TedCornell

Thanks for the tip benfray. Examville seems interesting, but I can't see much of the site without registering. Does anyone have more info on examville? Does it offer free online classes?

Mousymouse, I hear where you're coming from. Thanks for the advice. I have to say though that for those who really need GMAT help, I hope they were able to look into the free GMATFix Live classes. According to the website, all spots have been filled for the class that starts this week. I'm sure within a couple of days there won't be any spot left for the class that begins next week either so at the risk of sounding like a spammer, I would encourage people who need help to at least learn about GMATFix Live to see whether it could be of use to them.

Mousymouse, Hi :-) I share info I think will be useful. It's up to you to look at what they have to offer and decide if it's for you. In this case, the GMAT classes are free, so... Hope your GMAT Prep is going well.

Someone from another forum brought this to my attention and I thought I should share it with you. GMATFix just launched its GMATFix Live program, which offers free GMAT classes worldwide to anyone who registers early enough. There are 2-4 classes a week that you can register for and they seem to cover all GMAT topics. You may find it worth your while to consider it. Have a look at the GMATFix Live program at the company site (GMATFix) to decide whether you want to register for the free classes. When I registered for Class 1 (next monday) there were not that many spots left. GMATFix is the company that makes the Official Guide Companion.

Thank you mission800, I accept congratulations wholeheartedly! Oh, and I really like your username.

Soni, If you scored 510 without doing your best (in terms of preparation), then of course you can improve. The GMAT doesn't test who you are, it tests how well you can take the GMAT so results are not fixed. I improved by 140 points between two exams, and the story in a previous post talks about someone improving by 300 points (I have to admit I have a hard time imagining that one). As you go about planning your study, research what has worked for others (this is the great advantage of participating on a forum). In my debrief (http://tinyurl.com/magic-debrief) I write in detail about the mistakes I made in my studying approach before my 1st exam and about which study program/materials got me better results the second time around. For starters, I would encourage you to have a look at Manhattan GMAT's Sentence Correction guide and at GMATFix verbal flashcards.

mbafan, As soon as you delete your answers from a test, you could see one or more of the same questions in future tests. So from your 3rd test on, you might see a familiar question. Of course the more times you take the test, the higher the proportion of re-used questions to new questions. I don't know how many total questions are in the database, but I know that there are at least 200 QUANT questions. When I was preparing for the test, I bought the GMATPrep quant solutions package from GMATFix and there were 200 solutions. Since there are 41 quant questions in each test, we can conclude that for every question you see, there are about 5 questions in the database. This would result in roughly 205 quant and 185 verbal questions in the GMATPrep software. Bottom line is I really don't know :hmm:

Hi guys, First I’d like to thank the founders and supporters of this forum and others like it (in particular beatthegmat and testmagic forums where I've also posted my debrief). This is a great community where everyone helps everyone else. I’ve been a “passive” beneficiary for months, looking up techniques, following advice, etc… The first time I took my test, I had a 610. Thanks to all those who contributed, I was able to refine my GMAT prep; I retook the test 3 months later and scored a 750! :) Yeah I know, lucky dog. Since the forum has been so helpful, I decided to share what I did right, and what I did wrong. THINGS I DID WRONG (leading up to my 610 score) •Procrastination: I have the tendency to always find an excuse for why I can’t do what I should when I should. I was supposed to take the GMAT 6 months ago to meet my deadlines, but I would study hard for a week, then not do much for another. This definitely delayed my progress. •Study the same lesson from different books: Ok, pretty much all decent gmat books have a lesson on geometry, a lesson on fractions & percentages, a lesson on grammar… I can only speak for myself but I have to say that learning the same technique by different names from different books was probably counter productive. I ended up slightly confused. I found that I felt a lot better working from the best book for a given topic. •Too little review: When I did practice exercises and tests, I didn’t spend as much time as I should have going over the content. We all know that the Official Guide is great for practice but a bit skimpy on explanations. •Schedule the test in the morning: I’m not a morning person, so scheduling the test in the morning was never a good idea for me. That morning I had to rush to the test center; I was tired, groggy and stressed all at once. No fun and my score was a reflection of that. THINGS I DID RIGHT (leading up to my 750 score) •Devise a plan of study: Studying for the GMAT is essentially like going on a diet. The first week, you’re gung-ho and ready to go. You have new books, big ideas and all the enthusiasm in the world. You want to do everything. By the 4th week, it’s a different story. After my first test, I knew that I would take the exam again, so I decided to write up a plan of study. The key is that it had to be a realistic plan. Don’t start off at a rhythm that you cannot maintain. I divided the GMAT content into its topics. My plan was divided into two-week cycles as such: o Review and practice 3 topics a day spending 45 minutes on each topic and taking 10 minutes break between topics (which topic you do on which day doesn’t really matter as long as you do them all) o After 2 weeks, all topics are covered. Take a full length practice test in one sitting (besides the two 10minute breaks) in a quiet environment. o Go over the exam to figure out what you got wrong, try to find out why, and establish specific goals for improving over the next 2 weeks. Goals typically fell in one of three areas: pacing, mastery of content, or minimizing careless errors •I divided the GMAT into the topics below: o 17 QUANT topics: Number Properties, Fractions-Decimals-Percents, Ratios-Proportions, Exponents-Roots, Statistics-Data Interpretation, Sets, Combinatorics-Probability, Linear Equations, Non-Linear Equations, Inequalities-Absolute Values, Rate-Work, Functions-Sequences, Lines-Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Circles, 3-d Geometry and Coordinate Geometry. o 14 VERBAL topics: Verb tense, Pronouns, Idioms, Modifiers, Parallel Structures, Subject-Verb Agreement, RC-Science, RC-Social Science, RC-Economics, CR-Weaken, CR-Strengthen, CR-Evaluate, CR-Inference, and CR-Resolve-Explain •Spend time to go over your work!! I attribute most of my improvement to my dedication to review my work and really delve into why I missed each question and how I could have worked more efficiently even on those questions I got right. We know that the Official Guide is pretty much the bible of GMAT prep. Unfortunately it seems the solutions were written by people who would rather be doing something else. They’re a bit skimpy. There is a great book I would recommend called The Official Guide Companion by GMATFix. It breaks down every quant question in the official guide to the minutest of details, and shows different approaches and guessing strategies for each question. I didn’t find it too helpful for the easier questions, but it was an invaluable resource for the high-medium and hard questions. •Test often: Unfortunately the GMATprep software has only 2 tests, but the last few weeks before my exam, I kept deleting and retaking the tests simply because they’re the best available. Some people don’t like that because they will see some of the same questions (true) but I felt the upside was too good to pass. After taking the test 4-5 times, it’s true that your score will be inflated by the questions you’re familiar with, but you will still see many new questions and ultimately I think GMATPrep is the only test that actually has the authentic content that you will face on game day. 4 weeks and earlier before your exam, you can take other tests, but I think from the 4 week mark in, you should take only GMATPrep. Ignore the score, focus on the content. Even if you see a question you know, hold yourself accountable for solving it rather than just picking the answer. I just told myself that I wanted to consistently score 40-50 points above my target score, so I kept taking GMATPrep and mastering its questions. I had a 770 my last GMATPrep and a 750 on the actual GMAT. THE MATERIALS I USED (for my higher score, rated with the most important first) • GMATPrep Software (the best evaluation tool there is) • Official Guide (the anchor of any GMAT prep program) • GMATFix’s The Official Guide Companion (this is a bit hard to find and few people outside of New York city know it, but it's dynamite) • Flashcards (I studied flashcards just about every day. There are many good card sets out there. I used the flashcards from the gmatfix.com site because each card had a lesson and further examples) • ManhattanGMAT Sentence Correction Guide (far and away the best SC lessons guide out there) • Forums. Use them. There is always someone who has gone through your situation and who is willing to lend a hand. Best of luck on your own GMAT adventure