Petran911

Thanks all for the kind words. I am not certainly that I am the single one not using the OG. I've read some other stories, although I am certainly in the minority. I still haven't decided whether I will apply this year. Perhaps I am going to do so next year because I am going to have more work experience. But I really had some free time to prepare and I decided to take advantage of it. I will aim for a top school but I'll try to diversify my apps in order to get an acceptance.

Well, First of all a small correction: My Q score was 46, not 45. Not much of a difference but I am at least nearly 80%, so probably this won't cost me. Here are some things regarding my test experience: 1. AWA Subjects were: 1. Analysis of an argument - Inclusion of computer in high schools 2. Analysis of an issue - The most effective form of organisation is simpler one: the separation of big tasks to small tasts (Sorry for not remembering more details) While I wait to see how I fared, my general advice is the following: Use five for seven minutes for brainstorming. Not more. Have a very nice general model to work on and express your ideas. Write as much as possible and leave 2 mins for a quick look. 2. Math I think that the most important problem with this test is the time pressure. That is why I took so many practice tests, so to be ready. It worked but it could have been better. I felt that I could just solve many more qs if I had one or two more minutes and I had to speed up in the end. But you know that first questions count more, so allocate a little bit more time to them. Since my first degree was in economics, I can't say that I find the 80th percentile bad. I am not an engineer or something like that. 3. Verbal My advice is: Get the Kaplan 800 book because it is the best to work with in this sector, especially SC. Try reading the passages very careful and give them 4m before answering the questions. It won't do you any harm, you' ll still have time to pace yourself. Regarding arguments, a nice strategy is to turn the points into maths. a+b=c? What does removing b do? It will probably work. And a general advice. I am foreigner but I read a lot of english books. So I had the skills before I begun preparing. I don't know if many people here agree with it, but general reading helps a lot. I see many mathematically inclined guys getting low verbal scores and this may explain it. This is my short advice, let me know how can I help more...

No, I didn't use the OG. Not that It wouldn't prove useful, perhaps I could have used it to improve my math. But I felt that most results would be brought if I used timed tests and a book aimed at the highest difficulty level like Kaplan 800. The strategy worked. Another thing to note is that only GMATprep and Powerprep locked at my level. Most other tests were totally out of it. For example I didn't even scored above 600 in any Kaplan Test. I also scored the marvelous test of 505 in CrackGMAT free test. :crazy: I have posted the results in the relative thread.:)

Princeton: 620, 640, 600, 660 Kaplan¨540, 560, 550, 600 Gmat Prep: 710, 680 PP 1: 710, PP2 680 Crack GMAT: 505 Wow! Real GMAT: 720!

Just finished my GMAT. I am very satisfied because I've passed the 700 limit but I reckon that I could have fared better with my verbal. Nevertheless, this was my second try with the GMAT. I had scored 680 (Q 44 78%, V 39 88%) five years ago. My strategy was really simple. I used every test I could find and only used the Kaplan 800 book. It seems however that while my verbal scores improved marginally and the math skills remained the same, it was enough for me. My overall advice is to take as many tests as possible, use this forum and absolutely purchase the Kaplan 800 book. From what I've read in this forum, people tend to go better in maths but fare worst in verbal.. Nevertheless, My wishes for success to all of you. And if I can help by answering more questions, I will be very happy to do so.