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Gurpinder
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 659
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You guys are probably wondering what "H" stands for in the title of this post, well "Horrible".
Just took the GMAT today (Sept 21, 2010).
Got a 590. 37Q,35V
Reflections about the test:
Wow, I dont really know what to say other than this sucks!
There were alot of word problems such as age, mixture, speed, rate. Focus on these problems types. Make sure you know your algebra inside out to help you formulate equations on the go to answer these questions. Strong algebra skill is very important on these question types.
I had 2 probability questions. They were easy. One was about a dice and one was about a bag of marbles. The typical stuff; I am sure anyone can get those right!
There were also few (5-7) number properties questions. And other typical number properties questions dealing with positive, negative, fractions, etc. Just know your rules and you should be fine!
Know your geometry as well. I think I had about 5 questions that dealt with x-plane and triangles. I guess if not everything, make sure you know the formulas for area, perimeter, circumference, etc. The basic stuff!
Other than that, there were some general VIC problems. I have 2 tips for you guys for these questions:
(1) If the answer choices also have variables in it, PLUG-IN NUMBERS and get a target value! Don't spend your precious time guessing numbers.
(2) If the questions asks for the value of X, PLUG-IN the answer choices for x and see which one works out.
These two tips will help you go through majority of the VIC problems.
In terms of verbal, I don't really know what to say! Know your Idioms. Know the rules. There cant really be surprises if you know the rules.
I didn't get a single science passage for RC. They were history/sociology passages; which I am used to as my undergrad degree is in Law.
For CR, I think I had 2 strengthen, 2 weaken, 1 Bold and maybe 2 inference questions. So just practice them! Practice your technique of approaching them! This is the best way you can prepare for them. And don't practice the approach in your head, DO IT!!!!
From what I can recall, I think I had fewer SC than CR.
Maybe about 8-10 SC
4 - RC (one of them was 4 huge paragraphs)
10-12 CR
Difficulty level of the questions:
The difficulty of the questions were similar to the questions from the GmatPrep Test!
In terms of OG, I would say if you have the time DO ALL the questions. The reason for this is
(1) You get to work on your areas where you make silly mistakes like 6*3=16. Its 18!
(2) You can never replicate the actual test. Therefore I think the best preparation is to familiarize yourself and practice against all the different types of questions the GMAT can through at you or has thrown at others (OG - they are retired questions).
However, if you absolutely cannot do ALL the questions, the difficulty of the GMAT questions would match the last 50% of the questions from OG for Quant and SC Verbal. CR and RC are pretty much the same. There is really no trick if you know the types of CR questions. RC is just straightforward. Read the newspaper. It helps not only to update yourself with whats happening around you but you can also use these "news" stories to aid your essay's in the AWA section.
Reflection on practice exams:
So far, GMATPREP has the best accuracy.
I have used Princeton tests. They are merely good for pacing rather than testing. Princeton places too much emphasis on their first 10 questions. That is not how the GMAT works, I think!
MGMAT tests are harder in quant. However, its a good practice to practice fighting against the clock, while you can:P.
My Next Step:
I am sure no one is interested in reading this, but I will attempt the GMAT again!
As someone once said, "There is a first time and a next time. This; next time."
Being a strong god believer, I am sure he has something sizzling planned for me. So no worries, I'll just try again. =) =)
I'll keep this post updated with the progress/failures.
Even though things didn't go well, I would like to thank some of the best members and wonderful people on this forum who have been a great help: reply2spg, uwhusky, selango, beatthegmatinsept, debmalya_dutta, gmatmachoman, missrochelle. Sorry if I missed anybody!
Also, thanks to all experts! You are all awesome!
____
By the way, if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer! Just post or PM =)
Just took the GMAT today (Sept 21, 2010).
Got a 590. 37Q,35V
Reflections about the test:
Wow, I dont really know what to say other than this sucks!
There were alot of word problems such as age, mixture, speed, rate. Focus on these problems types. Make sure you know your algebra inside out to help you formulate equations on the go to answer these questions. Strong algebra skill is very important on these question types.
I had 2 probability questions. They were easy. One was about a dice and one was about a bag of marbles. The typical stuff; I am sure anyone can get those right!
There were also few (5-7) number properties questions. And other typical number properties questions dealing with positive, negative, fractions, etc. Just know your rules and you should be fine!
Know your geometry as well. I think I had about 5 questions that dealt with x-plane and triangles. I guess if not everything, make sure you know the formulas for area, perimeter, circumference, etc. The basic stuff!
Other than that, there were some general VIC problems. I have 2 tips for you guys for these questions:
(1) If the answer choices also have variables in it, PLUG-IN NUMBERS and get a target value! Don't spend your precious time guessing numbers.
(2) If the questions asks for the value of X, PLUG-IN the answer choices for x and see which one works out.
These two tips will help you go through majority of the VIC problems.
In terms of verbal, I don't really know what to say! Know your Idioms. Know the rules. There cant really be surprises if you know the rules.
I didn't get a single science passage for RC. They were history/sociology passages; which I am used to as my undergrad degree is in Law.
For CR, I think I had 2 strengthen, 2 weaken, 1 Bold and maybe 2 inference questions. So just practice them! Practice your technique of approaching them! This is the best way you can prepare for them. And don't practice the approach in your head, DO IT!!!!
From what I can recall, I think I had fewer SC than CR.
Maybe about 8-10 SC
4 - RC (one of them was 4 huge paragraphs)
10-12 CR
Difficulty level of the questions:
The difficulty of the questions were similar to the questions from the GmatPrep Test!
In terms of OG, I would say if you have the time DO ALL the questions. The reason for this is
(1) You get to work on your areas where you make silly mistakes like 6*3=16. Its 18!
(2) You can never replicate the actual test. Therefore I think the best preparation is to familiarize yourself and practice against all the different types of questions the GMAT can through at you or has thrown at others (OG - they are retired questions).
However, if you absolutely cannot do ALL the questions, the difficulty of the GMAT questions would match the last 50% of the questions from OG for Quant and SC Verbal. CR and RC are pretty much the same. There is really no trick if you know the types of CR questions. RC is just straightforward. Read the newspaper. It helps not only to update yourself with whats happening around you but you can also use these "news" stories to aid your essay's in the AWA section.
Reflection on practice exams:
So far, GMATPREP has the best accuracy.
I have used Princeton tests. They are merely good for pacing rather than testing. Princeton places too much emphasis on their first 10 questions. That is not how the GMAT works, I think!
MGMAT tests are harder in quant. However, its a good practice to practice fighting against the clock, while you can:P.
My Next Step:
I am sure no one is interested in reading this, but I will attempt the GMAT again!
As someone once said, "There is a first time and a next time. This; next time."
Being a strong god believer, I am sure he has something sizzling planned for me. So no worries, I'll just try again. =) =)
I'll keep this post updated with the progress/failures.
Even though things didn't go well, I would like to thank some of the best members and wonderful people on this forum who have been a great help: reply2spg, uwhusky, selango, beatthegmatinsept, debmalya_dutta, gmatmachoman, missrochelle. Sorry if I missed anybody!
Also, thanks to all experts! You are all awesome!
____
By the way, if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to answer! Just post or PM =)
Last edited by Gurpinder on Wed Sep 22, 2010 7:04 am, edited 6 times in total.
"Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress."
- Alfred A. Montapert, Philosopher.
- Alfred A. Montapert, Philosopher.
