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yesman238
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:33 pm
- Thanked: 10 times
- GMAT Score:760
Dear Friends of BtG,
Many thanks to everyone in the forums, and all the contributors to this site (of course to Eric for founding the site).
I just wanted to quickly share my thoughts on the GMAT with any and all who are still studying for it. Keep trying your best, the GMAT is a test that can be learned with time. Don't give up. The resources here have been so helpful in my own preparation, so I would suggest looking around the forums, etc, and see how others have done it and how you can best adapt it to your own learning style, strengths and weaknesses.
I'll share briefly my experience with the GMAT. Take whatever seems to make sense, and discard anything that wouldn't seem to work for you. I'll add my timeline at the bottom for those who might be interested. But 2 main tips, if you will, for those still preparing:
1. Keep your own review sheet. As you study, refer to all the resources available: the OG, flashcards, any books that you have, any cheat sheet that people have posted, just keep doing as many different questions as you possibly can. They don't have to be in a CAT test setting, or in any structured setting, even doing the free once-a-week questions, or the like, can be helpful to identify weaknesses. The key thing is to make your own review sheet. Take down notes on information that is new, or principles that you seem to miss. For example, I would write down things like how to determine the number of integer factors in a number, or some rules of exponents that don't come naturally to me. Or for verbal, write down things like 'less .. than', not 'less .. as compared to'. Each time you start studying, review this sheet first, so that you are constantly drilling the information into your brain. This helps with accuracy and speed because you'll be able to recognize what the question is asking more quickly.
2. Don't give up. Seriously, the GMAT is so principle-based, that it really can be learned. As you'll note later, I started prepping for the LSAT halfway between my GMAT preparation, and took the LSAT. Compared to the LSAT, the GMAT is much easier to prepare for, because 1+1 cannot equal anything except 2. Keep trying! The principles can be drilled into your mind. It is possible.
Nov 2011 - Decided to try the GMAT. Started studying. First ever GMATPrep Test, taken cold: 700
Dec 2011 - Thought I would take it this month, went through the OG Quant Review and Verbal Review books. Took the MGMAT, PR GMAT CAT tests, hovered around the 690-720 range. I then decided to try for the LSAT, so I put aside GMAT prep for a while.
Jan 2012 - LSAT prep.
Feb 2012 - LSAT prep and test. Restarted GMAT prep, going through the OG books again, reading up on tips online, downloading flashcards, and then also taking CAT tests, this time hovering around 730-760.
*After taking the LSAT, I realized that my verbal score improved drastically. CR and RC problems became quite easy, when compared to the LSAT, at least for me. (For those interested, you might want to take a few LSAT books on CR and RC. The LSAT books seemed to prepare me really well for these specific question types. Some say that this might hurt more than it would help, which I can see as true as well.)
Mar 2012 - Final preparations. I retook a GMATPrep test the day before my test, and purposefully rushed through it, came out with a 710. That tempered my expectations and kept me humble, which I think helped in the overall test taking (more psychological than anything else.) Really, very pleased to see the final score of 760 appear on the screen.
Thanks again to everyone, and best of luck to those who are still studying!
(Edit: Mistyped the years in the timeline. Thanks for pointing this out, Mozhi87!)
Many thanks to everyone in the forums, and all the contributors to this site (of course to Eric for founding the site).
I just wanted to quickly share my thoughts on the GMAT with any and all who are still studying for it. Keep trying your best, the GMAT is a test that can be learned with time. Don't give up. The resources here have been so helpful in my own preparation, so I would suggest looking around the forums, etc, and see how others have done it and how you can best adapt it to your own learning style, strengths and weaknesses.
I'll share briefly my experience with the GMAT. Take whatever seems to make sense, and discard anything that wouldn't seem to work for you. I'll add my timeline at the bottom for those who might be interested. But 2 main tips, if you will, for those still preparing:
1. Keep your own review sheet. As you study, refer to all the resources available: the OG, flashcards, any books that you have, any cheat sheet that people have posted, just keep doing as many different questions as you possibly can. They don't have to be in a CAT test setting, or in any structured setting, even doing the free once-a-week questions, or the like, can be helpful to identify weaknesses. The key thing is to make your own review sheet. Take down notes on information that is new, or principles that you seem to miss. For example, I would write down things like how to determine the number of integer factors in a number, or some rules of exponents that don't come naturally to me. Or for verbal, write down things like 'less .. than', not 'less .. as compared to'. Each time you start studying, review this sheet first, so that you are constantly drilling the information into your brain. This helps with accuracy and speed because you'll be able to recognize what the question is asking more quickly.
2. Don't give up. Seriously, the GMAT is so principle-based, that it really can be learned. As you'll note later, I started prepping for the LSAT halfway between my GMAT preparation, and took the LSAT. Compared to the LSAT, the GMAT is much easier to prepare for, because 1+1 cannot equal anything except 2. Keep trying! The principles can be drilled into your mind. It is possible.
Nov 2011 - Decided to try the GMAT. Started studying. First ever GMATPrep Test, taken cold: 700
Dec 2011 - Thought I would take it this month, went through the OG Quant Review and Verbal Review books. Took the MGMAT, PR GMAT CAT tests, hovered around the 690-720 range. I then decided to try for the LSAT, so I put aside GMAT prep for a while.
Jan 2012 - LSAT prep.
Feb 2012 - LSAT prep and test. Restarted GMAT prep, going through the OG books again, reading up on tips online, downloading flashcards, and then also taking CAT tests, this time hovering around 730-760.
*After taking the LSAT, I realized that my verbal score improved drastically. CR and RC problems became quite easy, when compared to the LSAT, at least for me. (For those interested, you might want to take a few LSAT books on CR and RC. The LSAT books seemed to prepare me really well for these specific question types. Some say that this might hurt more than it would help, which I can see as true as well.)
Mar 2012 - Final preparations. I retook a GMATPrep test the day before my test, and purposefully rushed through it, came out with a 710. That tempered my expectations and kept me humble, which I think helped in the overall test taking (more psychological than anything else.) Really, very pleased to see the final score of 760 appear on the screen.
Thanks again to everyone, and best of luck to those who are still studying!
(Edit: Mistyped the years in the timeline. Thanks for pointing this out, Mozhi87!)
Last edited by yesman238 on Thu Mar 15, 2012 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
