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04 Nov 2004, 15:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
I am taking this platform to post my GMAT experience and look forward to your suggestions. I will try my best to explain everything, if somehow you want to know more just let me know.
About myself: 28/m/non native English speaker. Academics – Master degree in computer science, many certificate courses in Computers and also Human resource mgmt.
Before GMAT:
PS – I found some difficult problems (48+) hard to crack because of conceptual errors or lack of knowledge. Correct score ranges from 75 to 85% on PP, PR, Kaplan tests.
DS – Correct scores fluctuates from 65 to 90% because of high volatility of mood and analytical guesswork. Easy Inequalities in DS was problematic sometimes.
RC - The main culprit for my low score. I hate long readings. ETS put so much interesting subject RCs that it motivates me to ignore them completely. LoL. Had a terrible time preparing for RCs. And correct scores never exceeded above 65%.
SC – AAAAaaaaaaaah there you go. Give me any type of SC in an un-timed environment and good mood and you will have the correct solution within seconds. But on test, mixing SCs with RC and CR makes it lot harder for me to derive the answer. The correct raw score for this section varied from 35% to 90%. I started my preparation for SCs by two way method – intuition and clicking on option which is sounds good to ears. As I move ahead with my preparation schedule, learning logics and idioms, my score varied a lot.
CR – Since I have got a good analytical brain, cracking CR at the start of my preparation schedule was easy. Without looking at any guidebooks, it was around 70% correct. During preparation time, it went down significantly and then at the end it went up significantly. Don’t know why and how it behaved that way? Only reason I think of is the right frame of my mind by identifying the scope of argument.
2 Days b4 GMAT :
I made sure that my morale and confidence remains high before the test. I said and did positive and only positive things in the last couple of days before exam. There was so much of positive energy around me in those two days that whatever question I tried, it was correct. My DS and CR sections especially were on a roll. CR was in fact at a peak of 100% success. Although, I faced with consistent low scoring in the preparation tests week before my exam. This shows that I had gained lot of ground during the last week of my preparation time.
Real GMAT Experience:
AWA – It went off well in spite of my early anxiety. I did manage to complete both issues and argument in 22 min. each. Ratings - Better than my expectation.
Break – did not avail as I was focused and high on confidence.
Quant – It was Ok. Not as calculative as suggested by my friends. Far easier than PR, PP. My approach was different in the test, I calculated each PS question as it comes along and then search for the answer in the options provided and just clicked it. It did build up my confidence level as I found that my every derived answer was available in the five options provided with each of questions. I got 2 easy probability questions and 1 combination. DS was easy but tricky. In the entire test, I had to do guesswork in 3 questions and one of them was about slope of two parallel lines. I was expecting a raw score of ~42 - 44 but somehow landed up with 36. May be I got more questions wrong in the first ten.
Break – availed this last 5 min. break.
Verbal – After taking break, I got a feeling as if my concentration power was affected. The first question was SC. It was one of those questions where I didn’t find a single place to apply any of the rules. Choice A was also not sounding right. I felt bad as I had to guess on my first question itself. A poor start on this section. Then came back to back RCs at q4 onwards. Fortunately they were short and easy RCs and I felt comfortable answering them. Then few dodgy SC came in between q11 to q22. Third RC appeared around q23 and gosh it was around 80 lines big and the subject was of Native American history. I read that RC 3 times and still not able to understand a single word out of it. It was followed by 5 questions and I believe this was the stage where I lost my nerves, which consequently damaged my score. Last RC came around ~q33 and was unusual. It was lengthy and followed by 4 questions with equally lengthier options. In spite of the length, this RC was simple in meaning and was easily solvable. It might be put in to disturb my timings. Tip for test-takers – Be flexible on Verbal timings as it all depends on the time at which RCs appeared. And do practice back 2 back RCs as they are coming more often than not. Finally, I got a bold face question at around ~q38 level. Seeing a bold face at the fag end made me believed that my performance on the verbal section was not too bad as I felt earlier midway thru my test. The final score was pathetic.
Feeling after the exam – It took me a while to compose myself after seeing a low score. I got a feeling as if all the juices of my body were drained out. An intense and stressful test, but equally good experience in terms of a strong belief in the aptitude testing capabilities of the system.
Dissecting my performance: After the exam I thought that the cause of my poor score was my incapable test psychology. I was not able to handle the pressure beyond a certain limit and the high stamina required to remain focused for long hours. But the truth was otherwise.
Reading through different GMAT experience on this forum made me realize that I was really not well prepared to get a high score. The experiences from 700+ GMATers mentioned on this forum gave me a firm idea of how determined and focused one has to be to get a high score.
GMAT is beyond solving few questions. It is about stamina, time management, aptitude and attitude. All the ingredients required to become a successful Manager.
Anyways, now I am determined to do well in my next attempt.
I would appreciate your honest views on my performance/preparation. And advise me on how should I go about in my next attempt especially on verbal section and time management? What all it takes to jump from 500+ to 700+? Keeping in mind the deadlines of US colleges, I would prefer to appear before this Christmas for GMAT. Hardly a month time realistically.
Thanks.
Shoot your suggestions…..
About myself: 28/m/non native English speaker. Academics – Master degree in computer science, many certificate courses in Computers and also Human resource mgmt.
Before GMAT:
PS – I found some difficult problems (48+) hard to crack because of conceptual errors or lack of knowledge. Correct score ranges from 75 to 85% on PP, PR, Kaplan tests.
DS – Correct scores fluctuates from 65 to 90% because of high volatility of mood and analytical guesswork. Easy Inequalities in DS was problematic sometimes.
RC - The main culprit for my low score. I hate long readings. ETS put so much interesting subject RCs that it motivates me to ignore them completely. LoL. Had a terrible time preparing for RCs. And correct scores never exceeded above 65%.
SC – AAAAaaaaaaaah there you go. Give me any type of SC in an un-timed environment and good mood and you will have the correct solution within seconds. But on test, mixing SCs with RC and CR makes it lot harder for me to derive the answer. The correct raw score for this section varied from 35% to 90%. I started my preparation for SCs by two way method – intuition and clicking on option which is sounds good to ears. As I move ahead with my preparation schedule, learning logics and idioms, my score varied a lot.
CR – Since I have got a good analytical brain, cracking CR at the start of my preparation schedule was easy. Without looking at any guidebooks, it was around 70% correct. During preparation time, it went down significantly and then at the end it went up significantly. Don’t know why and how it behaved that way? Only reason I think of is the right frame of my mind by identifying the scope of argument.
2 Days b4 GMAT :
I made sure that my morale and confidence remains high before the test. I said and did positive and only positive things in the last couple of days before exam. There was so much of positive energy around me in those two days that whatever question I tried, it was correct. My DS and CR sections especially were on a roll. CR was in fact at a peak of 100% success. Although, I faced with consistent low scoring in the preparation tests week before my exam. This shows that I had gained lot of ground during the last week of my preparation time.
Real GMAT Experience:
AWA – It went off well in spite of my early anxiety. I did manage to complete both issues and argument in 22 min. each. Ratings - Better than my expectation.
Break – did not avail as I was focused and high on confidence.
Quant – It was Ok. Not as calculative as suggested by my friends. Far easier than PR, PP. My approach was different in the test, I calculated each PS question as it comes along and then search for the answer in the options provided and just clicked it. It did build up my confidence level as I found that my every derived answer was available in the five options provided with each of questions. I got 2 easy probability questions and 1 combination. DS was easy but tricky. In the entire test, I had to do guesswork in 3 questions and one of them was about slope of two parallel lines. I was expecting a raw score of ~42 - 44 but somehow landed up with 36. May be I got more questions wrong in the first ten.
Break – availed this last 5 min. break.
Verbal – After taking break, I got a feeling as if my concentration power was affected. The first question was SC. It was one of those questions where I didn’t find a single place to apply any of the rules. Choice A was also not sounding right. I felt bad as I had to guess on my first question itself. A poor start on this section. Then came back to back RCs at q4 onwards. Fortunately they were short and easy RCs and I felt comfortable answering them. Then few dodgy SC came in between q11 to q22. Third RC appeared around q23 and gosh it was around 80 lines big and the subject was of Native American history. I read that RC 3 times and still not able to understand a single word out of it. It was followed by 5 questions and I believe this was the stage where I lost my nerves, which consequently damaged my score. Last RC came around ~q33 and was unusual. It was lengthy and followed by 4 questions with equally lengthier options. In spite of the length, this RC was simple in meaning and was easily solvable. It might be put in to disturb my timings. Tip for test-takers – Be flexible on Verbal timings as it all depends on the time at which RCs appeared. And do practice back 2 back RCs as they are coming more often than not. Finally, I got a bold face question at around ~q38 level. Seeing a bold face at the fag end made me believed that my performance on the verbal section was not too bad as I felt earlier midway thru my test. The final score was pathetic.
Feeling after the exam – It took me a while to compose myself after seeing a low score. I got a feeling as if all the juices of my body were drained out. An intense and stressful test, but equally good experience in terms of a strong belief in the aptitude testing capabilities of the system.
Dissecting my performance: After the exam I thought that the cause of my poor score was my incapable test psychology. I was not able to handle the pressure beyond a certain limit and the high stamina required to remain focused for long hours. But the truth was otherwise.
Reading through different GMAT experience on this forum made me realize that I was really not well prepared to get a high score. The experiences from 700+ GMATers mentioned on this forum gave me a firm idea of how determined and focused one has to be to get a high score.
GMAT is beyond solving few questions. It is about stamina, time management, aptitude and attitude. All the ingredients required to become a successful Manager.
Anyways, now I am determined to do well in my next attempt.
I would appreciate your honest views on my performance/preparation. And advise me on how should I go about in my next attempt especially on verbal section and time management? What all it takes to jump from 500+ to 700+? Keeping in mind the deadlines of US colleges, I would prefer to appear before this Christmas for GMAT. Hardly a month time realistically.
Thanks.
Shoot your suggestions…..
05 Nov 2004, 15:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
Netcreeper:
I empathize with you. But, you can only get better after this. I dont see any reason that why you cant increase your score significantly.
After reading your own analysis and your writing skills, I have no doubt left in my mind that you have decent verbal skills and only thing you require is structured preparation schedule and working your ass off.
As you yourself realize, your main problem is inconsistency.You need to take all the practice exams with full seriousness as if they are the real ones.
You have to take this GMAT thing as a very important battle in your life. Half hearted and confused attempts only give half results.
I would suggest for verbal , you need to build your reading speed and know the concepts well ( In case of SC, go through some good book such as kaplan verbal work out). Also participate in these forums.
You need to go long way in quant also. 36 in maths is quite ordinary. The reason you didnt see any tough questions in the test is that very early in the test, you did lot of mistakes and computer brought your level down. Practice, practice and practice is the only keyword here.
Go through the GMAT experiences of others to get more insights.
All the best and do let us know your progress.
I empathize with you. But, you can only get better after this. I dont see any reason that why you cant increase your score significantly.
After reading your own analysis and your writing skills, I have no doubt left in my mind that you have decent verbal skills and only thing you require is structured preparation schedule and working your ass off.
As you yourself realize, your main problem is inconsistency.You need to take all the practice exams with full seriousness as if they are the real ones.
You have to take this GMAT thing as a very important battle in your life. Half hearted and confused attempts only give half results.
I would suggest for verbal , you need to build your reading speed and know the concepts well ( In case of SC, go through some good book such as kaplan verbal work out). Also participate in these forums.
You need to go long way in quant also. 36 in maths is quite ordinary. The reason you didnt see any tough questions in the test is that very early in the test, you did lot of mistakes and computer brought your level down. Practice, practice and practice is the only keyword here.
Go through the GMAT experiences of others to get more insights.
All the best and do let us know your progress.
06 Nov 2004, 00:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi,
Students often ask me for advice how to maximize their scores. For most students confidence and stamina are important but ultimately not the most important attributes. The single most important attribute is command of the subject matter- if you have this confidence will come naturally and stamina will build over time.
While reading your comprehensive overview, I do not remember seeing information about your practice test scores. These scores, while far from absolutely correct, are extremely valuable in gauging your level of preparation. The percentage correct on each problem type are interesting but of limited utility without information on the level of difficulty of the problems.
Another important issue concerns reading comprehension. In a way, reading is like a polite conversation- you should approach it not from what interests you but what interests the other speaker. Try to understand the passage from the author's perspective and what the author wants you to take away from the passage. In other ways, the reading passages resemble the prompts for word problems. I rarely hear students complain that the setup to a math problem does not tell a very interesting story since students grasp that the prompt merely serves as a way to introduce basic information. If it helps, consider the reading passage in the same way, as a means of conveying basic information to be interpreted and applied to follow-up questions. In general, I have not observed success with "speed reading" techniques- students generally just need to learn more interactive reading strategies rather than rush through the passage.
Hjort
Students often ask me for advice how to maximize their scores. For most students confidence and stamina are important but ultimately not the most important attributes. The single most important attribute is command of the subject matter- if you have this confidence will come naturally and stamina will build over time.
While reading your comprehensive overview, I do not remember seeing information about your practice test scores. These scores, while far from absolutely correct, are extremely valuable in gauging your level of preparation. The percentage correct on each problem type are interesting but of limited utility without information on the level of difficulty of the problems.
Another important issue concerns reading comprehension. In a way, reading is like a polite conversation- you should approach it not from what interests you but what interests the other speaker. Try to understand the passage from the author's perspective and what the author wants you to take away from the passage. In other ways, the reading passages resemble the prompts for word problems. I rarely hear students complain that the setup to a math problem does not tell a very interesting story since students grasp that the prompt merely serves as a way to introduce basic information. If it helps, consider the reading passage in the same way, as a means of conveying basic information to be interpreted and applied to follow-up questions. In general, I have not observed success with "speed reading" techniques- students generally just need to learn more interactive reading strategies rather than rush through the passage.
Hjort
