1380 (Verbal 620; Quants 760)

[mystic87]

I must say that I am quite disappointed in the verbal today...didn't expect myself to do that poorly. But from another way to look at it, i suppose I know where i should work even more at.

So I started off my day with some light exercises from PP, nothing too big. Reviewed some of my flashcards that's stuck all around the house. Going into the test center was a little nerve wracking. My heartbeat would just refuse to calm down.

As soon as the test began I was faced with a pleasant surprise. Acutally two pleasant surprises. Both essays were from the pool! (or very similar..) So I breezed through the AWA feeling pretty good. Then came the ten minute break. I mostly walked around and ate some snack; made it back just in time. Quants was first, which was unexpected seeing as i'm used to verbal first. I'm pretty sure most of the questions were level 4 or 5 in the beginning and middle. ETS totally dropped geometric problems one after another. That was a little unexpected as well. Then came the Verbal...I'm pretty sure that i bombed the first few questions which could explain my score. Towards the end of verbal, the questions were getting pretty easy...so i figured i probably didn't do as well as i'd liked to. Either way, another Quants ensued, giving me no breaks in between. This one was a little easier than the first and it also contained the new math question type. That question was relatively easy. Moral of the story, do lots of practice questions and learn lots of words...

I'm going to wait for my AWA results to decide whether or not to take it again. Chances are I will because I know i'm capable of a much higher score in Verbal.

Alright onto prep material. I used a variety of resources: GRE Bible, 800score, NOVA, ETS GRE 10th edition, Baron's, Kaplans prem, Princeton Review verbal workout, and some from the Big Book.

My plan for the next month/two will be to attack my Verbal workouts by increasing vocab even more, and practice, practice, practice. I've heard some of you throw around Big Book and Baron's wordlist. Where can i find those? I think that would help me get a more complete and comprehensive view on the depth that's required for verbal. Also, if possible I'd like to improve my quants score. Sure, 760 is not bad for Biology Major, but this is easy math belied by tricks and disguises. So I'd really like to get a copy of the Big Book to get more practices...and i'm open to any good suggestions on that!

Well guys, this pretty much sums up my (tragic) day. However, I won't be disheartened and will definitely try again. Thanks for all your help throughout the last month. It was a miracle that I found TM just in time. I'm definitely going to stay on it to contribute and to pester for answer!


One thing that really peeved me was the lack of attention from the proctors, especially when you need more scratch paper! Thankfully i ran out of paper at the end of a section. Why can't they just give you two booklets at once? *sigh*

[grexam]

hi mystic
so u say that more practice,practice n practice is the only solution whether quants or verbal..or is it only for verbal???

1)Knowing just the basics in quants is enugh with some practice???

2)well I just started verbal with completeing just 2 wordlists in 3 days toooo long a time am dead slow at mugging these lists ....and then just started to see some tips with RC.....and had got 2 questions wrong out of 3 for a passage.....really depressing......so u say with more practice such hurdles would soon be cleared? and all this is just becoz its initial stages??


thanks

[mystic87]

hmm practice really is your best bet for GRE in my opinion. some tricks that you pick up here and there will help you save time. but it is from practice that you know what type of questions are tested and their variations. therefore, yes, for both math AND verbal. if your math is already superb then i suppose you don't need to work on it as much. but if you're not getting perfect all the time, then i suggest that you don't neglect it. quants section is more about your ability to break down hard questions and quickly utilize your knowledge to solve it. knowing the concepts is not enough. you must practice them and hone them until they become second nature.

As for verbal prep. yes wordlist is definitely important, but there are ways to spice it up a little. Try to learn through antonym lists, or analogies list. Or any other way to organize it yourself. There are a lot of look-alikes too...but totally unrelated in meaning. If you just started out with RC then don't be too discouraged. we all start somewhere. Key to RC is fast enough (not too fast) reading WITH understanding, really delve into the author's brain so to speak, and being able to solve the harder questions such as "it can be inferred..." or "this evidence can undermine the author's assertion..." These are the hardest questions on RC because it requires a profound understanding of the author's arguments and intentions.