fitness-freak

Apologies for the delay. I was busy with a business trip and with taking the GMAT. In May, I did some research on this forum to see which prep sources overlap. I was convinced that PP should be done before any OG. You could still take it as a diagnostic, especially if you have not touched the harder OG questions yet.

AWA: I finished in 26-27 minutes. I checked the spelling and punctuation in the remaining 3-4 minutes. Quant: On all official tests, I have finished with a minute or so to spare. I have had at least one question that got me cranking for more than 3 mkinutes. Normally I spent less than 2 mins per question. I did run out of time on the Manhattan test. I guessed the last 3. Verbal: On all tests, I have either finished just on time or wound up with less than 2 minutes for the last 2 questions. Since I like SCs, I solve them in preference to CRs when pressed for time. Generally I have had at least a couple CRs that I have struggled with and spent more than 2.5 minutes on. I am more comfortable with SCs and RCs, perhaps because ofmy prep for GRE.

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/just-finished-my-gmat/73848-700-49q-35v-my-debrief.html

Thanks for your interest. Please find my debrief in another thread that I posted yesterday on this forum. It is titled "700 (49Q, 35V) - My debrief"

Thanks! I am not sure I am qualified to give you advice. In general, I think both practice and strategy are important. I have liked Manhattan SC material, so I think Manhattan classes might be good. Not sure what their fees are. I did not study unofficial GMAT material, except the PR book and the Manhattan SC guide.

I took 5 practice tests in all. I have listed them below. Hope the data is useful. Before doing OG-11 May 2006: PR, 740 (51Q, 39V) May 2007: Powerprep-1, 730 (49Q, 39V) After doing OG-11, Manhattan SC guide June 2007: Manhattan test 1, 710 (48Q, 38V) Aug 2007: GmatPrep 1, 720 (50Q, 39V) Aug 2007: GmatPrep 2, 740 (50Q, 41V) Aug 2007: Actual GMAT, 700 (49Q, 35V)

Dudette! :D Thank you. I take it as a compliment. I often wonder what I would do if I were a dude. That only reminds me to enjoy being a girl. ;)

About me I am a 28 year old female. My family immigrated to America from Argentina when I was 18. I work at a well-known company as a business analyst. I am an avid fan of Yoga. Lately I have developed interest in Veganism and various genres of international music and dance. I enjoy playing the cello. I love the ones made of poplar and maple. :) My GMAT story I first considered doing an MBA in Arpil 2006. While googl'ing for GMAT information, I came across TM. I became a member in May 2006. I picked up PR at a local bookstore. I read most of it in about two weeks. I found it useful as an introduction to GMAT. I highlighted some concepts that I thought were useful. In June 2006, I had to leave for Spain and Italy -- which is where part of my ancestry comes from -- on a 8-month personal leave of absence. I could not read for GMAT during that time. When I returned to America in February 2007, it seemed as though I had read PR in a previous life. Around late April I decided to give it a serious attempt. I ordered OG 11 from Amazon.com. On the day they were delivered, my boss assigned me project which took a lot of my time in May and early June. So my OG-11 sat on my desk at home unused until early June. Because of the long hiatus and work pressures, my GMAT preparation was spotty until June. I first looked at my highlights from PR. I did OG-11 during June and July. I ordered the Manhattan SC guide and studied all the rules. I think these are both good resources. I did my GmatPrep practice tests (1 & 2) during early August. I scored 720 and 740 on them. I knew I would be on a business trip during the week of August 13th. I went ahead had signed up for my GMAT appointment on August 16th nonetheless, since I wanted to be done by Aug 20th. :hmm: Strategy I intentified CR as my weakest link and spent more time on it. I also felt that my combinatorics and number concepts were rusty at best. By late July, I was primarily focussing on my weaknesses. I read rave reviews about "Active Reading", which advocates making notes while reading. I tried it on GmatPrep review questions, but did not feel very motivated to stick to it. I feel I should have prepared more seriously, and participated more actively on TM. I did not solve many questions, but I was always trying to identify patterns and tools for handling hard or seemingly time-consuming questions. Test Day I got up at my usual 7.00 am. Did my yoga for 45 minutes. I did not want to eat a heavy meal. I fixed myself my usual Oatmeal, bacon, bulls eye and muffin at the Extended Stay America room kichenette, where I was put up for the week. Got to the test center 30 minutes ahead of my appointment. Got fingerprinted and photographed. AWA: I think they were rather easy prompts. They seemed to elicit obvious responses from almost anyone. QUANT: I think I did fine until #18. Then I spent more than 3 minutes on a geometry problem. I think I got it right. I did not feel rushed. I got quite a few coordinate geometry questions. I had gotten a 50 on both my GmatPrep tests. I felt I had done equally well, so I was actually surprised by the 49 I wound up with. VERBAL: I normally did between 38 and 41, since English is not my native language. I must have fumbled on CRs, especially at the end. I was surprised by my 35. It was the lowest Verbal I ever scored. Overall, I felt that I might get a 720 or 730. I was a tad disappointed by the 700 that popped up. I feel contended, since I did not work very hard for it. Opinions I think GMAT does a very good job of measuring Quantitative ability. However, its Verbal section does not assess the core facility with language, including vocabulary, precise usage, diction, and ability to understand abstract material. IMHO, only the SC portion comes close to doing it. RC is somewhat tangential, And frankly, I do not think CR belongs in Verbal. So I honestly feel that the Verbal score on GMAT does not truly represent a person's Verbal skills in a general sense. I am certainly not biased against CRs because I don't do well on them. I think CRs are great in and of themselves. I liked the SAT and GRE Verbal sections. They are more representative of verbal ability. However the Quantitative sections on those tests seem a little too easy. I scored a (760Q and 740V) on my SAT. On my paper GRE I scored (790Q + 720V). On my GRE CAT I scored (800Q and 660V). As you can see, I managed to score above the 95th percentile in Verbal on most of those tests. So I am not convinced about my 35 on GMAT "Verbal". Oh well ... No test is perfect. PS. My opinions are mine. Others may differ. I respect everyone's perspective. :)

Took my GMAT for the first time yesterday, Aug16, 07, and scored 700. I will post a debrief after my trip. I want to thank Erin and all the wonderful people who make this forum tick.

Yes, they do. It is always better to take PP first and then do OG to see "fresh" questions. PP is essentially a diagnostic tool, now that GP is the official standard.

Congrats. Did you get any bold-face CR's (CRs with some text in bold), and if so, do you happen to remember their approximate question number in the verbal section Regards, FF

Has anyone seen marked improvement in their RC performance using diagramming and sketching, also called the "Active reading"? Passive reading: Read, attempt questions, reread when necessary Active reading: Read, jot down notes/diagrams for each paragraph, attempt questions with minimal rereading The advantage with Active approach is that it automatically fosters better understanding and retention. Time spent in rereading, or the feeling of being "lost" is avoided. However, there is additional time spent intially in notes. The theory behind Active reading is that humans understand not just by reading, but also by writing and listening. Any comments?

Congrats. 2 questions: How do you compare the difficulty of Powerprep (not GMATprep) with that of the current GMAT? Just to confirm, was 1000CR and 1000 RC the only source of your LSAT study material?

2 questions: What was your source of LSAT material ? Did you find it all in 1000CR and 1000RC, or did u use some other material? Overall, how do you compare the difficulty of current GMAT with that in PowerPrep (not GMATPrep) ?

What is the best way to prepare for CR? Some TM'ians have said that practice is key for success in CR. However, are there any standard techniques to master besides practicing a large list of unrelated questions from sources such as OG-11 and 1000 CR? Any opinions on Manhattan GMAT CR guide and the CR guide from Powerscore (David Killoran) ?