2006 November 7th, 06:59 AM
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#1 (permalink) |
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I JUST got here.
 Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 26
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750(q49, V44)
hey guys,
I just gave my GMAT at Renton, WA and scored 750. I thought I screwed up math as the first 20 questions or so progressively got tougher and I had to do the last 15 questions in 15 mins. Took the 10 minutes break after Math, washed my face and told myself to concentrate on verbal. i guess i did, and in the end, am very pleased with the score. will write a debrief over the weekend. One thing I have to admit is that the materials on this site and the ones on the yahoo group gmatnetwork were very helpful. pradeep. |
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2006 November 8th, 03:29 AM
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#6 (permalink) |
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I JUST got here.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 26
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my debrief
Thank you guys for your wishes.
Let me describe the test day experience first and then get to the materials that I used. Unlike many people on this forum, I didn't get a chance to visit the test center before my test date. My test was on Monday, Nov 6th at 4.00 PM. I prepared all the way until Sunday evening and I took it easy from then on. Last minute cramming up has never helped me, so I was just watching NFL football on Sunday evening. I had a good night's sleep on Sunday. I can't emphasize the importance of a good sleep enough. No matter how hard you prepare, if you don't have enough sleep, you won't be able to concentrate during the exam. I woke up Monday morning, all refreshed, and started brushing up on some verbal concepts. I lightly brushed through the critical reasoning questions from OG 11 that I got wrong reminding myself how and why I got them wrong. I read through some SC documents that I downloaded from this form and gmatnetwork (I'm attaching all the ones I downloaded). I was specifically brushing through segments like "that/which", the use of gerunds such as "comparing/compared to" etc. Then I got a subway sandwich (didn't want to eat heavy food and feel sleepy during the exam). I headed to the exam center and reached there an hour early and started the exam at 3.30 PM. I found the first two essays, analysis of argument, and analysis of issue to be reasonably easy. I could come up with the 2-3 points right away. Even though I was a few seconds late on the second essay (the time expired while I was proof reading the last paragraph), I was feeling pretty good at that time. Then came the quant section. The first question was reasonably tough (it was on number theory) and I spent 4-5 minutes making sure I got it right. Then every following question became progressively tougher and by the time I reached 23rd question, I had only 15 minutes left on the clock. I ran through the 15 questions really quick (taking under a minute for each question) and at the same time was careful not to make too many mistakes. I wish I managed my time more effectively. But, here's a tip that TwinSplitter and some others mentioned in their debrief. TIP: Hide the clock, and refer to it once every 5-10 questions to make sure you are on the right track and doing good on time. Because my time management on quant was bad, I though I screwed it up royally. I took the 10 mins break, went to the restroom, splashed some water on my face, and told myself to focus on the verbal. I managed my time better on verbal. I hid the clock and was checking it every now and then. I was extra careful on the first few questions as I didn't want to get them wrong. I followed TwinSplitter's advice of understanding the critical reasoning stimulus first and then look at the question (contrary to Kaplan's method) both during practice tests and during real GMAT. I found that approach better than reading the question first. So, try both of them and see what you are comfortable with. I comfortably paced through CRs and RCs with the little extra time I got from SCs and managed to finish verbal section 5-10 seconds in advance. I would like to reiterate Clintonn's suggestion of practising SCs in advance. If you learn to spot the errors immediately, you can answer SCs fairly quickly, which then gives you some extra time to analyze CRs and RCs. The test center in Renton was really quiet and nice. I had a good experience there. I did the Princeton Review first, then Kaplan, OG 11, and GMATPrep. I found PR's sample tests to be easy and not really a good indicator of your standing. Kaplan's quant is easier than real GMAT, but verbal is tougher. I think OG 11 is real good practice both in quant and verbal. I would say it's a must. Try to practice the techniques, especially verbal, on the practice questions. Practise finding SC's mistakes faster, and slicing and dicing critical reasoning arguments quicker. GMATPrep is a good indicator how you will fare on real GMAT. I got 720 and 730 prep 1 and 2 respectively, and ended up getting 750 on real GMAT. Then we always have the forums to follow and documents to download. Also, understand and memorize the different critical reasoning flaws (refer to "Finding flaws in critical reasoning logic") usually introduced by test makers. This should help improve your speed on critical reasoning. I have done neither the GMAT sets nor the JJs, so I can't really comment on those. I have done some of 1000 CRs and some of 1000 SCs. Some of 1000 SC answers are not correct, so be careful. I found the "quant revision.pdf", "Explanatory SC notes", "Finding flaws in critical reasoning logic", and "GMAT Verbal" (all of them attached) to be pretty good and handy. Even though I didn't see Clintonn's suggestion of improving SC speed before my test, I took lesser time on SCs and it gave me extra time on CRs and RCs. This is what I can think of at this point. If you have any specific questions, post them here. I'll check this thread almost everyday and will respond appropriately. Oh, BTW, I am thinking of applying to 4 b-schools. I've decided on 2 of them - harvard, and stanford - and am still undecided on the other two. |
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