I would like to thank everyone in this forum. It really was great. Thank you all, especially the resident experts. I took the GMAT this morning, got a 750 (98%), 45Q (75%)-48V (99%). This score is higher than any score I ever got on any practice tests. In fact, my score in the real GMAT is a combination of my best math and my best verbal scores in all my practice tests:
GMATprep1 700 41Q-44V
Kaplan CAT 640 39Q-42V
PR CAT 680 43Q-41V
GMATprep1 retake 710 45Q-41V
MGMAT CAT1 710 44Q-42V
MGMAT CAT2 700 43Q-41V
GMAT Prep2 730 42Q-48V
ACTUAL GMAT 750 45Q-48V
My verbal had always been strong, but it got really good towards the end of my practice period. Luckily it stayed there. During the test, I wasn’t feeling especially good about the math section, had educated guesses for at least 5 questions that I recall, and my timing got a little off towards the middle and I had to rush a bit through 5 questions or so to catch up. I was determined NOT to run out of time and have to RANDOMLY guess the last few. I truly believe that for most questions you can quickly eliminate 2-3 answers by thinking “globally”, without calculations. An educated guess lasting 30secs to 1 minute is MUCH better than a RANDOM guess taking 2 seconds. There were some questions that seemed “out of place” in difficulty (too easy after a medium-hard question I was pretty sure I got right). This happened a few times and threw me off at first, thinking I had missed it. DO NO THINK ABOUT IT AND MOVE ON.
By far, the best advice I can give is to be relaxed and have an “I can do this” attitude. If you can get a 45 or 48 in your practice tests in any given section, you can do it again! Beat it! I didn’t cram the last few days, I took a relaxed drive down to the center, I had a good breakfast, I took all the breaks, I had some bites of food and several gulps of a highly sugary and caffeinated soda during each break, I went to the bathroom, washed my face with cool water each time, looked in the mirror and thought to myself “GO, YOU CAN DO THIS MAN”! I was much more focused and determined during the real test than any practice test, where I always found my mind wandering. I am interested in EMBA programs, some of which don’t require the GMAT, even at top schools, so I had a relaxed attitude; this was more of a personal challenge. I believe this played a big role too.
Anyway, thanks to everyone again and remember, practice is a measure of how well you CAN do the day of the test. The test conditions, the pressure of the real thing, can make you excel if you approach it right. I would like to think this played a role in me getting a score that represents the high end of my practice ranges. It could just be a fluke, but there was a “mental” difference in me today, I felt it
Good luck to all!!
Old Geezer
GMATprep1 700 41Q-44V
Kaplan CAT 640 39Q-42V
PR CAT 680 43Q-41V
GMATprep1 retake 710 45Q-41V
MGMAT CAT1 710 44Q-42V
MGMAT CAT2 700 43Q-41V
GMAT Prep2 730 42Q-48V
ACTUAL GMAT 750 45Q-48V
My verbal had always been strong, but it got really good towards the end of my practice period. Luckily it stayed there. During the test, I wasn’t feeling especially good about the math section, had educated guesses for at least 5 questions that I recall, and my timing got a little off towards the middle and I had to rush a bit through 5 questions or so to catch up. I was determined NOT to run out of time and have to RANDOMLY guess the last few. I truly believe that for most questions you can quickly eliminate 2-3 answers by thinking “globally”, without calculations. An educated guess lasting 30secs to 1 minute is MUCH better than a RANDOM guess taking 2 seconds. There were some questions that seemed “out of place” in difficulty (too easy after a medium-hard question I was pretty sure I got right). This happened a few times and threw me off at first, thinking I had missed it. DO NO THINK ABOUT IT AND MOVE ON.
By far, the best advice I can give is to be relaxed and have an “I can do this” attitude. If you can get a 45 or 48 in your practice tests in any given section, you can do it again! Beat it! I didn’t cram the last few days, I took a relaxed drive down to the center, I had a good breakfast, I took all the breaks, I had some bites of food and several gulps of a highly sugary and caffeinated soda during each break, I went to the bathroom, washed my face with cool water each time, looked in the mirror and thought to myself “GO, YOU CAN DO THIS MAN”! I was much more focused and determined during the real test than any practice test, where I always found my mind wandering. I am interested in EMBA programs, some of which don’t require the GMAT, even at top schools, so I had a relaxed attitude; this was more of a personal challenge. I believe this played a big role too.
Anyway, thanks to everyone again and remember, practice is a measure of how well you CAN do the day of the test. The test conditions, the pressure of the real thing, can make you excel if you approach it right. I would like to think this played a role in me getting a score that represents the high end of my practice ranges. It could just be a fluke, but there was a “mental” difference in me today, I felt it
Good luck to all!!
Old Geezer
