Finally i got my Official Score Report yesterday and they seem to like my writing skills :)
I managed to score 5.5 in AWA. Though i know that it just translates to 83% but personally for me, its more than enough. I hardly prepared for this section in last 2-3 days only and only practiced 1-2 essays. Also i don't think that my writing skills are that great, so i felt good on seeing 5.5
Now at least, everything which could be done from GMAT side for my apps has been done, now starts the actual game of apps when i start writing the essays.
Will keep you all updated. Also coming soon, my prep schedule and my D-Day experience.
Showing posts with label GMAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMAT. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
GMAT Rocked......it's my day....barrier broken :)
Finally, I am done with GMAT....
I scored 770 ( Q -50, V- 45)
This is exactly the score i scored in GMATPrep two days ago after re-installing it.
I was so happy when i saw the score that i didn't know how to react......months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes.....i am so very happy that the hard work has finally paid off :):)
Believe me guys, the feeling has still not sunk in.....
I was a boy who used to read so many GMAT success stories and used to think if i will be able to get that kind of a score.......yup i did believe in myself all the time...
Just a month back, life seemed to be so dull, i felt like i was doing nothing and losing on my dreams.....but after this the whole world looks to be brighter...
Ive Leagues - here comes Achilles ;)
P.S. I really want to thank all of you fellow bloggers who were of so much support during my preps.
Also thanks to all my roommates Saurabh, Sachin and Sanket for supporting and helping me throughout my preps. You guys deserve a special mention here. Thanks
Righty - Thanks for all the support and thanks for always being there always.
I scored 770 ( Q -50, V- 45)
This is exactly the score i scored in GMATPrep two days ago after re-installing it.
I was so happy when i saw the score that i didn't know how to react......months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes.....i am so very happy that the hard work has finally paid off :):)
Believe me guys, the feeling has still not sunk in.....
I was a boy who used to read so many GMAT success stories and used to think if i will be able to get that kind of a score.......yup i did believe in myself all the time...
Just a month back, life seemed to be so dull, i felt like i was doing nothing and losing on my dreams.....but after this the whole world looks to be brighter...
Ive Leagues - here comes Achilles ;)
P.S. I really want to thank all of you fellow bloggers who were of so much support during my preps.
Also thanks to all my roommates Saurabh, Sachin and Sanket for supporting and helping me throughout my preps. You guys deserve a special mention here. Thanks
Righty - Thanks for all the support and thanks for always being there always.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
4 days to go...
Now its just 4 days to go for my GMAT and i have started feeling bored with my preps. I have essentially slowed down this week and didn't study much.
Because of my bad SC performance in the last test i practiced SC from Kaplan 800. The reason i am getting low accuracy in SC is that i am trying to through them. I am marking SC questions very fast and many time i don't even go through all the choices, so that's one of the reasons that i am screwing up this section.
Didn't practice any other section much this week till now.
For the coming days, i will just revise my mistakes in various material i have done till now, give one full length test over the weekend, study AWA and go through Quant concepts. That's it.
Also one more imp thing i will start from tomorrow, waking up at 6 AM in the morning from tomorrow till the D-Day at least :) . I have my test appointment scheduled at 8:00 AM in the morning and haven't practiced a single test at that time. So for the coming days, i will at least try to wake up early and do some practice questions during the test time, just to get some confidence and practice. I usually sleep very late in the night and usually get up at 7:15 in the morning for office, but from today will try to sleep a little early and wake up at 6:00 AM in the morning. :)
I will be taking leave from office for Monday and Tuesday.
Just to reduce my anxiety levels and to relax i am also planning to go for a movie over the weekend.
Lets see, how i manage time during these 4 days.
Because of my bad SC performance in the last test i practiced SC from Kaplan 800. The reason i am getting low accuracy in SC is that i am trying to through them. I am marking SC questions very fast and many time i don't even go through all the choices, so that's one of the reasons that i am screwing up this section.
Didn't practice any other section much this week till now.
For the coming days, i will just revise my mistakes in various material i have done till now, give one full length test over the weekend, study AWA and go through Quant concepts. That's it.
Also one more imp thing i will start from tomorrow, waking up at 6 AM in the morning from tomorrow till the D-Day at least :) . I have my test appointment scheduled at 8:00 AM in the morning and haven't practiced a single test at that time. So for the coming days, i will at least try to wake up early and do some practice questions during the test time, just to get some confidence and practice. I usually sleep very late in the night and usually get up at 7:15 in the morning for office, but from today will try to sleep a little early and wake up at 6:00 AM in the morning. :)
I will be taking leave from office for Monday and Tuesday.
Just to reduce my anxiety levels and to relax i am also planning to go for a movie over the weekend.
Lets see, how i manage time during these 4 days.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Penultimate test...
So finally i gave my penultimate test -- GMATPrep2 ,and its still 1 week left for my GMAT....but believe me i really need this remaining time.
Though i scored ok on this test, but i scored my worst accuracy in SC--> 53% and i m really worried about it now. While giving the test i didn't expect my SC accuracy to be so down. I scored a 100% accuracy in CR but they were not of GMAT level, they seemed to be below that.
Though i scored 750(Q-50, V-41) in the test, i got 11 questions wrong in Verbal.
Questions wrong:- 7, 15, 16, 18, 22, 26, 29, 33, 37, 38, 39
SC wrong :- 8/17
So after all the preps i got my lowest accuracy in SC till now :( ....i have to put a strategy in place for next 1 week to improve in SC and also i need some more practice in CR.
Maths:- Though i scored 50 today but i made 7 mistakes, which was very disappointing. Though many of them were foolish but committing foolish mistakes at this stage is the last thing i want.
I am planning to revise Kaplan 800 in the coming week and also revise some of my concepts from Manhattan. Also i will analyze all my mistakes done in Verbal.
AWA: Though i have prepared the format of the essays but i haven't done much practice here, so need to practice more to gain some confidence in this section.
Coming week is really going to be very long for me......
Though i scored ok on this test, but i scored my worst accuracy in SC--> 53% and i m really worried about it now. While giving the test i didn't expect my SC accuracy to be so down. I scored a 100% accuracy in CR but they were not of GMAT level, they seemed to be below that.
Though i scored 750(Q-50, V-41) in the test, i got 11 questions wrong in Verbal.
Questions wrong:- 7, 15, 16, 18, 22, 26, 29, 33, 37, 38, 39
SC wrong :- 8/17
So after all the preps i got my lowest accuracy in SC till now :( ....i have to put a strategy in place for next 1 week to improve in SC and also i need some more practice in CR.
Maths:- Though i scored 50 today but i made 7 mistakes, which was very disappointing. Though many of them were foolish but committing foolish mistakes at this stage is the last thing i want.
I am planning to revise Kaplan 800 in the coming week and also revise some of my concepts from Manhattan. Also i will analyze all my mistakes done in Verbal.
AWA: Though i have prepared the format of the essays but i haven't done much practice here, so need to practice more to gain some confidence in this section.
Coming week is really going to be very long for me......
Saturday, August 11, 2007
GMATPrep 1 - And I've hit the barrier again
Today was the day when i had planned to give my GMATprep1 practice test and i have been waiting for this day throughout this week.
I woke up at 9 AM and reached library at 10, the time when it opens on Saturday morning. I looked for a quiet place and soon started the test. Started with AWA for the first time, just though about a few points and wrote down but didn't actually write it the way i should write on the D day.
Started with the Quant section and encountered 8th question as a probability question which was kind of tough. I wasted some time on this one and then marked(guessed) it to proceed to the next question. Overall Maths section was of good difficulty level, with some very good questions coming in between and some of the questions really took time. Also i had to attend an imp phone call in between this section and thus ended up wasting 2-3 minutes of test time, the importance of which i realised in the last minutes of this section.
Now when i reached question 28 there were only 12 minutes left. God...i took so much time for the first time in this section. Also initially i was rechecking my answers for each question which again wasted some of the time.....this is somewhat similar to what happens with people on the actual test day. But then i speeded up and completed this section just on time. I had to guess 2 questions due to lack of time which ultimately went wrong.
Now started verbal and it started with an easy CR. But the second question was a SC which as kind of tough. And soon started RC's and all. I came across 4 RC's but one thing different was that most of the passages were small, they were not very large...was i lucky in this test??
Finally finished this section with 2 minutes to spare. Clicked on results. Somehow, I didn't have good feeling and expected the score to be around 700 only, but.....
750 ( Q- 49, V- 42) --- Godd i am so happy for today!!
Questions wrong:-
Q- 3, 8, 24, 28, 33, 36 ----6 questions wrong. But the 3 rd question is wrong in the test strangely ....i made all my friends solve this question and they found the same answer as i marked but GMATprep shows a different answer which certainly is wrong. Has anybody encountered such a situation?
V- 2,4,14, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33, 34, 36
But now the bad part---
I screwed quant badly - fell short of time for last 10 questions and also scored 49 :(:( .....i cannot afford to go below 50 in Maths on the D-Day ....now this test has made me believe that at least there is no chance for me to score 51 in Q on the D- Day. I have to practice this section more to have any chance of scoring 51 on D- Day assuming that the difficult level on the real test is same as that of GMATprep. What say people??
Verbal though the score seems good but i made 10 mistakes and out of those 5 were SC's.
Breakup of mistakes:-
SC- 5/16 ---- just 68.75% accuracy :(
RC - 2/14
CR- 3/11
So my SC accuracy in this test was really pathetic :( . I have to revise all my concepts again and practice more in this area.
Also one other thing i am worried about is i was not at all confident when i was clicking on results that i will be able to hit this much, that means i was not confident of questions i marked which is also true.
Anyways, the only thing i can do right now is to keep the focus and practice more. Also still AWA is pending...... Now i am just 2 weeks away from D-Day. And believe me if i am able hit this score in real, i will be so very happy!!
Will be giving my GMATprep2 test next week and keep you all updated about my prep. Also may be will need help of you people, as i approach near the real test.
I woke up at 9 AM and reached library at 10, the time when it opens on Saturday morning. I looked for a quiet place and soon started the test. Started with AWA for the first time, just though about a few points and wrote down but didn't actually write it the way i should write on the D day.
Started with the Quant section and encountered 8th question as a probability question which was kind of tough. I wasted some time on this one and then marked(guessed) it to proceed to the next question. Overall Maths section was of good difficulty level, with some very good questions coming in between and some of the questions really took time. Also i had to attend an imp phone call in between this section and thus ended up wasting 2-3 minutes of test time, the importance of which i realised in the last minutes of this section.
Now when i reached question 28 there were only 12 minutes left. God...i took so much time for the first time in this section. Also initially i was rechecking my answers for each question which again wasted some of the time.....this is somewhat similar to what happens with people on the actual test day. But then i speeded up and completed this section just on time. I had to guess 2 questions due to lack of time which ultimately went wrong.
Now started verbal and it started with an easy CR. But the second question was a SC which as kind of tough. And soon started RC's and all. I came across 4 RC's but one thing different was that most of the passages were small, they were not very large...was i lucky in this test??
Finally finished this section with 2 minutes to spare. Clicked on results. Somehow, I didn't have good feeling and expected the score to be around 700 only, but.....
750 ( Q- 49, V- 42) --- Godd i am so happy for today!!
Questions wrong:-
Q- 3, 8, 24, 28, 33, 36 ----6 questions wrong. But the 3 rd question is wrong in the test strangely ....i made all my friends solve this question and they found the same answer as i marked but GMATprep shows a different answer which certainly is wrong. Has anybody encountered such a situation?
V- 2,4,14, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33, 34, 36
But now the bad part---
I screwed quant badly - fell short of time for last 10 questions and also scored 49 :(:( .....i cannot afford to go below 50 in Maths on the D-Day ....now this test has made me believe that at least there is no chance for me to score 51 in Q on the D- Day. I have to practice this section more to have any chance of scoring 51 on D- Day assuming that the difficult level on the real test is same as that of GMATprep. What say people??
Verbal though the score seems good but i made 10 mistakes and out of those 5 were SC's.
Breakup of mistakes:-
SC- 5/16 ---- just 68.75% accuracy :(
RC - 2/14
CR- 3/11
So my SC accuracy in this test was really pathetic :( . I have to revise all my concepts again and practice more in this area.
Also one other thing i am worried about is i was not at all confident when i was clicking on results that i will be able to hit this much, that means i was not confident of questions i marked which is also true.
Anyways, the only thing i can do right now is to keep the focus and practice more. Also still AWA is pending...... Now i am just 2 weeks away from D-Day. And believe me if i am able hit this score in real, i will be so very happy!!
Will be giving my GMATprep2 test next week and keep you all updated about my prep. Also may be will need help of you people, as i approach near the real test.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Gmat < 3 weeks to go - Updates and Doubts
Due to the work pressure this week, i am unable to concentrate on my prep this week. I have been leaving for office at 7:30 in the morning this week and coming back late. So, when i sit to study in the late evening, i feel so sleepy that i am unable to concentrate :( :( . Its just 3 weeks left for my GMAT and this work pressure is killing me.
Anyways, i started with 1000 SC collection this week and complete dome 80 of them with just 80% accuracy. I have some serious doubts in some of the questions and some of the answers seems to be wrong. What's the opinion of other people who have tried their hands on 1000 SC collection? How can i can get their explanations or maybe the correct answers at least. If the authenticity of answers is not proven for these, i really don't want to waste my time on these questions.
Also the only other thing i have been doing this week is OG revision. Also completed reading AWA Analysis of Argument section from OG, but i haven't prepared the format of my response till now and i am yet to practice with any of the essays.
I know i am lagging behind in my preps and somehow i have to manage both my work( i have a project deadline on September 3) and my preps till August 28, though my personal life is already running out of my control. I have stopped responding to calls of so many people these days, i am sure they are going to kill me when they see me next time :(
I have to gather and focus all my energy on my preps and work for the coming weeks. Please God give me strength :)
Anyways, i started with 1000 SC collection this week and complete dome 80 of them with just 80% accuracy. I have some serious doubts in some of the questions and some of the answers seems to be wrong. What's the opinion of other people who have tried their hands on 1000 SC collection? How can i can get their explanations or maybe the correct answers at least. If the authenticity of answers is not proven for these, i really don't want to waste my time on these questions.
Also the only other thing i have been doing this week is OG revision. Also completed reading AWA Analysis of Argument section from OG, but i haven't prepared the format of my response till now and i am yet to practice with any of the essays.
I know i am lagging behind in my preps and somehow i have to manage both my work( i have a project deadline on September 3) and my preps till August 28, though my personal life is already running out of my control. I have stopped responding to calls of so many people these days, i am sure they are going to kill me when they see me next time :(
I have to gather and focus all my energy on my preps and work for the coming weeks. Please God give me strength :)
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Powerprep 2 - Broke the barrier :)
Today God really wanted me to give a bday gift and see he has given it :) , i just broke the barrier which i have been thinking to break for so long. Yup i have hit 750.
Scores in Powerprep2 :-
Overall - 750 ( Q-50, V-41)
It was a very nice feeling when i looked at the score.
Quant section:- ( 1 Question wrong) - completed with 10 minutes to spare
The section seemed very easy, i don't know why, though there were some tricky questions here and there. But overall the level was easy.
And i got just one question wrong here - Q27 :( and that too was a foolish mistake. Due to this i missed hitting 51 in Maths.
Verbal Section:- Completed with 14 minutes to spare.
It was of average difficulty level, but this time i saw some of the question which i had already seen somewhere :( . So that also questions the validity of these scores since i had already seen some of the questions. I think other people also experience the same with Powerprep.
Questions wrong :- ( 6 questions wrong - 1 less than the less time.)
2, 9, 12, 17, 21, 23
Breakup :-
1- SC :)
3- RC
2- CR
I am really happy that i decided top give the test today on my birthday :) and managed to hit a good score also. Though there were some seen questions but i am happy that atleast once i have broken the barrier.
The race has started and i have started running atleast :).
The next test is going to be GMAT Prep1
Scores in Powerprep2 :-
Overall - 750 ( Q-50, V-41)
It was a very nice feeling when i looked at the score.
Quant section:- ( 1 Question wrong) - completed with 10 minutes to spare
The section seemed very easy, i don't know why, though there were some tricky questions here and there. But overall the level was easy.
And i got just one question wrong here - Q27 :( and that too was a foolish mistake. Due to this i missed hitting 51 in Maths.
Verbal Section:- Completed with 14 minutes to spare.
It was of average difficulty level, but this time i saw some of the question which i had already seen somewhere :( . So that also questions the validity of these scores since i had already seen some of the questions. I think other people also experience the same with Powerprep.
Questions wrong :- ( 6 questions wrong - 1 less than the less time.)
2, 9, 12, 17, 21, 23
Breakup :-
1- SC :)
3- RC
2- CR
I am really happy that i decided top give the test today on my birthday :) and managed to hit a good score also. Though there were some seen questions but i am happy that atleast once i have broken the barrier.
The race has started and i have started running atleast :).
The next test is going to be GMAT Prep1
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
GMAT Prep continues....
This week is going on well at least for my preps. I was able to complete the OG Verbal Review book today.
And my accuracy levels have improved in CR and RC from what they were in when i was doing OG.
In SC, though initially i was performing very well but towards the end i somehow managed to screw it up and ended up with less than 80% accuracy(78%) :( :( . Though one reason for this is that i was very tired up in SC towards the end but since I wanted to complete it so I stretched myself a bit. But whatever maybe the reason i have to concentrate on my SC again now.
I have started with OG second round now. Started with SC :) , I did first 100 questions and i had a very decent accuracy (89%) till now. I will start with CR and RC revision also by this weekend.
Now the missing parts, i haven't practiced Quant section since last 20 days, except the tests which i have been giving over the weekends. So i will have to gear myself up for quant right now.
I have to ensure that i hit 50 in Quant in the actual test. Though i have not been worrying about Quant till now, because on all the Kaplan tests i have been hitting 50 easily, though in the Powerprep 1 test my score fell down to 49. But in actual test i cannot afford that. Also i have heard that these days Quant section has some very tough questions coming up so have to gear for that.
Planning to revise the basics first from OG and then complete OG Maths again, i think that should give me the required practice.
Second thing which is missing in my prep now is the AWA section which i haven't started. Now i will have to start with this section tomorrow for sure. It's high time now. I have to practice at least some arguments before my actual test.
Though i haven't been able to take the date yet due to unavailability, i have thought of taking the test in August last week, also i am studying and making my schedule with August 28 as date in my mind. Lets see if i am able to take some date. But as other bloggers have pointed out, i should be able to get it because of cancellations happening at the last moment. I hope i am able to get it.
And my accuracy levels have improved in CR and RC from what they were in when i was doing OG.
In SC, though initially i was performing very well but towards the end i somehow managed to screw it up and ended up with less than 80% accuracy(78%) :( :( . Though one reason for this is that i was very tired up in SC towards the end but since I wanted to complete it so I stretched myself a bit. But whatever maybe the reason i have to concentrate on my SC again now.
I have started with OG second round now. Started with SC :) , I did first 100 questions and i had a very decent accuracy (89%) till now. I will start with CR and RC revision also by this weekend.
Now the missing parts, i haven't practiced Quant section since last 20 days, except the tests which i have been giving over the weekends. So i will have to gear myself up for quant right now.
I have to ensure that i hit 50 in Quant in the actual test. Though i have not been worrying about Quant till now, because on all the Kaplan tests i have been hitting 50 easily, though in the Powerprep 1 test my score fell down to 49. But in actual test i cannot afford that. Also i have heard that these days Quant section has some very tough questions coming up so have to gear for that.
Planning to revise the basics first from OG and then complete OG Maths again, i think that should give me the required practice.
Second thing which is missing in my prep now is the AWA section which i haven't started. Now i will have to start with this section tomorrow for sure. It's high time now. I have to practice at least some arguments before my actual test.
Though i haven't been able to take the date yet due to unavailability, i have thought of taking the test in August last week, also i am studying and making my schedule with August 28 as date in my mind. Lets see if i am able to take some date. But as other bloggers have pointed out, i should be able to get it because of cancellations happening at the last moment. I hope i am able to get it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
My GMATPrep -- confusions, prepration and status-help required :)
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
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 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
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Updates on my GMAT prep
Due to less work pressure this week, my GMAT prep is going on satisfactorily :).
OG is almost complete once now, except some RC passages which i will complete soon.
Various sections:-
RC - Presently doing from OG
SC - Doing it from a 200 SC collection. They are good.
CR - Doing it from another collection which i have.
PS & DS - Done with OG, not started with any other material. Looking for some material on DS.
I am also having OG Verbal review, i think i will start it soon. By early next week, i will have Kaplan GMAT 800 with me. I will start it after giving one more Computer Based test ( and scoring good marks in it :) ).
I have given 2 test till now :-
Kaplan CAT 1 - 670 ( M - 50, V - 36)
Kaplan CAT 2 - 610 ( 50, 30)
Also gave some sectional tests from Kaplan CD, which were good. They help in timing for a particular section. I was able to complete the SC's well before time i.e with a speed of less than 1 min. per question. Accuracy was also decent. Also tried one CR section, which also went fine.
The main problem area for me right now is RC, where i am having very bad accuracy and i almost take 2 minutes per question. Will need to do a lot of practice here.
Cya guys. Any tips are welcome.
OG is almost complete once now, except some RC passages which i will complete soon.
Various sections:-
RC - Presently doing from OG
SC - Doing it from a 200 SC collection. They are good.
CR - Doing it from another collection which i have.
PS & DS - Done with OG, not started with any other material. Looking for some material on DS.
I am also having OG Verbal review, i think i will start it soon. By early next week, i will have Kaplan GMAT 800 with me. I will start it after giving one more Computer Based test ( and scoring good marks in it :) ).
I have given 2 test till now :-
Kaplan CAT 1 - 670 ( M - 50, V - 36)
Kaplan CAT 2 - 610 ( 50, 30)
Also gave some sectional tests from Kaplan CD, which were good. They help in timing for a particular section. I was able to complete the SC's well before time i.e with a speed of less than 1 min. per question. Accuracy was also decent. Also tried one CR section, which also went fine.
The main problem area for me right now is RC, where i am having very bad accuracy and i almost take 2 minutes per question. Will need to do a lot of practice here.
Cya guys. Any tips are welcome.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Kaplan test 2 - 610 :(
My second kaplan test and it really didnt go upto my expectations. I aimed to cross 650 atleast in this one and what i get is a poor - 610. I understand that Kaplan test are tough but i should have managed atleast 650. My aim of scoring 750 seems to be distant right now.
I had a feeling that i have marked all questions in Maths correctly but 3 questions went wrong this time also :( . Anyways, i can improve on that. my first mistake happened at Q 22 which is satisfactory i think.
The blunder happened in Verbal. Though i was able to mark first few questions correctly, but then marked Q6, Q7 wrong. Both of them were SC's.
Then i marked my second RC fully wrong :(:(.
Question 18-23 i marked all wrong which included 1 RC and 2 CR's.
In all my accuracies were something like:-
SC's - 8/15 ------> 53.33% :(:(
CR's - 9/14 ------> 63.33%
RC's - 6/12 -------> 50 % :(:(
Total 23/41 --------> 56.1%
In all 18 questions wrong in verbal which is quite bad.
Final Result - 610 (50, 30)
I didnt practice SC's this week, maybe that resulted in such a bad show there. I think, i will have to pratice more regulary in this area. RC's i have just started doing, i know i will be able to improve here.
But one thing good about today's test was that there were no time constraints. i managed to finish Maths section with 4 min. to spare and Verbal with 2.5 minutes to spare. Atleast i am catching up on speed now.
Today's learning:- More practice and regular practice.
I am yet to complete OG- the goal i had set for myself last week. The only thing left here is 126 RC questions and 49 PS questions. RC i will complete by doing regularly whereas PS i will complete by tomorrow.
Its time to start GMAT 800 book now, but unluckily i forgot that book at my parent's home when i last went there. Have asked them to courier the book but that will take 3-4 days to reach me, meanwhile i will practice the online material.
Cya guys, will keep you all updated. And if you people have any useful tips do share them with me.
I had a feeling that i have marked all questions in Maths correctly but 3 questions went wrong this time also :( . Anyways, i can improve on that. my first mistake happened at Q 22 which is satisfactory i think.
The blunder happened in Verbal. Though i was able to mark first few questions correctly, but then marked Q6, Q7 wrong. Both of them were SC's.
Then i marked my second RC fully wrong :(:(.
Question 18-23 i marked all wrong which included 1 RC and 2 CR's.
In all my accuracies were something like:-
SC's - 8/15 ------> 53.33% :(:(
CR's - 9/14 ------> 63.33%
RC's - 6/12 -------> 50 % :(:(
Total 23/41 --------> 56.1%
In all 18 questions wrong in verbal which is quite bad.
Final Result - 610 (50, 30)
I didnt practice SC's this week, maybe that resulted in such a bad show there. I think, i will have to pratice more regulary in this area. RC's i have just started doing, i know i will be able to improve here.
But one thing good about today's test was that there were no time constraints. i managed to finish Maths section with 4 min. to spare and Verbal with 2.5 minutes to spare. Atleast i am catching up on speed now.
Today's learning:- More practice and regular practice.
I am yet to complete OG- the goal i had set for myself last week. The only thing left here is 126 RC questions and 49 PS questions. RC i will complete by doing regularly whereas PS i will complete by tomorrow.
Its time to start GMAT 800 book now, but unluckily i forgot that book at my parent's home when i last went there. Have asked them to courier the book but that will take 3-4 days to reach me, meanwhile i will practice the online material.
Cya guys, will keep you all updated. And if you people have any useful tips do share them with me.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
My GMAT journey begins- Kaplan Test 1 670
After a very long time i have started again on my journey for getting an admit into a B school. And this time i will surely complete this( For those of you who are reading my blog for the first time, i decided to give GMAT last year sometime in April end but then decided not to apply for fall 2007 and also postponed my plans for giving Gmat to this year i.e. 2007).
I started with OG some 15 days back and given the limited time after work i have completed 60% of the book as of now. But since this was along weekend, so decided to give a Kaplan Test today.
I skipped writing sections and directly started with the Maths section. Questions were easy at the start but then some of the questions were a little tricky and required careful reading. But overall the section was fine. I performed my first mistake at Q19. It was a silly mistake, didnt read the question carefully. Overall 35 correct, 2 wrong. Satisfying i think.
Then English section started with a SC. I thought i answered it correctly. At around 12th question i got my first RC and it was horrible. I found it a little tough and also since i havent't practiced RC till now i took a lot of time completing it. After this i had to rush through the questions. But then the second RC came at around Q20 and it again was a spped breaker for me. When i reached Q27 only 20 minutes were left i think, and this was aqgain a RC. This time i read it fast and marked answers without thinking much. Then fourth RC came at Q34 and this one i really marked very fast since i had very less time and i thought i marked all 3 questions wrong in this RC. When i reached Q 39 4 minutes were still left i think but this a tough CR. Somehow managed to complete the English section on time with 1 sec to spare. Then clicked on View results.
And i was surprised to see :-
670 ( M- 50, V- 36).
Since i have heard Kaplan tests are tough and above 650 is a decent score, i was kind of happy. But then i saw my verbal scores and i was really disappointed to see that i marked 14 questions wrong here. Whats more worse was i marked Q-1,3 and 6 wrong. 3 questions wrong in first 10, i would really have to be careful from next time. This really screwed my verbal score. After 6th questions i was pretty accurate and next marked Q20 wrong. But then again there were regular mistakes, and i marked last 3 questions wrong, for which i had last 4 minutes left. Pretty bad here too.
Anyways, atleast i have started my prepration earnestly now and hope to continue this now.
Tasks for this week:-
1) Try to complete OG.
2) Give Kaplan Test 2 next weekend.
Lets see how this works out. I also need to find material which i have to do after compleing my OG. Any suggestions are really welcome.
And yeah i will be regular on my blog now :)
I started with OG some 15 days back and given the limited time after work i have completed 60% of the book as of now. But since this was along weekend, so decided to give a Kaplan Test today.
I skipped writing sections and directly started with the Maths section. Questions were easy at the start but then some of the questions were a little tricky and required careful reading. But overall the section was fine. I performed my first mistake at Q19. It was a silly mistake, didnt read the question carefully. Overall 35 correct, 2 wrong. Satisfying i think.
Then English section started with a SC. I thought i answered it correctly. At around 12th question i got my first RC and it was horrible. I found it a little tough and also since i havent't practiced RC till now i took a lot of time completing it. After this i had to rush through the questions. But then the second RC came at around Q20 and it again was a spped breaker for me. When i reached Q27 only 20 minutes were left i think, and this was aqgain a RC. This time i read it fast and marked answers without thinking much. Then fourth RC came at Q34 and this one i really marked very fast since i had very less time and i thought i marked all 3 questions wrong in this RC. When i reached Q 39 4 minutes were still left i think but this a tough CR. Somehow managed to complete the English section on time with 1 sec to spare. Then clicked on View results.
And i was surprised to see :-
670 ( M- 50, V- 36).
Since i have heard Kaplan tests are tough and above 650 is a decent score, i was kind of happy. But then i saw my verbal scores and i was really disappointed to see that i marked 14 questions wrong here. Whats more worse was i marked Q-1,3 and 6 wrong. 3 questions wrong in first 10, i would really have to be careful from next time. This really screwed my verbal score. After 6th questions i was pretty accurate and next marked Q20 wrong. But then again there were regular mistakes, and i marked last 3 questions wrong, for which i had last 4 minutes left. Pretty bad here too.
Anyways, atleast i have started my prepration earnestly now and hope to continue this now.
Tasks for this week:-
1) Try to complete OG.
2) Give Kaplan Test 2 next weekend.
Lets see how this works out. I also need to find material which i have to do after compleing my OG. Any suggestions are really welcome.
And yeah i will be regular on my blog now :)
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