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kaiweiweiwei
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:08 pm
On Saturday, I took the GMAT and received a 680 (49Q, 34V). I have mixed feelings about my score.
I just wanted to post my story really quick and get some feedback from the group. I started studying for the GMAT 9 months ago in Afghanistan (military deployment). For the most part I focused solely on Quant during my deployment, going through all the MGMAT Quant books. I knew from the start that verbal was my weak area, even though I am a native speaker. For verbal I went through the MGMAT Sentence Correction, Powerscore Critical Reasoning, MGMAT Critical Reasoning, and MGMAT Reading Comprehension. I also went through all verbal videos on GMAT Prep now. I also enrolled in an online Veritas Prep course.
For my practice I used OG13, OG12, OG Quant 2ED, OG Verbal 2ED, and the GMAT Prep Software.
I took at least 15 practice tests. On my final few GMAT Prep practice tests I got a 660, 690, 710. The last test was inflated because I saw duplicate questions. All of my practice scores showed a higher Quant score, with a Verbal raw score between 31-36.
On my GMAT I knew I doing better on Quant because I hit the harder level questions early on. I felt very uneasy about answering the questions on Quant towards the second half of the test, and I guessed on a third of the questions. Verbal was a completely different story. I was mentally exhausted from everything before. Starting from the first question, the words seemed jump around on the screen. I felt as though I guessed on every question. I think that's my problem. I can usually find the correct answer on Verbal, but I cannot tell you why the incorrect answers are incorrect.
Critical Reasoning: I find critical reasoning the most difficult out of all the sections. I read the question, read the passage, found the conclusion, and attacked the answers. However, when I read the answers, 2 to 3 choices seem correct to me. I am not sure if I was just tired or nervous, but I wasted a lot of time re-reading the passages and trying to find specifics that can help me eliminate answers. This wasted a lot of time.
For reading comprehension, I think I just have to read more. I am able to solve the detail and main idea questions well, but inference questions give me the hardest time. One of the passages was incredibly dull and I couldn't comprehend it as well as the others.
Sentence Correction: I tend to rely on my native ear. This gets me into a lot of trouble. I think I need to get better at deciphering the intended meaning of the sentence.
Don't get me wrong, I am very happy about getting a 680, but I know I can do so much better if I just apply myself the right way and correct my bad habits.
I want to retake the GMAT in about 5 weeks. Does anyone have any recommendations or success stories on how I could change my studying habits or study plan? This blog has been an enormous help on my GMAT experience. Any feedback would be helpful
Finally, I give props to all the other members of this site and the experts. You guys rock. Couldn't be in my position now without you guys.
Best,
Gordon
I just wanted to post my story really quick and get some feedback from the group. I started studying for the GMAT 9 months ago in Afghanistan (military deployment). For the most part I focused solely on Quant during my deployment, going through all the MGMAT Quant books. I knew from the start that verbal was my weak area, even though I am a native speaker. For verbal I went through the MGMAT Sentence Correction, Powerscore Critical Reasoning, MGMAT Critical Reasoning, and MGMAT Reading Comprehension. I also went through all verbal videos on GMAT Prep now. I also enrolled in an online Veritas Prep course.
For my practice I used OG13, OG12, OG Quant 2ED, OG Verbal 2ED, and the GMAT Prep Software.
I took at least 15 practice tests. On my final few GMAT Prep practice tests I got a 660, 690, 710. The last test was inflated because I saw duplicate questions. All of my practice scores showed a higher Quant score, with a Verbal raw score between 31-36.
On my GMAT I knew I doing better on Quant because I hit the harder level questions early on. I felt very uneasy about answering the questions on Quant towards the second half of the test, and I guessed on a third of the questions. Verbal was a completely different story. I was mentally exhausted from everything before. Starting from the first question, the words seemed jump around on the screen. I felt as though I guessed on every question. I think that's my problem. I can usually find the correct answer on Verbal, but I cannot tell you why the incorrect answers are incorrect.
Critical Reasoning: I find critical reasoning the most difficult out of all the sections. I read the question, read the passage, found the conclusion, and attacked the answers. However, when I read the answers, 2 to 3 choices seem correct to me. I am not sure if I was just tired or nervous, but I wasted a lot of time re-reading the passages and trying to find specifics that can help me eliminate answers. This wasted a lot of time.
For reading comprehension, I think I just have to read more. I am able to solve the detail and main idea questions well, but inference questions give me the hardest time. One of the passages was incredibly dull and I couldn't comprehend it as well as the others.
Sentence Correction: I tend to rely on my native ear. This gets me into a lot of trouble. I think I need to get better at deciphering the intended meaning of the sentence.
Don't get me wrong, I am very happy about getting a 680, but I know I can do so much better if I just apply myself the right way and correct my bad habits.
I want to retake the GMAT in about 5 weeks. Does anyone have any recommendations or success stories on how I could change my studying habits or study plan? This blog has been an enormous help on my GMAT experience. Any feedback would be helpful
Finally, I give props to all the other members of this site and the experts. You guys rock. Couldn't be in my position now without you guys.
Best,
Gordon
