Date changed
July 17, 2006
It’s been a while without posting, but my computer at home had a little attack and I couldn’t write a thing until today.
Well, as can be inferred from this post title I changed my test date. Why? Because the original test day was supposed to be this Friday, and I am soooo not ready for it... My new test date is September 22nd.
How are things going on? Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about a strategy change. I set up a new schedule, that I will post as soon as is finished. The only thing that is going to change, is that I am not going to be so focused in the math part, because a lot of people are really good at math, but not that many at verbal, so a good verbal score would really help my score.
Also, good news from the office... From next Monday on, a new person will come to work with me and help me with the amount of work that I have, this of course will help me in several aspects: stamina, stress and mental energies. I am really happy about this change.
The other reason why I couldn’t write too much this last days, is because a friend got married, and in Colombia, when you are invited to a marriage, you have a good amount of events and parties and dinners to attend... the good thing is that the party (this last Saturday) was great, but it really killed any chance to study...
So far, so good... What’s next? Well, I finished chapter 6, which was a big-terrible pain in the ass, because of all the little things that I studied, but, according to my algebra book, the worst just passed. According to my schedule, I will finish the whole book by Sunday, I know that I am only half way over, but I am studying on a better rhythm now, and I have Thursday off (national holiday) and I also asked for Friday, so I have a good amount of free time to study.
About the being-tired stuff, I’ve been feeling way tons better =) My doctor told me to wait some time to see the effect of the pills, and I started to see it, the vitamins have been great also, and the exercise part too... Everything is going really nice, and I am very optimistic about the future... I think that things are getting definitely better.
Well, as can be inferred from this post title I changed my test date. Why? Because the original test day was supposed to be this Friday, and I am soooo not ready for it... My new test date is September 22nd.
How are things going on? Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about a strategy change. I set up a new schedule, that I will post as soon as is finished. The only thing that is going to change, is that I am not going to be so focused in the math part, because a lot of people are really good at math, but not that many at verbal, so a good verbal score would really help my score.
Also, good news from the office... From next Monday on, a new person will come to work with me and help me with the amount of work that I have, this of course will help me in several aspects: stamina, stress and mental energies. I am really happy about this change.
The other reason why I couldn’t write too much this last days, is because a friend got married, and in Colombia, when you are invited to a marriage, you have a good amount of events and parties and dinners to attend... the good thing is that the party (this last Saturday) was great, but it really killed any chance to study...
So far, so good... What’s next? Well, I finished chapter 6, which was a big-terrible pain in the ass, because of all the little things that I studied, but, according to my algebra book, the worst just passed. According to my schedule, I will finish the whole book by Sunday, I know that I am only half way over, but I am studying on a better rhythm now, and I have Thursday off (national holiday) and I also asked for Friday, so I have a good amount of free time to study.
About the being-tired stuff, I’ve been feeling way tons better =) My doctor told me to wait some time to see the effect of the pills, and I started to see it, the vitamins have been great also, and the exercise part too... Everything is going really nice, and I am very optimistic about the future... I think that things are getting definitely better.
posted by Catalina at 7/17/2006, | 
5 Comments:
I think it's a wise decision to reschedule GMAT; the test is such a mental game- hence any sort of distraction in your prep schedule wherein you feel that things were less then perfect and consequently the prep was not up to mark,can really hurt your ability to score at your max.
Good to hear that you are recovering from the fatigue thing. It might sound paradoxical but consider this problem as an opportunity.When you recover completely you'll be stronger physically and mentally,having the ability to accomodate long work hrs,study time and social life activities effortlessly in a single day. So it's really a way to become better.Atleast that's what happened to me.
Positive attitude is the key for everything. But i guess you know that.
Good luck!
Good to hear that you are recovering from the fatigue thing. It might sound paradoxical but consider this problem as an opportunity.When you recover completely you'll be stronger physically and mentally,having the ability to accomodate long work hrs,study time and social life activities effortlessly in a single day. So it's really a way to become better.Atleast that's what happened to me.
Positive attitude is the key for everything. But i guess you know that.
Good luck!
Hi Aashim,
I agree with you, if you don´t feel prepared for the test, things won´t really work, and yes, as you say, when you overcome this kind of being tired thing, you feel like you can deal with a lot of stuff. What doesn´t kill you make you stronger, right? =)
I agree with you, if you don´t feel prepared for the test, things won´t really work, and yes, as you say, when you overcome this kind of being tired thing, you feel like you can deal with a lot of stuff. What doesn´t kill you make you stronger, right? =)
I think it is a very good idea to change strategy and focus a little bit more on verbal skills. You know I am kind of good with math, but what really helped me to score better was becoming a "grammar" expert. In fact, I scored more on math than on verbal, but my percentile on verbal was much higher, raising my overall score. It should work for you as well.
But don't leave math unattended, just study once a week and try each time to simulate a real test! The algebra background is helpful, but the GMAT is more than that, it requires creativity and the ability of taking quick decisions. Sometimes you might know a way to solve the problem, but it could be that there's an easier way, so you should learn when to decide whether to stick with the hard work (usually algebra and arithmethic) or to follow your instincts (usually diagrams or logic thinking). The other advantage of simulating real tests is that it helps you learning time management.
I know you for a long time, and I know you can do well on many things, so I am confident you will find your way through the GMAT..!
But don't leave math unattended, just study once a week and try each time to simulate a real test! The algebra background is helpful, but the GMAT is more than that, it requires creativity and the ability of taking quick decisions. Sometimes you might know a way to solve the problem, but it could be that there's an easier way, so you should learn when to decide whether to stick with the hard work (usually algebra and arithmethic) or to follow your instincts (usually diagrams or logic thinking). The other advantage of simulating real tests is that it helps you learning time management.
I know you for a long time, and I know you can do well on many things, so I am confident you will find your way through the GMAT..!
While we are on the topic of Maths vs Verbal.
It's true that verbal directly impacts your score much more than quant but that's only after you get a certain minimum in quant.
Here's why(Scaled score vs percentile):
Verbal Quant Percentile
39 49 90
Because people score so much higher in Quant anything less than a scaled score of 49 can really take your score down badly. On the flip side anything above 50 in Quant will not get you much in the way of a higher overall score.
Verbal is where the GMAT can be cracked. As you see with a 39 scaled score you can reach 90 percentile. Considering the verbal maximum scaled score of 51,means that there are still 13 scaled score pts to go to reach a perfect 51- there surely is room for improvement. In fact anything higher than 44 in verbal is the 99th percentile!!
Q-50 V-38: 720 or 730
Q-48 V-38: 690 or 700
Q-51 V-38: 730!!
Q-47 V-38: 670
Q-46 V-38: 640!
You can see the score fluctutation with a constant verbal and how a low quant pulls the score down.
My strategy/recommendation is to ratchet up the quant to 50 or atleast 49(Coz then you have atleast 720 in the bag,unless you screw up verbal badly) . And then work totally on verbal.(THen with a quant score of 49/50 in the bag,improvements in verbal can max out your score beyond the 750 levels). It's not so easy to score above 40 in verbal and anyone who score less than 49 in quant has surely made some very stupid mistakes. And obviously GMAC thinks that someone who scores less than 49 in Quant does not deserve to have a high score
It's true that verbal directly impacts your score much more than quant but that's only after you get a certain minimum in quant.
Here's why(Scaled score vs percentile):
Verbal Quant Percentile
39 49 90
Because people score so much higher in Quant anything less than a scaled score of 49 can really take your score down badly. On the flip side anything above 50 in Quant will not get you much in the way of a higher overall score.
Verbal is where the GMAT can be cracked. As you see with a 39 scaled score you can reach 90 percentile. Considering the verbal maximum scaled score of 51,means that there are still 13 scaled score pts to go to reach a perfect 51- there surely is room for improvement. In fact anything higher than 44 in verbal is the 99th percentile!!
Q-50 V-38: 720 or 730
Q-48 V-38: 690 or 700
Q-51 V-38: 730!!
Q-47 V-38: 670
Q-46 V-38: 640!
You can see the score fluctutation with a constant verbal and how a low quant pulls the score down.
My strategy/recommendation is to ratchet up the quant to 50 or atleast 49(Coz then you have atleast 720 in the bag,unless you screw up verbal badly) . And then work totally on verbal.(THen with a quant score of 49/50 in the bag,improvements in verbal can max out your score beyond the 750 levels). It's not so easy to score above 40 in verbal and anyone who score less than 49 in quant has surely made some very stupid mistakes. And obviously GMAC thinks that someone who scores less than 49 in Quant does not deserve to have a high score
Good to hear that you are recovering from the fatigue thing. It might sound paradoxical but consider this problem as an opportunity.When you recover completely you'll be stronger physically and mentally,having the ability to accomodate long work hrs,study time and social life activities effortlessly in a single day. So it's really a way to become better.Atleast that's what happened to me.
Positive attitude is the key for everything. But i guess you know that.
Good luck!