Camila,
YOu inspire me by the email your wrote. The fact you have 2 kids under 2, plus have the language barrier, and still are tryign to write the GMAT, talks a lot about your spirit, your determination, and your passion.

I am a strong believer that when you put your mind to something, and want something truly with all your heart, the whole universe around you comes together, as if conspiring to make what you watn happen .....

I will pray to god that the same happens for you buddy. Your dream does indeed come true....Making the decision is the biggest battle, the rest is mechanics, as far as I am concerned you have won half th ebattle already, the remaining thru practise, focus, and practise again, I am sure you will win over time.....

If I can help in any way possible at any time let me know, it will be a pleasure to help you,
Take care,
-ngufo

Hi,

I am amazed at the kind of effort u r still putting in advising lot of people ...have no clue for GMAT...AM GOING THROUGH THIS BLOG...luckily saw yours as well...will u be my mentor....have not studied now for almost 7 yrs...my strength Quant & my weakness Verbal...target is to maximise Quant if possible get 100% & smartly attempt Verbal...

As a first step - have started doing Maths/Verbal/DS 20 questions from today along with the watch...have been able to do it once only...need to develop a discipline ...

Current status on the OG 11-
Quant 21- 40 16 min all correct
DS 16-35 11 mon 4 wrong all careless mistake

I wish if u can carry your good work of advising people as I dont wish to waste my time going through all the blogs - wish you best for your future

Hi Kulmohan,
Looks like you are very strong in Maths (which is good). However in GMAT, I believe verbal has more weightage than Maths. When applying to schools, they woudl prefer a balanced score. So if you got a (52Q, 27V - 720), versus a (49Q, 41V - 720), the second score would be preffered . I would recommend putting in a lot of effort to up your verbal score on the side.

When I started studying, I did not use Official Guide straight off. I practised with Princeton and Kaplan until I thought i was ready, and then went to OG (as it is the closest on what comes in the real exam). If you are weak in an area, I would sincerly suggest usign the other books, so tht you can get enough practise. However you are the best judge, and should make the final call.

Finally you are absolutely right, need to be discipliend and put consistent effort for a few months. do write a diagnostics test so that you can figure out what is your score right now - so that you have a target to work towards. (As mentioned in my blog - do make as many flash cards as possible)

Hopefully the above helps. All in all, a lot of practise, and making sure that you revise all your mistakes is the key to taming the GMAT. Am very sure you will reach your goal successfully.

all the best,
-ngufo

Thanks for the reply -

I have been through this blog & seen your replies to lot of people - is an amazing effort (saying this at the cost of repeating myself, as this is simply unbelievable)

I sincerely believe through my personal experience that proper guidance makes a lot of difference especially in terms of saving time

Am taking your advice

Will continue with OG for Quant & DI, as I dont think that I need any theoritical preparation for that. Please refer some tough material for Quant & DS

However, as per your advice, will start with Princeton & Kaplan for Verbal

Will write a diagnostic as well

Thanks
Kulmohan

That sounds great Kulmohan. The Kaplan questions are considered fairly hard (for both Quant/Verbal), I believe Manhattan gmat tests are fairly hard, and should give you good practise, adn finally GMAT 800 is considered to be a very very tough book (I found it too difficult to do) - that you should probably save for the very end!

you already know about the GMAT pre tests, and Power Prep tests (links available in my post), that you should write at the end of your prep, to see how good you are scoring (they are most representatvie of what you willg et in the GMAT).

Lots of flashcards too along the way - will be veyr useful (do download the flash cards that Eric has uploaded - the link is available in my post.

Most of all - all the best, the road is a little uphill, but once you get the momentum, you will be at the peak before you know it

-ngufo

Wow, what a great and inspiring post ngufo, thanks a ton!
Congrats on the great score and hope all your dreams come true especially the one to go to Harvard.

I'm in the process of starting my prep and looking around for books and strategies and your post has helped me a lot. My email is [email protected], please do email me the Princeton soft copy and what ever relevant material you have, thanks a lot.

I have the similar problem of retention as you had and am weak at both quantitative (hate it) and verbal. Though I feel more comfy with verbal, I don't do well in it mostly. PLus my concentration really sucks! (haven't studied in like ages). Gonna work at it lols. I think the seriousness of this hasn't sunk in till I get the books and/or take a test date and start studying.

I intend on following your strategy and hope to do well, God willing.

thanks

wish you all the best rusty - just sent you the princeton soft copy via email (apologize for the delay)

You are just starting out, but doing all the right things, very sure everything will turn out well, keep the faith, adn put in the hard work

Take care,
-ngufo

Thanks ngufo. I was trying several things, and couldn't update you earlier. I have an update of the progress made so far...and few questions in indigo

RC:
# I am ignoring extreme words in answer choices. This mistake, I can improve on easily.
# For author's attitude, I must read the 1st para and the last 2 sentences of each para to be sure of the answer choice. I am getting better, just need more practice.
# If I have concluded from logical reasoning that one particular answer choice is wrong, I should stick to it. (i.e. even if it seems the best of the lot, it has to be incorrect becuase of logic error. I have to find a better alternative)
# As I am skimming the passage, I MUST give extra time for question stems like these:
* Each of the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT
* According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT
* Which of the following would most strongly indicate an imminent change in X
Any tips from you on these specific question types?

CR:
Is improving slowly. However, there is a lag on my part. I have not mastered strategy specific to question types. I forget my strategies! So just need to practice more. I am able to answer those weaken question which attack the conclusion properly. However, I am having trouble with those that attack the premise, as I dismiss them as out of scope. What do you think I should do for them?

SC:
Your point is well taken (On 2/3). Currently, I am focusing on idioms as well. I will practice the 2/3 techniques, and idioms together, and that should help me out.

GMAT date...took it for July 12th! I got 710 in practice gmatprep 1, and I am hoping to improve in a month. It is my 2nd attempt on the Gmat test prep. The first time I got 680, but I did not review any questions because I wanted to keep all questions new when I retake it. I will retake it a 3rd time after two weeks.

Wow, it is such an inspiring post. Thank you so much !!!!

I am not a native-English speaker, which scares me anytime it comes to verbal part. I have 2 more months to prepare and try to study for it.

What I want is to get in the master program at my school right now and the requirement is 50 percentile, which is an easy goal for many people. But of course, everyone would like to make impression and a higher GMAT score would be nice and would help me feel better to finish my last undergrad semester and get ready for one more year of graduate courses.

Thanks for all of your tips, suggestions, and determination, which help a lot of anyone who is going to write the GMAT.

Hi,
I dropped a note to your email ID could you please reply.

Dennis - I've responded to your email. Hope it helps!

REgards,
-ngufo

Hi Ngufo

Everytime I give a practice test, I am not able to cross 35 sectional score in verbal...
I have being trying to analyze my mistakes, but they are so varied. It would be difficult to cross 700 mark if I can not make my verbal sectional score up, and I need your advice on that..thanks.

Sorry for the delay kiskopata (am caught up on some urgent office related work this week ) will make sure I give a detailed reply this weekend.

-ngufo

Hi ngufo,

Its really very very inspiring to see your post.It has really boosted my confidence.Also its really very very appreciable to see the help you are providing to everybody.....Its simply unbeleivable....The confidence that you have provided to many of the them.....its simply great...!!!!!!

I am a Indian IT male with 25 years of age.Am planning to have my MBA in 2009 but have a tough task to have my scores ready before Sept(two months remaining )

So need your tips on how I need to proceed ahead and have my plans accordingly....

Do I need to only concentrate on OG as I have less time??
Please do take your time but do reply on how I need to have my strategy.....

Presently I am studying Manhattan SC and solving questions provided at the end of the chapter..but my accuracy is damn low.
Also I am not looking at the time aspect right now.

I have not touched RC section even now and am worried about that too as my Comprehension skills are not very good...

Regarding my Maths..,I was good at it at my school and college level but have never touched it again since last 3 years..

So please suggest me
1) how I need to have my strategy for each section considering the less time 2 months that I have...
2) Suggest me good material for starting with Quants

Also do mail me soft copies of useful material,Princeton you have at my email id
[email protected],[email protected]

Appreciate your quick help.

Thanking a lottttttttt,
Sunny

ngufo wrote:Sorry for the delay kiskopata (am caught up on some urgent office related work this week ) will make sure I give a detailed reply this weekend.

ngufo

Kudos to your thread ngufo
I believe, you deserve greater rights/authority in beatthegmat.com for your contribution to the forum! let me know if you're interested.

I again & again wonder how you get so much energy and magic to not just answer the post but also inspire all your readers!