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soccerstar
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:48 am
Hi there
I have been toying with the idea of an MBA for a couple of years now, so I finally decided to put in the effort and take the gmat. My current work schedule can be very hectic and I do not get much free time to study. But I figured I would give it my best shot, and know that I did all I could before taking the exam.
I took my first MGMAT CAT test on the 4th Jan 2015, and I scored 420 (Q19 V27). I decided that I needed to go back to the basics and give myself plenty of prep time. I brought the MGMAT 10 book series, the Kaplan Premier 2015 edition and follow the Magoosh 6 month study plan inc. the purchase of their premium account.
During the exam; one issue I found was that my timing was awful, I ended up guessing a total of 17 questions because I started to run out of time. I dd not really have good knowledge of short cuts and ended up taking the long way round to work out questions. But nevertheless, I decided to set aside time for myself and try it out.
After 6 weeks, I have completed the Arithmetic, fractions, percentages, ratios and integer properties from the quant section. Plus I have completed Parts of speech, intro to verb form, all the critical reasoning and the AWA modules from the verbal section. Through the Magoosh videos and practice questions.
I started an error log, and put more focus on the questions that I found difficult. Using the Magoosh practice questions, I found I had mixed results. Getting an average 50% of the Quant questions correct, and around 60% of the verbal questions.
I have taken another two practice tests since 1st Jan 2014 and I have detailed my experiences below:
2/15/2015 - 500 (Q32, V27) - still not great but glad to see an improvement. My timing again was not very good, as I ended guessing the last 7 quantitative questions. Again, I knew that I needed that to make sure that I was comfortable with the questions that I had covered, but I had not covered quite a few of the topics asked so I was not feeling too dejected. The verbal section did not really see much improvement so I need to make sure that I spend more time getting the CR questions correct. In the practice questions, I have been doing very well on the CR questions with the SC and RC questions bringing down my average. While I was going through the practice SC problems I do still struggle with some the questions, but I know I will get better with time and practice.
2/28/2015-420- (Q23, V24)- I was devastated when this popped up at the end of my exam. I went back through my answers, and I saw that I made so many basic errors. This was extremely disappointing. I do not really have much to say but I think that I will repeat the information learned in "Week 6" because I do not want to move on until I am better at the sections that I have covered in Quant and Verbal. The first set of questions in verbal was based on an RC passage. It took me 15 minutes to get through this and I was on the back foot from question 4. This lead to me again, rushing and making alot of basic mistakes.
Sorry for the long post - I just hope that I can continue to show the same signs of improvement like I did within the first 5 weeks, and keep going from there.
Any additional advice would be great?
I have been toying with the idea of an MBA for a couple of years now, so I finally decided to put in the effort and take the gmat. My current work schedule can be very hectic and I do not get much free time to study. But I figured I would give it my best shot, and know that I did all I could before taking the exam.
I took my first MGMAT CAT test on the 4th Jan 2015, and I scored 420 (Q19 V27). I decided that I needed to go back to the basics and give myself plenty of prep time. I brought the MGMAT 10 book series, the Kaplan Premier 2015 edition and follow the Magoosh 6 month study plan inc. the purchase of their premium account.
During the exam; one issue I found was that my timing was awful, I ended up guessing a total of 17 questions because I started to run out of time. I dd not really have good knowledge of short cuts and ended up taking the long way round to work out questions. But nevertheless, I decided to set aside time for myself and try it out.
After 6 weeks, I have completed the Arithmetic, fractions, percentages, ratios and integer properties from the quant section. Plus I have completed Parts of speech, intro to verb form, all the critical reasoning and the AWA modules from the verbal section. Through the Magoosh videos and practice questions.
I started an error log, and put more focus on the questions that I found difficult. Using the Magoosh practice questions, I found I had mixed results. Getting an average 50% of the Quant questions correct, and around 60% of the verbal questions.
I have taken another two practice tests since 1st Jan 2014 and I have detailed my experiences below:
2/15/2015 - 500 (Q32, V27) - still not great but glad to see an improvement. My timing again was not very good, as I ended guessing the last 7 quantitative questions. Again, I knew that I needed that to make sure that I was comfortable with the questions that I had covered, but I had not covered quite a few of the topics asked so I was not feeling too dejected. The verbal section did not really see much improvement so I need to make sure that I spend more time getting the CR questions correct. In the practice questions, I have been doing very well on the CR questions with the SC and RC questions bringing down my average. While I was going through the practice SC problems I do still struggle with some the questions, but I know I will get better with time and practice.
2/28/2015-420- (Q23, V24)- I was devastated when this popped up at the end of my exam. I went back through my answers, and I saw that I made so many basic errors. This was extremely disappointing. I do not really have much to say but I think that I will repeat the information learned in "Week 6" because I do not want to move on until I am better at the sections that I have covered in Quant and Verbal. The first set of questions in verbal was based on an RC passage. It took me 15 minutes to get through this and I was on the back foot from question 4. This lead to me again, rushing and making alot of basic mistakes.
Sorry for the long post - I just hope that I can continue to show the same signs of improvement like I did within the first 5 weeks, and keep going from there.
Any additional advice would be great?
),
