I just Beat The GMAT!

Bschool2013 wrote:I posted this in another thread:

"IMO, quant is the area where it's easier to make big strides.

I highly recommend going to www.gmathacks.com, reading the study strategy articles, then buying his total GMAT Math book and go through it cover to cover. I give a lot of credit to this book for me pulling down a 49Q."

My final score was a 700 (49Q, 35V) I got a 44Q on my first attempt. If you can make the same gains I did in Q, you should be able to land in the 680 range.

DanaJ wrote:The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

For that, you need to use the books you have. You mentioned the Manhattan series - that's a good one. It should cover what you need to score a 680. You're not doing too bad either, but you need to get a bit better and score higher, get some of the tougher problems right. I strongly recommend that you keep an error log, create flashcards and REALLY understand why an answer is wrong and why another one is right, especially in OG problems.

It seems to me you should devote equal amounts of time to both quant and verbal, given your current raw score split.

DanaJ wrote:The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

For CR: there is always an answer that fits perfectly, don't settle for one that 'seems' to work, because there is always one that will work.

For RC, read for structure, not content. When I found I couldn't concentrate on the passage because of the content, I would force myself to take notes on the passage.

yesman238 wrote:

DanaJ wrote:The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

I agree with Dana. From all your (sputnik's) previous posts, I get the feeling you are too caught up with the prep test scores. Just take them out from your mind completely for now.

Having said that, if I read your post correctly, you are confident with quant and SC. If that's the case, then here's what I have to say about RC and CR. I posted this in another earlier post

For CR: there is always an answer that fits perfectly, don't settle for one that 'seems' to work, because there is always one that will work.

For RC, read for structure, not content. When I found I couldn't concentrate on the passage because of the content, I would force myself to take notes on the passage.

I'll elaborate a little more:
I find that to really improve in CR and RC you really have to take it slow. Especially for CR, It is absolutely important to get the logic and concepts correct. Really, really take the time to understand each question and why each option is either correct or wrong. Whenever you get a question wrong or you are at all unsure, go back and review the questions again. Look over each option and write down why it's correct or wrong. Like I said, there is always one answer that will fit perfectly. You just have to train your mind to see things like the test writers.

For RC, again, read for structure. Practice knowing which details to skip and which ones to focus one. I would focus more on the transitions that they use to piece together the entire passage, rather than be bogged down with the details of the passage - you can always refer back to them later.

Good luck. No matter what, don't give up. Hopefully with the tutor you will have more personalized help.

I got one question left. In general, as I said, my timing is pretty good, I'am spending 2:30 for a question at the maximum before I move on. And this thing really only happens to me at PS questions. But here's the thing: when I'm calculating something and I'm done and my answer does not appear to be one of the answers given, what do I do?
I know, I know, I have to guess, but how can I make an educated guess if: 1. my answer is not even close to one of the answers given and 2. I'm passed those 2 minutes 30 seconds - should I just take a random answer?
Because, as I reflect my test experience, that might have happened a couple of times.
Unfortunately, none of the books I have provide me with good knowledge about this whole guessing topic.

DanaJ wrote:Ahh I see now... Well maybe it's time to use the three verbal books from Manhattan instead of the Kaplan Premier one. I personally prefer those. Or maybe you're affected by test day stress? That could also partially explain why you scored lower on the real deal compared to practice tests.

Yeah the thing is, I understand your need for a detailed plan, but we can't help beyond the 60 day study guide. You're probably doing the right thing by going to see a tutor, maybe he can figure out where you're going wrong.

sputnik93 wrote:

DanaJ wrote:
One more thing:
About a week ago, I read this featured article on Beat the GMAT about this whole "get the first couple questions right" issue. The article basically told me to get rid of this idea that I had about the first couple of questions being more important than the later ones.
Well, today my tutor told me that the article was wrong and showed me in the latest MBA Center book "Total Prepkit for the GMAT" that I should spend way more time on the first few questions, than on the last.
Now I am a little confused :/

The problem with spending a disproportionate amount of time on the first few questions is that you might not get to see the last few questions. If you end the Q section by guessing on 4 or 5 straight questions, your score is going to take a hit and negate getting the first few write.

If you can't solve it in two minutes, chances are you don't know how to do the problem, and the only worse than getting a question wrong after spending two minutes on it is spending four or five minutes and getting it wrong.

Bschool2013 wrote:

sputnik93 wrote:

DanaJ wrote:
One more thing:
About a week ago, I read this featured article on Beat the GMAT about this whole "get the first couple questions right" issue. The article basically told me to get rid of this idea that I had about the first couple of questions being more important than the later ones.
Well, today my tutor told me that the article was wrong and showed me in the latest MBA Center book "Total Prepkit for the GMAT" that I should spend way more time on the first few questions, than on the last.
Now I am a little confused :/

The problem with spending a disproportionate amount of time on the first few questions is that you might not get to see the last few questions. If you end the Q section by guessing on 4 or 5 straight questions, your score is going to take a hit and negate getting the first few write.

If you can't solve it in two minutes, chances are you don't know how to do the problem, and the only worse than getting a question wrong after spending two minutes on it is spending four or five minutes and getting it wrong.

yeah, but do you think it's still correct, that the first couple questions "count more" than the last ones?

sputnik93 wrote:
yeah, but do you think it's still correct, that the first couple questions "count more" than the last ones?