Study Update - 28 March 2011

Am done with Critical Reasoning(CR) from OG-12!

Overall out of 124, I got 81 Correct!

I did in 3 sets -

1. 41/50
2. 28/50
3. 12/24

The first time I really killed it and then onwards I got killed! The only reason my score was not 50-50 - as its normally with Quants - was I did really well in the first set. After that next 2 sets, I guess the questions got difficult, I was not focusing enough, I just couldn't understand the reasoning or I was plain over-confident!

What I learnt from doing CR -

• Concentration is paramount! If you are distracted even for a bit, that will make all the difference between the correct reasoning and the wrong reasoning. So make sure you are as much focused as possible. Guesses even though I did make a few, out of which I got a few correct also, the guess game is quite tricky for CR. The answers are all there in the paragraph and the answer choices. Its all about nailing the correct one! 
• Read as much as possible and I don't mean just the question but reading in general like magazines, newspapers, etc. The topics covered are assorted like Science, Technology, Art, Historical, Business, Economy, etc. So it makes sense to have interest in everything, however dry the subject might be. Personally I didn't do well in topics from Historical-Arts and a bit from Science. The subject was too dry and really had a difficult time to focus and digest what was there. But it needs to be done, whether you and me like it or not! So the more aware and read you are, the less it will be difficult for you! 
• Considering the clock is always ticking, the time allotted for CR can be extremely challenging to finish everything. So if you can develop a habit for fast-reading, this is going to be a very helpful skill! 

Now onto more of reading in the form Reading Comprehension(RC)!

Stay tuned! 

Study Update - 26 March 2011

As Cricket World Cup 2011 is entering its final stages, its keeping me a lot more hooked than usual. Did 50 more problems of CR from OG-12.

Got 28 out of 50 Correct.

Felt the questions were a whole lot tricky than it was last time when I got 41 out of 50 Correct.

24 problems remaining and then CR is done for now!

Study Update : 21st March 2011

I had taken a break from Quant and 60-Day-BTG and moved onto Critical Reasoning(Verbal) for a few days.

Solved first 50 Sample Problems from OG-12 and got 41 Correct!

Needless to say its a huge morale booster!

Now time to get back to Quant and finish the remaining 74 questions of CR also!

P.S. - Sometimes its necessary to get small victories in order to win big ones! 

Study Update : 16.03.11

Quant : Statistics, Day 17 BTG Study Plan

 

 

To Do:

• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition:
• Review the section on Descriptive Statistics (p. 114-116)
  
• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition, tackle the following questions:
• Problem Solving: 5, 14, 27, 57, 69, 93, 99, 132, 180, 184, 199, 201, 207
• Data Sufficiency: 28, 32, 53, 81, 84, 93, 105, 116, 129, 134, 136, 141, 146, 147

Don't Forget To:

• Record your OG12 answers into the Official Guide 12th Edition - Error Tracking Tool

Additional Reinforcement:

• Watch the Knewton video, Mode
• Watch this video, Standard Deviation

In P.S. scored 7 Correct out of 13.

In D.S. scored 8 Correct out of 14.

Study Update : 14th March 2011

Day 15 of 60-Day BTG Study Plan :  

 

To Do:

• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition:
• Review Geometry sections 4.3.1 to 4.3.9 (p. 127-134)
• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition, tackle the following questions:
• Problem Solving: 16, 18, 33, 48, 53, 62, 102, 113, 134, 145, 147, 152, 160, 177, 189, 197, 209, 212
• Data Sufficiency: 18, 20, 29, 34, 42, 56, 74, 91, 96, 109, 114, 117, 122, 132, 135, 140, 144, 148, 157, 160, 173

In P.S. I got 9 out of 18 Correct!

In D.S. I got 11 out of 21 Correct! (First 10, I got 8 right, then remaining 11 I just managed to get 3 more right!)

Study Update : 10.03.11

Today was Day-13 of the 60 Day BTG Study Plan.

Day 13

 

Word problems are a synthesis of multiple math topics, and they are a perennial source of misery for math students from every corner of the world.  Over the next two days, you'll learn important strategies for effectively handling these question types.

 

To Do:

• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition:
• Review the section on Rate Problems (p. 140)
• In the Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition, tackle the following questions:
• Problem Solving: 6, 26, 59, 77, 81, 83, 85, 90, 120, 127, 140, 149, 153, 155, 163, 165, 166, 167, 170, 178, 182, 183, 195, 204, 206, 211, 221, 223
• Data Sufficiency: 4, 10, 14, 23, 25, 39, 40, 50, 59, 61, 62, 70, 77, 85, 87, 92, 101, 102, 103, 104, 113, 118, 120, 123, 124, 126, 127, 138, 145, 152, 155, 158, 174

Additional Reinforcement:

• Watch the Knewton video, Motion

In P.S. it was same as always...15 out of 28 correct. This is getting frustrating...not able to break the pattern and perform better! 

In D.S. it was my worst performance ever...11 out of 33 correct. Interestingly I started brilliantly...first 10 problems I got 8 correct! And then remaining 23 I just managed 3! On review I realized, few questions I didn't read properly and hence messed up...but overall I am still not good at forming a conclusion as to which option will be sufficient or not sufficient! Need it do it more slowly without bothering about the time it takes.

For Verbal, will be starting Critical Reasoning(CR) from OG-10.

Stay tuned!

Paul Bodine (too) Goes to Indian School of Business School(ISB) Tour!

This was expected!

A few days back I posted about Linda Abraham's(Accepted.com) trip to ISB along with several more MBA Admission Consultants.

Paul from Paul Bodine Consulting was one of those several consultants!

Read to see what he has to say about ISB!

Accepted.com Goes to Indian School of Business School Tour!

Linda Abraham (President and Founder of Accepted.com) along with few other admissions consultant were invited by ISB, Hyderabad, India to spread awareness of this top-10 ranked school in the world and to let them know more about the school, its curriculum, structure, etc!

Read the full article!

Study Update : 7th March 2011

Things have been going real slow since past 7-9 days because of guests. But I did manage to study Idioms and Odds & Ends which was left and finished the entire Manhattan Sentence Correction 2003 edition.

Idioms - turned out to be disaster, got 11 out of 27 correct.

Odds & Ends - Not much better with 8 out of 14 correct.

Now its time to get started with other aspects of Verbal such as CR and RC and also resume the 60-day-BTG study plan.

This week I also intend to take another practice test, in-fact looking forward to it!