I just Beat The GMAT!

myohmy wrote:Just wanted to update you guys that I got my official Score Report today and got a 6.0 on my essay!

Like that's a surprise after your scores (and timing) showed that you demolished the Verbal section!!
Good job, anyway.
Your debrief was totally worth the 10 mins read! (OK, so I'm not as fast as you in reading )

Great work! I'm not at all surprised that you scored a 6.0 on the essays - that debrief was wonderfully written, and I was actually engrossed in every little detail. I think it's a tie between yours and the "waging war on the GMAT" post for "best debrief".

I especially like the part about trying to answer questions on this site. Personally, I learned tons the first time I taught a GMAT course. Having to explain things to others really forces you to know what you're talking about!

Let us know when your acceptance arrives!

PS - Like you, I hadn't taken math since high school when I took the GMAT, and we have similar scores. So, all you liberal arts majors out there, take heart! It can be done!

Whoops - realized I hadn't thanked you guys! Thanks so much =)

I knew I nailed argument but honestly, on issue, I felt like my examples were weak and I was trying not to exert so much energy on it so the 6.0 was a surprise to me. I was also surprised on how fast they graded it - in 4 days?? Wow.

VP_Jim, you're right --- to all you liberal arts majors out there, remember that the GMAT quant is not fundamentally difficult. It's tricky, and that's what trips you up. But pretty much all this stuff? You learned it in high school! I *hate* math and obviously, I didn't ever expect that a 50 or 51 were within my grasp, and a 48 was more than good enough for me.

Relearning the math works for some people but honestly, if you're not a math person? Learn the shortcuts. Plug in the answers, plug in numbers for DS, POE anything that's way out of range, almost ALL GMAT questions can be solved this way. If the algebraic solutions come easily to you, go for it, but if not, don't waste time trying to relearn them -- 99% of the time there is a way to do it that requires way less variables and much more simple arithmetic (which, by the way, I had to review -- I had forgotten how to carryover in subtraction-by-hand!!).

Thanks again to everyone at BTG -- I couldn't have done it without you!

congratulation. that was a excellant debrief. I am fired up after reading it. thanks.

good luck

Thank you, ST!

wow I just read your debrief and I have to say you are pretty Awesome!

Also as a liberal arts major myself...you have struck a cord with me

CONGRATS!

Thank you so much ssmiles08! We liberal arts majors have to stick together among all these quant jocks!

I got a couple PMs about math and RC strategies and thought I'd post them here in case anyone found them helpful. It's pretty general info but it worked for me.

RC
I think with long RCs its really easy to get lost in all the words and the best thing to do is just read for the main idea. Don't get caught up trying to remember all the facts, just get a picture in your head of what the main idea is. Go back and look at the details if you have a question that asks for it, but don't stress about it otherwise. Also remember the main idea is usually (but not always) in the first or last paragraph.

NEVER answer an RC question unless you can find direct support for it in the passage. Every answer is there, you just need to find it. Almost always, extreme answer choices are incorrect, so eliminate them. Remember that your answer *must* be true from the given information in the passage.

If the question does contain a specific reference (with line number) go back and reread that sentence, as well as the sentence preceding and the sentence following it. This should be enough to give you a good idea of the content/tone/overall message of that sentence.

Math Shortcuts
What I focused on, primarily, was POE and plugging in. I knew learning the algebra again would be difficult, so I simply focused on eliminating things that were definitely out of scope and ballparking where the answer "should" be.

It worked well for me to copy out some of the info for the problem on the thing - something about the act of writing often triggered some answer possibilities for me. Obviously not the whole problem, but x>y, x+2y=7, etc.

Memorizing squares/percentages/etc is GREAT and will definitely save you time, so definitely do that. Also remember some of those strategies for group problems (Total= A + B + Neither - Both) and summation.

Basically, though, I plugged in wherever I could and plugged in the answers whenever possible. I *rarely* played with the variables as that made me more likely to make a mistake. Always plug in using easy numbers like 1 and 2.


Hope it helps!

Wow ! Superb debriefing !

Absolutely feel-good post ! Loved reading it

Many many congratulations !!

Thank you, syr!

What an inspirational story! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Congrats !
I just love reading your experience , and trust me it has given the boost to many GMATTERS .
beating the GMAT is truely wonderful experinec and one day i will do so .

Thank you AceofSpades and barira1! I really appreciate it.

Can you pls share your strategy on SC questions?

Thx