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HELP ME!! Experts

by Divyesh171 » Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:59 am
Good Evening all ( Here its Evening)

I am a new joinee.. I have been keeping a constant tracks on the post.. I have seen lots of people getting benefits from the post.. Thanks to all..

I have taken GMAT two months back..
Scored 550 :cry:
Q:50 :P
V:19 :(

I have decided to take it once again..
The materials that I have completed are Princeton, Kaplan Verbal and Kaplan 800..Plus the Flash cards on the site(Great Help :P )

Now focussing on OG 11th Edition, OG verbal and OG Quant..

My main focus is Verbal

After studing lots of stuff my fundamentals are getting good in Verbal.. When I sit and solve the things are getting good.. I mean I take 10 mins max for a RC.. 2 mins max for CR and 1 min max for SC.. when I solve it at home or in library I get accuracy of about 70 to 80 percent..

HERE COMES MY PROBLEM :oops: >> WHENEVER I TAKE TIMED TEST I GET TENSED AND I AM NOT ABLE TO GIVE MY BEST.. MAKE LOTS OF BLUNDERS.. TRIED TO KEEP MY COOL EACH TIME.. BUT IN VAIN :cry: .. ACCURACY IS AROUND 40 PERCENT.. HOW CAN I AVOID THIS?? MY TARGET IS GETTING IN BETWEEN 650 TO 700 :D ..

PLEASE HELP ME!! HOW CAN I GET OUT OF THIS.. GIVE ME TIPS PLEASE..

Took Princeton CAT 1 590 Verbal:20 :cry:
Princeton CAT 2 560 Verbal:17 :cry:

Please people and experts I need your help :idea:!!!!

Regards
Divyesh
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by wickely » Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:10 pm
I think your problem is anxiety. Talk to your doctor about it...there are definitely things you can do to calm your anxieties!
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by Divyesh171 » Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:40 am
Thanks Buddy..

I will try to control it..

ANY MORE PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS PLZZZZZZZZZ... ERIC AND EXPERTS PLZ I WANT UR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTION..
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by Jen Kedro » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:42 am
Hi,

It is going to be even more important for you, given that you know you get nervous and stressed on exams, to take MANY full length, realistic computer adaptive practice tests throughout your studies, so that you become more familiar and comfortable with the experience and are able to reduce and control your anxiety.

I don’t believe you mentioned when you will re-take, but depending upon that, I would recommend taking 5-8 full length CATs throughout your study. Focus on your timing, your stress level, and your scratch work, and hopefully you will start to become more comfortable in the test-like situation. Set aside time to review each CAT that you do to best learn and improve from your experience.

Even when you are practicing shorter practice sets, time yourself so you get used to that urgency/time-pressured situation.

Your RC timing seems a bit off, unless I am mis-understanding. If you are saying 10 min for entire passage and all related questions, then that is fine.

Finally, on the actual exam, if you start getting nervous, take a deep breath and remind yourself that there are bigger things out there than your GMAT exam. You can stress all you want leading up to the test, but ON THE ACTUAL EXAM, take the pressure off. You usually actually perform better when you take the pressure off than if you over emphasize your performance in your mind. Stay focused only on the question at hand…don’t let your mind wander to how you are doing, previous questions, what this means to your life, etc…those brain cells could be working on the question on the screen instead of those worries!

Wishing you the best in your prep.
Jen Kedrowski
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by Divyesh171 » Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:34 am
Thanks a lot Jen :P .. I will keep in mind all ur suggestions.. Thanks a lot@};-

I have decided to move on tests now..

My plan ahead

3rd DEC- PRINCETON 1
4th DEC- PRINCETON 2
5TH DEC- PRINCETON 3
6TH DEC- POWERPREP 1
7TH DEC- PETERSON 1
8TH DEC- PETERSON 2
9TH DEC- PETERSON 3
10TH DEC POWERPREP 2
11TH DEC- need to attend a marriage :D
12TH DEC- KAPLAN 1
13TH DEC- CAMBRIDGE 1
14TH DEC- KAPLAN 2
15TH DEC- CAMBRIDGE 2
16TH DEC- KAPLAN 3
17TH DEC KAPLAN 4
18TH DEC- GMAT prep 2
19th DEC- Planning to take GMAT

I will be taking test from 9am onwards.. Followed by Analysis of test.. Break for an hour then planning to revise OG 11th edition and OG verbal..
This is my plan that I will follow till my test.. Is that ok?? Please comment if I am going wrong anywhere..

Today I have taken GMAT prep 1..
Scored 580 :!: q-48 :P and v-23 :cry: Was cool a bit this time.. Feels like will improve on frequent trials

:idea: Learnt few things.. And wil try to apply in coming test.. I am planning to attack Verbal in following way
1st --->>15 questions ---->> 30 mins--->> Main focus on accuracy
Next---->> 15 questions----->> 25 mins--->> manage time and accuracy
last ---->> 11 questions ---->> last 15 mins --->> Lets see, luck is on my side or not..

:arrow: :arrow: Please JEN can u just send some comments on my planning and more improvised way to tackle it.. My target is 650.. Approx how many questions I need to get right and how much Scaled score I need in verbal for that.. Please I also want some extra comments..

Sorry but I am greedy for lot of replies :cry: :cry: So dont just View this post also please reply... I need your support Buddies :P and experts B-)
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by Jen Kedro » Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:15 pm
Hi,

Well, that is certainly a very disciplined study schedule you've created. Honestly, that would probably be a bit TOO much for most people. I generally recommend that people take off 1 day per week, and also not do much the day before the test. The test is as much about being mentally fresh and rested, etc, as it is about anything else, so what you don't want is to be burnt out. Have you ever tried to do a math problem when you are tired/drained/distracted? It's so much harder, then if you come back to that problem when you are rested and fresh, it can seem a lot simpler. So you need to be well rested for your test day, try not to cram or do much the day before.

Also, keep in mind how much time these CATs take--2.5 hours minimum without essays, and we usually recommend setting aside 2-2.5 hours to review each CAT that you take. Plus, as much as doing CATs is super important, as you find on the CATs that you need to focus on certain areas (for example, CR assumption questions)-- it is going to help your skills a lot if you do some practice sessions focused just on that question type. So given all of that, it sounds difficult to near impossible to fit in the number of CATs you mention. I suggest scaling back a bit to ensure you have time to review the ones you do, that you have time for some non-CAT practice, and that you are not setting yourself up for burn-out. You can always add additional work on a given day if you are inspired, but you don't want to get discouraged with yourself if you can't keep that up.

Good luck with your plans!
Jen Kedrowski
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by Divyesh171 » Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:26 am
Thanks a lot Jan for ur reply :D .. I would like that please be my mentor till my GMAT test.. It will be a great help from ur side..

Yeah I know I have set a schedule which a normal man :shock: cant do.. I respect your reply.. I will reduce :P the number of tests and also I wont take any test a day before G B-) Day.. The main point behind having such schedule is Give my mind training under timing conditions during test.. Which I m not able to give while practising questions from books.. I tried to give time bound things but the accuracy comes good in such cases but get worsened during test.. Feels like quetions in test are tougher than what I practise.. Need to remove this feeling.. Today I was able to remove this FEAR FACTOR to some extent..

Today I took a test Princeton review CAT 1.. This was second time I was taking that test..
Scored 650 :D q:51 :P and v:30 :P .. I tried to stay COOL and CALM.. It worked.. But the thing I am concerned is I got 7 to 8 questions repeat from last test in Verbal Section.. Lets hope for positive things ahead..

As u said that test review will take 2 to 3 hours.. what we need to do in that?? Generally I look at only verbal section(The thing that screw me most).. In that too I look at only questions that I got wrong.. Count number of wrong questions and set few minor targets in that section for next test.. This whole process takes about 30 mins MAX :roll: ..
So plz gimme how should I work on analysis of test so that I can expect more score in next test :D ..

Regards
Divyesh :D
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by Divyesh171 » Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:30 am
Sorry :) forgotted to ask one more thing.. Which test should I try to avoid??
I am not trying to de-market :wink: any test.. But I am asking which test will give me really a good screwing :shock: to my mind.. as there as only few days left for my G day..
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by Jen Kedro » Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:18 am
Hiya,

I do understand your concerns, and it's great that you are ready to dedicate so much time and energy to preparing for the exam. However as you said, it'd be good to reduce your goals slightly and focus more on quality of your preparation as opposed to just quantity-- and you can always add on more if you feel like it on particular days.

When you review an exam, you actually need to go through the questions and explanations and learn from your mistakes. So yes, do focus on those that you got wrong, both math and verbal, and review those explanations and see where it was that you went wrong. Was there something, content-wise, that you need to review (math or grammar)? Was there a logic issue? Was it something about figuring out what the question was asking? Try to learn something from every question you got wrong. Some students also like to review the questions and explanations that they got RIGHT, in case there are other approaches to the problem that they weren't aware of, or in case they got it right because they guessed. Finally, keep track of the types of questions and topics that you struggled with the most, so that you know what to focus on (even if it's just keeping a tally of what grammar problems you keep missing, what types of CR questions, what math issue, etc).

As for tests to avoid or drop, the one I am less familiar with on your list would be Peterson's-- I can't say anything specifically negative, but I also have not heard anything positive about their tests from students in my years of teaching, so that is the one I'd be more cautious about. Beyond that, it's not a bad idea to try a few made by different companies.

Good luck!
Jen Kedrowski
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions
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by Divyesh171 » Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:26 am
hello Jen,

Thanks :D for your post..

I am now working on analysis :P .. Realized that I need to revise whateva I have read so far.. Because I do some common mistakes repeatedly :? .. Need to get a bit more grip on concepts :idea: ( specially in SC)..

:arrow: Plan ahead:

OG11th Edi and OG verbal.. I will try to read solutions of all questions..

Re-read some theories from KAPLAN and MG.. Specially for CR and RC..

And last but not the least Keeping myself motivated for G day..

Mock scores are ranging from 580 to 640.. A bit disappointing.. But need to break the barrier of 650.. Dats my target now.. And I think I can break it only thing required is getting 5 to 6 questions right in :evil: VERBAL :twisted: ..

According to you what specific points are required to be kept in MIND :idea: while working with VERBAL.. So that i can get few more questions right.. and reach my target score..

Also the problem I am facing is I curtail down 3 options in verbal and get to down to 2 choice.. After that the story starts.. Cant find the right answer out that two choices... And to add worries to it.. Max time the choice that I fix is wrong.. :cry: What to do for solving this problem??

Regards
Divyesh B-)
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