Two tips for GMAT takers

Was discussing GMAT stuff with one of my colleagues who has booked his date in August.. Recalled two of the mantras that I had deviced and found immensely useful.. Thought it’d be good to share with the same with the readers of this blog.. The tips are quite simple , may even look simplistic to some, but to me (and some of my friends, with whom I’ve discussed these), these were very helpful..

Tip1: Data Sufficiency..
Treat options (B) and (D) as red flags..
Every time you’re marking an answer as (B) or (D), double check it. No need to spend  any extra time, just make a mental check.
Many times, we mentally drag down the data given in condition 1, while evaluating condition 2.. And when we find (2) to be sufficient, we confidently proceed and mark the answer as (B), whereas it shud’ve been (C) 
From the discussions on GMAT groups and my own experience with Data-sufficency Qs, I can tell u that this is a very,very common problem.. I too did this all the time, while I was doing OG. But once I made this rule, I never ever committed this mistake again.

Tip2:: GMAT Verbal:
In quants, if you spend 5 minutes on a problem, chances are that you’d get it.. Not that I actually recommend it, but what I want to emphasize is that you can get to a correct answer in PS and DS if you spend more time. This, however, is not the case with Verbal. After spending some 30-40 seconds on a question, you often end up with two options and sometimes it’s impossible to decide which one to choose.
For example: You’ve read the RC passage in full and have almost complete grasp of the content. The question that comes up first, asks you the author’s tone. You’re sure it wasn’t happy or appreciative. It can’t exactly be termed as sad. Now you’re down with the final two options: indifferent and angry. And you feel that the author looked indifferent at times, but a bit angry at others.. Normally at this juncture, you spend a good amount of time, juggling between the options, scrolling up and down the passage or just staring in blank.. Suddenly after 5 minutes have passed, u realise that u have many, more questions to follow. You quicly pick one of the options and proceed to answer the next question.. Just think, couldn’t you have done exactly the same thing 240 seconds earlier??
Same applies to CR and SC questions too.
The crux is that once you’ve exhausted your knowledge of idioms, grammar and common sense, you’re not going to get the correct answer by spending more time… So as and when you realise that you’re not able to choose between two equally appealing options, just pick one of them (which appeals slightly more) and move on.

Hope you find these useful.. In case of confusion/need for clarificatin, feel free to leave a comment or drop a mail qo my gmail ID: quizophobic.

Don’t Quit!!

A guy posted the link to this poem on gmat_may2007 group.. Have read this earlier too, but this one never fails to inspire me.. Thought of sharing the same with the visitors of this blog..

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Kickstarting GMAT Preps

Hey..

I haven’t taken the GMAT yet.. So perhaps I’m not the right person to rely upon for guidance or anything.. But still with about 4 months of preps n research, I may be of at least to those, who’re at Level 0 as of now..

This is a mail that I had retain 4-5 weeks back to a guy, who wanted to kickstart his preps.. SO thot of posting it here as well for the benefit of janta..

Repeating again, all this is my personal opinion and none of this has been tested to work..

Strategies vary from person to person.. So whatever I’m suggesting, is my personal opinion.

1) First things first:: You dont know anything yet abt GMAT..
Download Powerprep and GMATPrep first..
http://www.gorillatestprep.com/ppgmat30.exe
http://www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT/ToolsToHelpYouPrepare/GMATPrepProducts/FreeGMATPrepTestPreparationSoftwarein2006.htm

First one is older version of GMAT software from makers of GMAT.. Second one is the latest one..
Both of these can help u know what all things r asked in GMAT..But I’d suggest u use Powerprep now and save GMATprep for a later stage , when u hav a fair amount of preparation under ur belt.. At that time, GMATprep score will giv u a fair idea of what u r likely to get on the G-day

2) Now u know what r the Qs asked in GMAT..And also what r ur weak points…For 8 out of 10 indians, it’s Sentence correction..( Statistics purely cooked up ) IF u r one of those, I’ll suggest, go for Manhattan SC guide at this stage..

3) Parallely pick up some strategy book.. Kaplan(comprehensive/premium) or Princeton Review…. From whatever I’ve heard, I’d suggest stay away from Barrons

4) Once u r done thorough with ur strategies, go for OG11 (Official Guide to GMAT).. Complete it from cover to cover.. Excellent collection of Qs.. No strategies.. But u already know them from step (3)..Better do all 5 sections parallelly.

( Most ppl preparing for GMAT do (3) and (4) in reverse order; I too did the same as suggested by many ppl.. Did OG11, then Kaplan Comprehensive) Still I’d suggest u to do a strategy book first.. OG11 will give u lots of chance to apply those strategies)

5) By the time u reach this step, u’ll know a lot of things, and u can decide for urself what u want to do next.. WIll suggest u to do Kaplan 800.. There r many other options..

In between all these steps, keep taking timed tests to guage ur progress.. Also read success stories from PagalGuy ( hope u r already a member) That’ll keep u motivated..

Also do join som active mailing list/forum to discuss Qs…. It particularly helps u utilize ur free office time when u dont have access to books and would not like to open GMAT forums..

Feel free to ask anything else on this group..

Regards
Shobhit