aashna

hey, thanx every1! :D its nice to get all ur congrats :) now i gotta go tackle those admissions ppl ;)

hey, thnx cridamour and seagull!

thanx, mwm. u were so helpful when i kept posting all those sums i cudnt solve. and u were really encouraging abt that avatar thing too :) @ mishal: why r u laughing? :mad: i was really, really brave. didnt u see me just sitting there? as opposed to jumping up and screaming, like i really wanted to? :eek: also, did u notice how, even after u killed it, the thing kept flapping its wings? *yuck* i hate cockroaches :yuck: :yuck: o, and thank u too mishal: one, for all the quant help, and two, for killing that thing :)

hey, thanx bilash bhai! :) i really cant thank u enuff.... u have helped me so, so much w the quant. and ur encouragement really meant a lot, and it really, really gave me a lot of confidence. good luck w ur comp gre and applications, i'm sure u will get in nywhr u want.... :grad:

o, in my previous post, i cudnt post as many smilies as i wanted, cos i'm apparantly limited to 6. i tried to give 24. so here are all the smilies i wanted to give abt how i feel abt cockroaches: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: thnx for putting up w this rant... and thanx for all the help (esp math)... like i mentioned in my previous post, i really cudnt have done it w.out u guys :tup:

actual: V700, Q 800 pp1: V 720, Q780 pp2: V 750 (? dont exactly remember) Q800 when i started doing well in pprep, i thot it was much easier than gre cos i didnt expect to do so well. i am pretty bad in math. but pprep is a very good indication of the level of difficulty, and types of sums in the actual gre. i didnt give many bigbook tests, mainly cos i'd get frustrated cos i'd make a minimum of 2/3 mistakes in every test. i NEVER got 800 in any bigbook test.

*phew* it's over! that's actually my first thot, even before i begin celebrating my success (well, at least i think of it as a success... ). i guess u cud say i'm reasonably pleased w myself, especially since i worked like crazy on quant, cos my math skills are pretty pathetic. awa... i am not at all sure how that went, i'm really trying to forget abt that now .... verbal... i really blew it... i was expecting above 700, but most of the words really confused me... got a lot of words i'd never seen before, but that's actually not saying much cos i didnt learn new words or anything. i think i also did badly in the reading comprehension maybe, cos a few q's were pretty tricky. sc was ok, but i think i got one wrong. umm.... quant... what can i say? this is, as mishal has pointed out, the REAL gre, esp since i am applying for econ and have not had sufficient math/calc/algebra courses (i am a finance major). i was pleased that i got this section before verbal: i felt like i cud breathe after it was over .... well, i'll be arrogant and honest: i was really, really hoping for 800 cos i badly need it for my admissions. after i saw my score, i just stared at the screen for a few minutes :D abt the quant q's: well, level of difficulty was not much higher than that of the pprep tests. but it was tougher cos i was really nervous. (a wreck, thnx to events i will describe later). i dont quite remember what i got, but i remember more than 1 inequality, a few geometry q's and a few algebra stuff. at first, i was so nervous that i kept making dumb mistakes. i took a lot of time to correct those mistakes and check and doublecheck my answers... so i was really scared of running out of time. so i rushed thru the middle section. i wound up finishing four minutes before end of time another thing i did to waste my precious time: every few q's, i calculated how much time per q i had left... but again, maybe NOT doing so would ve actually made me more nervous. well, that's it abt the actual exam mishel and i gave the exam at the same time, and he's already explained in his post how they were delayed due to tech difficulties... well, i was the first one called... and then just as the guy was verifying my info, he's all "oops... why dont u go outside and sit... " i cam back and didnt know what was going on at that time... then the administrator came out and explained... the guy after me was called (i waited).. that guy came back too... and then finally thr prob was solved and i was called back again.... but the absolute WORST thing abt the exam: when we were waiting in the reception area, thr was this horrible COCKROACH!! :yuck: well, it was crawling abt and all, and at first i tried to be all sophisticated and brave and not jump abt and scream. i just sat thr. i was so, so brave. Cos i'd be going in to give my test in a while nyway. and all the others giving the test today were dumb guys who dont care abt cockroaches anyway... well, after i came back in, ("technical probs") that stupid cockroach started crawling towards me. so i stopped acting brave (no, i did not scream or jump or anything) and i made mishal change places w me. so the cockroach changed directions and started crawling towards me again. repeat process of changing seats, me still being very brave. mishal asks, "how long will u do this?" reply: "as long as that's still here, and i cant start giving my test". btw, all this in an otherwise silent reception area. w all the other guys (abt 7 others) not at all caring abt the cockroach. so, after this discourse, which of course every1 heard, only 1 other guy thr took pity on me and suggested that some1 should kill the cockroach. and none of the other guys were brave enuff to volunteer ... so the knight in shining armour who suggested killing it (o, did i mention in was one of those FLYING cockroaches? :crazy: ).. well, he got up and tried to kill it w his clipboard. and then mishal also got up and stomped the evil creature to death. :whistle: ok, i know this is not very relevant for all test-takers, but bangladeshi's beware: bugs in testing area. even before that horrible thing started crawling and flying abt, i was nervous. so at the end of it all, i was a bit of a wreck :eek: o well.... all's well... etc etc... thnx every1 here, especially bilash bhai, mwm, suja and every1 else who've really helped me. i really cudn't have done it w.out this forum... and i am pretty bad in math. so trust me, if i can do it, so can u (o, if ur in b'desh and u rnt fond of bugs either, u might think of carrying aerosol to the test. esp if ur stuck w a bunch of guys who dont think nything of a cockroach:( .)

wow, this is a really good essay. or maybe my standards have just gone down :Pthe only flaw i can find is that ur kind of giving the example of economists twice.

this is my first essay criticism: hope it helps :) i think u did fine in that u identified whether leaisure time is decreasing and whether tech is to blame. but perhaps ur essay cud be a bit more structured, eg u address the q of whether leisure time is decreasing towards the end of the essay. "technology has failed to achieve its goal of increasing our efficiency".. is this the goal of tech? many wud argue that its not... in ny case, i think u cud address this pnt in ur essay too. i think ur essay cud be a bit more precise... but its good overall.

hey, thnx for the comments, really appreciate it. i'm pretty sure ur right abt gandhi... i was in too much of a hurry to think clearly. i think it might matter cos its a pretty wellknown fact the the brit govt was ruling at the time. thnx again :)

"Too much emphasis has been placed on the need for students to challenge the assertions of others. In fact, the ability to compromise and work with others--that is, the ability to achieve social harmony--should be a major goal in every school." Perhaps no other era has placed such a premium on information, and thus on education. In today's rapidly changing and intensely demanding socio-economic environments, knowledge is a highly prized commodity. As a result, students, and methods of learning, are receiving greater scrutiny than ever. This statement appears to be a conclusion drawn after examining the current system of education. However, it is flawed in its basic premise: the idea that learning to challenge the assertions of others, and learning to compromise and work with others, are two mutually exclusive concepts. In the modern educational system, individuals are taught to passively accept basic theories and facts only at the very primary level of schooling. As individuals mature and grasp the foundations of the various subjects of knowledge, they are encouraged to question and challenge what they are taught. This allows students to understand better and in greater depth; this mode of teaching also encourages students to think independently and creatively. At the same time, if no-one questioned former laws and established newer explanations and theories, there would be no significant increase in our learning. Thus, "too much" emphasis has not been placed on questioning and challenging the contentions of others. On the other hand, the ability to work with others, and to be able to compromise, is as important in today's world as any modern theory. It is true that we are social beings, and without these abilities of compromise and teamwork, social harmony would not exist. Yet, the writer appears to believe that such traits would be missing in individuals who challenge assertions of others: a belief which I find to be unrealistic. Over the past decades, there have been many scholars and leaders who have challenged past assertions, and yet maintained their ability to compromise when necessary. An obvious example that springs to mind would be Einstein, who spent many of his last years trying to reconcile his theory of relativity with newer findings. Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi, who spent his life challenging the contention of the East India Company to rule the subcontinent, was a man who worked exceptionally well with others and was an inspiration to the hundreds of thousands of Indians who respected and admired him. There are numerous other historical heroes such as Thomas Edison, James Watt, Christopher Columbus and Martin Luther King, all of whom challenged the assumptions of others in one way or another, and yet showed character traits of being able to compromise and work with others. Thus, it would appear that this statement has been empirically disproved by the many great individuals of the past, who both challenged others' assertions, and were also able to compromise and work in groups. To some extent the statement may be qualified, as to the mode of expressing the challenge. If the mode of challenge is violent, then surely it will promote social strife. For instance, someone who challenges another's assertion to freedom of choice, by blowing up abortion clinics and hurting or killing others, will not in any way be encouraging harmony. However education generally teaches students to be respectful to others even when challenging their assertions. Education also encourages students to be civic individuals, by teaching ethics, respect for others, and the importance of obeying the law. Thus, even while encouraging argumentation, education discourages violence and disrespect, and does not encourage social strife. Teaching students to engage in behavior that will promote social harmony should be a major goal of every school. However, the importance placed on this goal should not obscure our vision as to how it should be attained, nor should we draw flawed conclusions in our over-eagerness to achieve harmony. While attempting to encourage students to learn to compromise and work well with others, we should not ban all forms of argumentation; rather we should remember that healthy debate itself fosters greater understanding and respect among individuals. :rolleyes: this is my first essay here... i somehow managed this within the time limit, and would really appreciate any comments/criticisms/suggestions.

ertda, is this a topic from the ets topic pool? bcos i never came accross it b4... :hmm:

hi, this is an easy q from powerprep: From the even no.'s between 1 and 9, 2 even no's are to be chosen at random. what is the probability that their sum is 8? u get the same ans regardless of whether u take perm or comb, which one is it in this case? :(

i think it's like this: originally, u have either bl/wh. 1/2 prob. now, if u put in 1 wh, u have either 2wh or 1 bl& 1 wh. again, u remove the wh counter. so, once again, ur left w either wh or bl. (1/2) the wh counter that was added has no effect on probability, since it was withdrawn, and we are back to sqaure one: 1/2 prob. :hmm:

hey guys, thnx for all ur helpful advice :) i've pretty much decided to not go to a univ whr i'm not totally sure if i'll have significant funds left over after tuition (to cover cost of living). but in a pinch, i'll remember what u guys said ;) thnx again...