natew

re: rich dad/poor dad: hmmm.. can't say I agree. While it may be the case that one individual might be more "successful" as a high school dropout than another with an MBA, I think it is clear that given two identical individuals, the one who pursues the advanced degree will find more options, door, etc open to him or her. In other words, it would be tough to argue against a graduate degree unless the two years would be better spent (higher ROI) elsewhere, especially given the high compounded value of a graduate education.

Lanso: Sentence correction: see my above post on this, most SC questions on the GMAT involve simplistic rules of grammar. You either need 1) to be able to sound out all sentences and pick the right one almost by intuition 2) refresh your grammar memory. Look at real ETS paper tests or study guides, and try to pinpoint the grammar mistakes made in each SC question. Write each one down, and I'll bet that only a small handful of basic rules come up. Many of these are applied by using a complex sentence with much superfluous info; think about what part of the phrase is referred to by the underlined part. These have to agree: tense, singular/plural etc. Oftentimes the rest is irrelevant. On tougher questions ETS might throw in two answers that are almost perfect, but one might make use of passive voice (which is arguably inappropriate given another alternative). Finally, the "smarter" sounding choices are often wrong (see my example above) as ETS knows that a complex jumble of words might seem like a better choice; in most cases simple is better. Data Sufficiency: here I can offer advice: My verbal scores were always high in practice tests, and I knew that Quant was my weakpoint. At first, for me, DS Q's were much tougher than the problem solving variety. The reasons: one cannot try and solve DS questions in full, as there isn't the time come test day. First memorize the sufficiency choices a, b, c etc and really know what they mean. Then memorize the rules for guessing on these: if the first statement fails to answer the question, then two answer choices are wiped out right away. Look at each of the two statements individually first as trying to combine the two right away will only confuse you under time pressure. DS questions are where, regardless of math skills, one can improve dramatically by practicing these questions as they are original to the GMAT and the learning curve is quite steep at first. In contrast, problem solving questions could have been pulled straight from a high school algebra book and, IMO, are a pure test of how much math you remember and how fast it can be applied. Critical reasoning: not much to do but practice picking apart arguments; this section IMO is the toughest to prepare for as the benefit per hour of study is quite small compared to some of the other sections. Just remember the GMAT is not an IQ test, it is better described as a test of retained knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge; proper testing strategy is just as important as the first two. Anyone, such as yourself, willing to commit the time preparing can obtain a high score. Therefore it is a test of discipline as well. Nate W

Quant was reasonably tough, although it is my weak point (on practice tests started with 29, moved slowly up to high thirties and low fourties); I always scored mid 40s on practice verbals and did not prep. 42 Q was good for me; for others on this board it would be failure :) My strategy was not to waste time on questions that were pushing the limit of my abilities (for the 2-min/question allottment); I kept a perfect pace through the whole Q section and that held me up, I think. Again, GMAT math is easy, it's whether or not one can do it fast enough. On the AWA (1st section), I felt pretty confident although I didn't expect the 6.0 score; best strategy I think is to spend 5 minutes outlining, plan on 15 writing and if you have time left review and fix spelling/grammar errors. You do not want to leave the essay inconclusive; this would hurt the score considerably? Verbal section went smoothly, it helped that I felt ok about the Q section. I always just pick the answer that sounds right; try not to overanalyze. Had a couple of tricky Verb questions: where two phrases in a passage are bolded, and I was asked to relate the two together in abstract ways. Not too bad though. IMO: I did not have/use the [tooltip=Official Guide]OG[/tooltip], I did some PP Q questions and found the level of dif. roughly the same. Most of my prep work was completed using ETS paper tests (I purchased all 9 but used maybe 7 or so). I feel that the paper tests are an excellent gauge of potential score; I'm sure that ETS has set the numbers on the CAT to match as closely as possible with the old paper tests to provide continuity of scores/percentiles. Use of the timed sections and score sheets is a great tool. One caveat: the CAT feels different (a little scarier) due to the adaptive function: you cannot complete a tough question correctly and then have an easy one as on the written test; also the written tests usually included a bunch of easy questions at the beginning of each section (at least it seemed that way). Therefore you cannot rush through the first half to allow for more time on the tougher questions; kind of disallows that type of strategy. 2 min/question, 2 min/question etc etc etc.. :) Strategy, timing and getting the right levels of sleep, nutrients, etc is at least as important is knowing high school math and grammar inside and out. Nate Wicklow

Happy w/ results! Many thanks to this board!

Vtiitk - My best advice: 1) Verbal, for me, comes naturally just as the Quant is easier for you (I spent most of my prep time on Q questions; had I not my Q score might have been in low thirties) The verbal concepts, like Q, are basic, even when dealing with the difficult bins of questions. 2)For SC, I found that a few major grammatical concepts come up. For one, the underlined part often further describes a main "object" earlier in the statement. Look for agreeability between the two: is the object plural or singular, and if so does the additional info "match" in this regard. Many of the wrong choices also mix up the proper order of nouns, vebs, adj, etc. Sometimes they will give you a sentence that sounds more "intelligent" as it might be more complex, etc. Example: a)Dan waxed his car today, so therefore to prevent further paint damage due to acid rain pollution. b) Dan waxed his car today in order to prevent further paint damage due to acid rain pollution. (a) might sound more complex, whereas (b) would be the better choice. In many cases the GMAT will muddle together fancy-sounding words to throw you off track. Pick the answer with simple, clean, organized grammar and look for agreement between all parts of the underlined portion and the rest of the statement. Also, for longer SC passages, mentally cut out irrelevant portions, as many times additional thoughts are included that have no bearing on the grammatical structure of the passage. Example: In the 1500s the Aztec people, a culture whose traditions are studied by many scholars today, make up a large portion of Mexico's population. The error in this sentence is past/present tense: the middle section (between the commas) should be thought of as an afterthought and is not important when looking at the last section (after the second comma) If you take out the "a culture... many scholars today," it is easy to see that the sentence should read "made up a large portion". Otherwise you might be confused and think that "make" (present tense) refers to the scholars that are studying the culture now. (sorry for the examples, it was all I could think up at 7 AM) For RC: Read the passage fast/skim it first; jot down on scratch paper the main ideas of each paragraph and overall if applicable. Usually at least 1 or 2 questions relate to the main ideas; if you write down what you think it is before looking at the questions I bet that you'll get those right. This is because the central theme(s) of these passages are never that complex, but looking at the options that ETS gives you first will often confuse you and send you off-track. Do not try and figure out every nuance of the passage, in most cases this will waste time! Then, go back after seeing what the GMAT questions are. Other types of RC questions that ask about specific details in the passage are often simple: in many cases the answer exists in the passage almost word-for word. The tough RC questions, IMO, are those that pick at a small fact or statement in a long passage, and ask you to point out its relevance to the overall argument or relate it back to another part of the passage. Often the choices ETS gives you are not optimal (even the correct one!) or there might be two that could be right given a differing opinion. Some of the questions I've encountered I feel to be inappropriate for use on the GMAT, as they could be open to argument one way or another. I'm sure that the questions were thoroughly researched, though.. :) Finally, the most important way to improve V score is to practice. This is because if you get better at understanding passages, sentences, etc you will not have to anaylze each question in such depth. If your Q scores are consisently excellent, do not practice those questions. Instead, focus solely on Verbal. This strategy worked for me (in reverse): After taking old ETS paper tests, my verbal was almost always close to perfect, so I did not do any verbal prep. My first Q score was 29 (poor); I reviewed some basic high-school math concepts, and then just practiced the Q question. My Q scores rose steadily through the 30s; at one point I had a high enough Q to get a 740 on an old paper test. My actual GMAT Q of 42 was a significant improvement; while the V of 45 (99%) didn't really change from my first practice test. Hope this helps, and good luck with the testing!! Nate Wicklow

Used only ETS paper tests, no PR etc Paper test scores: 610, 650, 630, 740, 680, 690 in that order Real test after about a month of paper tests: 700 (Q42, V45) IMO, paper tests are the best way to prepare, as they are actual tests that include the scaled scores and should be deadly accurate if timed. The real GMAT (CAT) can be a bit more unnerving due to the fact that you get a harder question after getting the previous one correct, etc. My strategy for the Quant section (my weaker subject) was to realize that, unlike on the ETS paper tests, once you get to a tough question it sometimes pays to take a quick guess and bring the level of questions down a bit. Otherwise, if you're intent on solving questions above your level of difficulty, you will waste too much time and fail to complete the section. I think that the CAT is a more accurate assessment of skill level because the paper tests allow for a wide range of possible scores depending on the success of guessed answers, while the CAT "reigns in" your guesswork a bit. Those of you with 99% Q scores don't need to think this way, of course...

Thanks - I'd like to apply to a program with a Real Estate concentration. Schools I like are Colombia, Cornell, University of Cinc., etc. I don't know if my scores will put me in a favorable position for Colombia, any thoughts? (undergrad GPA 3.6, 2 yrs exp in RE industry) Many thanks to this board, gave me confidence when I needed it the most!!

Although I'm happy overall, I wish my Q was a bit higher. Took many practice paper tests (from ets), scored 620, 650, 630, 740, 680, 690 in that order, used PR book for some basic math review in addition to the ETS practice tests. Feels great to be finished though!!!