740 (Q47, V46)

[jcliver]

This last weak has been pretty crazy. I had basically convinced myself that I was going to cancel my score. Why, you ask? I did not feel that I was ready based on everything that I was reading on this message board. Now don't get me wrong . . . I definitely think this site is brilliant (Thanks Erin!) but I do think you should take things that you read here for what they are: opinions.
Ultimately you must trust yourself.

That aside, here's my spin:

Sources used (in order): Petersons, Kaplan, PR, PP, OG

The only scores worth mentioning are PP (740, 730) which seem to be the best indicator of how you'll do. It's funny because with every ETS exam I took, I thought I did horribly, but I always ended up right in the same range. I think you're best off if you just go in there and let the test do the work. The algorithm is pretty amazing at adapting to your ability, always keeping you on the edge of where you're comfortable. If you fall off track, you often have time to make it up. Do not get flustered if you stumble early.

The quant seemed to be more difficult than OG and PP, but my scaled score was not all that different from what I got on PP - take that for what it's worth. I had a few combination/probability questions, no coordinate geometry, lots of data sufficiency. Don't prepare for specific types of problems. Just get used to dealing with new problems. I am a big believer in the "Aptitude" part of CAT (i.e. don't try to learn too much, concentrate on adapting to new situations)

I thought the verbal was as easy as anything I've worked with in the past. If you are scoring well in verbal in OG, you should be prepared to do well on the real thing. SC was extremely straight forward . . .I had one bold faced argument . . Two short RCs, and two long ones (75-100 lines). Verbal really carried the day.

AWA was really easy - I wouldn't spend more than an afternoon on these. You'll have enough energy and motivation to pull something out of the air when it counts.

By the way, I kept an error log, but never actually made it back over these problems. I think I would have been better off spending time after each set looking at the solutions.

I broke up OG into fourteen 100+ problem sets to get my stamina up. However, nothing I simulated was able to match what I faced. The most important thing is to have as clear a head as possible. I slept well, ate well and exercised, but I was still having trouble focusing after I stumbled early in Quant. You really just have to push through it, because chances are you're doing significantly better than you think you are. This was the case for me. I hesitated before deciding to accept my scores - this would have been one of the biggest mistakes I've made.

Anyway, this is a horribly organized and poorly written account of my experience. It is late, and I am rather worn out. I will be back on to check for any questions that you may have.

If anyone is looking for books, I have just about everything in 2004/2003 (OG, Kaplan, Arco, Princeton, Verbal books, Math books). I will make an especially sweet deal to anyone who wants to take the whole load - only for serious Gmatters

Good luck to everyone.

Now on to the apps. Trying to decide where I might have a chance with 740, 3.5 from top 20 U.S., and two full years at a boutique economics consulting firm. - perhaps i need more work experience . . thoughts?
Erin, do I stand a chance in the top 10?

Regards,

Htown

[Erin]

Beautiful post, and you've shared some important insight--the test will be different for everyone. Sometimes I wish people wouldn't say that they think that a certain part of the test is easy, or the opposite, that it's impossible. The bottom line is that we each have different abilities, and for some of us, some parts will be easy, while for others, other parts will be hard.

Htown, you've got good stats, and I think that everything will come down to a few crucial factors--leadership, what David calls the "wow" factor, and how you spin your essays. This is what makes the difference between the top 10 and the top 50.

Please make a post in David's thread. He should give you good advice.

Oh, BTW, congrats!!

[jcliver]

Thanks Erin! I posted my inquiry for David.

This site has provided a wealth of information. If anyone has any questions regarding the test or the preparation, feel free to ask.

Htown

[bhatt]

Congratulations Jcliver
Your verbal score is amazing
I am giving myself 1 yr to prepare GMAT and also work fulltime
How would you think would be the best approach for verbal section of GMAT.
I am very poor in Verbal especially in RC and mediocre in SC
If i give the test today
I would probably score around 25 in verbal just a guess.
I want to get to around 40? Do you think it is achievable?
Thanks
AB

[jcliver]

Bhatt,

You can certainly improve your verbal score. If you have a lot of time, I suggest reading The Economicst and maybe some articles from Science. This will help you with RC. I read the entire article, so that I don't have to waste a lot of time rereading and looking for specifics that i missed.

For Sentence Correction, you should be able to learn everything from OG, Kaplan Verbal/Princeton Verbal. It's especially important to know the types of things that ETS looks for. Look to see how the sentences differ. This will clue you into what they're trying to test with that particular problem. You should spend very little time on these problems. Go with your gut instinct.

Critical reasoning is pretty basic in my opinion. You should be able to eliminate a lot of wrong choices as being out of scope, or doing exactly the oppisite of what the question stem asks.

I hope this helps.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask me.

Good luck!

Jcliver

[thaiva]

Hey Congradt's jcliver as bahtt said your verbal score is amazing.
And for bahtt : everything is achievable and you can make anything happen by persistance[}] hard work and dedication[bomb].

Good luck to both of you for the future and best wishes,

Tim

P.S thanks jcliver for all the advice.