Jump to content
Urch Forums

GmatGnat

1st Level
  • Posts

    421
  • Joined

Everything posted by GmatGnat

  1. If you went to McGill, you could always return to the US for your summer internship.
  2. PS: Problem Solving DS: Data Sufficiency
  3. Definitely get the Official Guide. It is invaluable in getting you comfortable with the kind of questions asked on the GMAT, as well as the reasoning behind the answers. It's just a myth that the quant section is harder in S Asia. If the difficulty level of questions on the exam were varied from place to place, it wouldn't be a standardized exam any longer, would it?
  4. Agree with greycellz. This question stumped me the first time I saw it in [tooltip=Official Guide]OG[/tooltip], or Kaplan, or wherever it was. In 1 second, the larger rim will make fewer complete rotations than the smaller rim will. If the smaller rim roates x times per second, the larger rim will rotate (28/35)*x times per second. Then convert to minutes: (28/35)x * 60 = (4/5)x * 60 = 48x
  5. Check out this thread: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17423
  6. BusinessWeek online has a nice collection of b-school stats: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/02/index.html
  7. Definitely know this - I got a question on my GMAT that I wouldn't have been able to solve without this formula.
  8. It's possible that they know that you know that they know that you know. :hmm: But I think the chances of running across a trick to the trick on the GMAT is close to nil. It's either a legitimate question, or it contains a typo.
  9. If the question is exactly one french teacher, the answer is: 6C2 * 4C1 = 60 If the qestion is at least one french teacher, the answer is: one french teacher + two french teachers + three french teachers (6C2 * 4C1) + (6C1 * 4C2) + (4C3) = 60 + 36 + 4 = 100 OR total possible combinations of all teachers - no french teachers 10C3 - 6C3 = 120 - 20 = 100
  10. Hey Evan, First off, I hope your actual GMAT today turns out to be better than you're anticipating. Unless you're blessed with extreme DNA, it does take more than just the Kaplan book to do well. I'll do my best to answer your questions: 1. No. The CAT tests do not get updated. Once you finish them, you finish them. However, there are tons of tests out there. There's four Kaplan tests on the CD, plus one you can get online. Princeton Review tests, PowerPrep tests, Nova tests. Personally, I took about 10 practice tests before the real thing, and I didn't even do Princeton Review or Nova. So there's lots out there to practice on. 2. I don't think any study guide has a comprehensive explanation of GMAT SC grammar. Kaplan is good. Aside from the answers to the questions, [tooltip=Official Guide]OG[/tooltip] has no "just read this" section. I'd read the sections in a few different books to absorb as much as possible. Also check out spidey's sentence correction notes, and hang around the forums here - you can synthesize for yourself the "best practices" in SC. 3. There are certain quant areas that will almost definitely show up on the GMAT - combinatorics, probability, sets, coordinate geometry, geometry, algebra. If you can memorize some formulas, do that too. I crammed about 5 different formulas into my head just in case, not thinking I'd need them, but I actually used a couple (sum of degrees in a polygon ((n-2)*180), and number of integers between two inclusive integers (a-b+1)). Above all, be flexible. The more you practice, the more comfortable you'll be with everything, and the more able you'll be to recognize patterns and synthesize new solutions. 4. [tooltip=Official Guide]OG[/tooltip] questions are not only better researched than questions on Kaplan, Princeton Reivew, etc, but they're also actual former test questions. They may be a few years out of date, but they represent, more than any other question, the kind and style of question you'll find on the actual exam. 5. People tend to do well on SC because they understand the grammar. Is this because they've practiced on lots of questions? Possibly/probably. If you don't have a vice grip on SC, definitely practice. Know the kinds of errors that SC tests such as common idioms (consider, not consider as), and work on POE (process of elimination). Often you may not be able to pick out why one answer is right, but you may be able to identify why the others are wrong. Hope this helps you, Evan. Hope to see you around more...
  11. Thanks for the well-wishing, guys. I learned a ton from all of you here on TestMagic - this was one of the keys to my successful preparation. Not just reading posts, but asking questions, explaining things, and generally being active. Major props to Erin for setting up this community, and to all of you for giving as much as you get. My background... I'm a native English speaker (originally from NY, now living in Wisconsin). I got my BA at Brown (class of '96, so I've got more than a few years of work experience under my belt). I worked on Wall St for a few years after college as both a securities trader and an administrator at a hedge fund. I moved into IT during the dotcom boom, working as a software developer for an Internet startup and then an IT consulting company. I tried starting my own company (small Internet retailer) a couple of years ago; it didn't do so well, so I shut it down. I'm interested in entrepreneurship at b-school to learn how to start and run my own company. To be honest, I'm a little worried about my work experience. I don't have experience in management, operations, i-banking, consulting, or any of those other "businessy" areas that b-schools like. I'm looking to apply to schools for fall of '06. I would have set my sights on fall of '05, but I started the process a little late in the cycle, and I wanted to do justice to both the GMAT and the school selection process. I'll be hanging around for a while, just kinda breezing through the forums. I wish the best to all of you in your b-school aspirations. Maybe we'll run in to each other one day!
  12. GMAT: 730 (Q49 V40) Practice exams (in no particular order): Kaplan diagnostic exam: 660 (Q45, V41) Kaplan online exam: 690 (Q51, V33) Kaplan practice exam: 740 (Q48 V50) Kaplan 1: 730 (Q42 V40) Kaplan 2: 700 (Q44 V39) Kaplan 3: 780 (Q50 V50) Kaplan 4: 730 (Q46 V40) PowerPrep 1: 670 (Q42 V40) PowerPrep 2: 690 (Q44 V40) PowerPrep 1 (again): 770 (Q50 V46)
  13. Ok, I didn't really almost pee in my pants - I'm just feeling mighty relieved and very satisfied. For comparison, here are the scores from my practice exams: Kaplan diagnostic exam: 660 (Q45, V41) Kaplan online exam: 690 (Q51, V33) Kaplan practice exam: 740 (Q48 V50) Kaplan 1: 730 (Q42 V40) Kaplan 2: 700 (Q44 V39) Kaplan 3: 780 (Q50 V50) Kaplan 4: 730 (Q46 V40) PowerPrep 1: 670 (Q42 V40) PowerPrep 2: 690 (Q44 V40) PowerPrep 1 (again): 770 (Q50 V46) GMAT: 730 (Q49 V40) My actual GMAT score was pretty consistent with my later practice exams (the above exams are not in chronological order). I don't feel that any particular practice exam was more telling of my actual performance than any other practice exam. In the last week before the exam, I got about 8 hours of sleep each night (I never get 8 hours of sleep), and studied my butt off to make sure that everything I'd need to recall would be there for me. I woke up extra early this morning to do some practice problems and review some essays to get my brain going in the right direction. I had a good breakfast. I made sure I knew where the testing center was (visited last weekend). I brought some easy to eat snacks and some gatorade for breaks. Let me tell you, there's precious little left of a five minute break after you sign out, use the restroom, and sign back in. The essays were fairly standard. I felt alright, not great about them, but we'll see for certain in a couple of weeks. I felt pretty good about the quant section, but not as sure about the verbal. The verbal felt harder than I expected, although on reflection, maybe that was because I was getting stuff from the hard bin? I studied combinatorics and probability very hard, and there was one question on each. I think I'm going to cut things off here, because my wife and I are off for a celebratory pizza!
  14. Wait a second... Is the question telling us that s4v3x7 If the latter, then then answer is (E).
  15. Seems to me that we can answer the question without even needing statements 1 or 2. s4v3x7 84svx svx And the question asks is svx
  16. Yep - (B). (A) is insufficient because if Ellen's brother Pete was born in the first half of 1956, Ellen (1.5 year younger) would have been born in the second half of 1957. If, however, Pete was born in the second half of 1956, Ellen would have been born in the first half of 1958.
  17. I'd say answer © as well, but I'm getting 140 degrees. Take a look at the diagram, and notice that there's a quadrilateral formed by the intersection of the four lines. The sum of the angles of a quadrilateral is 360 degrees. If angle w is 95 degrees, it supplement inside the quadrilateral is 180-95 or 85 degrees. If angle z is 125 degrees, its supplement inside the quadrilateral is 180-125 or 55 degrees. Let's name the supplementary angles inside the quadrilateral of x and y, a and b respectively. a + b + 85 + 55 = 360 a + b = 220 x + a = 180 a = 180 - x y + b = 180 b = 180 - y substitute: a + b = 220 (180 - x) + (180 - y) = 220 360 - x - y = 220 - x - y = -140 x + y = 140
  18. The phrase so as to in choice (A) is not idiomatic - check Spidey's sentence correction notes, middle of page 3.
  19. Both are good, but practicing computer-based tests helps you get comfortable with the real thing. Especially the GMAT PowerPrep, since its interface is the same as on the real test.
  20. Apparently the GMAT question pool is refreshed once a month. If you were able to take the exam more than once during that time period, you could theoretically get asked some of the same questions. That's why they have the time restriction.
  21. So as to is not idiomatic. Just something that has to be memorized.
  22. Answer (E) The argument assumes that the Ptolemaic and Copernican theories are the only choices, and that if one is false, the other must be true. The assumption that both theories cannot be false underlies the argument.
  23. It's not my favorite type of question either, adroja. I've recall from posts that there are not many of these questions per test - perhaps one or two. I understand what a conclusion, premise, and counter-premise are. It's the first premise, second premise, first evidence stuff that throws me for a loop.
  24. Also check out spidey's sentence correction notes, page 21: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=37. There is a nice spread on like vs as.
×
×
  • Create New...