-
A_H_
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:33 am
- Thanked: 1 times
- GMAT Score:770
Over the last two months I have been coming to this forum for inspirational stories, and now finally it is my turn to contribute one.
First, here are my practice tests results (did AWA with most of them):
06-Sep-09 Kaplan 1 - 530 (q28, v28) - prior to any preparation
16-Sep-09 MGMAT 1 - 660 (q44, v36) - satisfied with the score, hope to improve
26-Sep-09 Kaplan 2 - 570 (q39, v29)
10-Oct-09 Kaplan 3 - 570 (q33, v36)
11-Oct-09 MGMAT 2 - 650 (q45, v34)
18-Oct-09 GMATPrep 1 - 700 (q45, v41) - should've taken it much earlier
20-Oct-09 MGMAT 3 - 640 (q43, v34) - frustrated and angry, no more MGMAT
22-Oct-09 PowerPrep 1 - 700 (q45, v41) - worried by the borderline score
24-Oct-09 PowerPrep 2 - 750 (q49, v42) - math was ridiculously easy
26-Oct-09 GMATPrep 2 - 680 (q47, v35) - disappointed by performance in verbal
27-Oct-09 Kaplan 4 - 610 (q46, v31)
29-Oct-09 GMATPrep 1 retake - 770 (q49, v45) - skewed by repeat questions
01-Nov-09 GMATPrep 2 retake - 730 (q49, v40) - day before exam
02-Nov-09 Real Thing - 770 (q49, v45)
As you can see, the scores were not great, and there wasn't a steady improvement pattern either. This can be very discouraging. Especially when I took MGMAT 3 and got a worse result than in two previous attempts, it all looked pretty pointless. On the other hand, it helped me prioritize the rest of my studies and focus on the areas that could be improved.
Looking back at the whole experience, I realize that I made a few strategic mistakes. My initial study plan was based on the research that I had done, but the timing wasn't realistic and in the end I missed out on significant portion of OG and completed only 3 MGMAT tests. If I were to study for GMAT again, my plan would look something like this:
Mandatory Study Materials
"¢ The Official GMAT Guide 12th
"¢ Kaplan Math Workbook (or alternative guide covering GMAT Math concepts)
"¢ Manhattan Sentence Correction
Optional Study Materials
"¢ The Official Guide Verbal Review
"¢ The Official Guide Quantitative Review
"¢ Manhattan Math Guides
"¢ Kaplan Advanced
Mandatory Practice Tests
"¢ GMATPrep 1 (attempt 1, 2)
"¢ GMATPrep 2 (attempt 1, 2)
"¢ PowerPrep 1
"¢ PowerPrep 2
"¢ MGMAT 1, 2
Optional Practice Tests
"¢ GMATPrep 1 (attempt 3)
"¢ GMATPrep 2 (attempt 3)
"¢ MGMAT 3-6
"¢ Kaplan 1-4
Strategy
0) Create a realistic timeline. Each practice test took me full day to complete and review. So it's at least 8 full weekend days just for practice tests. At least two weeks will be required to do the OG. Plus the study guides. Ideally you will have 2 months to cover mandatory materials.
1) Take diagnostic test from OG to get the idea of what you dealing with
2) Study Kaplan Math Workbook and Manhattan Sentence Correction
3) Review general recommendations for RC and CR. Do not waste your time going through comprehensive guides such as PowerScore CR Bible. It is much more beneficial to spend this time practicing with OG questions. After some practice you should be able to eliminate 3 out of 5 answer choices very quickly for almost every question. Your success in RC and CR will depend on skills developed over many years.
4) Take MGMAT Practice Test 1, but don't be discouraged if the score is low. Both quant and verbal are more difficult than the official test. While doing tough math problems was very helpful, the confusing verbal questions really put me off. I wouldn't even bother reviewing the MGMAT verbal section, except for the SC questions.
5) Start doing OG problems, 10-15 of each type at a time. When reviewing answers, make sure you learn from mistakes. Keep the log of questions you got wrong and specify the type of error: careless, concept, logic. It is impossible to completely eliminate careless errors, but you should be able to minimize them if you pay attention to the common careless errors you make. Concept errors are a good indication of what you need to review. Logic can be improved by practicing harder questions.
6) Take GMATPrep 1. Write down your score before clicking Next - you won't be able to see it again! Another annoying thing about GMATPrep is that it doesn't give you the breakdown by question type, so you have to do it manually. Doing so will allow you to see your weak areas and focus on them.
7) Continue doing OG and spend a bulk of time reviewing the problems
8) Take the rest of practice tests and note your progress
9) If possible, stop studying hard a week before the exam. Only do enough to keep you in tonus.
10) Before the test day take care of all the administrative stuff: plan your journey, get the id ready, list the schools to be sent the score, etc.
Tips
1) Make sure you have enough time to do all OG questions and don't forget that reviewing sometimes takes longer than actually doing the problems. Don't waste too much time on third-party practice questions.
2) If you are very short on time, your main priority should be the GMATPrep tests. Do them at least twice each and focus on the questions you get wrong. Don't ignore AWA.
3) Determine your pacing strategy. The quant section for me was like a game of chess - sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn or two in order to get strategic advantage. The tough and time-consuming questions are your pawns. If you make a guess and move on without wasting time on 2-3 hardest (for you) questions, you will get extra 6-7 minutes to spend on other problems.
4) Don't overstrain yourself before the test.
5) During the breaks be really quick and allow at least a minute to go through security. Even knowing that, I lost about half a minute on each (!!!) break. The 8 minutes pass much faster than you might expect.
6) Don't overestimate the importance of first questions. I was a bit distracted by the loss of 30 seconds on the break, and after another 2 minutes on the first question I realized I had no idea how to solve it. So I took a blind guess and moved on as if it had never happened. It is very important not to panic in such situation.
7) Getting an easy question does not mean you got previous one wrong. That's fact.
8) Overall impression that quant was easy means you probably did very well.
9) Overall impression that quant was hard means nothing.
10) If you get too nervous before the test, follow popular advice and use some music to "pump up". What worked for me was Slipknot.
Hope this helps and good luck with all your tests and applications!
First, here are my practice tests results (did AWA with most of them):
06-Sep-09 Kaplan 1 - 530 (q28, v28) - prior to any preparation
16-Sep-09 MGMAT 1 - 660 (q44, v36) - satisfied with the score, hope to improve
26-Sep-09 Kaplan 2 - 570 (q39, v29)
10-Oct-09 Kaplan 3 - 570 (q33, v36)
11-Oct-09 MGMAT 2 - 650 (q45, v34)
18-Oct-09 GMATPrep 1 - 700 (q45, v41) - should've taken it much earlier
20-Oct-09 MGMAT 3 - 640 (q43, v34) - frustrated and angry, no more MGMAT
22-Oct-09 PowerPrep 1 - 700 (q45, v41) - worried by the borderline score
24-Oct-09 PowerPrep 2 - 750 (q49, v42) - math was ridiculously easy
26-Oct-09 GMATPrep 2 - 680 (q47, v35) - disappointed by performance in verbal
27-Oct-09 Kaplan 4 - 610 (q46, v31)
29-Oct-09 GMATPrep 1 retake - 770 (q49, v45) - skewed by repeat questions
01-Nov-09 GMATPrep 2 retake - 730 (q49, v40) - day before exam
02-Nov-09 Real Thing - 770 (q49, v45)
As you can see, the scores were not great, and there wasn't a steady improvement pattern either. This can be very discouraging. Especially when I took MGMAT 3 and got a worse result than in two previous attempts, it all looked pretty pointless. On the other hand, it helped me prioritize the rest of my studies and focus on the areas that could be improved.
Looking back at the whole experience, I realize that I made a few strategic mistakes. My initial study plan was based on the research that I had done, but the timing wasn't realistic and in the end I missed out on significant portion of OG and completed only 3 MGMAT tests. If I were to study for GMAT again, my plan would look something like this:
Mandatory Study Materials
"¢ The Official GMAT Guide 12th
"¢ Kaplan Math Workbook (or alternative guide covering GMAT Math concepts)
"¢ Manhattan Sentence Correction
Optional Study Materials
"¢ The Official Guide Verbal Review
"¢ The Official Guide Quantitative Review
"¢ Manhattan Math Guides
"¢ Kaplan Advanced
Mandatory Practice Tests
"¢ GMATPrep 1 (attempt 1, 2)
"¢ GMATPrep 2 (attempt 1, 2)
"¢ PowerPrep 1
"¢ PowerPrep 2
"¢ MGMAT 1, 2
Optional Practice Tests
"¢ GMATPrep 1 (attempt 3)
"¢ GMATPrep 2 (attempt 3)
"¢ MGMAT 3-6
"¢ Kaplan 1-4
Strategy
0) Create a realistic timeline. Each practice test took me full day to complete and review. So it's at least 8 full weekend days just for practice tests. At least two weeks will be required to do the OG. Plus the study guides. Ideally you will have 2 months to cover mandatory materials.
1) Take diagnostic test from OG to get the idea of what you dealing with
2) Study Kaplan Math Workbook and Manhattan Sentence Correction
3) Review general recommendations for RC and CR. Do not waste your time going through comprehensive guides such as PowerScore CR Bible. It is much more beneficial to spend this time practicing with OG questions. After some practice you should be able to eliminate 3 out of 5 answer choices very quickly for almost every question. Your success in RC and CR will depend on skills developed over many years.
4) Take MGMAT Practice Test 1, but don't be discouraged if the score is low. Both quant and verbal are more difficult than the official test. While doing tough math problems was very helpful, the confusing verbal questions really put me off. I wouldn't even bother reviewing the MGMAT verbal section, except for the SC questions.
5) Start doing OG problems, 10-15 of each type at a time. When reviewing answers, make sure you learn from mistakes. Keep the log of questions you got wrong and specify the type of error: careless, concept, logic. It is impossible to completely eliminate careless errors, but you should be able to minimize them if you pay attention to the common careless errors you make. Concept errors are a good indication of what you need to review. Logic can be improved by practicing harder questions.
6) Take GMATPrep 1. Write down your score before clicking Next - you won't be able to see it again! Another annoying thing about GMATPrep is that it doesn't give you the breakdown by question type, so you have to do it manually. Doing so will allow you to see your weak areas and focus on them.
7) Continue doing OG and spend a bulk of time reviewing the problems
8) Take the rest of practice tests and note your progress
9) If possible, stop studying hard a week before the exam. Only do enough to keep you in tonus.
10) Before the test day take care of all the administrative stuff: plan your journey, get the id ready, list the schools to be sent the score, etc.
Tips
1) Make sure you have enough time to do all OG questions and don't forget that reviewing sometimes takes longer than actually doing the problems. Don't waste too much time on third-party practice questions.
2) If you are very short on time, your main priority should be the GMATPrep tests. Do them at least twice each and focus on the questions you get wrong. Don't ignore AWA.
3) Determine your pacing strategy. The quant section for me was like a game of chess - sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn or two in order to get strategic advantage. The tough and time-consuming questions are your pawns. If you make a guess and move on without wasting time on 2-3 hardest (for you) questions, you will get extra 6-7 minutes to spend on other problems.
4) Don't overstrain yourself before the test.
5) During the breaks be really quick and allow at least a minute to go through security. Even knowing that, I lost about half a minute on each (!!!) break. The 8 minutes pass much faster than you might expect.
6) Don't overestimate the importance of first questions. I was a bit distracted by the loss of 30 seconds on the break, and after another 2 minutes on the first question I realized I had no idea how to solve it. So I took a blind guess and moved on as if it had never happened. It is very important not to panic in such situation.
7) Getting an easy question does not mean you got previous one wrong. That's fact.
8) Overall impression that quant was easy means you probably did very well.
9) Overall impression that quant was hard means nothing.
10) If you get too nervous before the test, follow popular advice and use some music to "pump up". What worked for me was Slipknot.
Hope this helps and good luck with all your tests and applications!
