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740 (49 Quantitative - 91 %ile, 41 Verbal - 93 %ile) from 630


ilano

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Hi All,

 

I made a second attempt to GMAT and finally got a score which gives me more reasons to be satisfied than be dissatisfied.

 

I will just list down some important things which I learnt (the hard way) during my experience:

 

General:

 

- Giving practice tests is very important, to help you better manage time. Give the full tests at a stretch, especially while the test day is approaching.

- Practice as much as possible on the computer. VERY IMPORTANT

- Use forums like this one to exchange ideas. For exchanging ideas, you first need to develop an idea, and to develop an idea, you need to start thinking. These forums make you start thinking (this seems like a question applicable to the CR section). It is very important to think laterally!

 

Verbal: (from 28 to 41)

 

Sentence Correction:

- Try to clear the basic concepts of grammar. I found Manhattan SC to be quite useful.

- This is the most important section where lateral thinking helps (perhaps even more than in CR).

- While using this forum, if you post a question, never immediately post the OA, to avoid any biased responses. And while answering, never look for the OA. Never post answers like "IMO A, what's the OA?" Try to write a justification for each option you eliminate. This will help you think laterally.

- In relation to the third point above, one thing you should always realize is that in GMAT's SC questions, most options will have two errors. Sometimes we become too obsessed about the correct usage of idioms, but there is a clearer error somewhere else in that option. If you try practicing the elimination, with justification--providing all errors in the option--you will quickly be able to spot the errors and eliminate options even in seemingly tough SCs.

- Time Management: (Less than minute) SC questions are generally meant to save time which can be spent on RC and CR questions. However, devote enough time to SCs you find tough.

 

Critical Reasoning:

- Again lateral thinking is very important here. But, always start with a clear mind and try to predict, by reading the stem, first, what could be the question asked, and second, what could be the answer to that question. Many people talk only about the second part. But, with practice, you will find that it is easy to predict even the question just by reading the stem.

- This is generally the easiest section of verbal so try to CAPITALIZE on it.

- Time Management: (Less than 2 minutes) Devote enough time to tough CRs, if you are able to save time from SCs.

 

Reading Comprehension:

- No short cut ever worked for me in RCs. The best approach for me was similar to the one for CR section. Read the passage with a clear mind. The passages aren't generally that long and can easily be read within 3-4 minutes.

- I always re-read the first three lines of the first paragraph in case I felt I am not getting into the topic.

- For any question, first read all the answer choices. Think twice before you eliminate any answer choice. There will always be around three useless and irrelevant options.

- Always use a COMPUTER to practice Reading Comprehension. I even used to change the font to "Verdana" 12 similar to the one used on GMAT.

- Time Management: (Paragraph 3-4 minutes; each question less than minute) Devote enough time for the passage. Also enough time for tough question. Use time saved from easy SCs and easy RCs.

 

Quantitative: (from 48 to 49)

 

Problem solving:

- There will be tough problems and there will be easy problems. Even if you are doing well in this section, you will still get some easy questions towards the end. This is a GMAT's way of helping you with time management.

- When I read Kaplan, it mentioned somewhere that.. "if you are getting too many hard questions, don't get bogged down. It simply means you are doing good." This statement had made a lasting impression on me and actually worked against me when I got those easy questions. I thought I am performing poorly in this section. It played in my mind and affected my performance in verbal during my first appearance.

- Time Management: (depends upon the question) Devote enough time to a difficult question. Use time saved from easy question.

 

Data Sufficiency:

- Well I cannot be of much help to anyone with this. This was my weak point. I make lots of mistakes in this section, but never found a way to improve.

- The 49 I got in quantitative is a stretch for me just because of DS. I never expected to get 50 or above.

- The funniest part is that DS was my favorite section when I was preparing for the Common Admission Test (CAT).

- Time Management: No comments

 

The main point I would like to stress is that it is very important with what approach you take the exam. I didn't read any different material for my second appearance, just altered my approach.

 

Finally, a thank you to Erin and other active participants in this forum. I didn't make many posts, but I tried to see that each of my post is of some value.

 

Cheers,

ilano

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Hey that was an awesome improvement in score...Congratulations and best of luck..

 

Do talk about Verbal part of GMAT I mean what materials u followed..Plzz also tell us about the Math part was that really very tough or what..

 

regds,

amit

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Congrats on the great score Ilano. Can you please share how much time you took between your first test and the second? After scoring 700+ in all practice tests, I scored a measly 620 on the real GMAT last week. I'm planning to take it again in 6 weeks time and hoping to improve my score just as you did. What all did you do differently or added to your prep. the second time? Thanks!
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Thank you everyone.

 

The reason I did not mention the prep material was because I didn't use anything different from what people generally use.

 

But still for some people's convenience, I am listing down them:

 

Before the first appearance:

 

Kaplan and OG 11. Went through some material from 800score. But don't know how much that helped. Perhaps, the biggest mistake I did was not to practice on the computer. I could solve verbal questions from OG 11 with great accuracy. Maths was a cakewalk in both these books (too easy) because of which I realized too late that I was weak in DS. I didn't give any practice exam, not even GMATPrep, fearing that a bad score might dent my confidence. But, I ought to have given atleast the two GMATPrep.

 

Before the second appearance:

 

I wanted to give the exam as early as possible, because I felt that I was well prepared and it was just because of some basic mistakes and a bad day that I got a poor score. But, I was not aware about the 1 month mandatory gap. I had given my first GMAT on 16th May. I registered again for 18th June.

 

As for the preparation, initially I was a little clueless as to what went wrong. Thats when I thought of changing the approach and started visiting this forum and ScoreTop. God knows from where I heard about Verbal Jungle Juice and Math Jungle Juice, which were supposed to be real GMAT questions. I took the VIP registration of ScoreTop only to find that VJJs and MJJs are a thing of the past.

 

Disappointed, I thought I will get whatever material people suggest on this forum. I went through a couple of debriefs, and one of them, I now don't exactly remember which one, I found very encouraging and really helped me from there on.

 

I planned to solve the 1000SC and 1000CR (did not solve more than 200 in total finally :p). I decided, I will settle for a 48 or 49 in Math, just because of DS, and didn't work on math.

 

As I mentioned above, what worked definitely for me was trying to solve the questions posted on the Sentence Correction forum, trying to provide explanation for each option I eliminate. I discovered that SC was not that hard after all. Just need to find two errors in each wrong option. Actually comparing any two options points out atleast one of the errors.

 

Earlier I just relied on intuition for SCs.

 

CRs and RCs are needed to be approached with a clear mind.

 

My exam was on Monday. I gave one PowerPrep and GMATPrep each on Saturday and Sunday.

Scores in the order of giving the exam:

1 GMATPrep1 - 770 (was so high, I was flying to catch it)

2 PowerPrep1 - 690 (feet back on the ground)

3 PowerPrep2 - 720 (a bit relaxed now)

4 GMATPrep2 - 660 (for what I feared, actually came true... a nightmare... had left this one for the end assuming that GMATPrep was easier than PowerPrep. I was totally down before the test. This was also the reason I was extra careful on the actual GMAT)

 

Till I saw my actual score of GMAT, I was not very sure how I am performing. But by the grace of GOD (need to trust HIM sometimes), it was actually a good score. I could have got more on verbal. I got a very tough CR around 35th and with only 10 minutes left. I spent about 3 minutes on that and there after had to rush on the remaining questions. But, human tendency, never be satisfied. What else can I ask for 28 to 41?

 

One very important point which I missed in my previous post is that... TRY and ENJOY solving the questions on the GMAT.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Excellent Debrief and great score. I am also on the retake warpath and if I could see the type of increase you had I would jump through the roof.

 

Can you please compare difficulty of the quant/verbal you saw to the gmatprep practice tests?

 

thanks man I got my retake in 3 weeks and would love to get your input.

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Don't worry too much about the difficulty levels. They are pretty much the same. But, the most important thing is how you handle the questions in the final exam. You might be a little light during GMATPrep, but tensed in actual test. It also depends how well you adjust to an alien computer, keyboard (mine was too hard) and mouse.. though all these are minor things..!!

 

Best of luck to every one!

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