700 Q 45 V 41

Question

I just took the test two days ago, only six days before my last year of college starts. The experience was tremendously nerve wracking because I had no clue how I'd perform under test conditions. I scored a 49 41 on my first PP and a 50 41 on my second one. I don't know what the overall scores were because I took only one section at a time (meaning I would tank the other section to find out what my individual scores were). This was mainly because I didn't have enough time before work to finish each section. The quant section was not more difficult than the PP sections. However, about 40 minutes into the math section I had to urinate (yeah I know pretty funny) and just couldn't hold it any longer. I got up, signed out, peed, signed back in and lost 3 and half minutes. As a result I made uneducated guesses on a number of questions because I was running out of time. I could have cancelled my scores, or just left at that point (I was so upset I wanted to) but decided to finish anyway. I'm not sure if I'll take the test again or if I'm even going to apply to business school (long story), but I'm glad I stuck with it. 
Anyway not long ago I decided to devote what turned out to be 8 weeks preparing for this exam. I took a Princeton Review course and reaped absolutely no benefit from it. None. I'm not even sure I want to waste space talking about it, but I will summarize my view by urging anyone reading this to forego the waste of money and time. By resisting this program you can avoid the grimy feeling associated with being ripped off and violated. (Transition?) 
I benefitted the most from studying Kaplan prep materials (any book you can find) and the official guide. It is difficult to know when to study the official guide. Doing so means that the PP tests won't be as accurate. If I could do this again I would have taken a PP test immediately to see where I was at and what kind of plan I would need. The other one I would save for two days before the test. This type of strategy will help people avoid the type of sick desperation that many people here suffer from after they see their Kaplan or PR scores. Incidentally on my first PR test I scored a 620, scored as high as 710, and finished off with a 610 (right... not too indicative). If I have any advice at all it is as follows. To create a study plan, you need to know what range you are already scoring in. I feel that neither Kaplan nor PR provide accurate scoring information. Find a way to avoid the type of unnecessary discouragement that these tests provide. 
 Anyways I've rambled long enough. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Besides I have nothing to do for the next couple of days except make inappropriate passes at incoming freshman chicks (last chance).

testtaker · Answer

hii
congrats 4 ur score
u mean that the real GMAT was representative of PP tests
did u give ur PP before doing OG or later
i have done my OG and was comfortable with all sections except DS problems from 220 onwards where i got many wrong
now can u tell me whether the GMAT will be asking all DS questions of the same difficulty level encountered by me from q no 220 onwards 
i have taken my PP tests but i got DS questionds of all levels 
let me know
anand

testtaker · Answer

hii
congrats 4 ur score
u mean that the real GMAT was representative of PP tests
did u give ur PP before doing OG or later
i have done my OG and was comfortable with all sections except DS problems from 220 onwards where i got many wrong
now can u tell me whether the GMAT will be asking all DS questions of the same difficulty level encountered by me from q no 220 onwards 
i have taken my PP tests but i got DS questionds of all levels 
let me know
anand

lazerbud · Answer

Hi Pkatz,

Thats a great score and you should be very happy! Good job!

It's funny you should mention your pee story, cos I had a similar experience on my first GMAT attempt last year! The testing rooms are airconditioned and I guess thats what makes people pee frequently, so I think it's a good idea to completely empty your bladder before you take the test!!

About your Quant experience, did you notice the test getting any easier after the initial 15-20 questions, as many have experienced? 

Did you encounter any types of questions that were not covered in the OG, except probability, std. deviation maybe?

Thanks and have a great day!

pkatz · Answer

Yes, the test did get easier after the first 20. I must admit that the first few questions were slightly harder than I was accustomed to facing that early in the test. I took way too much time just staring at the screen hysterically (even on easy questions). I wasn't sure though if the questions got easier after I went to the bathroom at question 18 or so because I had missed a few out of anxiety, or because this was the format. The reason it's a little difficult for me to say is because I had not done as well as I typically do, and of course questions get more difficult the better you perform. 
The reason I say that the material was representative of what I saw on PP is because I would have expected no better than what I scored if I'd turned in a similarly inadequate performance on the PP tests. I found the verbal section to be slightly easier than the PP tests but of course that's the luck of the draw. The point is that it's very similar. Unfortunately I did do some of the questions in the OG before I took the PP exams, but not enough that I really recognized more than one question per section. I think the power prep tests are also tremendously useful because they give the test taker the opportunity to see how many they can afford to miss and still get a particular score. This helped me guess that I was around 700 before I chose not to cancel my scores.

pkatz · Answer

One question I forgot to answer. I did not see any std. deviation problems. I had only one easy probabilty question. No perm. I saw questions that mostly required advanced calculations unless of course you recognize the pattern or trick that they are testing for. This seemed to be emphasized quite a bit, to slow people down who actually tried to work out every problem. As a result there was actually one question that I did not get an answer to, which I don't believe has ever happened to me. I'm not sure if my description was too vague, but I think that this is about the most detail I can go into without getting in trouble with ETS.

lazerbud · Answer

Hi Pkatz,...Thanks for your response. I know what you mean when you say ETS is trying to test if you know the "trick" to solving what looks like complex, compound problems. 

Thanks again..and good luck with the applications!

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700 Q 45 V 41

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