I just Beat The GMAT!

Dear beatthegmat gangs, first, a big thank you for been there to share your insights on GMAT and provide your time to answer questions.

I got a 690 on my test, with 51Q and 31V.
Sadly, I didn't finish my verbal section, and left the last question blank, which I think might have an impact on my final score. However, cannnot change what was done, so... PLS ... DO NOT leave anything blank. You need 5 secs for the computer to process next page and select an answer and say yes on that answer. Please learn from my lesson.

Ok, I am going to give you some different insights about this test!

First .. some background info
I grew up in Taiwan and came to the US at age 18, afterwards I attended junior college for two years and then transfered to university to complete my college education.


Verbal section:

One thing I would like to point out; I have horribe English grammar knowledge and turtle reading skill. Understanding English is my weakness, I tried very hard to improve it. I purchased the sentence correction books such as MGMAT, SC bible, OG11, OG supplement, and etc ... I will tell everyone MGMAT is the best book, but it should be used as a tool to reference grammar topics back to the questions on OG. Sadly, I didn't do so well on my verbal section.

WHY?

Because OG makes GMAT look so easy...

Please believe in this, "for people whose first language is not English", trying to focus on OG11 will help you hit 600+, but it will be hard to break the 700 barrier. MGMAT and Kaplan's 800 book both offer harder questions which are a lot closer to the actual test level. Please use OG as a starter and MOVE ON to do more test questions from MGMAT and Kaplan.

Ok, not going to waste your time right here... many people can offer greater verbal insights than I can.


Quant section:

Since I coached my friend from Q43 to Q49, I am going to offer two different strategies to people aiming for different scores.

Currently in the low 40s going for 45-47

OG11 is your friend. It can teach you the basics and help you remember what you learned from the ice age. If I recall correctly, there are around 250 questions on math section. The last 75 questions are what you are trying to focus on. Do not be happy because you got 50/50 in the first 50 questions, first 50 questions are V10 level. The diagnostic test and the last 75 questions are very close to the test you will hit around V40-V45 score.

Second, go for Kaplan's test . I did two of their 9 tests via my friend's access, and they are very reasonable questions and kind of close to the actual test question. Remember, MGMAT math test is your enemy, because it will shatter your confidence into pieces, and this is the last thing you want on preparing for math.

Third, PRACTICE.

Currently in the high 40s going for 49-51

First advise: threw away your OG11 math portion like I did. It is beyond useless.

For peopel at this level, looking at OG11 is a waste of your precious time. You already know all the basics, and it's time to do more practice. I am good at math, (not because I am Asian...), but I still practiced more than 1,000 questions before I take GMAT. You want to be sure you cover all areas and also are very confident on DS questions. I will suggest doing GMATclub's 25 practice test sets, and you can choose to take MGMAT tests rather than Kaplan tests. MGMAT will offer you questions closer to the end of the test (FYI: but, MGMAT is still harder than real test), and KAPLAN's test is just too simple (got perfect score on it...lol).

Important pointers: Take couple seconds to review what quesion is asking you before you move on to the next question can do magic to your score.


Alright, last but not least. First 15 quan questions on GMAT are very easy and straight forward, but they can hurt you tremendously on your score. If you do good on it, you are opening yourself a door to hit 45 or above. Howeve, if you make careless mistakes, you can kiss 51 goodbye. Please double check your answers!!



To everyone a great December and see you in Business school!

Thank you very much for the info

Congrats richlittl.....
Good Show and a very great score...Q51 is lovely....

good luck for applications

richlittl wrote:Dear beatthegmat gangs, first, a big thank you for been there to share your insights on GMAT and provide your time to answer questions.

I got a 690 on my test, with 51Q and 31V.
Sadly, I didn't finish my verbal section, and left the last question blank, which I think might have an impact on my final score. However, cannnot change what was done, so... PLS ... DO NOT leave anything blank. You need 5 secs for the computer to process next page and select an answer and say yes on that answer. Please learn from my lesson.

Ok, I am going to give you some different insights about this test!

First .. some background info
I grew up in Taiwan and came to the US at age 18, afterwards I attended junior college for two years and then transfered to university to complete my college education.


Verbal section:

One thing I would like to point out; I have horribe English grammar knowledge and turtle reading skill. Understanding English is my weakness, I tried very hard to improve it. I purchased the sentence correction books such as MGMAT, SC bible, OG11, OG supplement, and etc ... I will tell everyone MGMAT is the best book, but it should be used as a tool to reference grammar topics back to the questions on OG. Sadly, I didn't do so well on my verbal section.

WHY?

Because OG makes GMAT look so easy...

Please believe in this, "for people whose first language is not English", trying to focus on OG11 will help you hit 600+, but it will be hard to break the 700 barrier. MGMAT and Kaplan's 800 book both offer harder questions which are a lot closer to the actual test level. Please use OG as a starter and MOVE ON to do more test questions from MGMAT and Kaplan.

Ok, not going to waste your time right here... many people can offer greater verbal insights than I can.


Quant section:

Since I coached my friend from Q43 to Q49, I am going to offer two different strategies to people aiming for different scores.

Currently in the low 40s going for 45-47

OG11 is your friend. It can teach you the basics and help you remember what you learned from the ice age. If I recall correctly, there are around 250 questions on math section. The last 75 questions are what you are trying to focus on. Do not be happy because you got 50/50 in the first 50 questions, first 50 questions are V10 level. The diagnostic test and the last 75 questions are very close to the test you will hit around V40-V45 score.

Second, go for Kaplan's test . I did two of their 9 tests via my friend's access, and they are very reasonable questions and kind of close to the actual test question. Remember, MGMAT math test is your enemy, because it will shatter your confidence into pieces, and this is the last thing you want on preparing for math.

Third, PRACTICE.

Currently in the high 40s going for 49-51

First advise: threw away your OG11 math portion like I did. It is beyond useless.

For peopel at this level, looking at OG11 is a waste of your precious time. You already know all the basics, and it's time to do more practice. I am good at math, (not because I am Asian...), but I still practiced more than 1,000 questions before I take GMAT. You want to be sure you cover all areas and also are very confident on DS questions. I will suggest doing GMATclub's 25 practice test sets, and you can choose to take MGMAT tests rather than Kaplan tests. MGMAT will offer you questions closer to the end of the test (FYI: but, MGMAT is still harder than real test), and KAPLAN's test is just too simple (got perfect score on it...lol).

Important pointers: Take couple seconds to review what quesion is asking you before you move on to the next question can do magic to your score.


Alright, last but not least. First 15 quan questions on GMAT are very easy and straight forward, but they can hurt you tremendously on your score. If you do good on it, you are opening yourself a door to hit 45 or above. Howeve, if you make careless mistakes, you can kiss 51 goodbye. Please double check your answers!!



To everyone a great December and see you in Business school!

A good score and a great de-brief. Actually I found the OG10 to be much better than OG11 in terms of the quant section at least.

I hope to follow some of your great advice.

Thanks

Nice post. How many pratice exams did you take before the actual test, and which ones did you take?

congrats buddy..

if you donot complete the section..(verbal) you get a penalty..

690 is a good score..

Hey beatthegmat gangs!

I flipped over my friend's Princeton book, and reviewed some of the basic fundation on math, (integers, formulas, median, etc .. ) My score is normally 51, ironically, Kaplan gives me a 53 before.

The way I review math is I practice and practice harder. Once I finished OG11, I jumped into my gmatclubtest and finished about 20 of them. It's a good way to get a kick start on timing yourself in the test. Their test material is slightly harder than the actual test so it can provide you with a better estimate on your actual score. Also, learn every questions and review them before the test.

Ok, how to go from 43 to 49. First, stop doing MGMAT. I cannot stress on how frustration can affect people's motivation to study. When I was teaching my tutee math (math TA myself through college, and still tutoring people occasionally), I reiterate one thing: Do not put yourself into a hostile position. You need to

1. practice daily - daily about 20-30 questions, and review them thoroughly
2. take practice tests that is your level and proceed to the next level once you are confident to move on .

Most importantly, when you are checking answers, DO NOT just look at the answers and say "sweet! I got it now". Take your pen and redo them, practice those questions again the next day to ensure your mind remembers the concept.

By the way, one thing that people might want to do!! (my concept is very different than others) I know many people right here use MBA.com's test to determine your estimate score a week before test. For those who is trying to improve your scores and get a real feeling on how the actual test is like. DO ONE of THESE tests earlier in your practice (my suggesion is 2~2.5 weeks before test).
Why?
1. Because there are at least 150 (my guess, but should be close to the actual number) questions in there that is going to be test level questions. If you are doing this test repetitively, you are going to see all of them.
2. What is your focus one week before test? Doing more practice tests or review? My guess is doing more test!

Let me know if I can help further!!

Great score!

Did you ever get any 49s or 50s on your practice tests? I have been getting 49/50s, and I was wondering if 51 is a big difference and difficult to get to. I do notice that I typically miss about 5-7 questions, and 3-4 of them are silly mistakes that I should not have made.

Thanks for your help

Hi thirst, what I try to do is, I write "be careful" on every page of my scratch paper, and I always peak at these words before I proceed to the next question.

One other thing is speed. The test normally takes me about 45 mins to finish. Thus, as long as I can meet my timeline on 75-55-35-15-0, I recalculate each question before I proceed to the next one, and I always reread the question (be sure what I answered is what the question is asking about) before I move on to the next one.

Hope this helps~