Beat The GMAT!

Visit the new Beat The GMAT community

2009-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

On August 17, 2009, Beat The GMAT re-launched as a GMAT/MBA learning portal. The site now features free expert GMAT/MBA articles, prep resources, scholarships, and a very active discussion community.

I invite you to visit the new Beat The GMAT—and please tell your friends! :)

http://www.beatthegmat.com

Good luck!

Eric Bahn, Founder of Beat The GMAT

Welcome to Beat The GMAT!

2007-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Beat The GMAT! On August 16, 2005, I took the GMAT and scored a 720 (96th Percentile). I studied for the GMAT without the assistance of an expensive test prep class over the course of 80 days, keeping a very detailed weblog of my studying. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a study guide for future GMAT test takers and inspire others to study on their own as well. You do not need to purchase expensive test prep services to do well on the GMAT!

How to use this site

I have carefully documented my studies--down to the specific page numbers of texts I reviewed for each day. Using this website, many people have modeled their own study schedule after my own; some have even copied my day-to-day schedule entirely. Feel free to use this website in any capacity that suits your study needs. Also, be sure to explore the links to other resources that I have provided on this website--they have been critical in helping me master the material on the GMAT.

If you have set aside ample time to study for your GMAT (2-4 months), I would recommend that you start reading my blog from the first entry. However, if you are constrained by time (less than a month), skip ahead and emphasize my entries starting from Day 42, where I began my review of the Official Guide to GMAT Review.

Abbreviations

Some of the books I mention in my blog entries have very long titles. Since these titles are tiresome for my fingers to type, you will see the following abbreviations employed in many of my entries:

OG - Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition
PR - Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT 2004, with CD
Kap - Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD
Kap800 - Kaplan GMAT 800, 2004-2005

Important Dates in my Study Schedule

To help you navigate my website more easily, here are some important milestones that I reached during my 80 days of studying for the GMAT:

- Introduction

- Explanation of why I started this website

- Day 1: Began review of Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT

- Day 12: Began review of Kaplan GMAT 2005

- Day 23: Began review of Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook

- Day 33: Began review of the Delta Course

- Day 37: Started making flashcards (should have done this from Day 1)

- Day 42: Began review of Official Guide, Reading Comprehension section

- Day 48: Began review of Official Guide, Data Sufficiency section

- Day 56: Began review of Official Guide, Sentence Correction section

- Day 65: Began review of Official Guide, Critical Reasoning section

- Day 70: Began review of Official Guide, Problem Solving section / Began review of Analytical Writing Assessment

- Day 80: Last day of studies

- Test day details

- Reflections on the entire GMAT study experience

The Beat The GMAT Scholarship!

I have started an annual scholarship for future GMAT test takers. Details can be found here.

***

A caveat: the page numbers I list for each entry in this blog are specific to the textbook editions that were available at the time of my studies. Consequently, for people studying with later editions, the page numbers in your newer books may not match with those of my own books. However, it should still be easy to follow my study schedule since I note the source and subject material covered for each day along with the page numbers. Always study with the latest materials!

Best of luck! You can Beat The GMAT like I did!

Eric
Beat The GMAT! http://www.beatthegmat.com

Visit the Beat The GMAT! Forum

2006-06-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Beat The GMAT! Forum (http://www.beatthegmat.com) is now almost two months old--and it's growing fast!

I've worked very hard over the last few months to line up some amazing partners to serve as experts on the forum. They include:

- Stacy Blackman - Stacy is one of the most respected MBA Admissions consultants in the business; she has been featured on the cover of Fortune Magazine. Stacy provides MBA admissions advice to Beat The GMAT members in her "Ask Stacy Blackman" section.

- Manhattan GMAT - One of the best known names in GMAT prep. Kevin Fitzgerald, Director of Marketing and Student Relations at Manhattan GMAT, provides weekly articles to the forum and serves as a regular contributor.

Visit the Beat The GMAT! Forum today (http://www.beatthegmat.com) and ask these experts for advice about the GMAT and MBA admissions. They are here to serve you--for free!

Scholarship Finalists have been selected!

2006-05-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Five finalists for the 2006 Beat The GMAT! Scholarship have been selected. Click here to read the applicant essays and to vote for whom you think deserves to win. The community will ultimately decide who deserves the scholarships: the two finalists who receive the most votes will be announced as the winners.

Voting ends May 20, 2006. Thanks, and best of luck to the finalists!

Beat The GMAT! Forum is launched!

2006-04-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

The new Beat The GMAT! discussion forum has gone live. Please visit http://www.beatthegmat.com/ to check it out.

Learn how you can earn $20 by simply using the forum!

Essay topic released: Apply now for the 2006 Beat The GMAT! Scholarship

2006-04-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

The essay topic for the Beat The GMAT! Scholarship is now available. Please click here for more details and instructions. Remember--the deadline to submit your essay is April 30, 2006. Best of luck!

The 2006 Beat The GMAT! Scholarship

2006-03-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that I have raised enough money through advertisements and donations to provide scholarships for two deserving people this year. I will buy all the GMAT preparation materials for two scholarship recipients—a package of 8 books, valued at nearly $150:

- Official Guide for GMAT Review
- Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review
- Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review
- Cracking The GMAT with DVD
- Kaplan GMAT with CD
- Kaplan GMAT 800
- Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook
- Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction GMAT Preparation Guide

These materials will provide excellent preparation for any person vying for a top GMAT score.

It’s very easy to apply: In the next few weeks I will release an essay topic. Each applicant will e-mail his/her essay response to me (in less than 300 words), and from the applicant pool I will pick 5 finalists. I will post the essay responses for the five finalists online, and two scholarship winners will be determined via an online voting poll. Ultimately, I will not decide who deserves the scholarships—YOU WILL DECIDE THE WINNERS with your vote. Applicants must be U.S. residents (sorry, I can’t afford to ship internationally this year).

Here’s a timetable for this year’s Beat The GMAT! Scholarship:

- April 10, 2006 - Essay topic released
- April 30, 2006 - Deadline to e-mail essay response to me
- May 7, 2006 - Five finalists revealed and online poll to vote for winners created
- May 20, 2006 - Poll ends and 2 scholarship winners announced!

I urge all people planning to take the GMAT to apply for this scholarship. It’s an easy way to get some free books!

***

In other news, I am happy to report that the Beat The GMAT! Discussion Forum is in the final stages of development and should launch in the next few weeks. IMPORTANT NOTE: the discussion forum will occupy the www.beatthegmat.com URL. If you wish to visit this blog in the future, please go to beatthegmat.blogspot.com.

I urge you all to please help me in making the Beat The GMAT! Discussion Forum a robust online community. As an incentive, I will be awarding a $20 gift certificate to the top forum contributor each month, for the rest of 2006.

New Years Resolution - Discussion Forum

2006-01-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

Expect some big changes with Beat The GMAT! this year. I'm in the process of creating a free GMAT discussion forum. I hope that one day the Beat The GMAT! Forum will be one of the best GMAT communities on the Internet. Stay tuned--I plan to launch in a few months...

Thanks for the Donations!

2005-12-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that advertising revenue and donations have brought in $175 towards the Beat The GMAT! Scholarship to date! This amount is more than sufficient to fund one of my planned scholarships for April 2006—I am hoping that by the springtime, I will have doubled this amount to provide GMAT study materials for at least two deserving people.

Thanks to all of you who have contributed! I urge all of you out there to please consider donating to this cause. Donations and advertising revenue will go towards funding the Beat The GMAT! Scholarship.

Thanks very much for your help. Happy holidays!

Flashcards Now Available!

2005-10-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have finished digitizing my prized flashcards and they are now available for download. Please use them as a resource to assist you in your studies. A caveat: my flashcards are no substitute for creating your own. I highly recommend GMAT prep folk out there to create your own set of unique flashcards because you will learn a lot from the process.

The flashcards can be downloaded here:

Beat The GMAT Flashcards

Best of luck and enjoy! Feel free to distribute these flashcards freely!

Flashcards are coming!

2005-09-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Many readers have contacted me over the last few months inquiring about the flashcards I created for my studies. These flashcards were a critical component of my GMAT preparation, allowing me to stay fresh on important concepts and strategies. Towards the end of my studies I had made close to 300 of them, which I reviewed almost daily.

I am currently in the process of digitizing my prized flashcards. I don't have as much time as I did in the summer, so it will take a while to complete the process. I expect to have them available for download in about a month (give or take a few weeks). Until then--for all those currently studying for the GMAT--be sure to create your own set of flashcards! You learn a great deal from the process, believe me.

Stay tuned--my flashcards will be available for download here soon.

By the way, thanks to those of you who actually bid good money for my flashcards. Some of your offers really tempted my capitalistic side--I could have made a killing! Save your money, I'll distribute these cards for free.

Changes to the GMAT in 2006

2005-09-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Princeton Review has issued a press release relating important changes to the GMAT, beginning January 2006. Thanks DaveForMBA for the tip!

Score Report

2005-09-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

I got my official score report in the mail today. Looks like I got a '5.0' on the AWA. A good score, not that it matters--admission committees really do not pay much attention to this component of the GMAT. Shits and giggles I suppose...

The Beat The GMAT! Scholarship

2005-08-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I really appreciate the support that my readers have given me over the last few months while I have been studying for the GMAT. I've been thinking about ways to give something back to everyone out there as a show of thanks, and I've decided that I'm going to do two things:

First, I am going to continue to maintain and develop this website. I hope this site will one day become one of the best GMAT prep/study guides available anywhere--and of course, Beat The GMAT! will always remain FREE.

Second, I wish to set up a Beat The GMAT! Scholarship, in which I will buy all the GMAT prep books for a few deserving people each year.

In terms of the application process for this scholarship, I'll likely judge applicants by how they answer an essay topic from an actual MBA application. It will be good practice for you all, and perhaps an excuse to jumpstart your fall applications.

The first scholarship round will probably take place in April 2006. I'll provide full details about the scholarship and the application process when the time comes.

Thanks again to everyone, and best of luck in your GMAT studies!

Reflecting on my GMAT Experience

2005-08-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, August 16, 2005, I took the GMAT and scored a 720 (90th percentile quant/85th percentile verbal/96th percentile overall). The result was slightly lower than what I had anticipated, but I am still satisfied. I worked very hard over the last few months to obtain this score.

Background

I am a recent non-engineering graduate from a top university in the United States. I will soon be starting my first full-time job out of school at a major software company, and I plan to work for several years before applying to business schools. Since I had some leisure time between my graduation and my first day of work, I decided to take this opportunity to get the GMAT out of the way. In hindsight, I should have spent my summer drinking more and traveling around the world--oh well.

I was born and raised in the United States.

Overview of How I Studied

My first step in this process was doing a search on Amazon.com and determining which books seemed worthwhile for my preparation. After reading some reviews on Amazon as well as doing some significant Googling, I decided to buy the following texts:

- Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition
- Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD
- Kaplan GMAT & GRE Math Workbook [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is now called 'Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook']
- Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT 2004 (I bought this one a while ago)

As I got into my prep, I added the following:

- The Delta Course (an online math review)
- Kaplan GMAT 800

I was initially confused about how I would design my study plan, but fortunately I discovered two incredible GMAT forum posts by two incredible people: Ursula and TwinnSplitter. Both were high scorers themselves, and each had an excellent methodology for attacking the GMAT. I urge all future GMAT test prep folk to check out their posts.

I devised the following study plan for myself:

First, I familiarized myself with the GMAT as a whole. Before I started studying, I had no knowledge of the GMAT. Period. I didn't know what subjects were tested, how many questions each section had, etc. I initially learned about the GMAT and its subtleties by reading through Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT, Kaplan GMAT 2005, Kaplan Math Workbook, and Delta Course (since I assumed I was weak in math) cover-to-cover in that order. I spent the first half of my studies just reading through these books linearly and not emphasizing any single topic, just to get a general feel for the test.

After thoroughly reviewing the aforementioned texts, as well as the problem sets featured in those texts, I systematically attacked each section/problem type on the GMAT--reading comprehension, sentence correction, critical reasoning, data sufficiency, and problem solving--by practicing with Official Guide (OG) and Kaplan 800. Here, I employed TwinnSplitter's approach for tackling each section: for a given section I would rigorously practice problems of that type from OG and Kap800. I would do about 40 problems a day and would carefully review all explanations and analyze all errors. To help me analyze my errors, I recorded all my answers onto an Excel grid originally created by Ursula. This grid greatly aided me in determining where my weaknesses were in each section. Usually after about a week or a week and a half, I would feel like I had gained sufficient proficiency in the given section and would move on to another section, applying the same methodology but also doing 10 review questions from the previous section(s). I was able to finish all of Kap800 and most of OG through this strategy.

Finally, in my prep strategy I made it a point to take as many practice tests in front of the computer as possible. I tried to take a practice test every week using tests from PowerPrep, Princeton Review, Kaplan, and GMATPrep. These practice tests were crucial for helping me build the stamina I needed to sit through a 3.5-hour test.

Also, throughout my prep I handwrote close to 300 flashcards. Whenever I encountered some piece of information that I thought was critical to my GMAT success, I wrote it down on a flashcard. I tried to make it a point to review my flashcards everyday. Doing so helped me stay fresh on topics that I had covered well in the past.

I normally studied about 2-4 hours per day, but during my prep I took several long vacations that disrupted the consistency of my schedule. I usually did not work during the weekends.

Thoughts on Each Section of the GMAT

QUANT

On my test day, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the quant questions I saw on the real GMAT were virtually identical to those found in Official Guide, 10th Edition. I'm referring specifically to the medium/hard bin questions in OG. While I took my GMAT, I arrived at the conclusion that ETS was lazy. So many of the same question patterns I had seen in OG were tested on the actual test. Even the language of certain questions was the same, except for some slight changes in numbers used. It was really great!

Therefore, I believe that the best way to prepare for the quantitative section of the GMAT is to practice with OG, practice with OG, practice with OG! Be sure to pay special attention to the medium/hard bin questions in this book. If you are using 10th Edition, you can identify the difficulty level of each question using this grid. If you have time, try to do all the questions in OG. If you are pressed for time, do the last 100 questions of the problem solving and data sufficiency sections--they are the most representative of the real test because they come from the most recently retired GMAT exams.

__________

Data Sufficiency

Data sufficiency (DS) caused me a lot of problems early into my studies. Like many GMAT takers, I hadn't seen this question type before and I was initially confused about figuring out the best ways to attack these questions. Eventually, I was able to master DS by: (1) practicing as many DS questions as possible and reviewing my errors; and (2) systematically approaching each question:

Here's the DS strategy I wrote about in my Day 52 blog entry:

1. First, I read the question prompt very carefully, making sure I understand the information being presented. A common error I make is in misreading.

2. Next, I determine the question type-whether it is a "YES/NO" or "Asking for Value" question. WRITE DOWN the question type on your scrap paper. I've discovered that writing down the question type has been the most important factor in improving my DS proficiency. It keeps me on track for determining what kind of sufficiency I am seeking in a given problem.

3. Finally, keep the statements separate when solving. Very standard and important advice.

One thing that pissed me off about the books I read was that I couldn't find a single book that addressed DS strategy well. I had to figure out my own methodology. But trust me, once you have had a lot of practice with these question types, they become easy. Future GMAT test takers: be sure to review plenty of number property DS questions before you take your real exam (questions like, is "x>y?" or "is integer N odd?").

VERBAL

Sentence Correction

As I mentioned before, I am a native English speaker, a fact that gave me a huge advantage in sentence correction over non-native speakers. The GMAT tests a lot of idioms and subtle American English grammar that, in my opinion, cannot be easily learned unless you practice American English on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong-it's still possible for any person to master these question types on the GMAT!

The great thing about the GMAT is that it tests only a limited set of rules. Princeton Review and Kaplan 800 provide a good overview of the various SC question patterns. Two free guides that I found critical to my study of SC were Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes, and Sahil's Sentence Correction Notes. These guides, created by two really generous guys, contain incredible information and no bullshit. Everyone should download them.

Even though I am an American native and had plenty of OG practice, SC was by far my greatest weakness on the GMAT. I never did get a complete grasp on the various question patterns to be found on the test. If I could do it all over again, I would have purchased the Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction Guide. I've heard only phenomenal reviews about this book. This is especially a must have for non-native English speakers.

__________

Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension (RC) was probably my strongest section on the GMAT. I had a very reading-intensive major in college so I was all ready used to breaking down passages like those found on the GMAT. The best advice I can give to someone about mastering RC is not to follow anyone's advice too closely.

I believe that RC is particularly hard to advise people on because a person's approach to these types of questions is very personal. Princeton Review and Kaplan say that skimming is the best method for tackling RC-which may be true for some people. However, I've found that reading carefully works best for me (but quickly--reading each passage in under 5 minutes), while simultaneously taking notes. Thus, different strategies for RC work for different people, so it will be up to you to experiment and determine what works best for you.

In any event, here's the strategy I used for attacking RCs. The following can be found in my Day 44 blog posting:

1. Immediately write down the topic and scope after reading the first paragraph of a given passage. Doing so will help you think about questions relating to the main point or main purpose.

2. Try to go into an RC passage with an attitude that you are excited to learn about the information it contains. It takes some practice, but this strategy helps you maintain your focus while you read.

3. Read linearly. That is, try not to read sentences or parts of passages over and over again--doing so will slow you down dramatically and actually confuse you because the ideas in the passage are not being read in logical order.

4. Do not skim, but read quickly. This is a personal strategy. I find that I digest information better when I don't gloss over too much detail.

I also cycled the following questions in my mind while reading an RC passage:

1. Why is the author writing?

2. What is being said?

3. How does the author accomplish her goal?

This strategy worked for me, but it may not for you. Once again, it's all about experimentation and a ton of practice.

__________

Critical Reasoning

I developed a fairly systematic approach for critical reasoning (CR). Usually CR didn't cause me that much problems, but I did tend to make a lot of careless errors because of lapses in concentration. This is the big challenge when it comes to CR: staying focused! I think that my verbal score suffered on the real GMAT because I started getting sloppy with these types of questions--I guess I'll never really know for sure.

Here's the method I came to rely on for CR--an excerpt from my Day 66 blog entry:

1. Read the question prompt first and WRITE DOWN the question type (weaken, assumption, etc.)

2. Read the CR passage actively, noting the location of the conclusion and premises.

3. Look at answer choices and immediately eliminate choices that are out of scope, moving top to bottom. Remember, the CR passage provides a limited set of information. There tends to be a lot of answer choices with out-of-scope information.

4. Review answer choices that are left and pick the one that best answers the question.

As for anything related to the GMAT, practice makes perfect when it comes to CR. After you do a lot of problems you well get a feel for the patterns and question types that ETS loves to test. In my actual exam, I found that ETS was particularly fond of strengthen/weaken questions.

Be sure to be familiar with boldface question patterns. None of the textbooks I reviewed addressed boldface questions, which are a new format for CR. Official Guide only had one boldface practice question in the entire book. I encountered two of such questions on my actual GMAT, and I was stumped for both. The only resource I have seen for tackling these types of questions was a post from a GMAT forum. OG 11th Edition may address boldface questions better, but I haven't had the opportunity to check out this new text. In any case, be sure to do your research on these types of questions!

AWA ESSAYS

I found preparing for the essays to be the easiest aspect of my entire GMAT prep. The first thing I did was download the official list of AWA topics. GMAC is nice enough to publish this list of topics that can be tested on the GMAT. Next, I tried to figure out what it takes to score a '5' or a '6' on these essays. I came across the some tutorials online, which provides some helpful templates for organizing a high-scoring essay, as well as a few good examples of essays.

I did several practice essays under timed conditions using topics from the official list. In total, I did 5 analysis of issue practice essays and 5 analysis of argument practice essays. This is how I would typically spend my time for each 30 minute essay:

- 5 minutes for brainstorming, creating an outline.

- 20 minutes for writing.

- 5 minutes for proofreading and editing.

I recommend that you all do a few practice essays before your GMAT, just so you can get a sense of how to organize your time and ideas. Also, check out TwinnSplitter's discussion of AWAs--he lists some useful additional resources.

My Review of the Materials I Used

Official Guide for GMAT Review, 10th Edition

Many people refer to OG as the Bible of GMAT prep. But it's so much more than that. Official Guide is the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, and the Gita of GMAT prep. Every person should buy this book.

If you have time, do all the problems in OG. If you are under time constraints, emphasize the last 100 or so questions from each section, as they contain the most recently retired GMAT questions and also tend to be the hardest questions of each section.

Be sure to carefully analyze your mistakes and to read the explanations to ALL the problems. ETS likes to test the same patterns over and over again in their tests. Be keen on learning these patterns--this can only be done through rigorous practice. Like I said, on my actual GMAT many of the quant problems were virtual replicas of problems I saw in OG.

A few weeks ago, a new Official Guide 11th Edition was released. I have yet to review this latest edition, but I would advise future test prep folk to invest in this book because it is always best to practice with the most recently retired GMAT questions.

__________

Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT 2004 with CD

A lot of people bad mouth this book because they complain that PR's practice questions are too easy, and that the book in general isn't too helpful for people who wish to score 700+ on the GMAT. In my opinion, many of their complaints are valid. The problems do seem a bit basic. Additionally, it's true that PR is designed specifically for people who wish to score in the 500s or 600s.

However, if you are starting off your GMAT studies without any prior knowledge of the GMAT (like I did), of all the books I have reviewed, PR offers the best introduction to the test. What makes this book terrific is that it is an easy read. The authors of PR have a great sense of humor and they organize their material well.

I liked the practice tests that were featured on the PR CD. Do them all if you have the time. Watch out for practice CAT 2 though--I found a bug in the scoring algorithm.

I highly recommend people to read the PR book first in their prep. From this book you'll get a good sense of what this test is all about as well as pick up some handy general test-taking strategies.

__________

Kaplan GMAT 2005 with CD

This book also offers a good introduction to the GMAT. It is not as readable as the PR book, but the Kaplan book is certainly more thorough and features rigorous practice problems.

A special caveat to those people unfamiliar with Kaplan: Do not worry too much if you have difficulty solving Kaplan's practice problems. They are very hard--much harder than what you will see on the actual GMAT--and many of the problems are also poorly written.

IMPORTANT WARNING: Do not fret about your Kaplan practice test scores. The scores tend to be skewed down dramatically--from 70-120 points below what you should actually expect on your real exam. This is just a ploy by Kaplan to scare people into buying their expensive classroom test prep services. Nevertheless, it's still worth practicing the tests on the Kaplan CD because you should have as much GMAT simulation as possible before your real exam.

__________

Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook [EDITOR'S NOTE: Now called 'Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook']

I'm lukewarm about this book. I didn't find it too useful in my preparation. At first, I thought I was going to like this book because it seemed to comprehensively cover the fundamentals of GMAT math--which it does in fact do adequately. However, by the time I finished I felt like this book was too basic and didn't offer much strategy.

This book may be well suited for people who have been out of college for a long time or have not touched math in a long time. But the regular Kaplan and Princeton Review books are probably sufficient to cover the fundamentals. Save your money.

__________

Kaplan 800, 2005-2006

I bought this book on a spontaneous Amazon.com shopping spree. What surprised me about this book is that it does not offer that many practice problems, in comparison with the aforementioned books. However, it does feature very thorough and very clear explanations to each problem. This is a great book to buy if you are looking for decent strategies to obtain a 700+.

Kaplan 800's math review is simply fabulous. The math review alone is reason enough to buy this book.

Purchase this book and review it slowly, if you have the time.

__________

The Delta Course

I feel like I wasted my money and time investing in the Delta Course. Don't get me wrong--this online advanced math review will teach you a lot of great tips for solving probability, permutation, and combination problems.

Nevertheless, the reality is that people overemphasize the necessity of preparing for these kinds of questions. In my actual GMAT, I only encountered one permutation/combination problem. It was so easy that I didn't even need to apply my fancy Delta Course knowledge.

To do well on the quant section of the GMAT, you are best served by thoroughly practicing arithmetic and algebra. Don't waste your money by buying this service like I did.

__________

PowerPrep and GMATPrep

The great thing about these software programs is that they are free, so definitely download them.

PowerPrep is a great resource. Be sure to look through the quantitative review. It is very comprehensive and also contains some good strategies for solving some hard problems. The look and feel of the practice tests on this software are exactly the same as what I saw on my actual GMAT. The only bad thing about this software is that the questions employed in the practice tests are drawn directly from Official Guide 10th Edition. Do one practice test at the beginning of your prep, before you touch OG, and one after your prep, after you reviewed OG. The two scores have traditionally served as an accurate predictor of the range of your real GMAT score. One complaint that a lot of people have had about PowerPrep is that its tests' quant sections are too easy in comparison with the real GMAT. In my actual test experience, I didn't find this to be the case.

GMATPrep is the new software that is supposed to replace PowerPrep. In the near future, all GMAT tests will have the same look and feel as the tests found in GMATPrep. The makers of this software claim that these practice tests do not overlap with questions found in OG 10th Edition; unfortunately I found some overlap, but not too much. GMATPrep also features tests with more difficult quant sections than can be found on PowerPrep. Consequently, I think that GMATPrep is presently the most accurate representation of an actual, typical GMAT exam.

Practice Tests

I took a ton of practice tests. Do as many as you can during your own prep. Here's a breakdown of my scores:

4/7/05 - PowerPrep 1 - 690 (45Q, 39V)

4/20/05 - Princeton Review CAT 1 - 690 (46Q, 40V)

4/29/05 - Kaplan Diag CAT - 670 (42Q, 41V)

5/6/05 - Princeton Review CAT 2 - 690 (43Q, 42V) [Skewed down from a bug]

5/16/05 - Kaplan CAT 1 - 610 (39Q, 35V)

5/25/05 - Princeton Review CAT 3 - 720 (45Q, 45V)

6/2/05 - Kaplan CAT 2 - 590 (38Q, 33V)

6/17/05 - Kaplan CAT 3 - 620 (38Q, 36V)

6/24/05 - Kaplan CAT 4 - 590 (37Q, 35V)

7/15/05 - Princeton Review CAT 4 - 720 (45Q, 45V)

8/1/05 - GMATPrep 1 - 720 (47Q, 41V)

8/8/05 - GMATPrep 2 - 740 (49Q, 42V)

8/15/05 - PowerPrep 2 - 760 (51Q, 41V)

8/16/05 - ACTUAL GMAT - 720 (96th Percentile)

Final Advice

My apologies for this post being so long. If you are still reading--I am amazed. Here are some concluding thoughts I have about preparing for the GMAT:

- To Recent Grads: If you are a recent college graduate thinking about business school down the road, consider taking the GMAT in the near future. This test will probably be a lot easer to study for as a student or a recent graduate because your study habits will still be fresh. Your GMAT scores are good for 5 years, so get the test out of the way early if you can.

- Flashcards: Record all your critical notes about the GMAT onto blank flashcards and make it a point to review your flashcards frequently. This is such an effective method for drilling strategy points and knowledge into your head. Start making flashcards from the first day of your studies. By the time I took the test, I had close to 300 cards--I was really glad I made the effort because they made my last-minute review a breeze.

- Online Forums: I wish I had done this more myself, but participate on online fora like Beat The GMAT Forum and TestMagic. These fora foster excellent discussion on all things GMAT, from general strategy to answers to specific questions. Participate a lot and solve the problems that are posted--it's an excellent way of mastering the test. Careful though: these fora can be addictive!

- Keep it short: I did about 12 weeks worth of prep over the span of four and a half months. In hindsight, I wish that I had maintained a tighter schedule so that I could have taken my test earlier. Try to keep your test prep within 2-3 months. Extending your prep too much can lead to burnout as well as forgetfulness.

- Read about others' successes: If you find yourself slumping in your studies or becoming jaded, read about the successes of other test takers on the online fora mentioned above. These people have a lot to share in their happy posts. It's a surefire way of gaining insight about the exam and boosting your own morale.

- Confidence: You must walk into your test with a leave-no-prisoner-behind attitude. No matter what happens during your prep or during your test, NEVER lose faith in yourself. Prepare well for your test, expect to score high, and reach your target. Shaky confidence will lead to disaster.

- Blog it: Consider blogging your own test prep experience. It's a great way of staying on track with your studies, and you will be helping future generations of GMAT prep people through your documentation. E-mail me your blog address and I will create a link to it on Beat The GMAT. Let's create a new online community of people who have successfully studied for the GMAT on their own! Set up your free blog at Blogger.

- Finally, Enjoy!: Don't forget to enjoy what you are doing. Don't you remember a time when math problems were kinda fun? Don't you sometimes think that the reading comprehension passages you read contain some interesting information? Find a way to have some fun with your GMAT preparation. It's probably something very different from what you do on a normal basis, so appreciate the experience for what it is. Once you can convince yourself that what you are doing is fun, the process becomes a whole lot easier.

That's all I got. I apologize if I left out some details or if I made some grammar/spelling mistakes.

I'd like to send out my sincerest thanks to all of you who have read my blog and supported me throughout my GMAT preparation. Beat The GMAT has received visitors from every continent in the world (except Antarctica-maybe soon). It has been so satisfying for me to know that my blog serves such a large and diverse community. I hope to continually show my thanks and commitment to you all by maintaining my website for the future.

Remember: You can Beat The GMAT too! Best of luck!

Eric
Beat The GMAT! http://www.beatthegmat.com

Debriefing from a guy who scored a 790

2005-08-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

The following is one of the most influential posts I've ever seen on GMAT strategy. "TwinnSplitter," the guy who wrote this post, had an incredible strategy for attacking the GMAT. I borrowed heavily from his strategy in forming my own study plan.

TwinnSplitter applied principles of high-performance athletic training to GMAT Prep. It's a fantastic methodology for approaching the GMAT.

Enjoy! http://www.urch.com/forums/just-finished-my-gmat/26097-790-gmat-q50-v51-4.html#post152529

Ursula's Debriefing

2005-08-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

The following is a legendary debriefing by a GMAT forum user named "Ursula," who scored a 760 on the GMAT. Her post is the reason why I became inspired to study for the GMAT on my own and create Beat The GMAT!

Ursula developed a simple and methodical study strategy--truly a beautiful thing.

Enjoy! http://www.urch.com/forums/just-finished-my-gmat/10134-760-q49-v46.html#post41054

Updated Links

2005-08-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to updating the links on this website. There are now links to over 50 sites and resources that I had used during the course of my GMAT preparation [EDITOR'S NOTE: All these links have been moved to the 'Resources' section of the Beat The GMAT Forum].

In other news, I'm planning a "Beat The GMAT! Scholarship." More information about that soon...

G-Day Details

2005-08-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a recap of my G-Day:

I began my day by waking up at 9:30 AM. My test was scheduled for 1:00 PM, so I had the luxury of being able to sleep in a little bit. I had no problems sleeping during the night, and I woke up feeling rested and refreshed. After reading some e-mails and taking a shower, I went down to the kitchen and ate a huge breakfast around 11:00 AM. My sister was kind enough to prepare for me: an enormous omelet, some canadian bacon, and a giant peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It took me a while to get all this food down, since my stomach was a little uneasy from nerves. After my meal, I played around on the computer for a little bit and then took off for the test center at 12:10 PM.

I'm fortunate to have a Prometric test center within ten minutes of my parent's house (just to clarify, I've been at my parent's place for the last few days). I walked into the test center around 12:20 PM and was greeted by two friendly Prometric employees. They had me fill out a nondisclosure agreement, and then I put all of my belongings into a locker, except for my license and a pair of foam earplugs I brought with me. A Prometric employee checked my identification before I entered the testing room and then escorted me to my computer terminal.

I really liked how Prometric set up its computers. Where I went--and it may be the case for all Prometric centers--I was given a cubicle of my own with very high walls. My terminal featured a desktop computer, large CRT monitor, and an adjustable desk chair. In each cubicle, a soundproof headset is provided. I didn't use my clunky headset because I had brought my own earplugs.

The Prometric employee handed me 8 blank yellow sheets of paper and two pencils, and I was able to start my test around 12:30 PM. I'm glad I didn't have to wait until 1:00 PM.

The AWAs were great! My analysis of argument was very easy to pick apart, and I was able to write four paragraphs and about 400 words in about 22 minutes. I had plenty of time to proofread and edit. My analysis of issue was also pretty easy, and I finished with about 3 minutes to spare. I took my AWAs to be a good sign for the rest of my test.

After the essays, I left the test room for my five minute break. I went to the bathroom and then ate one bite of a granola bar that I brought with me. Prometric provided some cold filtered water, so I took a few small sips before heading back into the testing room.

The quantitative section was a breeze for me today! I only saw one combinations problem, which I was able to easily solve. I solved a lot of arithmetic word problems and number property data sufficiency questions. Many of the problems were strikingly similar to OG questions that I had previously reviewed--it almost felt like I was cheating. Thus, in my experience today I found that the difficulty level of quant problems on the real GMAT matched that of the practice questions in OG. I have to admit though, by question 20 I was freaking out a little bit because it didn't seem like the questions were getting any harder. But I reminded myself that I was well prepared for quant and everything should seem easy to me. I finished with 8 minutes to spare!

Following my quant section, I took another five minute break. I followed the same routine as my previous break--went to the bathroom, took a bite out of the granola bar, drank water, headed back into the test. At this point I thought to myself, "it's almost over, finish hard!"

The verbal section started out fairly well. The first ten questions didn't seem too harsh. I got a bold face question around question #6, and then two back-to-back reading comprehension passages around question #10. In general, the reading comprehension wasn't as tough as I had anticipated. I got 1 science passage, 2 history passages, and 1 business-related passage--all of them were under 45 lines. Around question 20, however, I started to run into problems. I just couldn't keep up the intensity of my concentration. I think I had overexerted myself during the quant section, and my attention began to drift in and out. By question 30, I snapped back into gear as I was getting excited about the test ending soon.

So after clicking my final verbal question, I went through about 12 screens of survey questions. I blew through them to get to my scores. I was hoping to jump up for joy, seeing a 750, but instead I had a rather emotionless 720. I was pretty disappointed in my verbal score, but extremely happy about my quant performance.

I walked out of the testing room somewhat somber, but a Prometric employee greeted me with a huge smile and said, "Wow! You blew this test out of the water!"

They printed out my unofficial score report for me, told me I'd get my official report in 2 weeks, gave me a small pamphlet called "Interpreting Your Scores," and then I got my stuff and left the building for home. By then it was 4:45 PM.

***

At the moment, I'm debating whether I should retake the GMAT. However, I'm leaning towards not retaking it. Even though I am convinced that I could score above 40 in verbal upon second try, I have to take the GMAT in perspective. What good would 20 more points, or even 40 more points do for my MBA candidacy? The answer is not that much. My 720 score all ready would put me in competitive position for the elite MBA programs. Also, it's important to remember that the GMAT is a means to an end--not an end in itself.

In any event, I feel like I deserve a long break from the GMAT. I'll let you all know how my AWAs go. Thanks for reading this long post!

G-Day Result: 720 (96th Percentile)

2005-08-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout this prep process. Your support did mean a lot to me!

I took my GMAT today, and I scored a 720 (90th Percentile Quantitative; 85th Percentile Verbal; 96th Percentile Overall). I'm satisfied with the overall score, but I'm a bit concerned about my poor verbal performance. There is an 11 point difference between my scaled quantitative score and my scaled verbal score (verbal was under 40). Ideally, I wished to have more balanced scores.

During the test, I simply lost my focus when I got into the verbal section, and I don't think I performed to my potential. At least my quant score turned out to be very good!

I'm going to wait and see how my AWAs turn out. If I get a 5.0+, I'm definitely not going to retake the test because my essays at that point should demonstrate that I do indeed have strong verbal abilities.

Anyway, I'm slightly pissed, slightly happy, and very relieved. I didn't reach my goal of 750+, but that's okay. This score should keep me competitive for the top MBA programs I will eventually apply to.

In the near future, I'll write a detailed follow up of my test experience, as well as a summary and reflection of this entire prep process.

Thanks again for reading!

I seriously hate you, Prometric!!

2005-08-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

My test has been rescheduled again for tomorrow.

Here's my situation. Prometric called me this morning telling me that my original test center was closed because of technical difficulties it was experiencing and that I had to reschedule. Accordingly, I rescheduled my test for Wednesday at a site an hour away from my home (the only thing available at such short notice). Later that day, a representative from my original test center called me to remind me that I had an exam with them tomorrow.

I was confused, so I called my original test center directly, at which time I was informed that they were experiencing no technical difficulties. So, I rescheduled my test back to my original time and place--but not without a $50 rescheduling fee!

Even though this situation was all Prometric's fault, this company refuses to waive the rescheduling fee. I'll have to write an angry letter later this week.

Die, Prometric!

Day 80 - PowerPrep 2

2005-08-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today I took my 13th and final practice CAT, PowerPrep 2.

As I mentioned before, PowerPrep draws its questions entirely from Official Guide 10th Edition, so none of the questions were fresh to me. That's not to say however that I remembered all of the answers. In fact, I had forgotten a few questions entirely.

The result: 760 (51Q, 41V). I'm a bit disappointed with my verbal score, but I had made an error on the second question in that section that totally screwed my final scaled score. In any event, this result is certainly skewed high, especially my quantitative score.

Considering my performance in all the practice tests I have taken to date, I am going to predict that my actual GMAT score will fall within the 710-750 range. I believe that it is unlikely that I will reach my goal of 750+, but I'll still be satisfied if I reach a 720+.

So now my test is on Wednesday morning. As Tom Petty once put it, "the waiting is the hardest part."

SUMMARY OF DAY 80 WORK:
1. PowerPrep Practice CAT 2.
2. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 80 INSIGHTS:
1. See my post from earlier today. I'm still pissed at Prometric.

I really really hate you, Prometric!

2005-08-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

My test is now on Wednesday, August 17. This morning I received a call from Prometric (the company that facilitates GMAT testing) telling me that the test center I was supposed to go to on Tuesday is experiencing "technical difficulties," and that it was necessary for me to reschedule my exam.

This blows. My test was supposed to be tomorrow afternoon at a location 5 minutes from my house. Now I have to travel over one hour on Wednesday morning to take my GMAT.

Prometric: get your shit together!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: As of January 2006, the GMAT is no longer administered by Prometric. It is now administered by Petersen VUE.]

Day 79 - Final Review

2005-08-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks again everyone for the supportive e-mails. Just to clarify, my test is on Tuesday, August 16, not tomorrow (Monday).

I had a simple day of study. First, I went through my flashcards carefully and then proceeded to do all the practice questions on GMATPrep, which amounted to 75 questions total, covering all topics. GMATPrep is supposed to provide fresh, newly retired GMAT questions to its users, but I was disappointed to see a lot of overlap with Official Guide 10th Edition. Nonetheless, it was nice to get some practice in.

Tomorrow I will do my final full-length practice test, PowerPrep 2. Since I have completed most of OG, it is unlikely that I will see any fresh problems. But that's fine because I want to have a really high score before going into my real exam. There is somewhat of an informal tradition for GMAT prep folk to take PowerPrep 2 after completion of OG, since this score tends to be skewed high. It's a great confidence boost to have at the end of your prep.

It's all coming to a close soon. Thank God!

SUMMARY OF DAY 79 WORK:
1. Did all 75 review questions in GMATPrep software - Data Sufficiency, Problem Solving, Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.
2. Reviewed Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 79 INSIGHTS:
1. Leave PowerPrep 2 for the end of your studies as a confidence boost before your test.

Day 78 - Review Continued...

2005-08-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to make a major shout-out to all you readers out there. Many of you have been sending me supportive messages throughout this prep process, and it means a lot to me. You all rock.

That message of appreciation is long overdue. Anyway, I had another chill day of review. After doing two practice AWAs in the morning, I re-read Sahil's Sentence Correction Notes, which are excellent. Next, I re-read the Statistics and Counting Methods lessons in the Delta Course website and finished up by reviewing some errors I had committed in various Official Guide sets.

I'm plan on putting the studying aside for tomorrow. I'm going to hit up the beach to get some fresh sea air, which will be a welcome change to the stuffy room I usually study in. I've reached the point in my studies where the best thing to do is to relax--and I fully intend to do so.

SUMMARY OF DAY 78 WORK:
1. Analysis of Argument Practice.
2. Analysis of Issue Practice.
3. Re-read Sahil's Sentence Correction Notes.
4. Re-read Statistics and Counting Methods chapters of the Delta Course.
5. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Problem Solving errors.
6. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Sentence Correction errors.
7. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Critical Reasoning errors.
8. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Data Sufficiency errors.
9. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 78 INSIGHTS:
1. Are you a few days away from your test? Relax. Take some time to clear your mind.

Day 77 - Brief Day of Review

2005-08-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't do too much review today. I was never one who really emphasized review before a test. During college, I made it a point of studying the material for a class rigorously throughout the quarter, and when midterms or finals rolled around, I would usually have mastered the material well enough to just go into a test without review. I've applied this same study habit with the GMAT. Right now I'm feeling pretty good about how I've covered the GMAT. Consequently, I reviewed half-heartedly today.

I did manage to get a few things done. I began the day by practicing some AWAs--I feel like I'm really getting the hang of them now. Next, I re-read Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes, since I'm still relatively weak when it comes to SC. I always learn something new from each re-reading of these notes. After that, I freshened up my probability/combinations skills by looking at the Probability and Advanced Probability chapters in the Delta Course. I finished up my day by re-doing various Official Guide errors I've made in the past.

Just 5 days left until G-Day! Anyone else excited?

SUMMARY OF DAY 77 WORK:
1. Analysis of Argument practice essay.
2. Analysis of Issue practice essay.
3. Re-read Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes.
4. Re-read Probability and Advanced Probability chapters in the Delta Course.
5. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Problem Solving errors.
6. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Sentence Correction errors.
7. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Critical Reasoning errrors.
8. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 77 INSIGHTS:
1. Cramming sucks. Try to get yourself into a relaxed mindset a few days before your exam. Be confident!

Day 76 - Last Day of PS

2005-08-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but a long time ago I downloaded a spreadsheet called the Official Guide Question Information Grid that contained information about the difficulty level of each question found in Official Guide 10th Edition--it classifies each problem as EASY, MEDIUM, or HARD [EDITOR'S NOTE: As of 10/17/07 I haven't seen a similar document created for OG 11 questions]. This Excel spreadsheet was produced by GMAC to assist people studying with OG. I have found this grid to be very helpful in my own studies. I use this grid primarily to determine which difficulty bin my OG errors come from.

For my last set of Official Guide Problem Solving questions, I focused on doing 40 problems exclusively from the hard bin. I was able to identify these difficult questions with the assistance of the OG Info Grid; I had a good performance today: 95% hit rate.

For those of you who do not have enough time to complete all the questions in OG, but still wish to prepare adequately to achieve a high score, I would recommend using this grid to identify all the hard problems in OG and to practice exclusively with those problems. It's probably the most efficient way of going about OG for all you 700+ aspirants.

With PS out of the way, I'm going to now devote the rest of my time to general review. I can practically smell my impending GMAT...and yes, it smells tasty.

SUMMARY OF DAY 76 WORK:
1. Analysis of Argument Practice Essay.
2. Analysis of Issue Practice Essay.
3. 40 HARD bin Official Guide Problem Solving Questions, culled from problems #148-280, pages 96-112.
4. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #1-6, pages 320-321.
5. Official Guide Critical Reasoning Questions, #1-10, pages 499-501.
6. Reviewed 5 previous Official Guide Data Sufficiency errors.
7. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Sentence Correction errors.
8. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 76 INSIGHTS:
1. Use the Official Guide Information Grid to identify difficult questions in OG and to analyze your errors.

Day 75 - GMATPrep 2

2005-08-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today I took the second full-length practice test off of the new GMATPrep software. I'm quite pleased with the result: 740 (49Q, 42V). This is the highest score I've received on any practice test. Hopefully, this score is a good indicator of how I will actually perform on the real test because GMATPrep--like PowerPrep--uses retired GMAT questions.

There has been a lot of buzz about the new GMATPrep software and how its questions do not overlap with earlier editions of the Official Guide. Sadly, I've found that this hasn't been the case. While most of the questions I've seen on GMATPrep have indeed been new, there are a handful of questions I've seen in the quantitative and verbal sections that are taken from Official Guide 10th Edition. But again, most of the material on GMATPrep is new so it is still good software to use.

Anyway, I feel like I'm in a good position for this final week. Only 10 points below my target!

SUMMARY OF DAY 75 WORK:
1. GMATPrep practice test 2.
2. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 75 INSIGHTS:
1. GMATPrep's material isn't totally fresh. Expect to see some overlap with Official Guide 10th Edition.

Day 74 - Some PS

2005-08-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

As my GMAT studies have progressed, I have made it a point to not work on the weekends. It's almost become a principle. However, seeing that my GMAT test date is rapidly approaching, I wanted to get a jump start on my final week of studying and do just a little bit of PS work.

Today I finished the problem solving section in the Kaplan 800 book. Overall, I am pretty impressed by how Kaplan 800 covered PS, and I picked up a few good strategies here and there. Thus, Kaplan 800 receives my seal of approval for its math review.

I performed at a 90% accuracy with my Official Guide Problem Solving set. I committed a few careless errors, but I was a little upset that I was stumped by three problems. I need to work on doing PS problems quicker because I could see myself potentially spending 7 minutes on a tough problem during the real exam. One thing that I need to work on this week is how to know when to stop working and just take an educated guess. That's difficult for me because I'm stubborn.

8 days to go!

SUMMARY OF DAY 74 WORK:
1. Kaplan 800 Problem Solving, Arithmetic & Algebra, Geometry, and Oddball Word Problems, pages 311-340.
2. Official Guide Problem Solving Set, #281-320, pages 112-118.
3. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 74 INSIGHTS:
1. Be sure that you work out a strategy for how much time you wish to devote for a given problem. Know when to stop, guess, and move on.

Day 73 - Mostly Review

2005-08-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

I had a brief study session today because I had the opportunity to go to an amusement park for free. The rollercoasters were a lot of fun, but I almost passed out from the heat.

I spent my study time pretty much doing a general review of topics. I did some RC and CR problems from OG, and then reviewed past errors from OG DS and OG SC. After that, I did more reading about problem solving from the Kaplan 800 book. What a relief having such a short session today after my week of long sessions!

It was a hit-and-run study day. I'm glad I could enjoy my Friday.

SUMMARY OF DAY 73 WORK:
1. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #7-12, pages 322-323.
2. Official Guide Critical Reasoning problems, #11-20, pages 501-503.
3. Review of 10 previous Official Guide Sentence Correction problems.
4. Review of 10 previous Official Guide Data Sufficiency problems.
5. Read Kaplan 800 Problem Solving Section, Word Problems, pages 292-310.

RECAP OF DAY 73 INSIGHTS:
1. Use sunblock and wear a hat whenever you go to an amusement park in the summer. Oye.

Day 72 - Still Problem Solving

2005-08-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had a big day of studying. I began my afternoon like I did yesterday by doing two practice AWA essays, one analysis of argument and one analysis of issue. Overall, I think that AWAs are really easy to handle, but for some reason I get a big case of writer's block whenever I try to tackle them. It takes me a long time to think about examples and how I wish to structure my argument. I'm glad that I'm getting some practice now, or else I could have been in trouble later.

Next, I did some problem solving review from the Kaplan 800 book and then tackled my set of 40 PS problems from the Official Guide book. Today my hit rate was 90%, and half of my errors were stupidly careless. I think that I need to slow down my pace so that I can read the questions more carefully.

After this PS assault, I reviewed some CR, RC, SC, and DS problems and past errors. I'm all ready feeling a little bit rusty on some of these topics. I have to make sure I continue my broad review of subjects until my test date.

Productivity is the shit. Gotta keep it in full gear for the home stretch!

SUMMARY OF DAY 72 WORK:
1. Analysis of Argument practice essay.
2. Analysis of Issue practice essay.
3. Kaplan 800 Problem Solving, Geometry and Word Problems sections, pages 272-291.
4. Official Guide Problem Solving Set, #321-360, pages 118-123.
5. Official Guide Critical Reasoning questions, #21-30, pages 504-506.
6. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #13-18.
7. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Sentence Correction errors.
8. Reviewed 10 previous Official Guide Data Sufficiency errors.
9. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 72 INSIGHTS:
1. If you are making a lot of careless problem solving errors, you are probably pacing yourself too quickly.

Day 71 - Getting Nasty with PS and AWA

2005-08-03T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I decided that it was time to start doing some serious essay practice, so I began the day by writing an Analysis of Argument essay and an Analysis of Issue essay using topics provided by ETS. I didn't time myself, but rather concentrated on how I wished to ideally structure my essays for the actual test. I found this exercise to be very useful. I hope to do several more essays in the future, and at some point, to time them.

I had a relatively short day. I scored an 85% on my Official Guide Problem Solving set, but nearly all of my errors were stupidly careless. After reviewing my errors from this set, I looked at the problem solving material in the Kaplan 800 book. As I mentioned yesterday, Kaplan 800 is very good with regard to its quant review.

Tomorrow I'll work harder and cover some more review of past topics. Peace.

SUMMARY OF DAY 71 WORK:
1. Analysis of Argument Practice Essay.
2. Analysis of Issue Practice Essay.
3. Official Guide Problem Solving Set, #361-400, pages 123-129.
4. Kaplan 800 Problem Solving, Algebra & Geometry Sections, pages 250-271.

RECAP OF DAY 71 INSIGHTS:
1. Do a few practice AWA essays before your test, just so you can be confident about them.

Day 70 - Time to Crack Problem Solving...and AWA

2005-08-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

I got started on the last area of the GMAT I need to cover before my test--quantitative problem solving. I've been leaving this part for last because (1) it has been the least problematic area for me in my past practice tests, and (2) my inner nerd likes doing math problems--even though I'm not a wiz like a lot of you engineers out there.

I performed very well on my first Official Guide Problem Solving set: 97.5%. I would poop my pants from joy if I had this same hit rate on the actual GMAT, but I know that it won't be the case. I did notice that the OG problems I did this afternoon were significantly easier than the problems I've seen on GMATPrep, which is representative of the actual GMAT. In any event, the practice will do me good.

To supplement my need for harder problem solving questions, I looked at the problem solving section of the Kaplan 800 book. This book had some tough problems as well as great explanations and strategies. So far I have to say that Kaplan 800 is excellent for a person like myself who wants to practice on a lot of difficult problems.

Today I also started to look into AWA (the essay section of the GMAT). I wanted to refresh myself on strategies for writing well, so I re-read the AWA section of the Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT book. Hopefully from now until test day I will be doing some practice essays each day to warm up to the real deal. We'll see if this goal of mine actually pans out.

SUMMARY OF DAY 70 WORK:
1. Official Guide Problem Solving Set, #401-441, pages 129-135.
2. Kaplan 800 Problem Solving, pages 229-249.
3. Re-read AWA section of Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT, pages 262-288.
4. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 70 INSIGHTS:
1. The Official Guide 10th Edition problem solving questions seem a bit too easy. Try to supplement these problems with hard problems from Kaplan.

Day 69 - GMATPrep 1

2005-08-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

Today I took the first full-length practice test off of the GMATPrep software. As I mentioned before, GMATPrep is the new version of the PowerPrep software. It features two practice tests that uses questions from recently retired GMAT tests. I was excited to use this new software because I've heard it provides a more accurate scoring benchmark than PowerPrep.

From what I've read in the forums, the quantitative section on the actual GMAT tends to be more difficult than what most people see in their PowerPrep tests. GMATPrep is more representative of the actual GMAT because its quant problems are more recent and more difficult than PowerPrep's.

I didn't do too badly: 720 (47Q, 41V). I seem to be plateauing at 720. It's a bit lower than my goal of 750, but I would still be happy with this score for my real GMAT.

One thing that I noticed about GMATPrep was that this software made reading comprehension a lot easier. For those of you who are taking the GMAT in a Peterson's VUE facility, consider yourself lucky because your GMAT will be identical to the format of GMATPrep. In the test I took today, the software actually highlighted in yellow the areas of the passage that were being questioned. I didn't have to scan the text at all for questions that referred to specific parts of the passage. Man, it made my life a lot easier!

Anyway, I'm about two weeks away from my GMAT. This week I am going to focus on problem solving. Overall I'm feeling pretty good and I'm confident that I will kick this test in the balls. Yep, balls.

SUMMARY OF DAY 69 WORK:
1. GMATPrep Full-length Test 1, off of GMATPrep software.
2. Official Guide Critical Reasoning Questions, #31-50, pages 506-511.
3. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 69 INSIGHTS:
1. GMATPrep is probably the most accurate GMAT simulation that exists.

Official Guide, 11th Edition!

2005-08-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated Official Guide for GMAT Review, 11th Edition is finally out! For those of you with some time left before your test date, I highly recommend that you purchase this book now.

Day 68 - A little more CR

2005-07-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

I had a big day of studying today. I began my day somewhat differently from my usual order, doing my Official Guide Critical Reasoning set first. The results were so-so, an 85% hit rate. Not too bad, but not amazing. I always want amazing.

After that I went through some Kaplan 800 critical reasoning problems. They were tough, but I have to admit the explanations in this book are terrific. Kaplan 800 does a good job of breaking down each problem and performing a thorough, clear analysis. Next, I went to town on reviewing past Delta Course and OG Data Sufficiency errors, followed by some OG sentence correction and OG reading comprehension problems.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that I am incorporating more and more review and practice into my daily study routine. It's nice having all this practice, but my study time is getting longer, increasingly. For all you GMAT prep folk out there following my study routine, be prepared to allot more time for studying the closer you get to your test date. You're going to need it!

SUMMARY OF DAY 68 WORK:
1. Official Guide Critical Reasoning Set, #51-90, pages 511-521.
2. Reviewed 10 past Delta Course errors.
3. Reviewed 10 past Official Guide Data Sufficiency problems.
4. 10 Official Guide Sentence Correction problems, #1-10, pages 653-654.
5. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #19-24, pages 326-327.
6. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 68 INSIGHTS:
1. When planning your study schedule, keep in mind that you will spend more and more time studying the closer you get to your test date.

Day 67 - Rough Day of CR

2005-07-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

In the last two days I have been in the process of selling my car. This is the first time I've done a private party sale, and I've learned that it is simply a pain in the ass. I think I priced my car too low, so as a result I've received about 3 calls and 5 e-mails per hour from my online listing. After letting a few people test drive my car, I was able to find someone to buy. Great news for me, but my study time has been eaten up as a result.

Consequently, my study was brief today and it put me in a bad mood. I didn't perform very well in my Official Guide Critical Reasoning set: 77.5%. Upon second review I was almost at the point of slapping myself in the face multiple times because of my careless misreading of several passages. I've determined that CR is something that you have to devote all your mental capacity towards. When you are distracted by other crap and not thinking clearly, it's easy to make mistakes.

But hey, at least I am a few grand richer from the day.

SUMMARY OF DAY 67 WORK:
1. Kaplan 800 Critical Reasoning, pages 17-43.
2. Official Guide Critical Reasoning Set, #91-130, pages 521-532.

RECAP OF DAY 67 INSIGHTS:
1. You can't perform well in critical reasoning without fully devoting your attention to each passage. It is so easy to misread!

Day 66 - Putting the choke-hold on CR

2005-07-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

It was an absolutely gorgeous summer day today. Not a cloud in the sky, temperatures in the high 70s (translation: high 20s for all you international people)--it was one of those days where you want to just say 'screw it' and run around in the sun.

Fortunately, I was able to beat down these natural urges and do some good studying. I began the afternoon with my usual Delta Course, RC, DS, and SC problems. After that I studied the critical reading chapter of the Princeton Review Verbal Workbook, which I found in pdf form somewhere on TestMagic Forum a long time ago. It was a good chapter, but pretty much identical to the critical reading chapter in Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT. The material was all review for me, but helpful in getting me into the CR mentality.

I was quite pleased today to score a 95% hit rate on my set of 40 Official Guide Critical Reasoning problems. Here's how I attack a typical Critical Reasoning question:

1. Read the question prompt and WRITE DOWN the question type (weaken, assumption, etc.)
2. Read the CR passage actively, noting the location of the conclusion and premises.
3. Look at answer choices and immediately eliminate choices that are out of scope, moving top to bottom. Remember, the CR passage provides a limited set of information. There tends to be a lot of answer choices with out-of-scope information.
4. Review answer choices that are left and pick the one that best answers the question.

I have a pretty simple approach but it seems effective. The only thing that is really giving me problems with regard to critical reading is stamina. I tend to take longer in answering these questions, and reading passage after passage actively is very tiring. But it's all getting better with practice.

Hope I stay productive this week...

SUMMARY OF DAY 66 WORK:
1. Reviewed 10 errors from past Delta Course problem sets.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #25-30, pages 328-329.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency problems, #1-10, pages 237-238.
4. Official Guide Sentence Correction problems, #11-20, pages 654-656.
5. Princeton Review Verbal Workbook, Arguments Chapter, pages 49-85.
6. Official Guide Critical Reading Set, #131-170, pages 532-543.

RECAP OF DAY 66 INSIGHTS:
1. Practice building your stamina with critical reasoning. It's a lot of reading you have to do, so get used to it now.

Day 65 - Some Critical Reasoning

2005-07-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty bad week of studying. I have been doing some travelling, which prevented my getting into the books. However, today I was able to accomplish a little bit of work.

On my very first set of Official Guide critical reasoning questions, I got an 82.9% hit rate. This score is definitely lower than what I had anticipated. I have a lot of strength when it comes to reading comprehension, so I thought that critical reasoning would be a walk in the park since these types of problems are similar to RC. I didn't find CR to be that intimidating, but I did notice that I was lacking a good attack strategy when I was going through the problems. I am going to spend next week developing a good CR approach.

3 weeks until test day! Perhaps this is my last weekend of leisure? Nah...

SUMMARY OF DAY 65 WORK:
1. Reviewed 10 past errors from Delta Course Bonus Questions.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #31-36, pages 330-331.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Problems, #11-20, pages 238-239.
4. Official Guide Sentence Correction Set, #21-30, pages 656-657.
5. Official Guide Critical Reasoning Set, #171-205, pages 543-557.

RECAP OF DAY 65 INSIGHTS:
1. Practice has a great way of revealing the moments you are lacking a strategy. I definitely felt this way today doing my critical reasoning questions.

Day 64 - Last Day of SC

2005-07-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

I had my big sentence correction finale today. I began my day by doing 9 Delta Course Bonus Questions (finally finished all 179 problems!), a reading comprehension passage from OG, and 10 DS problems from OG. Next, I re-read Sahil's SC Notes, which I must emphasize again, are excellent. After that I did some problems from Kaplan 800.

For my last set of 40 Official Guide Sentence Correction problems, I got an 85% hit rate. I'm sad to say that I haven't scored over 90% even once in any OG set, but at least I've stayed fairly consistent, except for one day.

While I'm not completely satisfied by my sentence correction preparation, I'm ready to move on to critical reasoning. I have to keep progressing because my test date is rapidly approaching. Thank God!

SUMMARY OF DAY 64 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #171-179 - Finally completed all 179 questions.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #37-42, pages 332-333.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Questions, #21-30, pages 239-240.
4. Re-read Sahil's SC Notes.
5. Kaplan 800 Review and Problems, pages 171-194.
6. Official Guide Sentence Correction Set, #31-71, pages 658-663.
7. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 64 INSIGHTS:
1. You can't master everything.

Day 63 - Princeton Review CAT 4

2005-07-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

I took the last full-length practice CAT off of the Princeton Review CD. It went okay: 720 (45Q, 45V). This is a decent score, but I would like to have seen something in the mid 700s since this is my last PR test. I guess it didn't help that I got the very first question wrong on the verbal section.

One thing that I'm concerned about is my quantitative score. For the real exam, I believe that I need to be scoring around 47-50 in order to have a fair shot at my goal of 750+. So far the highest quantitative performance I've had on any given practice test is 46. Morever, since I hear that the quantitative section on the actual GMAT is a bit harder than can be seen on OG, I'm feeling a little nervous.

But it's Friday, so I'm not going to worry about it until Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

SUMMARY OF DAY 63 WORK:
1. Princeton Review CAT 4, off of PR CD.
2. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 63 INSIGHTS:
1. I hope my quant is much better on the real GMAT, or else I won't reach my goal.

Day 62 - Flogging SC

2005-07-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

I had a very productive day today. The highlights of this afternoon were my reviewing sentence correction strategy from the GMAT Study Strategy provided by DaveForMBA [EDITOR'S NOTE: This link no longer exists, unfortunately], and re-reading Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes. Before the GMAT, I considered myself very strong when it came to grammar, but I've found that GMAT English can be quite different from formal English. Studying the various SC guides online are necessary for anyone who is serious about preparing for the exam.

Today I again performed at an 87.5% hit rate for my set of 40 Official Guide SC questions. I seem to have reached a plateau. Of course, I would like to raise my hit rate, but I am willing to accept my current level of performance since I can make up some ground on the actual test with my strong reading comprehension skills. But dammit, SC is a real thorn in my side.

It was a long freakin' day.

SUMMARY OF DAY 62 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #161-170.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #43-48, pages 334-335.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Problems, #31-40, pages 240-241.
4. Read SC Strategy from GMAT Study Strategy.
5. Re-read Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes.
6. Offical Guide Sentence Correction Set of 40 Questions, #71-110, pages 664-669.
7. Reviewed Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 62 INSIGHTS:
1. As a perfectionist, it's hard for me to accept the fact that I cannot master every area tested on the GMAT with super high proficiency. SC may be a weakness that I will just have to accept--or NOT!

Day 61 - Rebuilding my relationship with SC

2005-07-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

I had some small redemption today by performing at an 87% hit rate on a set of 40 Official Guide Sentence Correction problems. I think I understand why my hit rate was much lower yesterday: that set had a disproportionately high number of hard bin problems than are normally found in a given set of 40 OG problems. A quick analysis of the errors I have made to date on OG SC reveals that I tend to get more hard problems wrong, which is not good, since I want to be seeing only hard problems on the actual GMAT. I will need to review my errors carefully.

Special thanks to Abhishek, who tipped me off to Sahil's SC Notes. They are an excellent set of SC notes, which all of you out there should download and read.

SUMMARY OF DAY 61 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #151-160.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #49-54, pages 336-337.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Questions, #41-50, pages 241-242.
4. Read Sahil's SC Notes.
5. Official Guide Sentence Correction Set, #111-150, pages 669-675.

RECAP OF DAY 61 WORK:
1. Don't take your hit rates too seriously--they could be inflated. This may be the case for me, since I tend to get more hard questions wrong. OG unfortunately presents an indiscriminate variety of easy, medium, and hard questions in a given set of questions.

Day 60 - I Hate You, SC!

2005-07-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

This evening of study started off smoothly--I cruised through my review work without getting a single problem wrong. My confidence was high going into my set of 40 SC problems from OG, and I was feeling pretty good about my answers.

Then I checked the answer key.

I had a 70% hit rate in SC today! What the hell? I had been consistently performing above 80%. You should have heard me while I was checking my answers, I must have muttered the f-word over 15 times.

So it turned out to be a rough day of GMAT studying, but these snags are bound to happen. I can't let these slip-ups affect my confidence because confidence is the most important thing when taking the real GMAT.

Earlier today I discovered a newer version on the PowerPrep software from MBA.com, called GMATPrep. Every GMAT prep person out there must download this software because it contains two new full-length tests and several practice sets based off of real (but retired) GMAT questions. This software is going to be packaged with the Official Guide, 11th Edition, which may be released as early as the end of this month.

Nice software, but I'm still pissed about SC...

SUMMARY OF DAY 60 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #141-150.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension Passage, #55-60, pages 338-339.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Problems, #51-60, pages 242-243.
4. Official Guide Sentence Correction Set, #151-190, pages 675-682.

RECAP OF DAY 60 INSIGHTS:
1. Maintain your confidence, don't let the bad days get to you.
2. Download GMATPrep.

Test Date Pushed Back...

2005-07-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

I was originally supposed to take the GMAT on Tuesday, July 19, but I have decided to push back my test date to Tuesday, August 16. I believe I will be much more confident about taking the exam once I finish the Official Guide, which will take a few more weeks.

To GMAT test prep folk out there: take the GMAT only when you feel ready to take the GMAT. Change your test date if necessary.

Day 59 - More SC Carnage

2005-07-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

I had a very productive day today--I know, I'm acting way out of character from my usual lazy-ass self. I started with my routine review of past material--10 problems from Delta Course, an OG RC passage, and 10 OG DS problems.

After that I skimmed the Sentence Correction chapter in the Princeton Review Verbal Workout pdf I have--a waste of time. Next, I did some tough SC practice problems from the Kaplan 800 book. Finally, I got to the serious SC stuff--a set of 40 problems, timed, from the OG book. I didn't perform that badly: 87.5%. Still a bit lower than I would like, but hopefully I will be averaging 90+% after this week.

I didn't stop my day there! I reviewed all the explanations to the set of 40 OG problems I did and also went back and resolved 10 OG Data Sufficiency problems I had gotten wrong in the past. I capped off my day by running through my flashcards, which are now an enormous pile sitting on my desk.

Phew! Doing all this shit took a long time, but I'm feeling good about myself. I wish to keep up this pace for the rest of the week.

SUMMARY OF DAY 59 WORK:
1. 10 Delta Course Bonus Questions, #131-140.
2. OG Reading Comprehension passage, #61-66, pages 340-341.
3. 10 OG Data Sufficiency problems, #61-70, page 243.
4. Read through Princeton Review Verbal Workout Sentence Correction Chapter, pages 7-27.
5. Kaplan 800 Sentence Correction Problems, pages 54-71.
6. 40 OG Sentence Correction problems, #191-230, pages 682-689.
7. Reviewed 10 past OG DS errors.
8. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 59 INSIGHTS:
1. Princeton Review Verbal Workout book ain't so good when it comes to sentence correction review.

Day 58 - Jumping into SC--the water is fairly warm

2005-07-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

I got back into a better routine today. I began the afternoon by doing my normal 10 Delta Course problems, an RC passage from OG, and 10 DS questions from OG.

Afterward, I practiced my first set of 40 sentence correction problems from Official Guide. I did okay today--84% hit rate. Half of my errors were careless, so I have some optimism about improving my performance.

Another beautiful summer weekend awaits...

SUMMARY OF DAY 58 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Problems, #121-130.
2. OG Reading Comprehension Passage, #67-72, pages 342-343.
3. OG Data Sufficiency Problems, #71-80, page 244.
4. OG Sentence Correction Set, #231-268, pages 689-695.
5. Flashcards.

Day 57 - Brief SC Study

2005-07-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

I had another brief study session today. I seemed to get sidetracked by redesigning the Beat The GMAT! website. Oops.

This afternoon I studied Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes. These notes on SC are quite famous among the GMAT online fora. I found them to be very informative and I highly recommend them. I took a lot of time today to read through the document well and create some more flashcards from the info.

Hopefully I won't be as distracted tomorrow. But don't you just love the new layout?

SUMMARY OF DAY 57 WORK:
1. Took notes and made flashcards from Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes.

RECAP OF DAY 57 INSIGHTS:
1. Read Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes. Nice and concise.

Day 56 - Starting Sentence Correction

2005-07-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

I had a brief study session today, which is a shame since I was somewhat excited to delve into sentence correction. I did a little bit of work on SC using the Kaplan 800 book, but got sidetracked and didn't jump into OG.

I did however find some interesting information about sentence correction. There is a maxim commonly followed for tackling these kinds of questions: when in doubt, choose the most concise answer choice. ETS tends to make the most concise answer the correct answer.

Here's what I found:

***

On the sentence correction questions, when in doubt GO SHORT. In a study of the Eighth and Ninth Editions of the Official Guide to the GMAT there is strong evidence that the shorter answers tend to be right much more often than the longer answers.

# of Times Correct/# of Possiblities % Correct
Shortest answer 101/365 27.7%
2nd Shortest answer 95/365 26.0%
3rd Shortest answer 87/365 23.8%
4th Shortest answer 44/365 12.1%
5th Shortest answer (Longest) 38/365 10.4%

As you can see by the chart, the shortest answers are not always correct, but have a much greater probability of being right than the longest answers. In fact, the shortest answer is almost three times as likely to be correct as the longest answer! If you're debating between two possibilities on the test, go with the shorter one and the odds will be in your favor. (Note: The study was conducted using a visual appraisal to figure out the shortest answers rather than word or letter count. Visual "ties" were split up among each tied answer choice. For example, if the correct answer and another answer were tied for 2nd shortest, both the 2nd shortest and 3rd shortest were given credit and two possibilities were counted.)

***

This information is definitely useful for guessing when you can't narrow down an answer choice.

Hopefully tomorrow will be more fruitful...

SUMMARY OF DAY 56 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #111-120.
2. OG Reading Comprehension passage, #73-79, pages 344-345.
3. Copied all OG DS errors onto a Word document, for future review.
4. Kaplan 800 Sentence Correction, pages 135-154.
5. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 56 INSIGHTS:
1. When you have to guess for an SC question, choose the most concise answer!

Day 55 - Last Day of DS Focus

2005-07-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of mastering Data Sufficiency. After today I am going to put DS on the backburner, doing about 10 problems per day to stay fresh.

I tackled a set of 41 DS questions from OG and performed at an 88 percent hit rate. A pretty good score, but a bit lower than I would have liked. All of my errors were careless errors, and I was able to re-solve them upon review. I feel pretty confident now about handling these types of questions. I've developed a good methodology for myself. I no longer freak out when confronted with hard questions.

I'm going to shift my focus back to verbal by next focusing my attention on Sentence Correction. SC seems to be the bane of many a GMAT test taker's existence. We'll see if that's true for me as well...

SUMMARY OF DAY 55 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #101-110.
2. Reading Comprehension passage from Official Guide, #80-87, pages 346-347.
3. Data Sufficiency set from Official Guide, #80-120, pages 245-248.
4. Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 55 INSIGHTS:
1. Practice has helped me build confidence. Picture me rollin'...

Day 54 - Another DS Day...(Running out of DS-related Titles)

2005-06-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

I got a 92.5% hit rate on my DS problem set today. I have to say that it is extremely satisfying seeing my hit rate increase each day. The other thing that made me really happy is that I've noticed I am solving these questions faster and faster. My average is less than 2 minutes per question now. Moreover, I believe that I'm developing good instincts when it comes to number property questions. ETS has an excellent bad habit of testing the same concepts repeatedly.

Tomorrow should be the last day of my concentrated study of DS. Yay.

SUMMARY OF DAY 54 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #91-100.
2. OG Reading Comprehension passage, #88-94, pages 348-349.
3. OG Data Sufficiency set, #121-160, pages 248-253.

RECAP OF DAY 54 WORK:
1. Practice has helped me improve speed and accuracy with regard to DS questions. Damn skippy.

Day 53 - More DS Fun

2005-06-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Today I earned a 90 percent hit rate on a set of 40 DS questions from Offical Guide. This is totally great, but my enthusiasm is a bit muted. I am working backwards in the OG DS section because I've been told that the last 50-100 questions in this section are the toughest and most realistic to the actual GMAT. Consequently, my hit rate is improving, but I have noticed that the questions are getting easier as I creep towards the beginning of the section.

But all in all, the practice has been helpful. I'm starting to pick up on question patterns that are commonly tested. And I think I'm starting to get the hang of number property DS questions.

As a wise man once observed: it's all about practice, bitches.

SUMMARY OF DAY 53 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Problems, #81-90.
2. OG RC Passage, #95-100, pages 350-351.
3. OG Data Sufficiency Set, #161-200, pages 253-257.

RECAP OF DAY 53 INSIGHTS:
1. Practice, practice, practice DS questions using the OG book.

Day 52 - Making Data Sufficiency My Bitch

2005-06-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm making progress in understanding how Data Sufficiency works.

After going through my normal Delta Course problems and RC passage from OG, I did a practice set of 40 DS problems from OG. I managed to earn a significantly higher hit rate compared to the last OG DS set I did: this time I hit 80% correct. Even more good news was that nearly all of my errors were careless mistakes, which I was able to correct upon second examination.

I am much more systematic in my approach now. Here's what I've done:

1. First, I read the question prompt very carefully, making sure I understand the information being presented. A common error I make is in misreading.
2. Next, I determine the question type--whether it is a "YES/NO" or "Asking for Value" question. WRITE DOWN the question type on your scrap paper. I've discovered that writing down the question type has been the most important factor in improving my DS today. It has kept me on track for determining what kind of sufficiency I am looking for in a problem.
3. Finally, keep the statements separate when solving. Very standard and important advice.

I am pleasantly surprised how well this strategy has worked for me. The only thing I have to work on now, besides improving my hit rate, is moving faster. I am currently very slow with DS, averaging over 2 minutes per problem. Speed and accuracy will come with practice, so I just have to keep at it.

SUMMARY OF DAY 52 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS questions, #71-80.
2. Official Guide Reading Comprehension passage, #101-106, pages 352-353.
3. Official Guide Data Sufficiency Set, #201-240, pages 257-261.

RECAP OF DAY 52 WORK:
1. Be as systematic as possible in approaching DS problems.
2. For each DS problem, WRITE DOWN the question type on your scrap paper. Trust me, it helps a lot!

Day 51 - Kaplan CAT 4

2005-06-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today I took the last CAT test on the Kaplan 2005 CD, CAT #4. I didn't have the roaring finish that I would have liked, but rather I performed just okay.

Score: 590 (37Q, 35V). Translation of this score using GMAT Score Estimator [EDITOR'S NOTE: Doesn't exist anymore]: 737.

I have decided to break from tradition by no longer doing my extensive analysis after taking a full-length practice test. I will still look through my errors and explanations, but I want to devote more time doing practice problems.

Hallelujah, it's Friday.

SUMMARY OF DAY 51 WORK:
1. Kaplan CAT 4 full-length practice test off of Kaplan 2005 CD.

RECAP OF DAY 51 WORK:
1. Kaplan knows how to screw with a person's confidence. It's hard to ignore those scores...

Day 50 - Suck it up?

2005-06-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

I am at a crossroads right now. My GMAT is scheduled for July 19, but I don't feel like I'm at a point right now where I'll be ready to take the test by that date. I had a brief chat with my sister today (a distinguished Kellogg alumnae), and her advice was to just "suck it up" and take the test.

I'm going to follow her advice--for the most part. In the next few weeks I will tighten my preparation and focus on finishing the Official Guide book. The one thing I am really lacking at this point is a lot of practice. However, if I don't feel more confident about the test by July 11, I am going to reschedule the test for early August. I know, I'm hedging a bit.

Anyway, today I had a nice long afternoon/evening of prep. I did my daily 10 problems from Delta Course followed by an RC passage from OG. Next, I looked at part of the OG Math Review, learned some new math tricks from this website, and reviewed the Data Sufficiency lesson on the Kaplan 2005 CD.

Finally, I got to the important part of the day and did some DS problems from OG. I finished the set of 34 problems I had started doing two days ago, and dammit it was hard. Upon finishing the set I tried resolving all of the problems I had got wrong and then carefully read the explanations for every problem. It wasn't too pretty.

I capped off the day by looking at various errors I have made in past weeks and reviewed my flashcards.

It was a long freakin day. I've got to start hauling ass on OG, doing at least 40 problems per day.

SUMMARY OF DAY 50 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Problems, #61-70.
2. Reading Comprehension passage from Official Guide, #107-112, pages 354-355.
3. OG Math Review, pages 51-60.
4. Lesson on least common multiple (LCM) and greatest common factor (GCF) from this website.
5. Data Sufficiency problems from Official Guide, #261-274, pages 262-264.
6. Reviewed 10 past errors.
7. Reviewed Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 50 INSIGHTS:
1. There comes a point in your GMAT study where you have to make a decision to just go for it. I'm there right now.
2. I'm in the home stretch and it's time for me to go crazy on practice. Practice, practice, PRACTICE!

Day 49 - Brief Study Session

2005-06-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was hosting a friend, so I didn't get much in the way of studying done. But the good news is that I won some cool missions on Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

I did manage to do my normal 10 Delta Course Bonus problems and I also completed a RC passage/questions from OG. To cap off the day, I skimmed through 10 pages of the OG Math Review as a brush up.

Tomorrow I'm going to be devoted to work. Got to get the discipline back.

SUMMARY OF DAY 49 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #51-60.
2. OG RC passage and questions, #113-118, pages 356-357.
3. OG Math Review, pages 42-51.

RECAP OF DAY 49 INSIGHTS:
1. As little lapse of discipline goes a long way. I have to get my studying back into gear.

Day 48 - Dismal Data Sufficiency

2005-06-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I turned my focus on cracking Data Sufficiency questions. It was a very dismal first day.

I began the day doing some non-DS related stuff. I did my usual 10 questions from the Delta Course BONUS set and I practiced 2 RC passages from OG. As I said before, my strategy is to stay practiced on previous material to keep fresh on what I've covered so far in the last few weeks. Next, I did some Kaplan 800 DS problems sets, which were insanely difficult as I had predicted. I got half the questions right from two short problem sets.

After the Kaplan 800, I studied 10 pages of the extensive math review in OG, just to see if there were any new things to learn. And finally, I got to the meat of the my day--my first set of DS questions from OG.

I was originally going to do the last 34 questions in the OG DS section, but I ended up doing #241-260. I couldn't make it all the way through this set because of how time-consuming and frustratingly hard the questions were. I performed much lower than I had expected, with a 45 percent hit rate.

This hit rate is absolutely unacceptable. I will have to raise this rate to at least 85% if I'm serious about reaching my 750+ goal.

Anyway, I'm staying positive for the moment. I'll be on the hunt for some good DS strategies. I'll let you all know what I find.

SUMMARY OF DAY 48 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS questions set, #41-50.
2. 2 RC passages from OG, #119-130, pages 358-361.
3. Kaplan 800 DS Practice Sets 1 and 2, pages 343-351.
4. OG Math Review, pages 31-42.
5. Official Guide DS Problems, #241-260, pages 261-262.

RECAP OF DAY 48 INSIGHTS:
1. The end part of the OG DS section is ridiculous. I have to improve my performance dramatically to get the 750+ that I desire.

Day 47 - Kaplan CAT 3 Analysis

2005-06-20T01:19:00.000-07:00

This evening I examined the Kaplan CAT 3 test that I took on Friday. I did my usual analysis using this spreadsheet, while recording my errors on a separate Word document.

I was pleased to discover that I was able to solve nearly all the math problems I got wrong upon my second look at the problems. I also noticed that most of my careless errors in math and verbal were made from my misreading the question. I believe that such carelessness can be completely eliminated if I take more time per question. In practically all of the practice tests I have taken thus far, I usually end each section with five minutes or more to spare. ENDING SECTIONS WITH A FEW MINUTES TO SPARE IS A BAD SIGN. Doing so indicates that you are not efficiently allocating your maximum time and attention to the problems on the test--you are moving too fast. Had I moved slightly slower and read the questions more thoroughly, I would have performed better.

To all the test prep folk out there, work on pacing yourselves so that you consistently have LESS than five minutes left at the end of each section. Be sure to read and digest all of the questions carefully.

SUMMARY OF DAY 47 WORK:
1. Analysis of Kaplan CAT 3 Practice Test using this spreadsheet.

RECAP OF DAY 47 INSIGHTS:
1. Finishing with time to spare on each section is bad! If this is the case for you, pace yourself more slowly to ensure you understand the problems well.

Day 46 - Kaplan CAT 3 Practice Test

2005-06-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I went to the library to take my eighth full-length practice test: Kaplan CAT 3, off of the Kaplan 2005 CD.

It went fairly smoothly--I was feeling pretty confident throughout the test, but since I have started working on Official Guide it has become obnoxiously apparent to me how badly written Kaplan problems are. The wording on several questions confused me, but I was usually able to narrow down to at least two answer choices.

Anyway, the result: 620 (38Q, 36V)

Not too bad for a Kaplan test. The only thing that bothered me today is that I got kicked out of the library before I could finish my verbal section. Stupid bastard librarians don't like working past 5:00 PM on a Friday. I guess I can't blame them.

Time to start drinking.

SUMMARY OF DAY 46 WORK:
1. Kaplan CAT 3 Practice Test, off of Kaplan 2005 CD.

RECAP OF DAY 46 INSIGHTS:
1. Once you start working on Official Guide, you really get irritated by how poorly written Kaplan questions are.

Day 45 - Last Day of RC Assault

2005-06-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my intensive study of RC. I now feel pretty confident in this area and will start attacking another aspect of the GMAT in the next day of study.

I started with some math exercises from the Delta Course Bonus Questions set, doing my ten problem warm up. Next, I tackled three science passages from Kaplan 800. Tough as usual, but manageable.

After Kaplan 800 I did 45 RC problems off of OG. Once again, these passages and questions seemed so easy compared to the crappy imitation problems from Kaplan or Princeton Review. I got 44/45 questions correct, which is approximately a 98% hit rate. I rounded off my day by reviewing ten errors in past GMAT material and reviewing my flashcards.

The next GMAT area I wish to master is data sufficiency. I believe my success on the GMAT hinges on my doing well in DS, since this area has traditionally been bringing down my practice scores.

SUMMARY OF DAY 45 WORK:
1. Delta Course Bonus Questions, #31-40.
2. Kaplan 800 - 3 Science Reading Comprehension Passages, pages 111-131.
3. Official Guide Reading Comprehension, #131-174, pages 362-375.
4. Reviewed 10 past errors.
5. Reviewed Flashcards.

RECAP of DAY 45 INSIGHTS:
1. My intensive RC study has paid off. I hope that intensive study of other subject areas will be as successful.

Day 44 - Back to Work - More RC

2005-06-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an eventful past week. All I have to say is that if you are thinking about moving, don't. It can turn into a drawn-out logistical nightmare.

It was a relief to be back to the books today. I started out with my usual routine, doing 10 problems from the Delta Course BONUS Questions. Next I tackled two RC passages from the Kaplan 800 book: one social science passage and one technical science passage. They weren't too difficult, to my surprise. Finally, I got to OG, and did 38 questions from the textbook. My hit rate was about 90%, which is slightly lower than what I'd like to see (ideally, I'd like to be hitting 95%+).

I feel like I am really starting to get the hang of reading comprehension questions. I've found that four strategies have really helped me:

(1) Immediately write down the topic and scope after reading the first paragraph of a given passage. Doing so will help you think about questions relating to the main point or main purpose.

(2) Try to go into an RC passage with an attitude that you are excited to learn about the information it contains. It takes some practice, but this strategy helps you maintain your focus while you read.

(3) Read linearly. That is, try not to read sentences or parts of passages over and over again. Doing so wil slow you down dramatically and actually confuse you because the ideas in the passage are not being read in logical order.

(4) Do not skim, but read quickly. This is a personal strategy. I find that I digest information better when I don't gloss over too much detail.

These are strategies that work especially well for me, but I advise all you GMAT test prep folks out there to try it for yourself. Experiment!

So after the OG stuff, I decided to add a new flavor to my routine--I went back and reviewed 10 problems that I got wrong in my past GMAT material. I hope to consistently review my errors every day until test day. And finally, I finished off the day reviewing my flashcards--yes, I have been holding to my promise to keep reviewing these notes every day.

It was a productive day. I hope I can keep this pace up, but my new apartment has a Playstation 2, and I fear my being sucked in by it. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is such a great game.

SUMMARY OF DAY 44 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS Questions, #21-30.
2. Kaplan 800 RC Passages, pages 95-110.
3. 5 RC passages (38 questions) from OG, pages 376-385.
4. Reviewed 10 errors from PowerPrep CAT 1 test (from way back in the day).
5. Reviewed Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 44 INSIGHTS:
1. Develop a personal style for attacking RCs.

I'm Moving and Graduating

2005-06-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

I will be graduating from my master's program and moving out of my current apartment this weekend. Thus, I'm taking these activities as an excuse to hold off my GMAT studying until next week. Blogging should resume on Wednesday, June 15.

Day 43 - Reading Comprehension Assault Continued

2005-06-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

I began my study today by going over 10 more practice problems in the BONUS QUESTIONS section of the Delta Course website. As I mentioned yesterday, I want to stay fresh on my probability skills.

After that I read the second chapter on Reading Comprehension in the Princeton Review Verbal Workout. It's not an impressive textbook, so don't buy it. I merely skimmed what they had to say, and they didn't mention anything that you couldn't find in PR Cracking the GMAT.

I followed up this reading with a bunch of practice problems. I did two practice passages on GMAT 800 and performed with 100% accuracy. Next I did 40 RC questions off of the Official Guide and performed with 92.5% accuracy. Needless to say, I'm starting to feel very confident about my RC skills.

Once again, don't feel frustrated if you perform poorly in RC off of Kaplan's practice tests or practice problems--KAPLAN DOES A SHITTY JOB of writing questions. The questions on the real GMAT are clearer and easier to work with.

SUMMARY OF DAY 43 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS QUESTIONS set, #11-20.
2. Princeton Review Verbal Workout - Reading Comprehension, Chapter 5: pages. 87-103.
3. GMAT 800 Practice RC Passages, pages 80-94.
4. OG RC Practice Problems, #213-252, pages 386-399.
5. Reviewed Flashcards.

DAY 43 INSIGHTS:
1. Doing OG gives me a huge confidence boost when it comes to reading comprehension.

Day 42 - Attacking Reading Comprehension

2005-06-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention yesterday that I performed some statistical analysis of my practice test scores that I've taken to date. First, I calculated my hit rate (in percent) for the problem solving, data sufficiency, critical reading, sentence correction, and reading comprehension questions on each of my tests. [EDITOR'S NOTE: I later determined that focusing on hit rates for practice sets is unproductive--they really don't reveal that much regarding your study progress. Practice tests are better indicators of your progress.] Next, I calculated the standard deviation of each of these categories so that I could determine degrees of variance.

Thus, the order in which I will attack specific GMAT subjects for the next several weeks has been determined by these results. I have found that my reading comprehension skills suffer from the lowest hit rate and highest variance. I will attack this subject first so that I will have the the most time reviewing it before test day.

With all that said, I covered a lot of material today. I first did 10 Delta Course math problems off of the BONUS QUESTIONS section on the Delta Course website. I wanted to stay fresh on my probability knowledge. Next, I skimmed Chapter 3 in the Princeton Review Verbal Workout (which I found for free). It didn't really teach me much. After that, I looked at the reading comprehension section in GMAT 800, read the strategy section, and did the first set of RC passages/questions. GMAT 800 is INSANELY difficult. And I can't emphasize INSANE enough. But somehow, I managed to get all the questions right on the first set. It was luck, believe me.

Finally, I got started on the Bible of GMAT prep, THE OFFICIAL GUIDE! It's a relief to finally be at this stage. I did the last 33 problems of the reading comprehension section and managed to get every question right! I have to say that the RC questions on OG are dramatically easier and better written than what I have seen on Kaplan and PR. It's really night and day.

Why did I do the last 33 problems of this section today? I've read that it's good to go through OG starting from the end of each section because the material there is more recent and more accurate to what you will probably see on the real deal. Also, the PowerPrep software tends to draw from the earlier questions on each section. If you don't want to bias your PowerPrep practice test scores while working on OG, this strategy of working back to front is useful.

Damn, I said a lot. If you made it all the way through, thanks for your patience. Now it's time to review some flashcards and pack (I'm moving this weekend).

SUMMARY OF DAY 42 WORK:
1. Delta Course BONUS questions, #1-10.
2. Princeton Review Verbal Workout, Chapter 3, pages 35-49.
3. Kaplan GMAT 800, pages 69-79, strategy and first passage.
4. Official Guide, Reading Comprehension Section, pages 400-415, #253-285.
5. Review of Flashcards.

RECAP OF DAY 42 INSIGHTS:
1. Work through Official Guide back to front on each section.
2. Official Guide RC questions are MUCH easier than Kaplan's and PR's.

Day 41 - Finished the Damn Flashcards!

2005-06-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

I finally finished making flashcards on all the material I have studied to date. It was about as enjoyable as stabbing myself in the leg with sharp pencils. But at least it is done.

I now have about 170 flashcards on important concepts and strategies for the GMAT. As I mentioned before, I plan on reviewing them EVERY day until test day. Like a lot of people, repitition is the best way for me to memorize things.

I expect to add more flashcards to my current pile as I move through more interesting material in the future. Tomorrow I'll start tackling Kaplan 800 and OG--at least I hope so.

SUMMARY OF DAY 41 WORK:
1. Created flashcards on my notes from the Kaplan Math Workbook, Powerprep Software, and Delta Course.

RECAP OF DAY 41 INSIGHTS:
1. I'm glad that shit is done.

Day 40 - Analysis of Kaplan CAT 2

2005-06-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

I really hate doing the weekly analysis that follows my weekly full-length practice GMATs. It is a huge pain in the ass recording all of my answer choices onto this spreadsheet AND recording all the problems I got wrong (with explanations) onto a separate Word document. It is time consuming as hell (usually takes 3-4 hours) and is as boring as Star Wars Episodes I and II.

But I do it anyway because (1) I'm slightly masochistic and (2) reviewing your errors is almost as important as doing constant practice. To all GMAT folks out there, stay disciplined and study your mistakes exhaustively.

I haven't observed any super notable benefit to my methods yet, but I know the payoff is coming.

SUMMARY OF DAY 40 WORK:
1. Analysis of Kaplan Practice CAT 2 using this spreadsheet.

RECAP OF DAY 40 INSIGHTS:
1. The analysis is a bitch, but it must be done. Every week.

Day 39 - Kaplan CAT 2 Practice Test

2005-06-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today I took a practice GMAT off of the Kaplan 2005 CD.

The result: 590 (38Q, 33V)

At this point you may be asking: Eric, why do you still have a smile on your handsomely contoured face? Aren't you at all upset by your performance today? My goodness, you are sexy.

First of all, thanks for the compliments--but sorry ladies and gentlemen, I'm taken. Second, I am not upset at all. In fact, I still believe I am right on track for getting a 750+ on the real GMAT. I said this before, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with Kaplan, the scores from these tests are dramatically skewed downward. Don't let Kaplan's numbers get to you because they are trying to trick you into buying their full classroom course! Sneaky shit, I know. [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a myth--I've never seen data to substantiate this business strategy by Kaplan, but at the time I believed the rumors.]

I have researched extensively on many GMAT prep folk who have scored 750+ on the real thing, and I have noticed that many (if not most) dip below 600 while practicing with Kaplan. Furthermore, I am consoled by the fact that when I enter my score into the GMAT Score Estimator [EDITOR'S NOTE: This website doesn't exist anymore unfortunately.], my actual GMAT score is estimated to be around 740, based off my 590 performance on Kaplan. Not bad at all...

So it's all good.

SUMMARY OF DAY 39 WORK:
1. Kaplan Practice GMAT CAT 2, off of Kaplan 2005 CD.

RECAP OF DAY 39 INSIGHTS:
1. Never freak out about your Kaplan score.

Day 38 - Flashcards Continued

2005-06-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

I spent the afternoon and evening making flashcards of my notes from the Kaplan 2005 book. Like I said before, it's tedious stuff. But I'm glad I'm forcing myself to review this old material. I'm guessing that I will need one more day to finish off the rest of my cards.

I've got to turn off AIM during my study time. Today I wasted a good hour and a half chatting with friends. These little distractions are starting to wear down on my discipline--gotta stay focused!

SUMMARY OF DAY 38 WORK:
1. Flashcards of Kaplan 2005 notes.

RECAP OF DAY 38 INSIGHTS:
1. AIM is the Devil. Turn it off when you study!

Day 37 - Making Flashcards

2005-05-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

All right, I'm back from my long weekend trip. It was a lot of fun, but I had a few disappointing moments: my car got broken into and the thief took my car stereo and luggage; also, I have bed bug bites all over my legs from staying at a shitty hotel. In any event, I am glad to be studying again. To the GMAT prep folks out there: mini-disasters are bound to happen during your study--don't let them distract you! Eye on the prize!

Today I finally mustered the discipline to do something I've been avoiding for too long: making flashcards of important GMAT concepts. My plan is to make flashcards of ideas that I think are important for mastering the GMAT (strategies, formulas, etc.) and to review them every day--7 days a week--until test day. It's a time-consuming task, but it is also something that I'm sure I'll appreciate later.

Consequently, I started reviewing all my GMAT material from the very beginning and I was able to create about 50 flashcards just from my old Princeton Review notes alone. I'm hoping I can finish all the rest of my notes (Kaplan, Kaplan Math, Delta) tomorrow, but I think that's going to be a stretch. [Editor's Note: I should have started my flashcards from Day 1.]

For those of you who are just beginning your GMAT study, start making your flashcards from day one and incrementally add more cards as needed. Then you won't have to waste precious study time as I am doing now.

SUMMARY OF DAY 37 WORK:
1. Flashcards from Princeton Review notes.

RECAP OF DAY 37 INSIGHTS:
1. Start making your flashcards early.
2. The guy who broke into my car is an asshole.

Day 36 - PR CAT 3 Analysis

2005-05-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Reviewing my previous day's practice GMAT, I noticed that I got a lot of questions wrong. But the big difference between yesterday's test and the ones I took previously is that I didn't make any early errors. Almost all of the errors I made happened after the halfway point of each section. This goes to show that your performance early in the test determines to a great extent your final score. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Myth! Please see Day 21 Editor's Note]

So if you feel like you totally screwed up the end of one or both sections on the real GMAT, don't cancel your scores! You may still end up with a high score based on your early performance.

On another note, I'll be gone this Memorial Day Weekend. Blogging will resume Monday or Tuesday. Time for me to get some sun--I am one pale Asian man!

SUMMARY OF DAY 36 WORK:
1. Analyzed Princeton Review Practice CAT 3 using usual spreadsheet methods.

RECAP OF DAY 36 WORK:
1. I think that 70-80% of you score is determined by the first 10-15 questions of each section. Take the early questions seriously!

Day 35 - Princeton Review Practice CAT 3

2005-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

At last--I finally popped my 700 cherry!

This afternoon I took my sixth practice GMAT: CAT 3 off of the Princeton Review CD. It was a very smooth test. Since I'm now at a point where I am familiar with the topics on the test, I felt very comfortable today. Moreover, since I've gotten a few full-length practice tests under my belt, my stamina was great during the entire test--didn't feel tired at all towards the end. I said it once and I'll say it again: you have to consistently do those full-length tests. You will notice the difference.

My score: 720 (45 Quantitative, 45 Verbal)

The sad thing about my performance today is that this score may be skewed upward. Princeton Review did a shitty job designing its practice tests. Today, it totally reused reading comprehension passages that I saw on two previous PR tests. Consequently, none of the RC passages were new to me and I probably got more of those questions right than I would have otherwise.

But for now I shall bask in my ignorance.

SUMMARY OF DAY 35 WORK:
1. Princeton Review Practice GMAT CAT 3, off of Princeton Review CD

RECAP OF DAY 35 WORK:
1. Keep taking those full-length tests.
2. Watch out for PR's badly designed practice tests.

Day 34 - Delta Course Statistics and Counting Methods

2005-05-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

I finished up the Delta Course material this afternoon. Today I covered the last two lessons on statistics and counting methods.

The lesson on statistics wasn't very illuminating. It covered topics like mode, median, mean. I didn't get a single problem wrong on the statistics practice problem set that followed.

The section on counting methods was a little better. Delta Course provided some very neat tricks to several kinds of permutation and combination problems. Here's a trick that I learned for the first time today:

Let's say you have the following question: How many ways can the letters TRUST be rearranged?

This problem looks tricky because you can't use a simple combination equation, since there are two T's, which are indistinguishable. However, it's really easy to solve. According to Delta Course, "to find the number of distinct permutations of a set of items with indistinguishable items, divide the factorial of the items in the set by the product of the factorials of the number of indistinguishable items."

The answer would thus be 5!/2! = 60. The "5!" represents the number of letters in word, and the "2!" represents the the two T's that are indistinguishable. Not so bad, eh? As another example, MISSION would be 7!/(2!2!).

All in all, Delta Course was an okay purchase. For $27 bucks, it will do a good job of covering the really advanced material you may find on the GMAT, which will account for about 5% of the quantitative questions--if that. But I'm happy I did it. [Editor's Note: Nope--in hindsight Delta Course was a waste of money. See my Reflections Post.]

SUMMARY OF DAY 34 WORK:
1. Delta Course Statistics and Counting Methods lessons.
2. Delta Course Statistics and Counting Methods practice problem sets.

RECAY OF DAY 34 WORK:
1. Delta Course is an okay investment. It does have some neat tricks.

Day 33 - Delta Course Probability and Advanced Probability

2005-05-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

I put my GMAT studying on hold this weekend--I was starting to feel a little burnt out from the daily grind, but after my little hiatus I now feel terrific. Three days is really the perfect mini-vacation from GMAT studying.

I finally got around to reviewing my Delta Course material. Today I covered Probability and Advanced Probability. The lessons are very brief, and sometimes too technical. I found that certain Kaplan/PR strategies--like picking numbers--are better at solving many GMAT math problems than Delta's formal mathematical strategies, using fancy sigma notation and other unnecessary shit.

I'm a bit peeved that Delta Course doesn't hold my hand enough in terms of helping me understand the material. In my opinion, Delta's lessons are too short and lack enough examples. But I have to say that after today I feel a hell of a lot better when it comes to thinking about probability questions.

Here's some good advice for GMAT prep folks: don't worry too much about probability/permutation/combination questions on the GMAT--at most you will see 1 or 2 of these types of questions on the real deal. Invest more time in learning the basics like arithmetic, which is seen a lot more frequently on the test. Don't be as paranoid as I am about learning the more advanced topics. [Editor's Note: See my Reflections Post. Delta Course was indeed a waste of money and time.]

If I were smarter, I would realize that I wasted my money investing in Delta Course. Unfortunately, I'm dumb and stubborn.

SUMMARY OF DAY 33 WORK:
1. Probability and Advanced Probability material off of the Delta Course website.
2. Delta Course Probability and Advanced Probability problem sets.

RECAP OF DAY 33 INSIGHTS:
1. Take mini-vacations from studying when you feel burnt out.
2. Delta Course is a bit too technical, but concise.

Day 32 - PowerPrep Math Review

2005-05-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I checked out the math review on the PowerPrep software--it was very good.

For those of you that want to save money on books but still want a decent quantitative review for the GMAT, download the free PowerPrep software from MBA.com and study the material on this software. PowerPrep covered virtually all the material presented in the Kaplan Math Workbook, but in a more concise fashion. It even covered permutations and combinations!

Check it out, ya'll. Best bang for your buck, since it's free.

SUMMARY OF DAY 32 WORK:
1. Math Review section off of PowerPrep Software

RECAP OF DAY 32 INSIGHTS:
1. PowerPrep does a great job covering quantitative topics on the test!

Comments Welcome!

2005-05-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

I just realized today that my blog preferences didn't allow for public access comments. Well, that's changed--now anyone can make comments to my entries. Speak your mind!

Day 31 - Kaplan CAT 1 Analysis

2005-05-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

I was pretty lazy with my Kaplan CAT 1 analysis today. Normally, after I take a full-length practice test, I spend the next day recording my errors onto an error log spreadsheet, and then copy all the problems I got wrong with explanations onto a Word document.

But today I looked at my crazy Kaplan test from yesterday and saw that I had got close to 30 questions wrong. I realized that it would take me about 4 hours to copy these questions and explanations onto a Word document (Kaplan doesn't allow cutting and pasting!)--it would be a pain in the ass, so I thought to myself--screw it!

Instead, I just recorded my errors onto my usual grid and broke them down by question type. I don't feel so bad about ignoring the review of the questions I missed because I plan to do very thorough work when I get to the Official Guide. Here, a thorough analysis pays off much more since the Official Guide uses actual GMAT questions.

Anyway, I'm excited to finish the book I'm currently reading, Into Thin Air. Very glad to put GMAT aside for the rest of the evening.

SUMMARY OF DAY 31 WORK:
1. Partial analysis of Kaplan CAT 1 practice test, off of CD, using this spreadsheet.

RECAP OF DAY 31 INSIGHTS:
1. It's never good to be lazy, but sometimes it's gotta happen.

Day 30 - Kaplan Practice CAT 1

2005-05-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I am officially taking my real GMAT in the afternoon, I'm happy that I no longer have to wake up to do practice tests in the morning (like I did that anyway). Anyway, I took the Kaplan CAT 1 test off of the Kaplan CD under simulated conditions today--I started at 2:00 PM and tried my ear plugs for the first time.

It was a pretty rough test--but I knew that it was going to be. Test prep companies tend to make the first practice test the hardest and then make each consecutive test easier as a way to demonstrate "improvement" by the student. How do I know this? Let's just say I have my sources...

I also knew to not freak out about this first Kaplan test because I've seen how many people on the Test Magic Forum score really badly on this particular one (500s to low 600s) and later do very well in the real GMAT (700s).

With that said, I got a 610 (39Q, 34V) today. I'm pleased with that score and I believe it translates to about 700 on the real deal.

On another note, if you plan on using ear plugs during the real GMAT, be sure to practice doing tests with them on. They felt weird at first, but after a while I really got to appreciating them.

Time for Chinese food.

SUMMARY OF DAY 30 WORK:
1. Kaplan Practice CAT 1 off of Kaplan 2005 CD.

RECAP OF DAY 30 INSIGHTS:
1. Do not freak out about the your first Kaplan practice test performance. It's okay if you are 80-120 points below your goal on this one.
2. Use ear plugs and practice with them on.

GMAT Test Day Set!

2005-05-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

I will be taking the GMAT on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 from 2:00 - 6:00 PM. Oh yeah. [Editor's Note: I later moved my test date back to August 16, 2005.]

Day 29 - Finished with Kaplan Math Workbook

2005-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

This evening I reviewed the rest of the Geometry chapter in the Kaplan Math Workbook--I'm done with the book!

Overall, I wasn't that impressed by the Math Workbook. It covered the fundamental topics very well, but I wanted to see more advanced topics like permutations and combinations. I feel like Kaplan is targeting the 400-600 GMAT scoring demographic with this book. Hopefully the Delta Course will do the job for the harder shizz.

I have a lot of prep material left to complete: the Delta Course, Kaplan 800, PR Verbal Workbook (downloaded for free) [Editor's Note: PR Verbal Workbook no longer available online.], and of course, OFFICIAL GUIDE. I'm going to try finishing off the Delta Course this week. I'll probably work through Kaplan 800 and PR Verbal as I practice with the Official Guide.

Time for TV.

SUMMARY OF DAY 29 WORK:
1. Finished the rest of Kaplan Math Workbook Geometry Chapter, pages 218-272.

RECAP OF DAY 29 INSIGHTS:
1. I thought the Kaplan Math Workbook was a bit too rudimentary for me. And I'm not even that smart.

Day 28 - Part of Workbook Geometry; PR DS Review

2005-05-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I reviewed the first half of the Kaplan Math Workbook Geometry chapter. I was quite pleased. Kaplan seemed to do a good job covering the basics, and I also picked up a few nuggets of info about geometric shapes that I had lost since junior high.

I also re-read the data sufficiency chapter in the Princeton Review book today to brush up on PR's strategy for these types of questions. It seems like such a long time ago since I read through PR--I fear that I have lost some info from that book all ready.

Currently, I'm in the midst of changing my study plan once again. I need to do a better job of reviewing my errors from past practice problems, as well as create a system for reviewing difficult concepts. For the former, I think that I will devote one day each week for reviewing past errors--I plan to do so once I reach the Official Guide book. [Editor's Note: I didn't end up executing this plan to devote one week to review. I later worked out a system for doing review every day--you'll see as you read ahead] In terms of reviewing difficult concepts, I am going to start using notecards. Hopefully I'll develop a good stack that I can review every day, and eventually I'm sure these concepts will become my bitches.

Hey--wouldn't it be funny if I renamed "BeatTheGMAT.com" to "MakeTheGMATyourBitch.com"? I wonder if that domain is all ready registered...

SUMMARY OF DAY 28 WORK:
1. Kaplan Math Workbook - Part of Geometry Chapter - pages 183-217.
2. Review of Princeton Review Data Sufficiency Chapter - PR, pages 146-171.

RECAP OF DAY 28 INSIGHTS:
1. Keep in mind that it's important to review errors on past practice problems.
2. Notecards are a great addition to anyone's study plan.

Day 27 - Workbook Data Sufficiency

2005-05-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today I skipped ahead in the Kaplan Math Workbook to the Data Sufficiency Chapter. Completely worthless!

The lesson was only 2 pages long and had the following 3 points of strategy:
1. Focus on the question stem.
2. Look at each statement separately.
3. Look at both statements in combination.

This is all pretty intuitive all ready. However, I went on and did the two DS practice tests following the chapter and I got SPANKED! I'm a little freaked out by my poor performance.

I realized that no test prep book I have looked at has done a great job in advising me how to attack data sufficiency questions. Which leads me to believe that the only way to improve is to practice and develop a system that works for me.

With that all said, it's a nice spring day and I'm going to eat some BBQ now.

SUMMARY OF DAY 27 WORK:
1. Kaplan Math Workbook Data Sufficiency Chapter - pages 321-340.

RECAP OF DAY 27 INSIGHTS:
1. No test prep book I've seen so far covers DS well. You just have to practice.

Read This!

2005-05-14T01:31:00.000-07:00

If you have time, read this post by a guy who got a 790 a few days ago. It's very comprehensive!

Day 26 - Math Workbook Word Problems

2005-05-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Kaplan puts special emphasis on word problems found on the GMAT, more so than any other test prep book I've seen. In my opinion, these word problem strategies are probably not useful to native-English speakers who have encountered these types of problems throughout junior high and high school. Perhaps it has some value for foreigners though.

Like I've advised before in previous chapters, I recommend test prep folks to skim this chapter and go straight to the problems. You'll learn more by doing and reading the explanations.

I'm currently visiting my parents for a few days. I've been home for just a day, yet I feel like I've lost 25 IQ points. Why is it so hard to study here?

--What was that? Oh, coming mother...

SUMMARY OF DAY 26 WORK:
1. Kaplan Math Workbook - Word Problems Chapter, pages 127-152.

RECAP OF DAY 26 INSIGHTS:
1. I beginning to suspect that this particular Kaplan book is not so useful in terms of developing new strategies.

Day 25 - Algebra Chapter in Math Workbook

2005-05-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

The Algebra chapter in the Kaplan Math Workbook is poo. Skim the lessons in this section and go straight to the practice problems.

Late last night, I had a mini-panic attack about my verbal abilities. I realized that on every practice test I have taken, I have consistently scored lower on the verbal than on the quantitative--my average is in the low 40s. As a result, I went on a spontaneous shopping visit to Amazon.com and purchased Kaplan 800, 2005-2006 edition. It should be here early next week--I'll let you know if it's worth the money.

FYI, for those of you out there who are serious about prepping for the GMAT (i.e., all of you), I advise you to consistently visit/contribute to gmat discussion forums. There are a lot of great contributors who have posted and attached a ton of useful resources regarding everything GMAT, including strategies and practice problems.

Be forewarned--it is highly addictive and may lead to loss of libido .

SUMMARY OF DAY 25 WORK:
1. Algebra Chapter in Kaplan Math Workbook, pages 97-125.

RECAP OF DAY 25 INSIGHTS:
1. Skim this Algebra chapter.
2. Visit the Beat The GMAT Forum!

Day 24 - Finished Kaplan Arithmetic Chapter

2005-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I finished the rest of the Arithmetic chapter in the Kaplan Math Workbook, pages 36-71. Like I said before, it's a slow read but very comprehensive.

One lesson that I really enjoyed in this chapter was Kaplan's strategies for thinking about averages (arithmetic means). Kaplan advocates thinking about averages as balanced values--as an example, say you have the following problem:

The average of 3, 4, 5, and x is 5. What is the value of x?

Instead of delving into time-consuming algebra to solve this problem (maybe not so time consuming with this specific problem), think about how each number is positioned relative to the average of five:

3 is 2 less than 5. (-2)
4 is 1 less than 5. (-1)
5 is the average. (0)

==> (-3)

x must be 3 more than the average to balance the set of numbers at a mean of 5. This counterbalances the -3 value created by the set of numbers given in the problem.

Thus, x = 8.

Perhaps this balancing idea is intuitive to a lot of readers out there all ready, but I've never thought of averages in this fashion. Doing so has allowed me to speed through these types of problems dramatically. Heck yes.

SUMMARY OF DAY 24 WORK:
1. Finished Chapter 2 - Arithmetic in Kaplan Math Workbook, pages 36-71.

RECAP OF DAY 24 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan's strategy for dealing with averages is cool.

Day 23 - Starting Kaplan Math Workbook

2005-05-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have a strategy: My goal is to finish the Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook in the next week or week and a half. Upon completion, I will be about halfway through my planned GMAT study schedule. I can then devote the rest of my time doing practice tests and problems off of the Official Guide. Sounds good?

Today I looked through the introduction and part of the Arithmetic chapter of the Workbook, pages 1-35. I'm quite pleased that I decided to buy this book because it looks like it will be a comprehensive review of GMAT math. The book's pace is pretty slow, with a ton of practice problems interspersed throughout the chapters, but I'm finding all the information useful.

Dammit, this is my third textbook I'm reading on the GMAT. I better rock this test.

SUMMARY OF DAY 23 WORK:
1. Kaplan Math Workbook - Chapter 1 Introduction - pages 3-9.
2. Kaplan Math Workbook - Chapter 2 Arithmetic - pages 13-35.

RECAP OF DAY 23 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan GRE & GMAT Math Workbook seems pretty good so far.

Day 22 - PR CAT 2 Analysis - Feelin' Better!

2005-05-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

This evening I went through the practice GMAT that I took last Friday to gather data for analysis. I discovered something that both shocked and relieved me:

PRINCETON REVIEW SOFTWARE SUCKS!

After double- and triple-checking the answer key, I found that the PR software made an error in scoring my test. On the quantitative section, PR scored question #2 as wrong when I had in fact scored that question right. Thus, my final result of 690 for this particular practice test doesn't mean shit. Getting a question marked wrong so early in the section brought my score down dramatically (the way the GMAT is designed, it's critical to start off strong to achieve a high score). [Editor's Note: MYTH--please see Day 21] My score is probably skewed down.

Anyway, discovering this error made me feel a lot better today. It's renewed my hope in the idea that I am progressing in my studies.

I only got a handful of questions wrong on each section: 3 wrong in quantitative, 6 in verbal. I've got a new goal: to make sure that I ALWAYS get the first 10-15 questions on each section correct. That's the way to get a 750+!

SUMMARY OF DAY 22 WORK:
1. Analysis of Princeton Review GMAT CAT Adaptive 2, off of CD.

RECAP OF DAY 22 INSIGHTS:
1. Beware of Princeton Review software! It does make errors.
2. All this studying may actually be paying off!

Day 21 - PR Practice GMAT 2 - F*CK!

2005-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!

I scored yet another 690 (43Q, 42V) today on a Princeton Review Practice GMAT. I don't know what the deal is with that score--I just can't seem to budge above that number! Granted, it's still early in my studying, but I was really hoping to poke past 700 today.

The interesting thing about my test today is that I only got a handful of questions wrong. What killed me is that on each section, I got question number 2 wrong. It's a powerful lesson: so much of your score is determined in the first 5-10 questions. BE SURE TO GET THOSE QUESTIONS RIGHT. [Editor's Note: This is a MYTH. After I finished my GMAT, I did some significant research on the importance of getting the first few questions of each section right, and I determined conclusively that it doesn't matter. You can screw up at the beginning of each section and definitely recover to end up with a great score.]

I'll do my usual analysis on Sunday. I need to get my mind off of this shit for one day.

SUMMARY OF DAY 21 WORK:
1. Practice GMAT - Princeton Review Adaptive 2, off of CD.

RECAP OF DAY 21 INSIGHTS:
1. BE CAREFUL ON THE FIRST 5-10 QUESTIONS OF EACH SECTION. GET THEM RIGHT!

Day 20 - Finished Kaplan

2005-05-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I finished off the last chapters of the Kaplan book on Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Test Mentality, and Tips for the Final Week - chapters 11, 12 and 13.

The AWA chapter provided a decent overview on how to attack the essays on the GMAT. Princeton Review is slightly better on the subject. But I was struck by how Kaplan and PR contrast each other when it comes to the idea of essay length. PR makes the argument that you should write as much as you can for each essay. They say that through their research they found a strong correlation between high scores and long essays.

Kaplan, on the other hand, clearly states that length should not be a concern at all when you are tackling AWA essays. Essay structure should be emphasized most.

Which side is right in this mini-debate? My guess is Kaplan. I think that the GMAT essay graders would prefer concise and cogent essays over essays of quantity. [Editor's Note: I later decided that PR's strategy is correct after doing further research. Write as much as possible for your AWAs!]

The other chapters on test mentality and last-minute tips are pretty useful. I recommend folks out there to read up this section to find out how to manage test stress effectively. It's advice that we've all heard before, but it's nice to review again as a reminder.

SUMMARY OF DAY 20 WORK:
1. Kaplan Chapter 11 - Analytical Writing Assessment - pages 285-297.
2. Chapter 12 - Test Mentality - pages 301-305.
3. Chapter 13 - Tips for the Final Week - pages 307-310.

RECAP OF DAY 20 INSIGHTS:
1. Focus on structure in your GMAT essays. I don't buy PR's argument that writing long essays will get you a good score.

Day 19 - Kaplan Word Problems and Math Reference

2005-05-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I looked at Kaplan Chapters 9 and 10, "Word Problems" and "Math Reference" respectively.

The Word Problems chapter was completely worthless--no useful information was provided at all. Don't even bother skimming it, in my opinion. On the other hand, I found the Math Reference section of Kaplan to be fantastic. In less than 30 pages, Kaplan clearly and concisely covers virtually all topics tested in the quantitative portion of the GMAT. Today I went through and checked off topics that I believe I need to improve. I am certainly going to review this chapter over and over again up until test day.

SUMMARY OF DAY 19 WORK:
1. Kaplan Chapter 9 - Word Problems, pages 241-256.
2. Kaplan Chapter 10 - Math Reference, pages 257-284.

RECAP OF DAY 19 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan's Word Problems chapter is crap.
2. EVERYONE should check out Kaplan's Math Reference chapter!

Day 18 - Kaplan Data Sufficiency

2005-05-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today I reviewed Kaplan's Data Sufficiency, chapter 8, pages 193-211. I also looked at the data sufficiency lesson on the Kaplan CD, and took a practice DS quiz at the end of chapter 8, pages 212-239.

Like yesterday's material, Kaplan didn't reveal any useful strategies for tackling data sufficiency. It hammered in only 2 main points: be sure to read each DS statement SEPARATELY, and don't waste time doing calculations. Just skim this chapter.

But man, I got my ass kicked when I attempted the DS practice quiz. I scored about 75% right, but made far too many careless errors. For some reason, I can't get myself to read the question stems carefully. I simply do not feel confident when I'm working through these types of problems.

But I'm glad that I'm identifying this area of trouble now. It will serve to guide my more targeted studying that will happen later.

SUMMARY OF DAY 18 WORK:
1. Kaplan Data Sufficiency Chapter, pages 193-211
2. Kaplan Data Sufficiency Lesson of of Kaplan CD
3. Data Sufficiency Quiz, pages 212-239.

RECAP OF DAY 18 INSIGHTS:
1. Skim Kaplan's DS Chapter.
2. I suck at data sufficiency.

Help me help you

2005-05-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know, I'm always open to suggestions for improving this site. If you want me to change how I synthesize material, design my blog entries, etc., just shoot me an e-mail: beatthegmat [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thanks.

Day 17 - Kaplan Problem Solving

2005-05-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to stop my harping over reading comprehension and move on towards finishing the Kaplan 2005 book. Today I covered Chapter 6 and 7 in Kaplan (pages 151-166), which focused on quantitative problem solving. I also did a problem solving practice quiz at the end of chapter 7, pages 167-191.

I advise folks out there to skim this material. If you want decent problem solving strategies, the Princeton Review book does a much better job than the Kaplan book. Kaplan provided nothing insightful on this topic.

The high point of the day for me was doing the problem solving quiz. Timing myself to make sure I wasn't spending more than 2 minutes per question, I was able to answer 48/50 questions correctly--results that I greatly desire to repeat on the actual GMAT test day .

On the quiz I found that the questions that gave me the most problems had to do with combinations and permutations. But I expect to master these topics once I get to my Delta Course reivew, which by the way, everyone out there should consider purchasing. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Looking back on my GMAT experience, it was unnecessary to purchase Delta Course.]

SUMMARY OF DAY 17 WORK:
1. Kaplan Chapter 6 - Quantitative Section Overview - pages 151-154.
2. Kaplan Chapter 7 - Problem Solving - pages 155-166.
3. Kaplan Chapter 7 Problem Solving Practice Quiz - pages 167 - 191.

RECAP OF DAY 17 INSIGHTS:
1. The Kaplan book does not tell you anything useful about problem solving. Skim that chapter.

Day 16 - Analyzing Kaplan CAT Diagnostic

2005-05-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Somewhat frustrating afternoon. Today I made the poor choice of sitting at the library (where I do most my GMAT studying) next to some loud and obnoxious jackass. He was conducting a study group with his buddies and sounded very pretentious. In any case, I got some interesting data from my analysis of the Kaplan CAT Diagnostic test. Namely, I really suck at reading comprehension.

Examining the results of my last three practice tests, I am finally able to perceive a pattern of poor performance when it comes to reading comprehension. 90% of my trouble is timing. I have not yet developed an effective way of reading the passages quickly and efficiently. I am consistently running out of time on these questions and often have to guess to complete these sections.

Realizing this serious weakness of mine, I studied the reading comprehension lesson off of the Kaplan CD today and went through a RC practice test from the Kaplan CD and another one from the PR CD. Again, I didn't do so well on either test because of my problems with timing.

On a positive note though, I found that Kaplan makes it easy on the user to perform a spreadsheet analysis of its tests. It has a great feature of summarizing your correct and incorrect answers to each question and categorizing each question into a specific type (example, "Data Sufficiency - Algebra"). Made my life just a little bit easier.

SUMMARY OF DAY 16 WORK:
1. Analyzed Kaplan CAT Diag using this spreadsheet.
2. Kaplan Reading Comprehension lesson off of Kaplan CD.
3. Reading Comprehension Practice 1 off of Kaplan CD.
4. Reading Comprehension Practice off of PR CD.

RECAP OF DAY 16 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan CD has nice feature of summarizing errors for each problem and classifying each problem type--good for analysis.
2. I really really suck at reading comprehension [Editor's Note: I later determined that I don't really really suck at RC--Kaplan just really really sucks at making RC questions].

Day 15 - Kaplan Diag CAT

2005-04-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

I actually woke up at 7:00 AM this morning to take a practice test. I finally mustered the discipline to practice under simulated testing conditions. What a miracle.

I took Kaplan's diagnostic CAT exam off of the CD. I was disappointed to find that this particular test was abridged and was not formatted the same way as the GMAT. This CAT was organized to test a set of only ONE specific type of question at a time (a set of data sufficiency problems, a set of reading comprehension problems, etc.) in six 13-minute sections.

I scored a 670 (42Q, 41V). To the uninformed reader out there, this score may look poor in comparison to my previous practice test scores, which were higher. But, you must note that this is a Kaplan test. Kaplan is notorious for making harder tests and skewing scores down 50-100 points from what you can actually expect on the real GMAT. Top GMAT prep folks in the past have traditionally scored much lower on Kaplan tests than they have on the real GMAT. As one GMAT forum contributor once described Kaplan: it's similar to how Olympic athletes train in high altitude--in the real event this training allows them to perform better. Consequently, I see a Kaplan 670 as equivalent to an actual GMAT 720.

But because of how the diagnostic was formatted, I totally ate it on the reading comprehension section today. My strategy for verbal hitherto has been to go through the sentence corrections quickly and build up extra time for reading comprehension. But today since I was given a RC section with about 2 minutes per question, I simply ran out of time and had to guess a lot. As a result, I got less than 50 percent of these questions correct. Ouch.

SUMMARY OF DAY 15 WORK:
1. Woke up at 7:00 AM.
2. Kaplan Diagnostic CAT off of Kaplan 2005 CD.

RECAP OF DAY 15 INSIGHTS:
1. Don't be discouraged by a low CAT score from Kaplan. Kaplan's tests are skewed way down from what you can expect on the real GMAT.

Day 14 - Kaplan Reading Comprehension

2005-04-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I studied Kaplan Chapter 4 - Reading Comprehension, pages 113-150. I thought that Kaplan provided a better strategy for attacking RC questions than Princeton Review did. My problem with Princeton Review is that they love having students skim passages. There's nothing wrong with skimming, but PR does it to the extreme.

Kaplan advocates skimming as well, but advises students to at least read the first paragraph of each passage carefully while skimming the rest. This strategy seems much more sensical to me. I also enjoyed reading about Kaplan's technique for labeling each paragraph in a passage into a certain structural type. For example:

- Paragraph 1: Introduce thesis
- Paragraph 2: Evidence for thesis
- Paragraph 3: Arguments against
- Paragraph 4: Arguments for
- etc.

Making these notes (on scratch paper) regarding the paragraph structure of the passages as I read them helped me refer back and forth to the questions and passages.

To finish the day, I did a practice RC quiz at the end of the lesson, getting 6/38 wrong. That's a score I definitely wish to improve. I had a good time though applying Kaplan's strategies to the quiz.

As a final note, I need to build endurance when it comes to RCs. It is damn hard keeping focus on these questions. I would die if I got back-to-back RC passages on the real GMAT, which does occasionally happen.

SUMMARY OF DAY 14 WORK:
1. Kaplan Chapter 4, Reading Comprehension, pages 113-127.
2. Practice RC Quiz, pages 128-150.

RECAP OF DAY 14 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan's RC strategies are better than Princeton Review's.
2. Very hard to stay focused on RC.

Day 13 - Kaplan Sentence Correction

2005-04-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I covered the Sentence Correction unit in the Kaplan book: Chapter 4, pages 71-111. The strategies in this section were decent, but didn't wow me. What pissed me off though was that Kaplan offered no strategy for tackling idiom sentence correction (SC) problems other than "use your ear." I feel bad for non-native English speakers--it's hard enough for me, a person who was born in America and formally studied grammar, to answer idiom SC questions on the GMAT. The only thing you can do is memorize idioms from some list; I'm sure there is one out there on the Internet.

At the end of Chapter 4 I went through a SC practice quiz. I was pleased with the result--out of 54 questions I only scored 5 incorrectly. But when I was reading through the explanations to the quiz, I realized that Kaplan does a super shitty job explaining answers. Very hard to understand why certain questions are correct.

Damn you, Kaplan. Why are you making it so tough for me to learn?

SUMMARY OF DAY 13 WORK:
1. Kaplan Sentence Correction section, chapter 4, pages 71-87.
2. Kaplan SC practice quiz, pages 87-111.

RECAP OF DAY 13 INSIGHTS:
1. Kaplan provides no strategies for idiom SC questions.
2. Kaplan = poo, when it comes to answer explanations.

Day 12 - Starting Kaplan

2005-04-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

To quote Eminem: "Guess who's back? Back again?"

That would be me. After a refreshing weekend trip, I was fired up today to do some good GMAT studying.

I began cracking the Kaplan 2005 book this afternoon, covering chapters 1, 2, 3, and a practice quiz on critical reasoning (CR). I spent the bulk of my time studying chapter 3: Kaplan's critical reading strategies. I highly recommend GMAT prep folks out there to take a look at this chapter. Kaplan did a great job breaking down the various types of CR questions to expect on the test and provided something important that Princeton Review did not provide for me--a method. I feel a lot more comfortable about tackling CR questions now.

After the review, I did a timed CR practice test from the Kaplan book (located at the end of chapter 3), giving myself 75 minutes to complete 45 CR questions. I didn't perform so badly. Out of the 45 questions I got 7 wrong, and half of those were from careless misreading of the passages. I feel like I can feasibly cut down my rate of error by half with enough practice.

In the middle of my long study session today, I found myself starting to tire and lose focus. After drifting in and out of my reading for a bit, it hit me that I really had to start exercising consistently. The GMAT is a pretty long test. It isn't easy sitting in front of a computer for 3.5 hours with undivided attention. I think with better physical conditioning, my mental focus will improve as well. I guess I'll hit the gym tomorrow.

Hey, what a coincidence, that was my New Year's resolution!

SUMMARY OF DAY 12 WORK:
1. Kaplan Chapters 1, 2, and 3: pages 3-33.
2. Kaplan Critical Reasoning Practice Quiz, pages 34-70.
3. Spreadsheet analysis of Kaplan CR practice quiz.

RECAP OF DAY 12 INSIGHTS:
4. Kaplan's Critical Reasoning Review is very good.
5. Exercise is important to build endurance for the GMAT.

Out of Town: April 21-25

2005-04-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is my last weekend of travel. When I come back, I should be able to study uninterrupted until test day [Editor's Note: Oops, this did not happen. I ended up taking several breaks later on]. To any readers out there, thanks for being patient.

All this travel is bad for my studying, but good for the soul. Blogging resumes April 26.

Day 11 - Fun with PR CAT 1 Analysis

2005-04-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

I spent the last 3.5 hours reviewing my previous day's CAT exam. For the second time, I filled out this spreadsheet to track my correct answers and errors, classifying each type of problem. Very tiring, but I'm really happy I did it.

The cool thing about doing a Princeton Review test on CD is that you get to print out a nice analysis table at the end. It has cool statistics like the amount of time you spent on each problem (down to the second) and the percent of questions you got right for certain types of problems (problem solving, data sufficiency, etc.).

I found some conflicting results in comparing my second practice test to the first one a took two weeks ago. On the second test, I performed very well in areas where I had previously performed poorly. Unfortunately, on the second test I also performed poorly in areas where I had previously performed well.

This situation is frustrating because I can't readily identify where I am weak or strong. I guess I'll need more data from future tests to determine that.

Until then, I'll assume that I'm weak in every subject. Yes, the glass is half empty for me.

SUMMARY OF DAY 11 WORK:
1. Documented and analyzed errors from previous day's CAT using this spreadsheet.

RECAP OF DAY 11 INSIGHTS:
1. Princeton Review provides great statistics on your performance when you take a test off PR's CD.
2. Analyzing your test is painful but important to do.