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460, What just happened?!

by MBA_Ziggy » Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:06 pm
I spent a lot of time and effort on this test. I just took the test today and got a 460. Every question seemed like a mystery to me. The test didn't seem to let up at all. The questions seemed harder than the practice problems I did.

I have Knewton but honestly it was a waste of time for me. I think Knewton is OK if you are already scoring like the 550+. In fact, I am looking to sell my account to recoup some of my costs. The Manhattan guides were much more comprehensive. I went through the Manhattan SC like 4-5 times. The OG questions for SC didn't seem too bad. I also went through Number Properties, Fractions/Percents, Inequalities and Equations and ran out of time. I didn't have time for Word Translations, Geo and Critical Reasoning.

I started studying off/on since January. I REALLY started studying the last two months.

How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
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by tanay006 » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:08 pm
Hey buddy,just one suggestion.If you want to recover the cost don't sell it to someone since that will not give you 100% cashback.If you haven't scored less than 410 in first knewton diagnostics test you can get the whole course fees back from knewton under the clause 50 point moneyback guaranty.
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by uwhusky » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:35 pm
MBA_Ziggy wrote:
How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
Interestingly I just had a discussion on this. In high school/college, most exams test you on one skill, memorization. If you memorize the formula, memorize the few ways shown in the book, and you're almost guarantee to do well in any class.

GMAT tests you far more thorough than any high school or college exams will, and the wide range of topics also makes college mid-terms and finals seem much narrower in scope.

I no longer carry the attitude that I should do well because I have done these math topics back in high school, and I was good at them.
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by anin » Sun Jul 11, 2010 5:42 am
I can totally relate to that. I took knewton as well and it is a waste of time in my opinion too. Didnt get too far with it. I hope to do some self study with a different strategy and see if I can improve my score going forward. Good luck to you!
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by MBA_Ziggy » Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:40 am
uwhusky wrote:
MBA_Ziggy wrote:
How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
Interestingly I just had a discussion on this. In high school/college, most exams test you on one skill, memorization. If you memorize the formula, memorize the few ways shown in the book, and you're almost guarantee to do well in any class.

GMAT tests you far more thorough than any high school or college exams will, and the wide range of topics also makes college mid-terms and finals seem much narrower in scope.

I no longer carry the attitude that I should do well because I have done these math topics back in high school, and I was good at them.
Looking back at my testing experience, I think there is STILL memorization. It's important to know the overall type of problems and how they can appear like other problems. I was presented with problems that looked different but were actually like problems I already solved! A BIG issue is time. For the most part, you didn't have to beat the clock for undergrad exams. You have to know the GMAT sooo well that time isn't as much of an issue. When I was taking the test I kept thinking about time (calculating it etc). Thinking about it too much hindered me from concentrating on the task at hand.
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by MBA_Ziggy » Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:49 am
anin wrote:I can totally relate to that. I took knewton as well and it is a waste of time in my opinion too. Didnt get too far with it. I hope to do some self study with a different strategy and see if I can improve my score going forward. Good luck to you!
The GMAT doesn't lend itself well to people that have gaps in their knowledge. I think Knewton doesn't lend itself well to the student that has gaps in fundamentals. The concept queue is not enough. Their instructors are great and I can tell that they REALLY want their students to succeed. However, it's not a program for everyone.

If I were you, I would get the Manhattan Books. After I started to read the Manhattan books my score on the Knewton homeworks were sooo much better. Purchase the books on eBay or half.com.

If I had to do it all over again. I would have ditched Knewton and started Manhattan earlier.
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by anin » Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:23 pm
MBA_Ziggy wrote: The GMAT doesn't lend itself well to people that have gaps in their knowledge. I think Knewton doesn't lend itself well to the student that has gaps in fundamentals. The concept queue is not enough. Their instructors are great and I can tell that they REALLY want their students to succeed. However, it's not a program for everyone.

If I were you, I would get the Manhattan Books. After I started to read the Manhattan books my score on the Knewton homeworks were sooo much better. Purchase the books on eBay or half.com.

If I had to do it all over again. I would have ditched Knewton and started Manhattan earlier.
I agree. But I do have all the MGMAT books and worked on it.
The concept queue in Knewton is not good enough for sure. There is something else thats lacking with Knewton. They are not going in depth and I'm not satisfied with their explanations. The instructors are knowledgeable but the curriculum is not good enough.
The reason I choose knewton for MGMAT was because knewton was much much cheaper. But you get what you pay for.

Oh well... hoping for the best. Good luck!
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by gmatsensei » Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:36 am
Ziggy, it appears that you did not spend enough time practicing and reviewing OG problems.

How did you fare on your practice tests? Were your troubled by any particular question types, or was the whole test a blur?
Last edited by gmatsensei on Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by DAYNE » Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:45 am
MBA_Ziggy wrote:I spent a lot of time and effort on this test. I just took the test today and got a 460. Every question seemed like a mystery to me. The test didn't seem to let up at all. The questions seemed harder than the practice problems I did.

I have Knewton but honestly it was a waste of time for me. I think Knewton is OK if you are already scoring like the 550+. In fact, I am looking to sell my account to recoup some of my costs. The Manhattan guides were much more comprehensive. I went through the Manhattan SC like 4-5 times. The OG questions for SC didn't seem too bad. I also went through Number Properties, Fractions/Percents, Inequalities and Equations and ran out of time. I didn't have time for Word Translations, Geo and Critical Reasoning.

I started studying off/on since January. I REALLY started studying the last two months.

How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
If you spent alot of time on the test, how in the hell could you not finish the strategy materials?
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by gmatsensei » Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:56 am
DAYNE wrote: If you spent alot of time on the test, how in the hell could you not finish the strategy materials?
I agree. Instead of piling all the blame on Knewton, Ziggy would be better served taking a long hard look at himself/ herself.
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by MBA_Ziggy » Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:48 am
DAYNE wrote:
MBA_Ziggy wrote:I spent a lot of time and effort on this test. I just took the test today and got a 460. Every question seemed like a mystery to me. The test didn't seem to let up at all. The questions seemed harder than the practice problems I did.

I have Knewton but honestly it was a waste of time for me. I think Knewton is OK if you are already scoring like the 550+. In fact, I am looking to sell my account to recoup some of my costs. The Manhattan guides were much more comprehensive. I went through the Manhattan SC like 4-5 times. The OG questions for SC didn't seem too bad. I also went through Number Properties, Fractions/Percents, Inequalities and Equations and ran out of time. I didn't have time for Word Translations, Geo and Critical Reasoning.

I started studying off/on since January. I REALLY started studying the last two months.

How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
If you spent alot of time on the test, how in the hell could you not finish the strategy materials?
I was exclusively using Knewton in the beginning. I was worried I had gaps in my knowledge THEN ordered the Manhattan books. Of course it was way to late to properly study with them.

I'm not saying I FAILED because of Knewton. Not everyone learns the same way....Knewton wasn't for me. It might work great for other people.

I learned from this experience.

I will try again and succeed. :)
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by sv77 » Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:25 am
Hi MBA_Ziggy,

i heard that Verbal part of knewton is good though Maths section is not to level of GMAT(650+) . Did you face the same issue with verbal section of knewton ?


Thanks..
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by InkyBinky » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:12 pm
MBA_Ziggy wrote:How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
I got 5 on my AP Calculus exam in high school, A's in honors calculus II, differential equations, vector calculus and statistics. But I still find the GMAT Quant section very challenging. It just approaches the subject very differently.
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by NotinFresno » Sun Aug 01, 2010 10:59 am
Gosh, Ziggy, I feel your pain. I was in almost identical situation about a month and a half ago. My problem though, was that I felt that not matter how bad I did, I could get my target score of 550 because I had gotten 600 and 570 on my GMATPrep, and 540 on a Kaplan CAT without even studying at all. So putting in 3hrs/day for 2 weeks seemed more than enough. Test day though same exact thing happened to me and bam, 480! I couldn't remember the last time I felt so crushed about anything and vowed to avenge my defeat. So now I'm not as cocky and I told myself that my ability is in the low 600s WITH STUDYING rather than 650s without as before. Besides that, one suggestion I have is to do the AWA every time you take a practice CAT, because I'm strongly convinced that was a big reason for my crummy score - I hadn't done the AWA with any of my prior CATs. Let us know how the retake goes, I'm six days away. Good luck!
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by Victory_GMAT » Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:32 pm
MBA_Ziggy wrote:I spent a lot of time and effort on this test. I just took the test today and got a 460. Every question seemed like a mystery to me. The test didn't seem to let up at all. The questions seemed harder than the practice problems I did.

I have Knewton but honestly it was a waste of time for me. I think Knewton is OK if you are already scoring like the 550+. In fact, I am looking to sell my account to recoup some of my costs. The Manhattan guides were much more comprehensive. I went through the Manhattan SC like 4-5 times. The OG questions for SC didn't seem too bad. I also went through Number Properties, Fractions/Percents, Inequalities and Equations and ran out of time. I didn't have time for Word Translations, Geo and Critical Reasoning.

I started studying off/on since January. I REALLY started studying the last two months.

How the hell did I get a B in calculus but can't handle 10th grade GMAT math? :(
"Your Focus needs more focus" - Karate Kids
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