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Finally done with it! 1530 (800Q, 730V)


sanjay21

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I'm so glad it's over.

 

The Quant was similar in difficulty to that of powerprep. In fact I had enough time to double or even triple check all the answers. The harder tests like catprep and BigCD are good if you have to score a 800, or it's just excess preparation. GRE_Kickboxer's tests are really really useful. Many are saying the real GRE has increased in difficulty because the questions are getting more wordier and tricker. Also I noticed that *all* questions appear to be of the same difficult, so if you get a harder question in the beginning dont panic.

 

As for the verbal part, the questions are very very similar to that of big book. I seriously doubt any other test prep companies (like princeton) has this similarity. In fact, after doing many big book RC's you can easily eliminate many of the answer choices without even looking at the passage.

 

Moreover, I think with enough practice anyone can score a 700+ in verbal. I'm generally not very good in English and neither do I read novels. Add to this the fact that I'm an engineer and have spent most of the last four years with numbers. Also, I'm a non-native English speaker.

 

Materials that have really helped me

1) Barrons word-list- This is the definitive word list. I think it's hard for non-native English speakers to get a decent verbal score without knowing barrons.

2) TestMagic: Ofcourse, how can I forget this forum. Really helped me with SC's and Analogies and I have learnt a lot how people eliminate answer choices in them. The quant forum is also great. Lot of questions and exams (espl by GRE_K).

3) BigBook: I ignored the quant part of bigbook, just did the verbal. For verbal practice this is the ultimate book. 27 real tests and real questions

4) 800score, BigCD, Catprep: These have higher quant standard and are good for guys who are aiming a perfect 800

5) ScoreItNow - I'm not very good at writing and this really helped me refine my writing skills. I practiced about 3 essays have finally ended up getting a score of 5. Now after I get my AWA score I'll come to know if it's evaluation is accurate

 

As for real standard of quant, the only tests that are close to it are powerprep, kaplan and barrons. Other tests are either too hard or too easy. The princeton review tests for example are too easy and give a false sense of confidence.

 

Thanks TM!

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sanjay great job. So the quant section was of the same level as PP, or a little harder? What was the most difficult math concept you feel you were tested on?

 

Good luck on your apps. May your heart lie peaceful and calm. We have lost sanjay and Kickboxer in the span of 1 week. This is sad. But our journey continues, comrades! No matter how hopeless, no matter how far!

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@GRE_Pupil: Thanks. I think one concept they tested more than usual was co-ordinate geometry. Nothing really fancy though, just the basics. I think the real test was little (very little) bit harder than PP. It maybe due to additional exam pressue

 

@Ancalagon: I'm a Comp.Sci student, so hope to get into a decent college

 

@Serenity, Rufus: thanks. and best of luck for your exams..

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Hi nitinka,

 

I studied AWA in about 10 days. Hopefully I will get a score of 4.5+

 

I suggest the following for AWA

 

Argument

--------

1) Princeton Review book is the best. The template is good and the examples on how to find fallacies is excellent.

2) You can register with scoreitnow and write a few essays

3) Make a well defined template before hand and just re-write it in the exam (the first and last para)

 

Issue

-----

 

Again refer princeton for general guidelines. To get more ideas for a topic just brainstorm about 5-10 topics with your friend. Many topics are based on similar ideas and the arguments and ideas you get while brainstorming will help

 

Catprep is not free. You need to goto catprep.com and buy it. Check your PM in a day, I will mail you the link for Bigcd

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Please stop believing the hype. It is an illusion that the test is harder. Sure, ETS may ask questions in a format that you are not used to, but that doesn't mean the test is harder. STRESS is the biggest thing. I panicked and lost my 800 in verbal as a result.

 

It's all about self-composure and breaking the problems apart. Who cares if you have a series problem so long as you can spot the shortcut? Yes, problems will be time consuming and "hard" if you solve them in a circuitous way, but if you use the correct shortcuts, they will be easy.

 

Almost all GRE math problems have shortcuts. ETS wants to see if you spot them. Don't worry if a probability problem is mixed in with a data interpretation problem. Know the basics and look for shortcuts!

 

Edusoftech, CATprep and 800score tests are DEFINITELY harder than the real test because you can't find nearly as many shortcuts. Some of the problems are just plain time consuming no matter what you do.

 

If your logical reasoning skills are very good, the GRE will not be hard for you. If you are hoping to solve straight-forward math problems that require no logic, you may struggle.

 

Sanjay is a friggin' genius. He doesn't even live in America and got a 730 verbal. I've been here for many years.

 

Sanjay is probably good under pressure too!

 

I need some xanax or something. LOL

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Hi Sanjay,

 

A great job you have done. I am a prospective test taker. I have problem in vocubulary. I can't remember the word. Can you give me some tips how i can remember the words. At present I study Barrons. Is there any other books require to study. I am a non native english speaker.

Wait for your reply.

 

Thanks

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