I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi Sambaaluri,
I had tremendous problem with my SC, RC adn CR. I wrote this for vgmat2 in a previous post in the forum, and am hoping some of the information here may be useful to you too...

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You make me remember the same pain I went thru when studying for the GMAT. It was excruciating (RC, CR as well as SC) . Let me first start with a very small thing I did which helped me save crazy amount of time - took me some time to figure it out.

Before every question in verbal that I answered I would the following before even reading the question.

7.35
1. A B C D E

7.39
2. A B C D E

The 7.35, 7.39 is the time when I start to answer each question. It would give me a very good idea of how much time I had spent on each question. ( above it shows me that I had spent 4 minutes on question 1). I would know that I had spent a lot of time, and need to pace myself better. The only area I know I could save time was SC, would try to do that, plus it also helped because if I came across a particularly hard question that I knew would take me time, instead of spending another 4 minutes on it (given taht I knew I was running out of time), i would make a best guess on it sooner.

Based on what you have written, it sounds like you are already doing a good job of timing yourself - trust me that is the MOST IMPORTANT THING. Once you get your timing good, I fervently believe that half of the problem for preparing for GMAT is gone. So that is a good first step. The 1 is the question number, and The A B C D E written is the answer choices. Before even reading the question I would write the above down, (it had become a reflex with me). What I would do is that for each answer choice that I was sure is wrong, I would cross the alphabet out (THAT MEANS NO RE-READING THAT ANSWER CHOICE AGAIN). I saved precious time. The ones that had a circle on it, were the ones that could be the potential choices. Wahtever back and forth I did would be between those choices. Once I decided one was out, I would cut that out, adn continue the same process. It really helped me (because beofre, I would end up re-reading all the questions and getting confused which was better than the other). Writing the time and the alphabets should be come a part of you, before even reading writing it on paper, and then starting!!

Now coming to the CR portion. I tried 300 different techniques . I was so screwed up - nothing seemed to work for me . I tried reading the passage, summarizing it and writing the premise and the conclusion. First reading the question then the passage -EVERYTHING. Just like you I kept asking, trying new things, NEVER GAVE UP. Finally what worked for me literally was PRACTISE. After a lot of practice I realized that "when I read the question, and then read the passage, for some reason after reading the passage I felt the need to re-read the question being asked again". I noticed that consistently at least in me. So I stopped reading the question first. I would read the passage, and keep track of the main flow. Then read teh question - based on that, it was easy to cut out 1-2 straight off the bat (on the alphabets - as I did that it saved me a lot of time). After that yes for the remaining choices, its re-reading the passage and going back and forth. The funny thing is that over time, when you TIME EVERY CR passage that you do (I timed every question that I did in the Official Maths guide, offical verbal workbook, as well as the Official guide 10th edition). i didnt do a single question without timing it, write the alphabet, and practise cutting things off, and re-reading the remaining options) over time, I just felt I got the hang of it. It was like one day - CR questions didnt feel so painful anymore. I was able to go thru them relatively painlessly - I had my pattern built. "Immediately write the time, write the question number, write the alphabets, Read the passage well (very very focused), read the question - immediately cut the ones that dont make sense), and then go thru the process of re-reading the passage and making decisions. Once you feel comfortable with what you are diong, stick with it. If you are taking 3 minutes, but comfortable with your technique, and getting it right that is GREAT. Just keep practising and timing. I am very sure, with enough practise, over time, it will get better. In case you are not timing every question in OG make sure you do.

SC: Dude dont try to figure out the solution before reading the answers . That will kill you - I know because that killed me too . I did the exact same for the first 3 months of practise. I HATED SC. i couldnt for the love of god figure out how the hell to get them right. Every damn answer looked good to me!!!!. princeton gave a good technique. See the underlined portion, and then immediately look at the answers (dont even TRY to figure out what should be right). When you see the choices use the 3/2 technique. Based on the answers you will see that 3 questions have similar usage, like " The children have had their dinner and gone to bed". Three choices will show you have and 2 will shwo you has. You immediately no that has is wrong. Cut your alphabets - great now you just have to figure out the remaining three. Now instead of you trying to figure out what is write, compare teh differences between the three ansewrs. Try to see what the author has done different in those three choices. Often times that helped me figure out what was right (most times what I thought should be there never was - not sure if my english is that bad, or GMAT just sucks ).
finally make a flash card for EVERY sentence correction question you get wrong... I know that sounds crazy, but trust me, that alone helped me get very very good at SC. It was hard to remember all the idioms, all the patterns. I also have a problem of basic informatin retention. I forget things very quickly (had this problem since I was small). Read something then forget . So by making flash cards and swriting it down (I have explained how I made the flash cards), and practising the questions reguarly, I would remember how the sentence patterns were. In 6 months I had 4 big business card boxes of flash cards (used my official business cards as flash cards). I would practise them regularly. Keep in min dthe usage (try to answer without looking at th eanswer. Not by memorizing the anser, but by memorizing what was wroing - like oh there is a parallelis error here, there isan applies and oranges error here so on so forth (I used princeton verbal to learn the fundamentals. It explains that very easily). By doing that after 6 months of lots of flash cards and lots of revising I started seeing patterns - it became much more easier. It was only then that I got the Manhattan SC book (it would have been too complicated for me earlier). Later on I was able to add on to my base with the book. (I made flash cards, of important concepts from the book too)

RC: Another painful portion for me. Probably the worst. Given my retention problem by the time I would finish reading the passage, I had completely forgotton what the hell the author was talking about . If you talk about crazy frustration and depression - this area killed me. I remember thinking of buying some mental ability tests, to help me fix my retrention issue, to help me focus. I practiced with soem tools on the web -all it helped was giving me a big headache . I tried everything possible - reading all blogs, asking for help, trying to emulate the techniques people mentioned - nothing worked. Finally with a lot of practise and trying new technique I found a way that worked for me. I realized that the first para and the last para, basically control the entire flow of the passage (introduction and summary para). The paras in middle were like e.gs, or details of some specific thing. If I could keep track of what the first and secon para was talking about, and have a basic understanding of what was in the middle paras, I was able to do a better job of answering my RC. So when I would read, I would read the 1st and last para very carefully. The middle paras, I would skim thru. When flow/passage structure questions were asked (previously I would get them wrong, as I would be reading everything in detail, and forgetting the same after completing the passage). After my new technique I got those questions right. For questions in which they asked a specific question about the passage, it was easy enough to go and re-read a few lines to get the exact answer - BINGO. I was just so excited the day it started working for me. It happened out of the blue - one day nothing was happening the next day it just happend....


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Bottom line, all I can say is that you have to keep trying to figure out where your problem is, and try different ways to fix it. I tried for 6 hard months, every single mechanism to see how I could break the ice. God is great - if you put in your all, and do not give up, he shows you the way sooner or later. Do try waht I have listed above. If you still are having problems with your CR/RC let me know, we will try to figure some other way out...

Take care,
-ngufo

Hi Ngofo,

One question :

Even if I'm getting 60-70 % CRs and RCs wrong in the first attempt in OGs (OG 10 or OG 11 or OG Verbal Review) do you still recommend to continue solving OG and keep on analyzing my results ? or I should change the book and go for some other practice book ?

Some people suggested that, As OG questions are very close to the real exam Don't waste OG questions ....keep them for testing....Don't touch OG till you at least u get 60 - 70 % accuracy.

Please let me know your inputs on this.

As u know I'm fine with PS,DS and SC now but, the confidence level in CR and RC is STILL not that great .....My avg speed for each CR and RC question is 3-4 min.....


Working Hard on OG 10 for both the sections once this is done I'm going to touch OG Verbal and OG 11 .......I heard "LSAT CR Bible" is also good book for CR so planning to touch on that as well ....let me know if u know anytime abt this book...


Thanks,
Ajay

ngufo wrote:HI vgmat2,
I would do 20 questions of (SC, CR, RC,) Quant (PS, DS) from the Official Guide 10th edition every day (took three hours, andI would time it with a watch). I didnt do an essay with it, but I can tell you it really helped me get the stamina a lot.

Do check the questions that you are getting wrong.

Take care,
-Ngufo

hey ngufo,

Thanks !!! sorry for the delayed reply...i was travelling so couldnt get back...starting my gmat prep today...so 4 weeks from now i take the exam !!

btw i am thinking of splitting up the entire set of 41 questions in 4 sets of 10 questions each...that gives me roughly 18 mins per 10 questions...as you said 1.8 min per question...

So i need to complete 10 questions in 18 mins...lets me see how that works for me...i did the same in Quant and it worked well...

If i just hit 48 in Quant and 37 in Verbal that would be 700 !!! ...sigh !!!
lets see.... i got to 620 from 550...now for another 80 more points !!!!


You are doing awesome work btw...i am wondering Where you get the energy to write such big posts to everyone..... it is really very nice of you to help out each and everyone of us...keep it going !!!!!

Thanks ..keep in touch

- Amol

Thanks for your post it really motivated me to do better on my exam.

My problem may be a little different from yours - you tell me. I took the PowerPrep exam (well didn't quite finish it) I am soooo lost. I don't even know how to tackle the math problems in the book. I suck at math. I look at the problem and don't know where to start. I just took your advice and I am almost complete with the PR review book, but still math is weak even tho i read this book inside and out. I took that powerprep exam and it totally caught me off guard. I couldnt finish the math section - thats pathetic and has me feeling pretty shitty. Please reply!

Fantastic post.. Congratulations to you.

I am also planning to give my GMAT in June 2008. Though I have been studying for last two months I haven't yet reached 700 level. I still have a lot to do. I will surely follow your recommendations.

Incase I need additional info I hope I can email you.

Belive me reading your post has surely motivated me.
Good luck for future endeavours.

Hi

Awesome post! RC is tricking me these days. I got the princeton book after reading your post and it is slowly but surely helping me. Next weekend, I am going to give another practice test to see if I can do better.

Thanks!
PS: when you have a moment, check my blog...what do you think of it?

Hi nsnakes23,
Sorry for the late reply, I have been on a break fro the last few weeks, with minimal access to email/phone (it felt great by the way ). Yous ound exactly like me when I started out for the GMAT prep nsnakes23. After doing the princeton rigourously and making flashcards (dont forget that please), you will feel much better with your overall skills. I would not recommend doing powerprep tests anytime so soon. Those tests are hard and should only be attempted when you feel your preparation is close to complete. Have you attempted the Princeton tests? Those give you a more complete idea of what your status is after finishing the princeton books. There are I think 4 princton tests, write those, and mkae sure you complete the tests end to end, no matter how bad it feels. I am a strong believer in that, "god brings you to your knees, because its from their you can rise....."

Its going to be all practise, intelligent focus, and determination - thta will help you get to the milestone you are aiming for. Nothing in life comes easy, but when you do achieve something you gave blood for, the feeling is unbelievable .. it makes everything you put in so much worth it and then some more ....

Wish you all the best,
-ngufo

Hi GreatChap - good to know that my mail helped you. Every word in that is true, and every emotion as close to reality as possible. The reason i say that is, when you achieve your goal, with all the effort youare putting in, I can guarantee you, it will be the most amazing high possible. I know it - been there, felt that .

I know you cna do it - looking forward to hearing about the same from you!

All the best,
-ngufo

Hi kiskopata,
Liked your username a lot - at the end of the day you are right... You can give everything you've got to the goal in hand, but what the end will be "kiskopata".....

I read your blog, and it is very very detailed. You are trying very hard to figure out your mistakes, adn make sure you improve in your areas of weaknesses - you are completely on the right track. Thats what I did too- i kept struggling, questioning, and trying new things that woudl work for me, until I finally found a formula that hit bulls eye for me. I amnt sure if you have read this post I wrote earlier, but just copying it to you in case you havent read it - this should help some ...

Really feel that what i wrote for vgmat2 -applies to you too. you seem to have the same fire to do it, that he had (I know you will crack this test, its jsut a matter of time....)
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SC: Dude dont try to figure out the solution before reading the answers . That will kill you - I know because that killed me too . I did the exact same for the first 3 months of practise. I HATED SC. i couldnt for the love of god figure out how the hell to get them right. Every damn answer looked good to me!!!!. princeton gave a good technique. See the underlined portion, and then immediately look at the answers (dont even TRY to figure out what should be right). When you see the choices use the 3/2 technique. Based on the answers you will see that 3 questions have similar usage, like " The children have had their dinner and gone to bed". Three choices will show you have and 2 will shwo you has. You immediately no that has is wrong. Cut your alphabets - great now you just have to figure out the remaining three. Now instead of you trying to figure out what is write, compare teh differences between the three ansewrs. Try to see what the author has done different in those three choices. Often times that helped me figure out what was right (most times what I thought should be there never was - not sure if my english is that bad, or GMAT just sucks ).
finally make a flash card for EVERY sentence correction question you get wrong... I know that sounds crazy, but trust me, that alone helped me get very very good at SC. It was hard to remember all the idioms, all the patterns. I also have a problem of basic informatin retention. I forget things very quickly (had this problem since I was small). Read something then forget . So by making flash cards and swriting it down (I have explained how I made the flash cards), and practising the questions reguarly, I would remember how the sentence patterns were. In 6 months I had 4 big business card boxes of flash cards (used my official business cards as flash cards). I would practise them regularly. Keep in min dthe usage (try to answer without looking at th eanswer. Not by memorizing the anser, but by memorizing what was wroing - like oh there is a parallelis error here, there isan applies and oranges error here so on so forth (I used princeton verbal to learn the fundamentals. It explains that very easily). By doing that after 6 months of lots of flash cards and lots of revising I started seeing patterns - it became much more easier. It was only then that I got the Manhattan SC book (it would have been too complicated for me earlier). Later on I was able to add on to my base with the book. (I made flash cards, of important concepts from the book too)

RC: Another painful portion for me. Probably the worst. Given my retention problem by the time I would finish reading the passage, I had completely forgotton what the hell the author was talking about . If you talk about crazy frustration and depression - this area killed me. I remember thinking of buying some mental ability tests, to help me fix my retrention issue, to help me focus. I practiced with soem tools on the web -all it helped was giving me a big headache . I tried everything possible - reading all blogs, asking for help, trying to emulate the techniques people mentioned - nothing worked. Finally with a lot of practise and trying new technique I found a way that worked for me. I realized that the first para and the last para, basically control the entire flow of the passage (introduction and summary para). The paras in middle were like e.gs, or details of some specific thing. If I could keep track of what the first and secon para was talking about, and have a basic understanding of what was in the middle paras, I was able to do a better job of answering my RC. So when I would read, I would read the 1st and last para very carefully. The middle paras, I would skim thru. When flow/passage structure questions were asked (previously I would get them wrong, as I would be reading everything in detail, and forgetting the same after completing the passage). After my new technique I got those questions right. For questions in which they asked a specific question about the passage, it was easy enough to go and re-read a few lines to get the exact answer - BINGO. I was just so excited the day it started working for me. It happened out of the blue - one day nothing was happening the next day it just happend....

Having said all the above vgmat2 I will surely add the following. I feel your pain .. - you are going thru the same struggle I went thru.... The struggle to improve, the struggle to not loose faith in one self, the faith that I am good enough, and that its only a matter of time, that if I keep trying to find a way out - god will definitely show me the way to improve. That if I dont try at all - there is no hope. That always got me going - I knew that if I didnt keep reading books for new techniques, trying new ways, , looking, asking for help, doing whatever it took to keep finding ways out, then the only other option for me was to be stuck where I was currently... Trying, hoping, practising, gives you the option to get better - not trying, kills any hope (what is life without hope?)..........

I dont know what the GMAT supplement is? I just used the OG 10th edition (fat book with crazy amount of questions - would do 100 a day - 20 (CR, RC, SC) 20 (Problem solving, Ds). every day in the morning from 5-8 am. (Everything timed - really think that helped me a crazy lot). Its painful but helped me build my stamina, time myself, and feel much more confident. If you arent doing the GMAT 10th, edtion or 11th edition please do so. It is the most important.

I really hope the above helped. Your email gives me a lot of faith that you will succeed. I see the same fire in you, the same burn to crack the GMAT . The same desire to succeed against all odds, the same will to not take NO for an answer no matter what.... just some voice inside that says, that if I give everything I have to this endeavour, how is it not possible that I will not succeed .... I see the same fire in you .....

God helped me achieve my goal - I shiver sometimes just thinking how much against the odds I was able to achieve that score. The 4 years it took me to make up my mind, and do it. Probably thats the part which helps me help people out in a similar position - I feel the pain ....

Dont you dare give up buddy - you are on the right track. Put everything into your try for GMAT. I am very very sure that you will succeed.....

Wish you all the best,
-ngufo

This is very insipiring... I am also trying to Beat the GMAT, I have to kids under 2 and this is just added stress. I am working hard and very disappointed at my results sometimes. I hope to have the courage to endure and do what you have done. I am brazilian, which adds to the laguage barrier. I hope to Beat the GMAT and be successful, just like you.

Camila,
YOu inspire me by the email your wrote. The fact you have 2 kids under 2, plus have the language barrier, and still are tryign to write the GMAT, talks a lot about your spirit, your determination, and your passion.

I am a strong believer that when you put your mind to something, and want something truly with all your heart, the whole universe around you comes together, as if conspiring to make what you watn happen .....

I will pray to god that the same happens for you buddy. Your dream does indeed come true....Making the decision is the biggest battle, the rest is mechanics, as far as I am concerned you have won half th ebattle already, the remaining thru practise, focus, and practise again, I am sure you will win over time.....

If I can help in any way possible at any time let me know, it will be a pleasure to help you,
Take care,
-ngufo

Hi,

I am amazed at the kind of effort u r still putting in advising lot of people ...have no clue for GMAT...AM GOING THROUGH THIS BLOG...luckily saw yours as well...will u be my mentor....have not studied now for almost 7 yrs...my strength Quant & my weakness Verbal...target is to maximise Quant if possible get 100% & smartly attempt Verbal...

As a first step - have started doing Maths/Verbal/DS 20 questions from today along with the watch...have been able to do it once only...need to develop a discipline ...

Current status on the OG 11-
Quant 21- 40 16 min all correct
DS 16-35 11 mon 4 wrong all careless mistake

I wish if u can carry your good work of advising people as I dont wish to waste my time going through all the blogs - wish you best for your future

Hi Kulmohan,
Looks like you are very strong in Maths (which is good). However in GMAT, I believe verbal has more weightage than Maths. When applying to schools, they woudl prefer a balanced score. So if you got a (52Q, 27V - 720), versus a (49Q, 41V - 720), the second score would be preffered . I would recommend putting in a lot of effort to up your verbal score on the side.

When I started studying, I did not use Official Guide straight off. I practised with Princeton and Kaplan until I thought i was ready, and then went to OG (as it is the closest on what comes in the real exam). If you are weak in an area, I would sincerly suggest usign the other books, so tht you can get enough practise. However you are the best judge, and should make the final call.

Finally you are absolutely right, need to be discipliend and put consistent effort for a few months. do write a diagnostics test so that you can figure out what is your score right now - so that you have a target to work towards. (As mentioned in my blog - do make as many flash cards as possible)

Hopefully the above helps. All in all, a lot of practise, and making sure that you revise all your mistakes is the key to taming the GMAT. Am very sure you will reach your goal successfully.

all the best,
-ngufo

Thanks for the reply -

I have been through this blog & seen your replies to lot of people - is an amazing effort (saying this at the cost of repeating myself, as this is simply unbelievable)

I sincerely believe through my personal experience that proper guidance makes a lot of difference especially in terms of saving time

Am taking your advice

Will continue with OG for Quant & DI, as I dont think that I need any theoritical preparation for that. Please refer some tough material for Quant & DS

However, as per your advice, will start with Princeton & Kaplan for Verbal

Will write a diagnostic as well

Thanks
Kulmohan

That sounds great Kulmohan. The Kaplan questions are considered fairly hard (for both Quant/Verbal), I believe Manhattan gmat tests are fairly hard, and should give you good practise, adn finally GMAT 800 is considered to be a very very tough book (I found it too difficult to do) - that you should probably save for the very end!

you already know about the GMAT pre tests, and Power Prep tests (links available in my post), that you should write at the end of your prep, to see how good you are scoring (they are most representatvie of what you willg et in the GMAT).

Lots of flashcards too along the way - will be veyr useful (do download the flash cards that Eric has uploaded - the link is available in my post.

Most of all - all the best, the road is a little uphill, but once you get the momentum, you will be at the peak before you know it

-ngufo