-
bestbusinessanalyst
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:40 am
Hello,
I took GMAT sometime back and got 700. I had taken gmat earlier and had 640 then. But, it was way below than my practice scores. I was consistently getting above 680. I had selected a bad center which was on main road and it was the election season. SO, lot of noise was clearly audible in exam room. Also, the exam room was not soundproof and exam coordinators were speaking loudly (GMAC should ban such centers!)Result: my verbal score was horrible (below 30!) and my overall score less than 650!
I decided to retake the test. This time I left no stone untouched. I bought kplan and took all tests on manhatten and also got 800score tests. Every time I was getting atleast 680 and for all tests my avg score was 706, 710 or 720. For official s/w, my scores were 710 and 740. I was worried about the IR section and so paid some more bucks and got additional problems. It worked and I got 700 (verbal 35, Quant 49), essay 5/6 and IR 8/8.
I feel I could have done better on verbal but was drinking too much water and hence was in hurry to finish the test! Nonetheless this score is in the mid 80% score for all top schools.
There are some tips I want to share:
1) Practice is the key for gmat. More you practice more score you get!
2) Do not overlook OG. Mostly all it covers all problems. I made sure both times that I had covered OG.
3) Visit the center one day before your test and make sure you reach on time.
Tips for Quant:
1) OG is good, plus I studies from Kplan 800 and other kplan books. I found the tests from Manhtten had a very good variety of problems and it helps to prepare you to solve such different kinds specially when you are running out of time.
2) Prepare all the problems from probability, permutations and combinations, and set theory. I was always afraid of probability examples. So, I checked all books for these problems.
3) I feel you have to spend atleast 1 month (60-80 hours total) for getting the nack of DS problems. These are the key areas! Sometimes, very subtle errors are there and one may neglect and go wrong!
4) I had used resources from internet like 1000 PS, 1000 DS for practice. It really helps. But what helps the most is solving during practice tests because quant section is after IR and AWA, so you are somewhat exhausted! (IR is really pain for brain!) So, for last 2-3 weeks solve as many tests as you can!
5) For PS, check OG and get all core areas. Sometimes when you are doing too good, you may get long problems with longer lines or complex figures. Again, manhatten and kapln tests cover a wide range of problems. Be ready with all formulae of circles, rectangles and parallelogram and etc! Enough practice makes you ready to do calculations without calculator!
6) Be really good with the clock. do not believe in spending more time on initial problems. If you go wrong for 4-5 problems continuously it affects you score the most.
For verbal:
1) I purchased special books from manhatten for SC, RC and CR. Earlier I was weak at CR and RC. But, these books were helpful. I also solved 50+ passages from Aristotle RC99 and 1000RC. FAor RC, patience is the key. You may get more long passages and reading with patience and concentration is the key. Solving multiple passages helps you to cover all range of problems from central idea and inference. Again, tests are the best practice mediums. Do not neglect RC, it is the most commonly neglected area.
2) SC: For this 1000 Sc are the best, For my first exam I solved all religiously, I found some of the problems were repeated in manhatten and kplan. Mark wrong types and revise. If you are good with SC and CR then you can spend a bit more on RC (RC usually needs more than avg time per question!) I used manhatten SC guide. Very helpful for people who dont have english as native language. Spend 1-2 hours per chapter and at the teh end just revise from the book for the concepts. You can read casually during breaks and travel.
3) CR: Tricky at time. I had used CR bible earlier and but I could not get much use of it. So, later I used the Manhatten book. I followed the drawing and tabluar approach given in the book till I got confidence. If you solve 500 or more examples, you can easily track the error or the key point. I honestly feel CR at the beginning is very risky for scores, because in my practice tests I used to have first 4 CR and 2-3 going wrong used to affect my Verbal score.
4) Please use the 1000 SC, 1000 CR and 1000Rc questions for practice. Verbal is the last section, so all pressure from earlier sections may affect you and your stamina could be very low. So, practice full length tests with essay and IR, it really helps!
ESSAYS:
luckily now, there is only one type of essay and I always found it easier than issue. I read around 50 essays and wrote around 35-40 in short or completely. Prepare a structure and stick to it. keep 5 min for spell check at the end.
IR:
Practice as much as you can. I got the same score as from official test s/w. for Manhatten tests, I never got higher than 5, so I was worried. Many people say that this score wont matter this year. but dont take risk. a very low score can affect your profile during close cases.
To conclude, I will suggest to practice as much as you can, feel free to reschedule if you are not ready, make sure your test center is peaceful and free of noise. These forums are very helpful!
Best of luck!
I took GMAT sometime back and got 700. I had taken gmat earlier and had 640 then. But, it was way below than my practice scores. I was consistently getting above 680. I had selected a bad center which was on main road and it was the election season. SO, lot of noise was clearly audible in exam room. Also, the exam room was not soundproof and exam coordinators were speaking loudly (GMAC should ban such centers!)Result: my verbal score was horrible (below 30!) and my overall score less than 650!
I decided to retake the test. This time I left no stone untouched. I bought kplan and took all tests on manhatten and also got 800score tests. Every time I was getting atleast 680 and for all tests my avg score was 706, 710 or 720. For official s/w, my scores were 710 and 740. I was worried about the IR section and so paid some more bucks and got additional problems. It worked and I got 700 (verbal 35, Quant 49), essay 5/6 and IR 8/8.
I feel I could have done better on verbal but was drinking too much water and hence was in hurry to finish the test! Nonetheless this score is in the mid 80% score for all top schools.
There are some tips I want to share:
1) Practice is the key for gmat. More you practice more score you get!
2) Do not overlook OG. Mostly all it covers all problems. I made sure both times that I had covered OG.
3) Visit the center one day before your test and make sure you reach on time.
Tips for Quant:
1) OG is good, plus I studies from Kplan 800 and other kplan books. I found the tests from Manhtten had a very good variety of problems and it helps to prepare you to solve such different kinds specially when you are running out of time.
2) Prepare all the problems from probability, permutations and combinations, and set theory. I was always afraid of probability examples. So, I checked all books for these problems.
3) I feel you have to spend atleast 1 month (60-80 hours total) for getting the nack of DS problems. These are the key areas! Sometimes, very subtle errors are there and one may neglect and go wrong!
4) I had used resources from internet like 1000 PS, 1000 DS for practice. It really helps. But what helps the most is solving during practice tests because quant section is after IR and AWA, so you are somewhat exhausted! (IR is really pain for brain!) So, for last 2-3 weeks solve as many tests as you can!
5) For PS, check OG and get all core areas. Sometimes when you are doing too good, you may get long problems with longer lines or complex figures. Again, manhatten and kapln tests cover a wide range of problems. Be ready with all formulae of circles, rectangles and parallelogram and etc! Enough practice makes you ready to do calculations without calculator!
6) Be really good with the clock. do not believe in spending more time on initial problems. If you go wrong for 4-5 problems continuously it affects you score the most.
For verbal:
1) I purchased special books from manhatten for SC, RC and CR. Earlier I was weak at CR and RC. But, these books were helpful. I also solved 50+ passages from Aristotle RC99 and 1000RC. FAor RC, patience is the key. You may get more long passages and reading with patience and concentration is the key. Solving multiple passages helps you to cover all range of problems from central idea and inference. Again, tests are the best practice mediums. Do not neglect RC, it is the most commonly neglected area.
2) SC: For this 1000 Sc are the best, For my first exam I solved all religiously, I found some of the problems were repeated in manhatten and kplan. Mark wrong types and revise. If you are good with SC and CR then you can spend a bit more on RC (RC usually needs more than avg time per question!) I used manhatten SC guide. Very helpful for people who dont have english as native language. Spend 1-2 hours per chapter and at the teh end just revise from the book for the concepts. You can read casually during breaks and travel.
3) CR: Tricky at time. I had used CR bible earlier and but I could not get much use of it. So, later I used the Manhatten book. I followed the drawing and tabluar approach given in the book till I got confidence. If you solve 500 or more examples, you can easily track the error or the key point. I honestly feel CR at the beginning is very risky for scores, because in my practice tests I used to have first 4 CR and 2-3 going wrong used to affect my Verbal score.
4) Please use the 1000 SC, 1000 CR and 1000Rc questions for practice. Verbal is the last section, so all pressure from earlier sections may affect you and your stamina could be very low. So, practice full length tests with essay and IR, it really helps!
ESSAYS:
luckily now, there is only one type of essay and I always found it easier than issue. I read around 50 essays and wrote around 35-40 in short or completely. Prepare a structure and stick to it. keep 5 min for spell check at the end.
IR:
Practice as much as you can. I got the same score as from official test s/w. for Manhatten tests, I never got higher than 5, so I was worried. Many people say that this score wont matter this year. but dont take risk. a very low score can affect your profile during close cases.
To conclude, I will suggest to practice as much as you can, feel free to reschedule if you are not ready, make sure your test center is peaceful and free of noise. These forums are very helpful!
Best of luck!
