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MeddlingKid
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:38 am
Hey everybody, I just joined the forum today, and wanted to say I'm looking forward to working with everybody so we can conquer the GMAT. Last week, I picked up the OG 11, OG Verbal Review, OG Math Review, and PR Cracking the GMAT. I was using the PR book mostly for its general strategies (POE on Data Sufficiency, Plugging in, etc.) but only doing practice problems from the Official Guide. So far I have gone through the medium difficulty problems on both Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency, but have not yet attemped the difficult problems. I have not started on any of the verbal sections either.
I went into the office yesterday to attempt my first online practice test. I decided to try the PR CAT 1 test, since it was free with the book I purchased. I have heard these tests tend to inflate score slightly, but thought it'd be good practice. My score wasn't exactly what I was hoping for (620; 36Q; 40V) but I still have 8 weeks to prepare before my scheduled test date. With that said, I have confidence I can really boos that verbal score up, as I haven't started preparing yet and still did okay. But, the math section is worrying me a little.
Last night I went over to Barnes and Noble with the intention of picking up the Manhattan Math books. But, the price ($40 for each of the two books) helped me decide to do my research first. Which leads me to the questions I have for those of you who have more experience with the study materials than I do:
1. Which books are the best to get those difficult math problems down pat? Again, I haven't practiced the difficult ones yet, but I'm still wondering which book teaches the best techniques. The PR has some decent short cuts, but those aren't very effective for the difficult problems. After all, I have to be a bit suspect when they're recommending I never choose certain letter responses for difficult problems, since that's what the "average" test taker would do. Will simply going through the OG 11, OG Math Review, and maybe the Kaplan 800 get me toward mastering this section? I'm wondering if it's less about technique and more about exposure to many many different types of difficult problems.
2. I can guess it's recommended to take as many practice tests as possible before the exam. However, are there certain companies to avoid? I've heard PR are easier than the actual GMAT, Kaplan are harder, and the others fall somewhere in between. Ideally, I would like to take about 6-8 practice tests before sitting for the real thing.
Thanks everybody, and again, I'm looking forward to hearing everybody's good news as your test scores start rolling in!
I went into the office yesterday to attempt my first online practice test. I decided to try the PR CAT 1 test, since it was free with the book I purchased. I have heard these tests tend to inflate score slightly, but thought it'd be good practice. My score wasn't exactly what I was hoping for (620; 36Q; 40V) but I still have 8 weeks to prepare before my scheduled test date. With that said, I have confidence I can really boos that verbal score up, as I haven't started preparing yet and still did okay. But, the math section is worrying me a little.
Last night I went over to Barnes and Noble with the intention of picking up the Manhattan Math books. But, the price ($40 for each of the two books) helped me decide to do my research first. Which leads me to the questions I have for those of you who have more experience with the study materials than I do:
1. Which books are the best to get those difficult math problems down pat? Again, I haven't practiced the difficult ones yet, but I'm still wondering which book teaches the best techniques. The PR has some decent short cuts, but those aren't very effective for the difficult problems. After all, I have to be a bit suspect when they're recommending I never choose certain letter responses for difficult problems, since that's what the "average" test taker would do. Will simply going through the OG 11, OG Math Review, and maybe the Kaplan 800 get me toward mastering this section? I'm wondering if it's less about technique and more about exposure to many many different types of difficult problems.
2. I can guess it's recommended to take as many practice tests as possible before the exam. However, are there certain companies to avoid? I've heard PR are easier than the actual GMAT, Kaplan are harder, and the others fall somewhere in between. Ideally, I would like to take about 6-8 practice tests before sitting for the real thing.
Thanks everybody, and again, I'm looking forward to hearing everybody's good news as your test scores start rolling in!
