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tsdvj · 01-11-2003, 07:49 PM

Got a 720 today. Yet to get AWA scores.

I feel that doing Verbal a little bit better (atleast 2 or 3 questions) would have got me in the 740-750 range because with V 41, I got a 93 percentile. It would have been nice, a 750..

But I am happy with 720.

My suggestion is that you strengthen the Verbal part -- particularly RC and CR. SC isn't too easy either. I was pretty confident with my SC - I brushed up some grammar and SC had always been my favourite part. But some of the SC's in the test are quite long and tricky. Especially under time constraints, the long ones make you a little bit nervous. I got 3 RC passages. Only one was long. That was a science passage -- always my favourite

As someone else has already said in this forum, taking Kaplan practice tests just before the actual test is not advisable. My Kaplan scores ranged from 660 to 550 (in that order.....) Getting a 550 on the 4th practice doesn't boost your morale. [B)]

After the 'Kaplan experience' (which I underwent 1 week before the test) I took the Princeton Review practice tests during the exam week and that improved my confidence.

2 or 3 days before the exam, I suddenly felt that my Math prep was not sufficient and started cramming Math. But Math part was fine -- I had a couple of probability questions -- TM helped me with probability - I got to read some posts and also went through some probability lessons on the net. On one of the probability questions, I took about 2 minutes and then guessed the answer because I was sure that I would take a long time, which I couldn't afford. I was doubtful of one othe DS question -- other than that, I was confident of all my answers. I chose the 'long way' for all my Math problems except for one on which I did backsolving. Even during practice, I found that the straightforward way took me less time than the 'shortcuts' . (except for long multiplications)
I used to worry that I could not work through the shortcuts quick enough. I think my score in quants proves that what ultimately matters is that you are comfortable with your method given that I finished on time.

What really caught me was Verbal -- Although I expected the challenge. I lagged by nearly 5-6 questions when I noticed my timing around 25 minutes after the beginning. With around 2 minutes estimate for each question, that was about a 10 minute lag. That really made me nervous -- since in a couple of practice tests, I couldn't finish the section on time, guessed on the last 5 questions and got them all wrong.
But, I reminded myself that I can make it up. I have always known that I can gain some time on SC. I did that and also quickened my CR time -- did not linger long on the wrong choices. So, my suggestion is, even if you are out of track, there is hope -- just don't let nervousness take control of the situation.

Hope this helps (just as some of the posts in this forums have helped me

)

01-11-2003, 07:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
tsdvj Within my grasp! Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 135	Got a 720 today. Yet to get AWA scores. I feel that doing Verbal a little bit better (atleast 2 or 3 questions) would have got me in the 740-750 range because with V 41, I got a 93 percentile. It would have been nice, a 750.. But I am happy with 720. My suggestion is that you strengthen the Verbal part -- particularly RC and CR. SC isn't too easy either. I was pretty confident with my SC - I brushed up some grammar and SC had always been my favourite part. But some of the SC's in the test are quite long and tricky. Especially under time constraints, the long ones make you a little bit nervous. I got 3 RC passages. Only one was long. That was a science passage -- always my favourite As someone else has already said in this forum, taking Kaplan practice tests just before the actual test is not advisable. My Kaplan scores ranged from 660 to 550 (in that order.....) Getting a 550 on the 4th practice doesn't boost your morale. [B)] After the 'Kaplan experience' (which I underwent 1 week before the test) I took the Princeton Review practice tests during the exam week and that improved my confidence. 2 or 3 days before the exam, I suddenly felt that my Math prep was not sufficient and started cramming Math. But Math part was fine -- I had a couple of probability questions -- TM helped me with probability - I got to read some posts and also went through some probability lessons on the net. On one of the probability questions, I took about 2 minutes and then guessed the answer because I was sure that I would take a long time, which I couldn't afford. I was doubtful of one othe DS question -- other than that, I was confident of all my answers. I chose the 'long way' for all my Math problems except for one on which I did backsolving. Even during practice, I found that the straightforward way took me less time than the 'shortcuts' . (except for long multiplications) I used to worry that I could not work through the shortcuts quick enough. I think my score in quants proves that what ultimately matters is that you are comfortable with your method given that I finished on time. What really caught me was Verbal -- Although I expected the challenge. I lagged by nearly 5-6 questions when I noticed my timing around 25 minutes after the beginning. With around 2 minutes estimate for each question, that was about a 10 minute lag. That really made me nervous -- since in a couple of practice tests, I couldn't finish the section on time, guessed on the last 5 questions and got them all wrong. But, I reminded myself that I can make it up. I have always known that I can gain some time on SC. I did that and also quickened my CR time -- did not linger long on the wrong choices. So, my suggestion is, even if you are out of track, there is hope -- just don't let nervousness take control of the situation. Hope this helps (just as some of the posts in this forums have helped me )