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gtvisa2002
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:02 pm
- Thanked: 2 times
- GMAT Score:730
As you can see from the joining date in my profile, I have been trying to beat this monster for nearly four years now. One of my friends was/were (I don't have to worry about this anymore haha... you can pick whatever you would like lol) pulling my legs saying, if I had joined in a MBA program when I started preparing for GMAT, by this time I would have not only completed the course but also paid all the tuition fee loans. As funny as it sounds, it is heart wrenching. I have the complete story of my first two attempts here https://www.beatthegmat.com/640-q47-v30- ... tml#275891
People here suggested going through LSAT materials, as I needed to improve CR and RC skills. I am glad I listened to them. I was having issues in evaluating my progress and took the help here https://www.beatthegmat.com/lsat-cr-and- ... tml#297793
Finally things were getting better and after completing 20 LSAT tests, one test each week (except logical games section) I could feel the improvement. LSAT content is totally different at least with respect to CR. But I used these tests to practice my strategy (details are below).
As this forum has all the general ideas and strategies, I am just going to write about verbal .
What I did different this time to improve my Verbal score:
1. During earlier attempts I read all the materials and practiced many CATs. But what I didn't do is, apply what I learnt. That is, reading MGMAT SC guide 10 times will not help you unless you put them to work when you face a SC question. As many people here, I too thought memorizing the grammatical concepts will improve my score. Yes it will, but only if you apply them.
2. Whether it be (I am sure this sentence would sound incorrect to you as I am writing "be" after whether) CR or DS, don't just jump into the answers/statements without realizing what you have and what you are expected to do. I knew how to weaken an argument by theory. But never bothered to stop and think whether the question I have is actually a weaken question.
3. Whatever the subject or scenario in CRs, the skeleton is the same. When you strip it down to the very basic structure, there are only handful of concepts GMAC uses. I was amazed to see how I could identify and come up with correct answers. LSAT helped me here as I needed new material to put my strategy to work.
4. I am sure writing a totally unrelated test and reviewing it for four days and continuing the same routine for 20 weeks is not an interesting task. But if you think of this activity as a means to achieving your goal/paying your dues, you will make peace with it.
5. I thought writing road maps wasn't necessary because it is time consuming. As LSAT RC's are really huge and very specific about individual words, I realized how important the roadmap is. You don't have to write down your ideas as long as you have it in your mind. After reading a passage I will identify the following
a. Topic and scope
b. Main idea
c. Primary purpose
d. Tone
e. Whether author adds his/her idea or just describes something
f. Individual paragraph contents and relation between one another
These points will help you a lot, believe me. Don't move forward otherwise.
Test Day:
It was business as usual. Nothing was different except my back pain. The chair wasn't very comfortable and half way through my AWA Issue essay, I just couldn't continue. So I had to take extended breaks. I lost 2 minutes and 3 seconds in my Quants and 18 seconds in verbal section. Good thing is, I didn't worry about losing time as I was feeling better.
Don't give up. Concentrate on the right strategies that work for you.
As GMAT is out of my way, I need to start things such as TOEFL, School visits and other parts. My plan is to clear out all the other stuff by end of May and concentrate only on Essays after that.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I will be happy to help.
Thank you.
People here suggested going through LSAT materials, as I needed to improve CR and RC skills. I am glad I listened to them. I was having issues in evaluating my progress and took the help here https://www.beatthegmat.com/lsat-cr-and- ... tml#297793
Finally things were getting better and after completing 20 LSAT tests, one test each week (except logical games section) I could feel the improvement. LSAT content is totally different at least with respect to CR. But I used these tests to practice my strategy (details are below).
As this forum has all the general ideas and strategies, I am just going to write about verbal .
What I did different this time to improve my Verbal score:
1. During earlier attempts I read all the materials and practiced many CATs. But what I didn't do is, apply what I learnt. That is, reading MGMAT SC guide 10 times will not help you unless you put them to work when you face a SC question. As many people here, I too thought memorizing the grammatical concepts will improve my score. Yes it will, but only if you apply them.
2. Whether it be (I am sure this sentence would sound incorrect to you as I am writing "be" after whether) CR or DS, don't just jump into the answers/statements without realizing what you have and what you are expected to do. I knew how to weaken an argument by theory. But never bothered to stop and think whether the question I have is actually a weaken question.
3. Whatever the subject or scenario in CRs, the skeleton is the same. When you strip it down to the very basic structure, there are only handful of concepts GMAC uses. I was amazed to see how I could identify and come up with correct answers. LSAT helped me here as I needed new material to put my strategy to work.
4. I am sure writing a totally unrelated test and reviewing it for four days and continuing the same routine for 20 weeks is not an interesting task. But if you think of this activity as a means to achieving your goal/paying your dues, you will make peace with it.
5. I thought writing road maps wasn't necessary because it is time consuming. As LSAT RC's are really huge and very specific about individual words, I realized how important the roadmap is. You don't have to write down your ideas as long as you have it in your mind. After reading a passage I will identify the following
a. Topic and scope
b. Main idea
c. Primary purpose
d. Tone
e. Whether author adds his/her idea or just describes something
f. Individual paragraph contents and relation between one another
These points will help you a lot, believe me. Don't move forward otherwise.
Test Day:
It was business as usual. Nothing was different except my back pain. The chair wasn't very comfortable and half way through my AWA Issue essay, I just couldn't continue. So I had to take extended breaks. I lost 2 minutes and 3 seconds in my Quants and 18 seconds in verbal section. Good thing is, I didn't worry about losing time as I was feeling better.
Don't give up. Concentrate on the right strategies that work for you.
As GMAT is out of my way, I need to start things such as TOEFL, School visits and other parts. My plan is to clear out all the other stuff by end of May and concentrate only on Essays after that.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I will be happy to help.
Thank you.
