I just Beat The GMAT!

Haha thanks... I'll surely be keeping an eye out for your review!

Ha! Dana, you remind me of Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting

Too young to be that good, really...one of a kind...

I see why you like GMAT so much...if you're like Will Hunting, then sure it makes sense to you...you could just place your fingers on the piano...and play...)

well, the bad thing about it is that I can't really ask for advice from you...you're a natural...and naturals just do it...they don't really set a plan or pratice for too long..they just do it...

However, if you got to know any helpful tips to help a first-time-test-taker-of-a-360 score than it would be great ...I am more into practical things than in math and studying, so it's a real ordeal for me...I can't love the GMAT...it's against my nature

It would be great to help me through posting some tips or notes...

my best...and do follow ur heart wherever it leads u

Hi Dana! Awesome and Fantabulous score! A whooooping 770! Also, I must mention you have a flare for connecting to people with your words.
Kudos...yet again!

I was reading through your analysis of the quality of maths taught in Romania. Good to know that you think so highly of your education system and I have heard good things about them too, but when you refer to "any other country" you make a catastrophic mistake
Granted...Romania might be better than many when it comes to mathematics but beats me even to imagine that she beats the Indian or the Russian mathematicians.
India, a 5000 year old civilation - had the world's first university (University of Nalanda in 700 BC) and to quote Sir Albert Einstein - "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made". India invented the number system and Aryabhatta gave the world the concept of zero. The decimal systems were developed in India in 100 BC, 'pi' was first calculated in India by Budhayana (formulated much later by Pythagoras). The quadratic equations were created by Sridharacharaya in the 11th century. It's true that many of the inventions were enshrouded by much later on but better market-ed "discoveries" by the western counterparts - for example radio is credited to Marconi but the true pioneer was Professor Jagadish Chandra Bose.
I do not see what reasons might make the Indians stop practising high level mathematics and if you assume that they are still at it - the quality can be understood to be extremely high.

Before, I wave a goodbye, it's worthwhile to add that I decided to write this post not to prove your comment wrong but to bring up the intellectual quality of scholars in a country whose people are hardly given true credit for their amazing achievements. A fact that has been continuing for centuries and is probably due to the immense level of humility that is innate in the Indian culture.

All the very best for your future endeavors!

regards
Anirban

Heh, thanks... I did not take any notes during my prep, unfortunately, so I don't have anything like that to share with you. We've talked in PMs before and if you feel I can help you with some more advice, feel free to PM me again.

Best of luck!

@Anirban: I have a tremendous respect for all cultures I've had contact with and the Indian culture is no exception. Granted, I do not know it very well and I'm pretty sure that it would take years upon years to properly understand its history, religion, traditions and accomplishments.

That being said, I'd dare argue that the great minds of Romania are at least comparable to the great minds of India and Russia. Of course the two countries have produced thousands more scientific discoveries that Romanians have, but if GMAT CR has taught me anything, I'd say it's also a question of demographics: you can't really compare our small little country with India or Russia! It's absolutely normal for countries with bigger populations to have more scientists - it's a question of percentages.

I know it's natural to be proud of your heritage and I'm sure anyone else would say the same about his home country. My comparison was aimed particularly at the US system, the one with which I've had more contact with. That's not to say that some other system is better!

Hi Dana..

Could you please recommend some GMAT Tests?

I have taken 5 MGMAT Tests so far (score range: 650-670)

Would you endorse taking the Princeton Review tests? I am aiming for at least 750.

Thanks!
Namita

Hmm... I'm not 100% sure on the Princeton tests. I have not tried them myself, so all I'm saying is indirect (so you should probably take it with a grain of salt). People tend to report that Princeton tests are a bit on the easy side and from what I've experienced from their books, the questions are slightly easy.

Thank you so much Dana for your prompt reply


So which tests would you advice? Now, I am almost in the last lap of preparation!

Regards,
Namita

If you've already finished Manhattan GMAT and GMATprep, you could try some Kaplan tests. They're pretty OK, even though you might see the occasional weird CR question.

Fantastic score and awesome attitude ..........................But the best thing of all is you are straight forward,natural and intelligent.

Thanks j5makk! I'm sure you can also beat this test!

hey dana, so you ain't doing an MBA then? have you started your MS in Financial Modeling?

Hey there,

No MBA quite yet... I'm going for a Masters in International Finance though. An MBA is definitely in my future, but need some solid work ex first and foremost!

Hi Dana, I already like your book reviews a lot when I read this debrief. It's awesome! I especially love your tips to personalize strategies and to love GMAT! I think it is the first time I heard this kind of advice yet it feels so true. You're just awesome.

Quant is my biggest weakness so I'm surely going to check your post on quant to improve my ability.

Congrats for your score, Dana. All the best for you!

Hi Dana

Excellent motivation.....Hope to get closer to 800....

Chaw