760 (Q 50, V 42)

[gmat.skore.760]

Finally its over !!! and how... :)

This is one exam that DOES test your nerves, no matter where you are coming from...

I am writing this post primarily to contribute towards manhattangmat's online community that helped me so much. I was not enrolled with manhattangmat, but was a frequent visitor to the forums. I would like to thank all the instructors (Stacey, Dan, Ron...[please forgive me for not mentioning all the names]), whose prompt and invaluable posts answering student's queries were extremely helpful in my GMAT preparation.

This is perhaps the only forum that I came across , where I could find "reliable" information towards the various aspects of GMAT. Yes, there are several other online communities some may say, but in my experience nothing compares to this one. I express gratitude towards manhattangmat for making there forums publicly available.

As for my prep summary, here it goes:

BOOKS:

VERBAL
1) OG 11 (read: BIBLE)
2) OG verbal supplement (Yes, this is different from OG11. You may not need it though if you have OG 10)
3) Kaplan book --- moderately useful
4) Princeton book --- not really-moderately useful
5) manhattan book for grammer
6) How to read faster and better --- Norman Lewis ( YES, this helped !!!! -- increasing your reading speed may work wonders for you on the RCs of the real test, and in general for your confidence on the test. Some may say that the RCs of GMAt are NOT meant to be read VERY FAST, to which I don't disagree. BUT, what if you are REALLY REALLY in a BAD time crunch --- sound familiar, er, like in GMAT verbal section --- you NEED to have the confidence that if need be, you CAN accelerate in no time in skimming through your good friends, the RCs. )


QUANT
1) Kaplan book --- pretty good coverage of the theory/concepts with solved eg
2) OG 11 --- definitely do the last 50 problems of both PS and DS ( I didn't and was sweating after seeing some questions 2 days before the actual test !!! Thankfully it didn't hurt me eventually, as I am fairly good at quant, but had my quant gone bad, I would have blamed it on this mistake )

SOFTWARE:

1) Powerprep (More important, and vast, than you may think)

I took it 5 times, and my scores were
PP1: 750
PP2: 740
PP3: 760
PP4: 710
PP5: 780

Though some questions do get repeated, attempting the test several times is rather helpful. If you have 2 computers, you may install it on both of them to further reduce the repeat of questions.

2) Kaplan - GMAT

Took 3 tests, and the scores were

Kaplan 1: 600
Kaplan 2: 580
Kaplan 3: 600

A rather dismal performance I guess compared to the 5 Powerprep tests, and the actual performance (760). I stopped attempting Kaplan after realizing that I didn't agree ( and I feel for good reason) with some of their explanations for CR. Also, I was unwilling to accept that while I am scoring very highly on the powerprep, I would score like 600 on Kaplan.

GOOD thing about doing Kaplan tests: Gives you a fairly good feel of the harrowing experience the test (read: verbal section) can (and often does for mere mortals !!!) become. My advise, don't do kaplan tests till you have your concepts right, done say 50% of OG11 (verbal), feel good about your reading speed and have a good handle on the CR.

You do need to realize that GMAT is not only about accuracy, but (ah..almost don't feel like using ALSO, now that the test is over...how bad is that attitude !!!) also about about SPEED AND NERVES (both -- speed and accuracy --- HEAVILY interrelated). It is one thing to be able to successfully solve a given question in the normal course of GMAT preparation, and a TOTALLY different thing to solve the SAME question in the SAME amount of time with the SAME result (ie, correctly !!!) under actual test conditions. There in comes the use of kaplan tests. If you are feeling enormous time pressure while attempting the regular power prep, refrain from attempting Kaplan tests. If you are okie (and I mean say scoring atleast 700+) on powerprep, in terms of accuracy AND speed, then go for the kaplan tests; mainly to check your nerves and accuracy (oh, can I use the semi-colon here...don't care no more...more bad attitude...!!!). Don't worry too much about the score on Kaplan tests I'd say, rather, see how much were you able to attempt, acurately, and with confidence.

3) Kaplan -- LSAT RCs

I am telling you, RCs can single handedly destroy you confidence, focus and momentum on the test. If you are struggling with even the RCs you see on powerprep -- GET WORRIED, AND, DO SOMETHING ABT IT -- ASAP. You CANNOT improve on RCs in a few days, or even a 1 week. YOU NEED the confidence that will be with you when you are starting a 5 para RC on the actual test with just 18 mins and say 12 questions remaining. Try testing yourself in such situations, and I won't be surprised to know if most people do find themselves in such tough spots. Thats what the exam is actually all about --- NERVES. Anyone can read up grammar and use logic and read passages and solve a few problems. Can you do it consistently, for a duration of around 3 hours, with full focus --- that for me is the real challenge of the GMAT.

I feel that attempting LSAT RCs did help. They can tell you how bad things can be on an RC, and how you can slip and make a blunder out of your RC if you DON'T have the confidence to read (read: ABSORB) an entire RC in a SINGLE read.

I guess I have said too much already. Would be not be surprised if 99 percentile of the reader didn't reach till this line.

One last thing --- sorry 3 last things --- IDIOMS, IDIOMS AND IDIOMS

Don't need to know ALL of them. The one's suggested by Manhattan's grammer book are usually sufficient. LOOKOUT for all idiom questions in OGs (plural) and make sure you know them AND THEIR USAGE.

Finally, more important than covering a lot of material, have a solid handle on whatever you do cover. There is a lot of gravity associated with the previous statement. After all my powerpreps, I used to make sure I know ALL the questions on the test PROPERLY. There, the manhattan forums were a GOD SEND. For most the very intricate and confusing, and sometimes unreasonable, SC problems, I could find elaborate posts BY THE MGMAT staff. The fact that I could REALLY trust what they had to say, took my understanding (and confidence, which is sometimes more important on the real test) to a whole new level. Do use the invaluable posts and discussions on the MGMAT forum to maximum advantage.

I guess I have written enough. Given that I am not competing for a 6/6 on the AWA, I guess I should put my pen down now. Thanks again to MGMAT, and best of luck to GMAT aspirants ( er, would future aspirants be considered WORDY & REDUNDANT on the GMAT....don't care no more....ahh, more bad attitude !!! :) )










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