eco to apna TOI). Its actually a question of time since i am at my work from 1:00 in afternoon to night 12:00. This software industry is like that and to add US clients.

I would say Tuesaday was a bad day for me. GMAT was just the first thing. When i was back at work that day, there was still something worst than that waiting in my mailbox. And still further problems compouding as my promtion is near and is to be taken up soon. So, i would just like to forget that i scored low.

I know i could not go that low in verbal, as i was pretty confident about my SC and CRs. RC, i would say brought me down. As i mentioned earlier, RC started from question 2 and i was least prepared for reading a 70 line passage at the start of verbal. I panicked and wasnt sure of the answers. I had this clock ticking in front of me and i was thinking when will i get rid of this RC. To add more, the second RC starts as soon as the first ends. At the end of 25 min i am still at question 9 or 10. Some confusing SC came in between, took more of the time and i guess time became a factor, cos the third RC was the worst. 35 line passage discussing about what not. In the end i guessed the last 3 questions to finish the test. (For stats sake, i used to get about 90% of answers correct on OG passages and about 80% on those big ones in Vstudy).

Now all said and done, i got the answers wrong, i scored low and that tells me i have to improve and still get better. Good, so i do so and join Stolyar as he is on a great job to put those questions. I tell you before Stolyar put those mod questions on Maths forumn, i had always a nervous feeling on questions dealing with inequality. But that was all gone, the forumn was live. 5 to 10 questions a day. All mod and inequalities. It was damn interesting.

OKies wrote a lot, back to work now..

P.S: Curly i shall join you in the Verbal forumn for sure. Thanks for your words.

First of all, you have a good job in India. Let' s not lose sight of the fact.

I think you were just too nervous on the GMAT RCs. It is the same as the OG. The most difficult ask for inference. Tell your brain to generate thoughts. Don't stare at the computer. If you've taken the SAT and ACt, it iis pretty similar. Nothing's changed.

In fact, the SAT is harder.


Now, you should be more relaxed and have nothing to lose. Any score above 600 is good. Why do you want an MBA when you are in technical field?

It is not life and death Evens. If you have grand ambitions let them go. Prepare in front of PowerPrep and treat it natural. If you don't know a RC for sure, fire a blank and move on. Keep doing that until it becomes habit and that way you won't let emotion get the best of you.

GMAT seems to be mutating. 2nd question RC !. Will boggle anybody but as has been said many times on this forum, GMAT is a test of nerves - not of skill. Best of luck Evens ! and yes please go for it again !

Many people have taken GMAt and done well on RC. It hasn't changed, if you don't know what your talking about, then please be quiet. It misleads people.

try the new sat in 2005, it will all be RC. Its really not that big of a deal, they just want you to understand what you read. Their not trying to trick you, believe me that's not the goal of the GMAT.

Great to hear you are doing good!

I usually hate myself if I screw up with easy stuff. Sometimes I don't take risk just beucase of that

In any case, I know how it feels to be under a stone and I am glad you got out of there. I think it was just a big surprise all the reading. I suspect that GMAT may be targetting your weaknesses rather than being a generic test; such as if you are bad in DS or RC, it willl give you more of those. It seems some people with not so high scores have been tested over the same areas over and over.

In any case, I hope you'll do better.
I am always open; drop me a private message if you want to discuss something. I know you can probably handle most of things by yourself, but I will be glad to talk in any case,

Bogdan.