Speed is of the essence and you better believe it......
So I just completed my first attempt at GPREP and I got 660(Q47, V34), and to say I am surprised would be a lie. I have done two MGMAT exams in both I cheated by stopping the time. I knew the time was going to bite me in the arse, and it did!
But this time I wanted to not even have the option of pausing my time. The interesting thing is that with Maths I really felt I was ALWAYS in control, I looked at the clock every 5-10 questions to see where I was and it was always was close to my goal. (made a bucket loads of silly mistakes but I can fix them and I know how, practice, practice, practice!, the key here is there was not a single question I could not do, I just went too fast and fell into their traps! )
Verbal on the other hand! Holy Cr*&, I could not believe how BADLY(my score of 34 on the other hand is better then I expected) i had done. So I was going through the questions and basically getting it all done, looked at the clock I was moving along well. I was around question 10 with 55 minutes to go so no stress. I was around question 15 and I had 45 minutes still not too bad. Then I was at question 22 and the time said 20 minutes left and I was about to give up and stop the exam.... I did the only thing I could. I tried to catch up. I guessed(some educated, some wild) to try to catchup. Got up to Question 30 with 12 minutes to go. I knew I was screwed. I did next 5 questions in about 7 minutes. and so at question 35 I had 5 minutes to go. I did some more of the guessing game got to question 38. I did the two questions properly and then I looked at the the clock I had 1 minute 30 seconds left and finished the exam in a flurry.
Even though I am disappointed with my timing, I have to admit the adrenaline rush I got trying to finish the exam was amazing.
Reviewing my results in verbal I actually had not made a single mistake till Question 15. From question 22-> 29 which is where i started freaking out. I got 8 wrong with 6 in a row, I couldn't focus on the RC passage and neither could I comprehend it, bloody hard. I see I made some errors between question 30-34 small errors, with correct ones thrown in as well and then after that everywhere I had to guess, I got them wrong.
My exam is currently scheduled for Saturday 25th and i am aiming for 700+ and that looks highly unlikely with my verbal timing so I am rescheduling it and giving myself another 2 or 3 weeks.
I would put myself in the same boat as acerche and would like to know if there is anything else I could or should do aside from practising OG questions in exam mode. (i.e. time myself 2 minutes per RC question and 90 sec per SC question.) Is there anything instructors have seen which works for exam-takers like acerche and myself? How about all you gmat veterans, any comments or pointers?
Cheers,
sumi
