charry_008

I have uploaded 800bob explanations links, TBAY notes, absolute value and inequality doc, and OG10th edition difficulty grid excel sheet. Link: thegmat eSnips Folder

I think the 1000 CR doc that is floating around contains actually the LSAT CRs. And I was referring to that doc only. I am uploading the requested docs will provide the link shortly.

CRs in the real exam were of slightly higher difficulty level than those in OG. Expecially during the later part of the exam CRs became tricky.

I studied LSAT bible but selectively, not all. If you have GMAT CR bible, it is better to study from that directly. As I did not have the GMAT CR bible, I got the table of contents for GMAT bible from powerscore website, and studied only those topics from LSAT bible. There are a lot of irrelevant topics in LSAT book, topics that can be skipped. For example, conditional reasoning is not tested in GMAT, but it is in LSAT. Hope this info helps! All the best!

I don't remember the exact number of days, but I guess I would have taken about 2-3 weeks to finish it for the first time, spending about 1-2 hours everyday. The second read was pretty fast, as I was skipping most of the parts that I was sure about.

Thanks a lot effective_factor, buji, wannabe, sunny and TaTum... Effective_factor, For SC, Manhattan SC is good for start, then you can start solving all the OG questions. As I have said in my debrief, pay immense attention to the explanation of each of the SCs given in OG11th edition. Also, go through the explanations of all the questions in OG10th edtion that are not there in OG11th edition. Compared with OG, SCs in real test were of similar difficulty to some extent. Actually, in OG 50% of the SCs are of medium to low difficulty level. On the other hand, in the real test, you may encounter only the SCs that are of medium to high difficulty level, the difficulty level that constitute, I suppose, the other 50% of OG questions. In real test I didn't see any SC that was very straightforward and easy, but in OG there are SCs that are very easy.

Disclaimer: The views are solely mine and please follow the advice in this debrief at your own risk. As this debrief has been written in a hurry, there may be some mistakes in sentence construction as per the GMAT standards. Warning: Pretty long post ahead! I retook GMAT last week and was pleasantly surprised to see a 750. First of all, I would like to thank Testmagic and all its active members for their brilliant support; Erin, for creating such a great forum; 800bob, for the brilliant SC explanations; this man rocks. I would like to give my special thanks to all the people who wrote brilliant debriefs, reading which gave a lot of boost to my confidence level and increased my determination to get a better score. My first stint with GMAT was a year before in September’07 , I got a 690 that time and was understandably disappointed to narrowly miss 700 mark. I was not sure whether I should go for a retake or not. But after contemplating it for couple of weeks, I decided to give it again and postpone my MBA plans by a year to strengthen my profile. When I started my preparation couple of months back this year, I was very clear about what I need to concentrate on and I was determined not to repeat any mistakes both while preparing and while giving the exam on d-day. Verbal had let me down in my last attempt, so I concentrated mostly on verbal this time. There were few things that I did differently this time around that have helped me to score higher. And now that I have got 750, I can’t help thinking that its good that I got a 690 last year, if I had touched 700 in my last attempt, I might not have retaken the exam. Without wasting a lot of time, I will just list out the points elaborating the difference between what I prepared last year and what I prepared in last couple of months. The changes that I did in my preparation strategy worked for me, and I hope it will be of help both to those who are planning to retake GMAT and to those who are giving it for the first time. Last year (when I got a 690): Preparation time: around 2-3 months Verbal: Books/Notes used extensively: OG 11th edition, OG purple verbal handbook, 1000 SC, Manhattan SC Books/Notes used occasionally: Kaplan 800, psahil notes. Books/Notes NEVER used: Princeton review, 1000 CR, powerscore CR bible, RC from OG 11th edition. Quants: Books/Notes used: OG 11th edition, OG green verbal handbook, SETS, some personal notes on maths. Full length tests given: GMATprep1 (with very less preparation): 690 GMATprep2 (after 1-2 months preparation): 730 GMAT powerprep (old ones): around 730 – 740 (don’t remember exactly). Its amazing that on the real test I scored exactly 690, the score that I had got when I gave GMATprep for the first time without much preparation; this suggested just one thing: I didn’t prepare smartly enough to give myself a real chance of scoring well in the exams. After the exam I did self-analysis for couple of months to know the loopholes in my preparation strategy. I could afford to spend that much time on self-analysis as I had already decided that I would target Fall 2009 instead of Fall 2008. This year (when I got 750): I wanted to start my preparation early (somewhere around January), but for some reason or the other it kept on getting delayed, and I ended up seriously starting my preparation only in June. I would have liked to get done with the GMAT by August first week but again I could not get the dates, well in advance, for August first week, and for 2 weeks in August I couldn’t study a word because of some urgent work, consequently had to postpone the exam to September first week. Anyway, now that I have scored 750, I feel all that procrastination has worked in my favor. Coming back to the preparation strategy for my second attempt: In addition to preparing from the books that I used extensively during my last attempt, I made following differences in my preparation: Differences in SC preparation: 1. Using testmagic extensively for SC: This was the one of the main differences that helped my verbal score. I used to search 800bob posts/explanations as much as I can, and used to bookmark the weblink to each thread. As I was not always using the same PC when I was studying, I used the “Foxmarks” addon for Mozilla Firefox to synchronize all my bookmarks to a central database, and that enabled me to access my bookmarks anywhere. One week before the exam I went through all the saved weblinks once again. 2. Reading explanations for each of the OG SC questions, not just the ones that I got wrong. I basically tried to understand the kind of sentences OG preferred and kind of sentences OG doesn’t prefer. I used to read even the CR questions with a conscious mind towards understanding the kind of sentences OG prefer in CR stimuli to help me with the SC preparation. It is usually beneficial to have the learning written on a notepad while you are going through the OG explanation so that you can revise your personal tips few days before the exam. 3. Not using Kaplan 800 or Princeton review at all. Few people may find these two books beneficial, I didn’t. 4. Didn’t study a lot from Manhattan SC this time, just a cursory look at main topics. By the way, manhattan SC is a decent book for starters and it can help to build basics. But, if a high score is desired, something more would be required. Differences in CR preparation: One big mistake that I did during the preparation before my last attempt was not to give the importance that CR questions deserve. I used to have almost 90% accuracy while solving CR questions from OG and understandably was over confident as far as CRs were concerned. However, after getting 35 in verbal in my last attempt I realized the importance of CR questions as there were few CR questions in the exam that I couldn’t answer properly. The reason, which I learned a little too late, was that I didn’t prepare anything, I repeat anything, for CR. I had learned from that mistake for good. The lesson was simple: Do not take CR lightly! I didn’t in my second attempt. I got to know the importance of Powerscore CR bible after reading few debriefs and immediately got myself one. I read it cover to cover and solved almost all its exercise, twice. For practice, I also solved few sets from LSTAT 1000 CR. I didn’t solve a single CR question from OG 11th edition this time, although I did solve all the hard questions from OG 10th edition. (There is an excel sheet available that segregates all the OG 10th edition questions in three buckets of “hard”, “medium” and “easy”). Like for SCs, I didn’t even touch Kaplan 800 or Princeton review. Differences in RC preparation: Not a lot of differences here. I remember reading few initial pages of TBAY verbal notes, which explained how to approach different types of RC questions; that document was helpful. In addition, I made it a rule to understand the RC passage completely before looking at any questions, not taking more than 3 mins in the process, although I mostly did so even during my previous attempt, just that I made it a habit this time around, and I must say it helped. Also, I feel going through the powerscore CR bible may have helped me in RCs as well, because a lot of concepts that apply to CR questions can also be applied to RCs. For practice, I solved few passages from OG 11th edtion, that’s it. Differences in Quants preparation: Not a lot of differences here too. I was a little more conscious towards the kind of mistakes I was doing this time, making sure not to repeat those mistakes. I used to have problems while solving inequalities; although I used to end up solving it correctly, I was taking a lot more time than I would have liked to. So, I worked a little bit on inequalities. There is a word doc on Absolute values and inequalities that explains the concept on inequality quite well; that document helped. Full length tests given: GMATprep1: 750 GMATprep2: 760 GMAT powerprep1: 770 GMAT powerprep2: 780 I didn’t take any other tests. No Kaplan, no mgmat, no 800score, no Princeton. So, that’s my GMAT story. Oh, about the mostly neglected part: AWA, I didn’t prepare a lot, like most people (at max couple of days). One change I did while writing AWA essays during exam was that I made sure that every sentence I write in the essay is correct according to all the GMAT SC rules and that I write some really long sentences instead of shorter ones. One last piece of advice I would like to give to all those who are planning to take GMAT in coming days, please go through the whole GMAT exam calmly. Do not panic, do not look towards the time too often, just try to maintain a decent pace, giving equal importance to every question, and you will surely get the score you desire. When I was taking the exam, I got couple of questions in maths in the middle that I couldn’t solve even after spending more than 3 mins on them, so I just marked an answer and moved on without wasting a lot of time. If I had wasted more time on those questions, I would have surely fallen short of time while solving the questions at the end. Verbal didn’t seem very difficult, especially SCs and RCs. Few CRs at the end got very tricky, with EXCEPT questions and all, and I may have got few wrongs at the end, resulting in a lower score. I was expecting around 44-45 in verbal after finishing my verbal section. Anyway, I am still very satisfied with my performance. I suppose the debrief has already become really long, so wrapping it up here. I will be around for some time on this forum and would love to answer queries, if any, as much as time permits. As R1 deadline for a lot of universities is fast approaching, I am afraid I wouldn’t be having a lot of spare time pretty soon. All the best, everyone!

"so unrealistic as to constitute": so as to : Correct as per OG10 "so debilitating as to become": so as to : Incorrect as per OG11 : "Debilitating" is a present participle, which has been used as an adjective here.

According to OG 10th edition(Q88) , following is a correct sentence: The Emperor Augustus, it appears, commissioned an idealized sculpture portrait, the features of which are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an "artificial face." OG explanation for the above SC says: "so unrealistic as to constitute" is clear, concise and idiomatic construction. However, in OG 11th edition (Q33), following is written for an incorrect choice C: The construction "so x as to y" is not a correct idiom. Following is Q33 when written with incorrect choice C: Although schistosomiasis is not often fatal, so debilitating is it as to become an economic drain on many developing countries. Even though I understand that "debilitating is it" is an awkward construction, but what if the construction was "so debilitating as to become an economic". Had it been an incorrect choice even in that case as the explanation says "so x as to y" is an incorrect idiom. And what about the OG 10th edition question, why is that correct if "so x as to y" is an incorrect idiom. I am quite confused with this contradictory explanation by OG10 and OG11. It would be great if someone can explain the usage of so x as to y. Is it correct or incorrect?

Is there any shortcut to know that there will be six possibilities for 2 heads and 2 tails other than to list down all the possibilities.

I am a little confused here. Following is the Q3 from OG 11th edition: Diabetes, together with its serious complications, ranks as the nation's third leading cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer. The past participle "surpassed" modifies Subject of the previous clause "Diabetese" in this Correct SC from OG. But as per your explanation, you haven't found any SC in OG that has a past participle referring back to a distant subject. Am I missing something here?

If a coin is tossed 4 times, what is the probability of getting 2 heads and 2 tails, in any order? Please explain your method.

The OA for this question is E. I also feel E should be the answer, though initially I felt that ans should be C. Imagine an isosceles triangle QRS, with QR = RS and QS being the base (this satisfies stmnt 2). Now for quadrilateral PQRS to be rectangle, triangle PQS, having common base QS with our imagined isosceles triangle QRS, should be exactly similar to triangle QRS. But statement 1 just says that traingle PQS and triangle QRS have same area, meaning as they both have same base, they have same height too. And, we can draw infinite such triangle PQS (by changing vertex P over a line that is parallel to base QS), which have same base and height as imagined isosceles triangle QRS, and only one of those infinite triangle would result in rectangle PQRS. Rest would only result in a simple quadrilateral. I hope I am able to explain what I have in mind, it gets a little difficult to explain mathematical figures without actually drawing them

OA is A. I got the question from one of the sets.

Has to be C. Some propose.....others suggest......still others call....... E is wrong because in the last parallel fragment, the tense is unnecessarily changed to present continuous. It should have been simple present to maintain the parallelism, as done in C.

Sentence begins with a modifier. What is being modified has to come right after the comma. Hence A is best.

Option A looks best to me. All other choices introduce some error.

C has to be the answer. that is modifying "a large no. of communities", there plural 'are' and 'their' are required. Between C and E, C is more precise.

A recent survey of all auto accident victims in Dole County found that, of the severely injured drivers and front-seat passengers, 80 percent were not wearing seat belts at the time of their accidents. This indicates that, by wearing seat belts, drivers and front-seat passengers can greatly reduce their risk of being severely injured if they are in an auto accident. The conclusion above is not properly drawn unless which of the following is true? (A) Of all the drivers and front-seat passengers in the survey, more than 20 percent were wearing seat belts at the time of their accidents. (B) Considerably more than 20 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers in Dole County always wear seat belts when traveling by car. © More drivers and front-seat passengers in the survey than rear-seat passengers were very severely injured. (D) More than half of the drivers and front-seat passengers in the survey were not wearing seat belts at the time of their accidents. (E) Most of the auto accidents reported to police in Dole County do not involve any serious injury.

E has to be the answer. Concert pianist -> famous Not concert pianist -> not famous : unsound because Sarah could be famous for some reason other than being concert pianist.

OA is B.

C is the correct answer. It is a case of maintaining parallelism. ....a breakwater of rocks that would rise.....and act.....: would is understood for the second time. So, acting is incorrect and D and E are out. Also, we need to have a present participle right after comma to make it parallel to the present participle "protecting". So absorbing is correct choice. A and B are out. We are left with C, which is the correct choice. As for the confusion about as vs like, "act as" is the correct idiom here. The SC is not testing the concept of "like comparing nouns" and "as comparing clauses".

E has to be the answer. A: which incorrectly modifies human settlement B: a comma before and is incorrect here, "that" doesn't have a clear referent. C: same as A D: Alter the intent. Madagascar wasn't one of the last habitable areas of earth. Madagascar was one of the last habitable areas to undergo human settlement. E: Nothing is wrong with this answer choice.

The city’s public transportation system should be removed from the jurisdiction of the municipal government, which finds it politically impossible either to raise fares or to institute cost-saving reductions in service. If public transportation were handled by a private firm, profits would be vigorously pursued, thereby eliminating the necessity for covering operating costs with government funds. The statements above best support the conclusion that (A) the private firms that would handle public transportation would have experience in the transportation industry (B) political considerations would not prevent private firms from ensuring that revenues cover operating costs © private firms would receive government funding if it were needed to cover operating costs (D) the public would approve the cost-cutting actions taken by the private firm (E) the municipal government would not be resigned to accumulating merely enough income to cover costs

B is the answer. C, D and E are wrong because 'increase' should come right after '30- to 40-fold'. A is incorrect because 'caused' incorrectly modifies 'malaria' instead of modifying 'increase'.