prg200678 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I appeared for GMAT yesterday, I scored 610 (QUANT: 48, VERBAL 27). I am applying for a part time MBA in a mediocre school where this score is sufficient. Here is my debrief. I studied for 2 months (2 Hours on weekdays, 4-5 hours on the weekend) .I always had difficulty with the verbal so I cannot give much advice on the verbal, however I can offer few tips about the Quant. You might be stressed at the start of the preparation but keep on marching, stick to your schedule and you will feel better as you make progress. Avoid studying hard in the last two weeks; use those to go through your notes. GMAT is all about being disciplined and organized. Quality (not quantity) of the study is very important. I used to lose my efficiency if I study more than 2 hours on the weekdays. At the same time, don’t be too casual; try studying in 75 minutes session as this will help you in the actual test. Identify your weak areas and keep on working on them. Study Materials 1. Official Guide (11th edition) 2. OG grid (this is a excel sheet that has type and difficulty level for OG questions) 2. Princeton Review (Good for verbal and AWA) 3. KAPLAN (good for QUANT) 4. 160 GMAT PREP problems (I found it on one of the forum, Please email if anyone needs a copy) 5. Very tough quant (Found it on one of the forum) 6. 1000 sentence correction 7. Manhattan sentence CORRECTION 8. 800 score AWA guide 9. Critical Reasoning Bible for LSAT 10. Manhattan CR AND SC 11. BEAT THE GMAT flash cards plus my own formula sheet 12. Spidey and sahil’s SC notes (these are really good) Useful links http://www.litesee.com/free.htm http://www.800score.com/guidec4view1d.html http://www.scoretop.com/forum/default.asp http://www.www.urch.com/forums/ http://www.geocities.com/ashish_iitm/gmatprep.html ( Important) http://www.prepfortests.com/gmat/info/tips/successfultakers http://www.www.urch.com/forums/gmat-reading-comprehension/65870-rc-tips-closed-thread-jamesbond007.html http://outbeat-the-gmat.blogspot.com/2007/04/guide-to-buy-gmat-books-and-preparation.html( Important) http://www.vyomworld.com/gmat/sc/sc.asp?qno=1&B1=Take+Test http://www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7794&PN=1&FID=24&PR=3 http://www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=589&PN=1 http://www.findscore.com/twe/write/selecttype.php http://beatthegmat.blogspot.com/search/label/Test%20Experience http://betterexplained.com/articles/easy-permutations-and-combinations/( Important) http://www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24566&PN=1 http://www.www.urch.com/forums/gmat-awa/11608-magic-template.html Practice tests 1. Try to give at least one test per week, it is very important to simulate the test conditions .Focus hard for 4 hours and try to maintain the stamina for full test. 2. GMAT PREP (from GMAC) are the best tests, your actual score will be very close to GMATPREP score ( Try taking second GMATPREP test one week before the actual GMAT) 3. MANHATTEN GMAT has second best practice tests (as per my opinion), There quant section is little bit difficult than the actual GMAT, but the question types are pretty good. They seem to have very good scoring formula ( It was comparable to powerprep) 4. KAPLAN makes a very good job in depressing you, so avoid taking them one week before the actual exam. You will usually get higher score than KAPLAN. 5. PRINCETON REVIEW has a major flaw in the scoring mechanism, not very reliable. Quant and Verbal are both easy than the Real GMAT. TEST DAY: 1. Be ready for a long day. 2. My sweet wife cooked a nice lunch and packed snacks for me, so be pleasant to your wife/girlfriend during the test week! 3. Use breaks to refresh, eat something to maintain the energy level. 4. Tell yourself after each section “I have done well, I am going to do well” 5. Don’t get bothered by irritating sounds made by other test takers , some of the test takers make too much noise when typing essays, Just FOCUS On your task, Use your earplug if necessary. 6. Lockers are 2 ft deep X 1 ft wide X 2 ft high, so carry the stuff accordingly. 7. Finger printing can take upto a minute, so in reality you will get only 8 minutes brake instead of 10. 8. Most of the test centers will not give you more than one scratch notebook at a time, you will need to raise your hand to get another, this can cause a lapse in concentration so try using one scratch notebook only. 9. You will be allowed to carry only your ID and a key to the locker 10. Read the test instructions in the powerprep carefully, you are given 5 mins to read the instructions; you can use these 5 mins to make the grid (for POE) or to adjust yourself to the test room environment. PACING TECHNIQUE FOR QUANT SECTION: 1. I am going to offer an unconventional advice here but it worked for me. First 10 questions are extremely important, make sure you start strong. I finished first 10 questions in 27 mins, next 10 in 25 mins, next 10 in 15 mins and last 7 in 8 mins. TRUST ME it works if you make sure that most of the first 10 questions are correct. 2. Don’t hesitate spending up to 3-4 mins for a question (If the question# is 1 to 10). 3. In GMAT POWERPREP practice tests, I used to get 12-15 questions wrong (raw score from 45-48) in quant section. Most of these were in the last 20 so first 10 questions will decide your fate. More tips for quant: You will need to memorize some of the formuleas (there is no alternative), make a list of those and read it every 48/72 hours for 2 months. For DS, memorize the 5 options ( this will save you some time in the test) Get very intimate with the Number line and Cartesian geometry. Use back solving technique for PS. Use back solving to check if the answer you have chosen is correct ( very imp for first 10 questions ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krovvidy Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Congrats prg200678 ... "ultimately you should be happy" ... that's what you proved ... it's a success for you since you met your target ... Your debrief is good ... helps the future test takers a lot ... nothing like real test experience ... "getting first 10 questions right" is a good first step for high score ... agreed ... Enjoy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05rose Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks for such a wonderful debrief i hope it will be useful for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywonka14 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Congrats..thats an awesome Quant Score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somu Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Congrats for the quant score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saege Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Go bro go . Please keep us posted on you application procedure.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prg200678 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 I have updated and added more links and tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbownlife Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 great quant score. cud you please email material that you have for quant. gmat000007@yahoo.com thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepa2911 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 congrats for a good quants score.. pls email the material @ deepa2911@yahoo.com thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srikanths Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Thanks for your inputs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gmater-1 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Congrats for reaching your target and thanks a ton for all usefull links. Wish you best of luck for your apps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesya Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Hi - cud you please email material that you have for quant - lesyal7@gmail.com? thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meggieski Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 what if we do not have a wife or girlfriend? Lol.. I have a boyfriend but he probably wont make me breakfast! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russty Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Congrats prg and thanks for the links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr gupta Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 congrta for your score. please email me quant stuff you have at crownaneesh@hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firework253 Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I don't know is too late to say Congrats. One thing, Can you send me the material for quantity to lekhere@gmail.com. Thank you so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjagtiani Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 (edited) Kindly send me the quant material u have pls on my ID [removed[/email]... Thanks Edited May 7, 2010 by asquare do not post contact information in the forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.