Since my last post i have been regularly looking at mba.com for getting a date in last week of August, but still there are no appointments. If that continues for another week, i will take a date in the first week of September.
Now my current status in prep:-
OG11 - Done except AWA, but its been a while since i completed this.
Kaplan Premier program- I started my prep with this book and completed it.
Kaplan 800- Verbal completed - but again its been more than a month now.
OG verbal Review - Presently doing. Completed SC and CR , RC is left.
Now my goal for the coming weeks is :-
1) Complete OG verbal review in 1-2 days now.
2) Revise OG11
3) Revise Kaplan 800
4) Go through the standard noted like Spidey's notes.
5) Revise some concepts from Manhattan SC.
Tests already taken:-
All kaplan tests - Avg. 0f 650
Powerprep 1 - 730
Tests left:-
GMATPreps , Powerprep2 and Manhattan tests
Confusions:-
One major thing i am worried about is that i haven't touched the AWA section till now. I am planning to go through this sectionjust 15 days before the test and also i don't have much tie to devote to this section. People i need your opinions here that how much time is needed for this section and what all should i do in this section?
Also should i revise OG11 and Kaplan 800 right now or should i revise them when i am more near to the test.
I think the time which i have kept between now and my planned GMAT date - 1 month is sufficient for completing what all is left over. Actually i have kept a month because i will get very less time during the weekdays to prepare because of the hectic work schedule.
Should i do some more material or is the material sufficient? If no, then what can i do for the next 1 month.
Hope to see some very serious suggestions from you people who have already been through this prep. Your suggestion can really help me.
Thanks
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Kaplan GMAT CAT 4 - 660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Gave my last Kaplan test this Sunday afternoon. And that's the only thing i did related to GMAT this weekend. I couldn't study anything this weekend. :(
Anyways, coming to the test, this time i gave the test in the afternoon when i was feeling a bit sleepy to check my alertness levels.
The pattern of questions was pretty much similar to the previous Kaplan tests which i gave.
So coming to the results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant - 4 wrong ( 7, 12 , , )
Verbal - 10 wrong ( 3, 22, 23 , 29, 31, 33 , 36, 38, 40,41)
One thing which went good in this test was verbal. Though the verbal score is essentially same as the previous test's score but what drastically reduced is the number of mistakes in the first 20 questions. There was only 1 single mistake in the first 20 questions and that too was a CR question which i misread. So that was satisfying. Also the total number of mistakes in the verbal section has reduced from the last time. I screwed it up in the last 7 questions though. Actually i also fell short of time in the end. So that is one reason i screwed it up in the last, will have to improve on my speed in the next test.
Now the tests which i am left with are Powerprep2 and both GmatPreps. Although i also have access to Manhattan online tests, i am not sure how useful are they. Anybody has idea about Manhattan test's quality? Are they really worth doing?
Now i also have decide on the actual test date. I was looking for dates between 25th to 30th August but no slot is available at that time. Rechecking daily if some slot gets available. Also these days i am unable to study on the weekdays due to the work load which is really giving me tension now. I am only able to study over the weekend, thus the time devotes for the prep is reducing. I need to figure out some way.
Anyways, coming to the test, this time i gave the test in the afternoon when i was feeling a bit sleepy to check my alertness levels.
The pattern of questions was pretty much similar to the previous Kaplan tests which i gave.
So coming to the results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant - 4 wrong ( 7, 12 , , )
Verbal - 10 wrong ( 3, 22, 23 , 29, 31, 33 , 36, 38, 40,41)
One thing which went good in this test was verbal. Though the verbal score is essentially same as the previous test's score but what drastically reduced is the number of mistakes in the first 20 questions. There was only 1 single mistake in the first 20 questions and that too was a CR question which i misread. So that was satisfying. Also the total number of mistakes in the verbal section has reduced from the last time. I screwed it up in the last 7 questions though. Actually i also fell short of time in the end. So that is one reason i screwed it up in the last, will have to improve on my speed in the next test.
Now the tests which i am left with are Powerprep2 and both GmatPreps. Although i also have access to Manhattan online tests, i am not sure how useful are they. Anybody has idea about Manhattan test's quality? Are they really worth doing?
Now i also have decide on the actual test date. I was looking for dates between 25th to 30th August but no slot is available at that time. Rechecking daily if some slot gets available. Also these days i am unable to study on the weekdays due to the work load which is really giving me tension now. I am only able to study over the weekend, thus the time devotes for the prep is reducing. I need to figure out some way.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
GMAT PowerPrep 1 -- Missed the barrier again
As per my schedule i gave GMAT Powerprep 1 test on Sunday afternoon. So after doing a light breakfast i went to the library to give the test. I just took a coke can with me to drink it while taking the test.
As soon as i started the test, i found that the font of the test was not good and i was experiencing difficulty while reading things sometimes. I think the font size was bigger than usual and also the type of font didn't suit my eyes. I hope the actual GMAT doesn't have this kind of font.
Anyways, started with Quant and as usual it started with some DS questions initially. I was not confident while marking 1-2 questions in the first 10 but overall it seemed fine. I think took a good amount of time while doing the first 10 questions. Thus increased my speed after this. First 10 questions were coming increasing order of difficulty but after 11 there were some very easy questions, which made me wonder if i am doing the questions correctly. The difficulty level of questions again started increasing and i really encountered some good questions. Overall the maths section was of average difficulty level with some good questions. Due to my increased speed i finished the section 8 minutes earlier from the time limit.
While doing the maths section a couple came and sat beside me. They were constantly chatting even in the Quiet Area of the library which was very annoying. I decided to change seat when Quantitative section gets over but in the break i couldn't find any free seat with a slot to plug in my laptop. So just got back to my seat and started the Verbal section :(
Verbal started with first 4 questions of SC in which i was unsure about 1. Then came RS which was okay i think. And then on the 8th question cam bold faced CR, which gave me some confidence. After that at 11th question came my second RC which again was fine. Overall the section was good. I was struggling with speed in the middle but was able to catch up and finished the section with 2 minutes to spare.
As soon as i clicked on the results i was having a feeling that i have done good. And the result was:-
Overall --- 730 ( Quant - 49, V - 40)
Ohh god i screwed my Quant this time, how come, maybe i was very fast and i did some foolish mistakes, i cursed myself for this. Verbal score seemed to be fine.
But again i missed 750 barrier by miles. I have to figure outr how to break this barrier in coming few weeks. But my work schdule these days is so hectic that i only get time on weekends to study.
When i analyzed the test i found that it only showed only those questions which were counted for scoring, rest were ignored in the review which was kind of strange.
Quantitative- 28 questions
incorrect - 7, 19, 20, 25, 26 - Total 5 questions wrong
I think i messed up the score in the last questions , where my speed was high for without any reason. Also i don't think i did that many mistakes that the score should plummet to 49. Again messing up the last questions is the only thing i can think of right now.
Verbal - 30 questions only - 11 were ignored here it seems
incorrect - 4, 13, 16, 18, 20, 27 , 30 - Total 7 questions wrong.
It was again messy in the end. Also 4th question which a SC got wrong. I had a doubt in this one. During analysis i found out powerprep excluded one entire RC ( my third RC) from evaluation. Also one important analysis was that first 7 questions and last 8 questions were taking into account for scoring, so that means starting and ending questions are important.
Break up of mistakes in Verbal - SC- 2, CR - 3, RC - 1
Now i have to take the GMAT date. Planning to take it August end. I want some inputs from my fellow bloggers now, is 1 month enough now for my preparation. Will make a separate for this, analyzing my current levels of prep and things left to be done. Any suggestions are welcome...
As soon as i started the test, i found that the font of the test was not good and i was experiencing difficulty while reading things sometimes. I think the font size was bigger than usual and also the type of font didn't suit my eyes. I hope the actual GMAT doesn't have this kind of font.
Anyways, started with Quant and as usual it started with some DS questions initially. I was not confident while marking 1-2 questions in the first 10 but overall it seemed fine. I think took a good amount of time while doing the first 10 questions. Thus increased my speed after this. First 10 questions were coming increasing order of difficulty but after 11 there were some very easy questions, which made me wonder if i am doing the questions correctly. The difficulty level of questions again started increasing and i really encountered some good questions. Overall the maths section was of average difficulty level with some good questions. Due to my increased speed i finished the section 8 minutes earlier from the time limit.
While doing the maths section a couple came and sat beside me. They were constantly chatting even in the Quiet Area of the library which was very annoying. I decided to change seat when Quantitative section gets over but in the break i couldn't find any free seat with a slot to plug in my laptop. So just got back to my seat and started the Verbal section :(
Verbal started with first 4 questions of SC in which i was unsure about 1. Then came RS which was okay i think. And then on the 8th question cam bold faced CR, which gave me some confidence. After that at 11th question came my second RC which again was fine. Overall the section was good. I was struggling with speed in the middle but was able to catch up and finished the section with 2 minutes to spare.
As soon as i clicked on the results i was having a feeling that i have done good. And the result was:-
Overall --- 730 ( Quant - 49, V - 40)
Ohh god i screwed my Quant this time, how come, maybe i was very fast and i did some foolish mistakes, i cursed myself for this. Verbal score seemed to be fine.
But again i missed 750 barrier by miles. I have to figure outr how to break this barrier in coming few weeks. But my work schdule these days is so hectic that i only get time on weekends to study.
When i analyzed the test i found that it only showed only those questions which were counted for scoring, rest were ignored in the review which was kind of strange.
Quantitative- 28 questions
incorrect - 7, 19, 20, 25, 26 - Total 5 questions wrong
I think i messed up the score in the last questions , where my speed was high for without any reason. Also i don't think i did that many mistakes that the score should plummet to 49. Again messing up the last questions is the only thing i can think of right now.
Verbal - 30 questions only - 11 were ignored here it seems
incorrect - 4, 13, 16, 18, 20, 27 , 30 - Total 7 questions wrong.
It was again messy in the end. Also 4th question which a SC got wrong. I had a doubt in this one. During analysis i found out powerprep excluded one entire RC ( my third RC) from evaluation. Also one important analysis was that first 7 questions and last 8 questions were taking into account for scoring, so that means starting and ending questions are important.
Break up of mistakes in Verbal - SC- 2, CR - 3, RC - 1
Now i have to take the GMAT date. Planning to take it August end. I want some inputs from my fellow bloggers now, is 1 month enough now for my preparation. Will make a separate for this, analyzing my current levels of prep and things left to be done. Any suggestions are welcome...
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Kaplan GMAT Test 3 - , Am i still away from my dream?
I am posting after a very long time now.....Anyways, will put a separate post for what all has been going on in my life, this post is just for the test i wrote today - Kaplan GMAT test 3.
After a long time i wrote a full length GMAT test and chose to write Kaplan CD test. I wrote the test 3 since i have already written first two tests.
Since it was very difficult to give test at home ( can't maintain concentration at home for 3 hours) so i went to library to give the test. It was very quiet. In fact, in the beginning i was feeling very sleepy.
Quant started with an easy question, but after that next 11 questions i got were from DS....and after every question there was an increase in the difficulty level. Anyways Quant went fine overall. I believed i had done well and i just thought that i will only get a few DS questions wrong. I finished the Quantitative section with 8 minutes remaining.
Verbal started with a boom, the first question was a SC and it was very very tough. Somehow answered that after 2 minutes, but i was highly unsure. Second question was a CR and again it was dicey and i lost another 3 minutes here. But after that a few questions seemed fine, which made me believe that i have answered first 2 questions wrong.
I decided not to think about what has happened and instead to concentrate in the present question. Overall the verbal question was difficult., and i was feeling short of time in the end. When i was on 30th question only 16 minutes were remaining. I decided to increase my speed but was stuck with a RC on 34. This time i just read the questions first and took a quick scan of the passage and marked the 3 questions very fast. Now i was on Q37 and time remaining was 4 minutes. But now i was going at good speed and finished Verbal with 1.5 minutes remaining.
So i think my speed was satisfactory.
Results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant :
Wrong - 3 (Q 24, 31, 35)
The first question i maked wrong was Q-24 . So that was good performance i think:)
Also i marked only 1 DS question wrong (Q 35), rest 2 were of PS. So overall this section went good
Verbal:
Right - 29
Wrong - 12 ( Q - 1,2, 14,15,16, 22, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, 40)
As expected i marked first 2 questions wrong :(:(. This proved to be my nemesis.
But thank god i marked next 12 question right else my score would been very scary.
But again 14,15,16 - 3 consecutive questiions wrong - this again was very bad since consecutive mistakes plummets the score faster. And there were some regular alternat mistakes after Q- 29.
Overall i will say if first 2 questions would not have been wrong, i would have done much much better in this test.
Anyways, right now i know i have to practice a lot in order to achieve my dream score and i need to be regular. Also i plan to give 1 more test and then take the GMAT date. Since there are 3 centres where i can give the test ( SFo, San Jose, Oakland) i think i will be able to get the dates for August easily.
Any comments and suggestions from the fellow bloggers who have already taken the GMAT will really help me and are really welcome.
Ok friends till the next one, cya....
Verbal
After a long time i wrote a full length GMAT test and chose to write Kaplan CD test. I wrote the test 3 since i have already written first two tests.
Since it was very difficult to give test at home ( can't maintain concentration at home for 3 hours) so i went to library to give the test. It was very quiet. In fact, in the beginning i was feeling very sleepy.
Quant started with an easy question, but after that next 11 questions i got were from DS....and after every question there was an increase in the difficulty level. Anyways Quant went fine overall. I believed i had done well and i just thought that i will only get a few DS questions wrong. I finished the Quantitative section with 8 minutes remaining.
Verbal started with a boom, the first question was a SC and it was very very tough. Somehow answered that after 2 minutes, but i was highly unsure. Second question was a CR and again it was dicey and i lost another 3 minutes here. But after that a few questions seemed fine, which made me believe that i have answered first 2 questions wrong.
I decided not to think about what has happened and instead to concentrate in the present question. Overall the verbal question was difficult., and i was feeling short of time in the end. When i was on 30th question only 16 minutes were remaining. I decided to increase my speed but was stuck with a RC on 34. This time i just read the questions first and took a quick scan of the passage and marked the 3 questions very fast. Now i was on Q37 and time remaining was 4 minutes. But now i was going at good speed and finished Verbal with 1.5 minutes remaining.
So i think my speed was satisfactory.
Results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant :
Wrong - 3 (Q 24, 31, 35)
The first question i maked wrong was Q-24 . So that was good performance i think:)
Also i marked only 1 DS question wrong (Q 35), rest 2 were of PS. So overall this section went good
Verbal:
Right - 29
Wrong - 12 ( Q - 1,2, 14,15,16, 22, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, 40)
As expected i marked first 2 questions wrong :(:(. This proved to be my nemesis.
But thank god i marked next 12 question right else my score would been very scary.
But again 14,15,16 - 3 consecutive questiions wrong - this again was very bad since consecutive mistakes plummets the score faster. And there were some regular alternat mistakes after Q- 29.
Overall i will say if first 2 questions would not have been wrong, i would have done much much better in this test.
Anyways, right now i know i have to practice a lot in order to achieve my dream score and i need to be regular. Also i plan to give 1 more test and then take the GMAT date. Since there are 3 centres where i can give the test ( SFo, San Jose, Oakland) i think i will be able to get the dates for August easily.
Any comments and suggestions from the fellow bloggers who have already taken the GMAT will really help me and are really welcome.
Ok friends till the next one, cya....
Verbal
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