Yep - got my butt kicked

[uwhusky]

Just got back from the place, and got a lousy 640 (44/34). It was within the range of my expectation, but like many others I had dreamt of some miracle. Well, at least I know where I stand now and back to more studying! Although this is a disappointing result, I am actually quite content that I know exactly where I fell short.

Note to others reading this: don't focus on just one subject and abandon another. I thought I was ready for math with GMATPrep 48/49/50 and MGMAT 49/50/51, and abandoned it to focus completely on verbal. In the end, I could have probably scored 680 or higher with (48/34), but instead I got a lousy 44 in quant.

[Osirus@VeritasPrep]

Don't be discouraged my friend. I took my exam today as well. I felt like you feel now after my first attempt, but today I got a score I am very happy with. Just remained disciplined and it will pay off.

[uwhusky]

Little bit more takeaway from my first test experience:

1. Attacking an argument is so much easier than picking a side and defending it.
2. The lousy writing pad sucks, I made my table into a huge mess and had ink all over my hands.
3. Don't relax during the test because you think you have more time. I slowed down when I should be keeping the same pace.
4. It's not difficult to break the answers down into 3 contenders or even 2, but 50/50 is still leaving too much to chance. Must learn to separate that last two possible answers and understand how GMAT is making it hard to distinguish the two.
5. Don't get caught up on the specific detail of RC! In most cases, it doesn't matter exactly what X did to Y that makes it Z. Because specific detail questions will require another read-thru, and therefore as long as I understand the structure and the main argument, I can move on.
6. Memorize as many darn grammar rules as possible, master them and use them!

Prior to taking the test:

1. I panicked with 3 days left when I realized that I should have kept on reviewing math instead of abandoning it.
2. I have mastered one of the math subjects that I was very weak on, but then I let other topics slide with mediocre understanding of the content.
3. I have been studying GMAT for almost 2 months, but only started writing notes 2 weeks ago. Although flash cards from Beat the GMAT are great, it's still better to write my own.

Last but not least, I will work to master every single topic to the point of being able to recite them. Work on every question in the OG guides until I understand the mistakes of EVERY wrong answers.

GAME ON, GMAT!

[nikhilkatira]

Your quant scores in practice tests suggest you are good at maths...

Can you please share in detail what went wrong in quant?

Also touch upon the level of difficulty in quant ?

Ppl say MGMAT test quant is tougher than actual GMAT test. Your comments would be helpful.

[shalzz9]

Last but not least, I will work to master every single topic to the point of being able to recite them. Work on every question in the OG guides until I understand the mistakes of EVERY wrong answers.

GAME ON, GMAT!

I Like your spirit

Yeah at least you got to see how the real test is and now that you know where u stand its only a matter of walking that distance.

Thank you for the debrief and good luck

[papgust]

Don't worry.. You're definitely on par to score a 700+. Not many people reach 650-odd on first attempt. I'm sure you will.

Good luck!

[kvcpk]

As I see here, Second attempt for you should be a cakewalk.. You can definitely raise your quant score to 49+ which will lift your score by nearly 50 points I believe. Now that you have experience, you can work on your weaknesses to achieve the MILESTONE..

Wishing you all the best!!!

Praveen

[secondinnings]

You'll do well the next time around I am sure. You are good at quant it's just that were out of touch.

In fact I think that's a good lesson for all of us. It's the practice that matters not how good we think we are with a particular part of the exam.

- Can you share with us a little bit about the level of difficulty of the quant questions (OG level, GMAT prep level or higher). If higher, what are areas you feel we should concentrate on?

Thanks!

[uwhusky]

I strongly recommend focusing on Manhattan GMAT's CATs for quant. It is definitely equal or even harder than the real thing. If you can master those CATs, there should be no problem mastering the real thing. I think my problem was that I mastered the memorization of those CATs =).

Word Translation was one of my weaknesses. I hated drawing those columns and they seem to take too much time to answer, and thus I abandon that method and used...well, nothing. Always have a plan for every type of problem, and you should have a list of different types on your flashcard! I can tell you that if you have mastered all the topics in quant, time will not be something you have to worry about. Anytime you see a straight forward math question without variables, you better step on it and solve in 30 seconds or less. This way you have more time to do the harder problems.

Oh one more thing. I had planned to do nothing but OG review for the last 2 weeks prior to the test, but I managed it poorly and only started focusing on OG the last week. In fact, I was still answering OG questions 3 days prior to the test. Ideally, I think I would have performed better if I had another 2 weeks to study the OG.

Always remember that quality should always be consider over quantity. OG is the king of verbal and MGMAT is the queen of quant =).