sam_08854

Thanks, Erin. That makes sense since it will make it easier for folks to find what they need.

Update - got my official scores/AWA today. AWA is 5.5 Thanks everyone and my best wishes to everyone here. Used the templates and it really helped. Again, I would point to OG. Look at the examples there (different kind of essays - @ 6, 4, 2 score level - for the same topic). Will really help you understand what is needed. Examples are very important.

Mani repeat only the ones that you got wrong....and give yourself a couple of weeks before you re-try..... if you have time, definitely do the 1000 SCs...I could not since I had a total of 3 weeks

GmatSpet 20 Thinking of part-time/executive MBA and looking only at the top schools. Dyoh OG guide and the explanations really helped me the most - it was almost like a Aha! moment 2 days before the actual exam. Read through and understand why the other options are wrong - typically, most of the questions will have 2-4 mistakes - as long as you catch even one, your chances of getting the right answer are pretty high. Also, read through the forums. Jay - being Indian is only advatageous because of the tough school/college curriculum we have. If you set the bar high enough, it automatically encourages students to work harder. The fact that we have a $1 billion+ population doesn't hurt either. Statistically, there are bound to be people with strong verbal/math/arts etc skills :-) Got a PM on Verbal prep Gave some tips on RC - For SC, memorize the question types listed in OG11. For analytical, I did not do much since that was a strong area for me.

Background: Indian with IT background Started off in Sept by collecting information for a couple of weeks and getting general idea about the exam. Googled for “MBA prep” and found “Dave for MBA” blog. From there, I got the links to TestMagic and ScoreTop. Initially wanted to give the exam in 3 weeks but got a dose of reality when I got 10/37 and 13/41 wrong in first Maths and Verbal tests 2 weeks before the original date (first week of Oct). Pushed the date out by another 3 weeks (to Oct end). However, could not get down to real prep till 3 weeks before the actual exam. I used to spend 1 hr/day on the sites looking through the posted questions on the forums. I started by solving Kaplan 800 SC and Maths questions I did not manage my time well and was stressed out the last week since I had not gone through the OG and JJs yet. Concentrated only on these 2 things during the last week. Solved Oct JJs and covered my weak areas (SC, Geometry questions) from OG. I will emphasize specific things that helped me. Read through the great de-briefs on these sites. You will sometimes find conflicting opinions. Don’t get confused. Cherry-pick what works for you since everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Find your weaknesses. Focus on them. Its better to understand why you answered one question wrong than to get 10 questions right – emphasize quality over quantity. For me SC questions were the biggest pain. Also, I used to make mistakes on the Geometry questions. On RCs, I read a tip somewhere on the forums that really helped me. While reading the RC, start talking to yourself (silently, of course) and say things like – this is ridiculous, this is funny, this is BS, aha! That is interesting, how can they conclude that, wow – I had no idea etc. This will really help you remember details. Make sure you go through the Official Guide before you do anything else. While Kaplan 800 questions were good, the actual exam questions “felt” similar to the ones from OG11. OG is excellent for SC practice. I used OG and Kaplan 800 for SC practice. Do not try to guess how your exam is proceeding. I thought my Math exam went much better than the Verbal but the percentile scores are reversed DO NOT spend more than 3-3.5 minutes on any question. If you are not able to move on, just think about the possibility that it is an experimental question and you are wasting precious time. Its great if you can answer difficult questions but the best use of your time is to keep answering (and answering correctly) questions at your difficulty level, thereby racking up points. Think about it – would you rather stand away from the hoop, try to shoot 3-pointers and get 1/10 shots or attempt free throws and get 9/10 one pointers? (OK, I really need to unlearn SC – this last sentence made me squirm as I read it – but you get the point). Test scores: GMAT prep – 760 (7 days before exam) PowerPrep – 730 (4 days before exam) GMAT prep II – 760 (2 days before exam) Day before exam Did not do anything and just relaxed. Watched a movie, took a swig of Nyquil and went to sleep. Woke up after a great night’s sleep at 10:00 am. Make sure you take the slot when you are comfortable. I am not a morning person and so took the afternoon slot. Actual Exam Reached 45 minutes before and started 15 minutes earlier than my appt. If you are like me and get distracted by noise, use the earplugs – I think my score would have been 20-30 lower without the earplus. With the ear-plugs, I was totally “in the zone” and completely oblivious to everything around me. Used templates for AWA – went OK. Took the break and had chocolate + OJ. Got back with 2 mins remaining and checked in quickly. I saw a couple of MJJs. The benefit of JJs is that it gives you confidence when you see such questions. I was very careful about time mgmt since I would run short in practice tests. Took the break and had a chocolate and some orange juice. (Interesting fact - Although it represents only 2% of the body's mass, the brain consumes about 20% of the energy used by the entire body at rest. That's over twice as much energy as the heart uses. No wonder I was starving after each section) Returned with one minute remaining. The lady checking me in got nervous and kept entering the wrong password. Told her to calm down and she entered the right password. Lost 25 seconds! Verbal went OK. I was starting to get tired and had to force myself to intelligently guess a few questions whereI was down to 2 options. Got really tired on a couple of RCs and had to really concentrate hard to get the answers. Skipped through all the survey questions and enjoyed the high when I saw the score. Got home fast and went out for an awesome Thai dinner to celebrate. I will be around for the next few days and will try to answer any posted questions.

Oa - 630

Assuming these are tough since my score was 760. See attached doc and pls reply with expls

Assuming these are tough since my score was 760. See attached doc and pls reply with expls

OK, thanks asdada1!

Does it mean mean +- SD range?

Completely lost on this one. I know the formula for SD and the 34-14-2 rule for normal distribution. What does the phrase "within 1 standard deviation" mean?

A professor will assign seven projects to three students. If two students each got 2 projects, and the other one got 3 projects, how many ways are possible?

OAs C A A I am still not convinced C is right for Q# 1. D sounds better since ambiguity about who "he" is (General or the other guy) still remains in C.

Here are the OA and expls. I do not agree with C for Q# 1; it should be E. The new drug Prozac and the old one Elavil are about equally effective in treating various forms of depression, although patients on the newer drug may have slightly fewer side effects. Thus, revenue from the sale of the new drug is going to far exceed the revenue from the sale of the old drug. All of the following statements weaken the conclusion of the argument above, EXCEPT: (A) Elavil is also used as a powerful anti-emetic medicine. (B) The Drug Control Authorities in six states have refused to allow the sale of Prozac till some more tests are carried out. (3) Some side effects of Elavil are common to Prozac as well. (D) Prozac is not recommended as an anti-depressant for diabetics and heart patients. (E) The unit sale price of Elavil is higher than that of Prozac. Your Answer : E Actual Answer : C Explanation The logic in the given argument is pretty weak : just because drug A is as effective as drug B for a particular cure, and has fewer side effects, does not mean that revenue from drug A is going to be more. The old drug might still sell more if it has an alternate use (option A), or if sale of the new drug is not allowed in certain regions (option B), or if the new drug`s usage is restricted (option D), or if the sale price of drug B is higher (option E). All these can be possible reasons for revenues from sale of drug B to be as high, or higher, from those of drug A. Option C, however, offers no such reason, and is the right answer. The legislation that people on the two front seats of a car wear seat belts must be strictly enforced. In car accidents where the driver or co-passenger is not wearing seat belts, the fatality rate is much higher. The argument above is based on the fundamental assumption that (A) people resist wearing seat belts while traveling on the front seat of a car. (B) laws are more effective in preventing accidents than training people to have better driving skills. (3) cars without seat belts are more prone to be involved n an accident. (D) the Government is responsible for ensuring the safety of its citizens. (E) most people tend to drive more carefully while wearing seat belts. Your Answer : D Actual Answer : A Explanation The author states that 'the legislation that people on the two front seats of a car wear seat belts must be strictly enforced.' For any law which requires strict enforcement, it is implied that there are people who resist the law. If this were not so, there would have been no need for the 'strict enforcement.' Hence, the fact that 'people resist wearing seat belts while traveling on the front seat of a car' is the basic assumption of the given argument. Hence (A) is the correct answer. Question # 30 Some of the greatest American entrepreneurs of the 20th century started their business ventures while they were still in college, and could not complete their education as a result. It is possible that had they started their businesses any later, they would not have been as successful. From the above two statements, it can only be proven that (A) sometimes, it can be worthwhile to sacrifice an immediate gain for a larger benefit. (B) education is not always useful. (3) it pays not to complete an education. (D) entrepreneurs who start their ventures after completing their education are not as successful as those who start off while still in college. (E) you do not have to be educated to be an entrepreneur. Your Answer : A Actual Answer : A Explanation The question asks you to determine the only valid conclusion of the given two statements. In this case, the only valid conclusion is the one given in option A. The usefulness of education (option B) is not in the ambit of the two statements, while option C is too extreme a statement. You might be tempted to believe that option D is the correct answer; however, it is not a valid conclusion because entrepreneurs who start a venture after their education can be as successful. Option E is also too strong a statement. Hence (A) is the correct answer.

1. 60 degrees 2. E 3. 2 . x . sqrt (6x) - anything missing in the Q? 4. Solved above 5. A