I got perfect GREs/GMATs and am willing to help.
I'm just settling in to watch some golf and basketball so I thought I might make myself of some use and answer questions about the GRE and GMAT if anyone has any.
I got a 170/170/6 on the GRE earlier this year and 800 on GMAT last year.
I tutor from time to time so I know all too much about these exams.
I have a particular strategy that I use and if anyone wants advice I'll help.
Proof or it didn't happen...
^lol
What was your study method? Timeframe? Materials used? And how many times did you take the GMAT until actually getting an 800?
I'm just curious to hear about this particular strategy. Could you maybe elaborate a bit?
are you a good writer in general? Or did you have some sort of strategy for that part?
Just list out some advice for all of us.
Can't agree more. Or else I think you are just trolling
Yea, thanks Bankmonkey. I'll scan my scores, include my SS#, CC# and a pic of my dick (it's bigger in person I swear).
Y2A,
The first thing I ask people I tutor is why you're taking the GMAT versus the GRE. I think the GRE is an easier test to score well on, top schools accept it and schools see fewer GRE scores reported.
I won't get into the basic strategy discussed in every prep book. One caveat, I can do pretty complicated math in my head which helps immensely.
This is a very high level analysis...
Study Method: Initially I just went through a couple books to make sure I knew the basic material then I took 2 practice tests. I made a spreadsheet of the errors I was making and broke them down into categories: "stupid mistakes," "didn't understand material," "wrong strategy." I also marked questions on the exams that I found challenging (whether I got them right or wrong).
Stupid mistakes drove me nuts and I realized I was making them because I wasn't organized in my thinking. Each question has multiple ways to arrive at a correct answer and even if you pick a suboptimal strategy, you can get to the correct answer. From tutoring, I've learned that people have a tendency to start with one approach, get frustrated, switch, then do some weird combo. That's a huge waste of time. To remedy this I did a number of questions where I basically talked my strategy out. I subjected my poor girlfriend to this. I wrote out questions longhand and focused entirely on the process of breaking each problem down into smaller components (that's the basic idea of the test). I acted as if I was teaching the material. Pretty quickly my stupid mistakes were eliminated. Find the strategy that you're most confident with for a type of question, it'll eliminate self-doubt. A few extra seconds on a question will not ruin your score.
The trick I learned is after you take a few practice tests, you'll get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses. Find your strengths and absolutely dominate them. Know that shit backwards and forward. What you're trying to do with this method is make sure you get all of those correct and do so quickly. It's going to be hard to be an absolute expert on every component of the exam so accept that you will have some weaknesses. Use your strengths to give you extra time on your weaknesses. It's almost counterintuitive but when you start breaking down the scoring of the exam it makes sense. You don't need to get every question correct to score very well.
Time Frame: 150 hours for GMAT and about 75 for GRE.
Materials: First, I just bought the PR Cracking the GMAT to get a feel for the material. I went through the examples in the book until I established a basic competency in everything. Then I searched various sites and started practicing the hardest questions. I went to Barnes and Noble and went through Manhattan Prep's materials just to see if they had any unique approaches to various types of problems. Then I just took as many tests as I had time for. I practiced timed and untimed then compared the results which were pretty interesting since even when I took it untimed I was coming in under the time limit. From there, I learned more about time management and how to quickly double check my answers. Basically, I learned the types of problems I would get wrong and after I finished everything I'd go back and look specifically at those.
How many times: First time for GMAT. GRE it took me 3 times to get a perfect verbal and writing. My circumstances are unique so getting a "clean" GRE was greatly advantageous.
Above all, it's just a test and think of it as a game. Once you get good at it it's kind of fun to compete against yourself.
I didn't see the writing questions. I was an English minor in college and enjoy writing (obviously). I also enjoy quotations, I have a collection of quotes I keep in my mind which is also great for interviews. It's very easy to start an essay with a quote. I've read many essays and many people just shit the bed in the opening paragraph. If you start with a quote, it gives you structure and shows breadth of knowledge. James Joyce and TS Eliot are fucking goldmines for this approach.
Have a bank of "big" words that you can comfortably draw from but don't shoehorn vocabulary you don't understand into sentences. It makes you look like an ass.
Unfortunately, standardized tests tend to overvalue quantity so be prepared to write as much as possible. I "pre-wrote" components of essays on common topic themes so I had something to draw from while writing. It could be a personal anecdote, a literary reference, an example from the business world, etc. and the graders will blow their loads. This also helps with writer's block. If you do this effectively, you always have a place to start.
By now y'all should know basic essay structure and you should follow that but adding a little variety helps. The MLA is online and a quick glance over it won't hurt.
If you can integrate your pre-written section into your conclusion and make it really strong that's great.
Start strong, finish strong and stay organized. It also helps to practice writing on everyday life even if it's just what happened in the markets that day. You'll find your "voice" and develop more sophisticated sentence structure.
How did you recommend preparing for the GRE words? It seems you are already have a strong vocabulary background. The GRE words are difficult. Do you recommend reading a lot of books so I can improve my vocabulary. I have been studying GRE Vocabulary lists such as " the most important 300 GRE words" are these lists helpful? Any advice?
Did you know every single word( or most words) on the practice tests and the actual tests?
Don't waste your time reading a bunch of books in hopes of picking up a word or two. Reading will help your writing and understanding of sentence structure more than anything which can help provide context in vocab questions.
I have a strong vocabulary which helps but I did some prep. How are you studying these word lists? Please tell me you aren't trying to memorize every definition.
Keep in mind though, the GRE isn't asking you what the definition of a word is. Rather which words fit "best;" a profoundly annoying concept but helpful.
subd
I have been reading the the GRE word lists. I am trying to analyze the roots. What is your method?
There isn't a secret method, I was just making sure you weren't trying to memorize the definitions and getting bogged down by minutia. There are instances where two words are virtually interchangeable and if you knew the definitions exactly you would be able to differentiate them but that happens maybe once or twice/average test taker. Is it worth spending an extra 10 hours to increase your odds from 50/50 to 55/45 on one question? I don't think so. That time's better spent on quant.
For sentence completions when you pick a pair of words to fill the blanks, it's most important to understand the difference between what each pair means than how the words are individually defined. When I'm stumped and stuck between 2 choices, I think to myself "how is the sentence different if I use this pair versus this pair?" If I can't come up with an immediate difference, I skip the question but I don't waste time trying to figure out the subtly of language for 2 minutes.
If the questions are getting so hard that you can't narrow it down to 2 choices you dominated the first section thoroughly and you're competing with dudes trying to get their PhD in English and I'm pretty sure that isn't what WSO is about.
As I said in my second post, I'm pretty damn good at this but it took me a couple tries to get a 170v. There's variance and luck involved. Don't let one problem affect the next and like a losing trade, know when to scrap the position.
This sounds silly but it works. When I get stumped, I laugh at the problem and think "Alright, ETS, I know what you're doing here you silly bitches." I'm sure I look like a psycho.
800 GMAT?
STFU
I am tempted to troll you, but I think I am just going to walk away.
One thing I forgot to add is, at least for me, when I'm learning a new concept I'll study it thoroughly then take a day or two break before I test myself on it. Unless you plan on cramming hours before the exam it makes no sense to test yourself immediately after studying and if you plan on cramming you're SOL anyway.
Best wishes getting into business school with "professional test taker" on your resume.
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