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680 GMAT. disappointed, but moving on..


Lav

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I gave my gmat last week. got 680: q48 v34.

 

Last few mock cats before the test-day (in reverse chronological):

GMAT Prep1: 760 (q51, v42)

GMAT Prep2: 740 (q50, v40)

MGMATs (in the order I gave them): 700, 710, 730, 730

 

Recap of the test-day:

1. Both the essay prompts were easy enough. kept it simple and sticked to the kaplan template. One of the things i was able to do on test-day was to leave 3-4 mins for revision (very important). Matter of fact, the issue essay was the one i did a few days back from the GMAT list of essays!!

2. Quant got better with time with more strikes as i went along. finished with a minute to spare.

3. In verbal: Two RC passages were horrific. Both had a complex diction and twisted concept (one was about a classical music style, Mozart, Bethoven; dont remember the other one) . Had i faced them with fresh mind, i would have aced them. But the fact that those RC passages came more than 2.5 hrs after i entered the "arena", i had relatively much less brain power and concentration left to spare. Both the RC passages had atleast 5 prompts and so it meant a VERY BIG impact on the score, and hence the poor verbal score.

4. CR and SC was good, though i had a real tough time on couple of SC prompts. The ability to catch the 'splits' in the answer choices on the harder SC prompts determines, to a large extent, your odds of getting it right, and getting it right comfortably. SC was always my strength; and since i found few of them tough (to my surprise!), it had a somewhat negative impact on my already-tired mind. Finished verbal with couple of mins to spare.

So, Save Energy For The Verbal Section!

 

Cant leave without giving a note of THANKS for the response and help that i got from the forum and its members in the last two months!

 

Let me know for any questions that you may have, and i'll try to respond at earliest possible.

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I gave my gmat last week. got 680: q48 v34.

 

Last few mock cats before the test-day (in reverse chronological):

GMAT Prep1: 760 (q51, v42)

GMAT Prep2: 740 (q50, v40)

MGMATs (in the order I gave them): 700, 710, 730, 730

 

Recap of the test-day:

1. Both the essay prompts were easy enough. kept it simple and sticked to the kaplan template. One of the things i was able to do on test-day was to leave 3-4 mins for revision (very important). Matter of fact, the issue essay was the one i did a few days back from the GMAT list of essays!!

2. Quant got better with time with more strikes as i went along. finished with a minute to spare.

3. In verbal: Two RC passages were horrific. Both had a complex diction and twisted concept (one was about a classical music style, Mozart, Bethoven; dont remember the other one) . Had i faced them with fresh mind, i would have aced them. But the fact that those RC passages came more than 2.5 hrs after i entered the "arena", i had relatively much less brain power and concentration left to spare. Both the RC passages had atleast 5 prompts and so it meant a VERY BIG impact on the score, and hence the poor verbal score.

4. CR and SC was good, though i had a real tough time on couple of SC prompts. The ability to catch the 'splits' in the answer choices on the harder SC prompts determines, to a large extent, your odds of getting it right, and getting it right comfortably. SC was always my strength; and since i found few of them tough (to my surprise!), it had a somewhat negative impact on my already-tired mind. Finished verbal with couple of mins to spare.

So, Save Energy For The Verbal Section!

 

Cant leave without giving a note of THANKS for the response and help that i got from the forum and its members in the last two months!

 

Let me know for any questions that you may have, and i'll try to respond at earliest possible.

 

Hi! Luv,

 

Good lord! Pretty disappointed at ur score. I thought u wld easily cross 730 and above. What wld u advise mate? I have hardly spent time in RC. Sometimes i think I am wasting too much time on SC.

 

How was the Quant section? Was it simple or tough?

 

Any specific advise on CR, SC & RC???

 

Are u planning to retake GMAT? Were u nervous?

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only thing i can advice tarun is that building temperament for the test-day is of utmost importance. give at least 2-3 mock cats with the essay section. try different times in the day to find your most efficient 3.5 hr stretch. And make sure u dont have any commitments/appointments for the rest of the day after ur gmat appointment-- it might distract you to think about things outside the test center.

So, if you have 1-2 weeks left for the G-day, spend a good chunk of your time towards building your test-day temperament. All the best.

 

This was my second attempt to GMAT, so i might not give it again. Would work towards making the best of it.

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only thing i can advice tarun is that building temperament for the test-day is of utmost importance. give at least 2-3 mock cats with the essay section. try different times in the day to find your most efficient 3.5 hr stretch. And make sure u dont have any commitments/appointments for the rest of the day after ur gmat appointment-- it might distract you to think about things outside the test center.

So, if you have 1-2 weeks left for the G-day, spend a good chunk of your time towards building your test-day temperament. All the best.

 

This was my second attempt to GMAT, so i might not give it again. Would work towards making the best of it.

 

How was the quant section? Do i give more time to RC & CR. Can u advise where can i take free online practice tests?

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Quant was easier than i had been hearing from my friends lately. if you're real comfortable with the OG problems (both Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving), you can try the manhattan GMAT challenge problem archive-- it costs $30 and is a collection of the toughest problems one can expect to see on GMAT. I felt most of those problems were not GMAT-type but they did help me revise, practice and feel confident about my quant concepts. i did more than 150 problems from this collection in last 2-3 weeks before the test and i think it actually helped me get over the fear of facing the tough quant prompts on the test-day. But again thats me!

Again, for practice tests, as most people recommend, do purchase the Manhattan CATs online. I got them free on the purchase of Manhattan GMAT SC Strategy guide-- which i think is a prity good deal. Dont forget the official GMAT Prep 1 & 2 CATs.

Hope that helps.

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680.. what i would not give for 680..

I know what passages you are talking about. I had the same one when i gave the test.. with that i also had one with female writer history. How did you prepare for GMAT. I mean what did you do 2 weeks before exam.. I have my Exam 2 weeks from now. I could really use some help.

 

--

Sayali.

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Sayali, as I mentioned jst work towards building your temprament for the test day by doing full length CATs (inc. essays) and redoing OGs. and don't pick any new concept in this 2 week period. most important: spend moretime on your strengths, then improving upon your less strong areas- former would be more rewarding than doing latter.
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Not sure if this is relevant but Lav score breaks as: 680: q48 v34, while my score is 680: q49 v 34. Makes me wonder.

Well was my second attempt and now I think I will settle with this score as got 670 in my last attempt. I thought my nerves would hold this time but unfortunately it didn't.

This is worse than all my latest mock test

{GMAT Prep1: 730

GMAT Prep2: 720}

But I have come to the realization, that patting my back for each score over 700 in mock test was useless. Ultimately what matters is test day and how well one is able to cope up with the pressure.

 

Overall observation, found SC easier than the last attempt (in August 2011). But was thrown 2 very complicated RC's.

 

Well ask me any specifics and I will be happy to respond.

 

I gave my gmat last week. got 680: q48 v34.

 

Last few mock cats before the test-day (in reverse chronological):

GMAT Prep1: 760 (q51, v42)

GMAT Prep2: 740 (q50, v40)

MGMATs (in the order I gave them): 700, 710, 730, 730

 

Recap of the test-day:

1. Both the essay prompts were easy enough. kept it simple and sticked to the kaplan template. One of the things i was able to do on test-day was to leave 3-4 mins for revision (very important). Matter of fact, the issue essay was the one i did a few days back from the GMAT list of essays!!

2. Quant got better with time with more strikes as i went along. finished with a minute to spare.

3. In verbal: Two RC passages were horrific. Both had a complex diction and twisted concept (one was about a classical music style, Mozart, Bethoven; dont remember the other one) . Had i faced them with fresh mind, i would have aced them. But the fact that those RC passages came more than 2.5 hrs after i entered the "arena", i had relatively much less brain power and concentration left to spare. Both the RC passages had atleast 5 prompts and so it meant a VERY BIG impact on the score, and hence the poor verbal score.

4. CR and SC was good, though i had a real tough time on couple of SC prompts. The ability to catch the 'splits' in the answer choices on the harder SC prompts determines, to a large extent, your odds of getting it right, and getting it right comfortably. SC was always my strength; and since i found few of them tough (to my surprise!), it had a somewhat negative impact on my already-tired mind. Finished verbal with couple of mins to spare.

So, Save Energy For The Verbal Section!

 

Cant leave without giving a note of THANKS for the response and help that i got from the forum and its members in the last two months!

 

Let me know for any questions that you may have, and i'll try to respond at earliest possible.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Dear Lav

 

I am new to this, i would like to start preparing for GMAT. Can you tell from where should i start my preparation. I started reading OG12, is it enough? Which are practice test available other than Powerprep?

Where i can get GMAT list of essays

If you can share your personal email ID i will able contact you on this.

 

Thanks,

 

Milind

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Hi Milind,

 

To answer a few questions:

 

You can download the official GMAT prep practice software at: Free Test-Preparation Software

Here are the essay lists:

Issue essay: http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-structure-and-overview/~/media/Files/mba/NEWTheGMAT/AnalysisofanIssue100606.ashx

Argument essay: http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-structure-and-overview/~/media/Files/mba/NEWTheGMAT/AnalysisofanArgument100606.ashx

 

Cheers,

Brent

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