Verbal
- Sentence completion: Don't read the first choice. It's completely redundant with what's in the stimulus.
- Logical reasoning: Don't just figure out why the choice you picked is right; also look through the other answer choices and figure out why they were all wrong.
- Reading comprehension: Read the entire passage before answering any questions. Your patience will be rewarded.
Quantitative
- Read each question three times. Twice before you actually begin solving, and once after you select your choice and you're ready to click the "next" button. This last one has saved my ass so many times, it's not even funny.
- If you're the kind who solves problems quickly but makes mistakes easily (I'm looking at you, engineering majors), consider doing each problem twice.
- This next one isn't anything to take any direct action against, but keep in your head the fact that almost every question has a "trick" answer, one that many people will pick but is actually wrong. As you get to the harder questions, be attuned to the possibility of that trick answer.
AWA
- Read this guide from the GMATClub Forums.
- There's an unintended correlation between length and score; try to write at least 5 paragraphs for both essays (an introduction, 3+ body paragraphs, and a clear conclusion).
- Typo's don't matter as much as you think. I knowingly had several in both of my essays and didn't have enough time to fix them, and I got a 6.0.
Following the above tips definitely helped me get my 770. But to be honest, you can't really internalize these tips unless you devote yourself to effective, focused practice. Practice is the best way to improve your score.
I want to post my thoughts on recommendation letters pretty soon.
More later.
Hey this was really helpful. I got a 710 but with substantially higher score on the verbal than quant (even though I have a very quant focused role in my current job). Your tips on the verbal are right on point with my own experience. I know overconfidence is where i stumble in quant I will need to try out your tip on retreading.
ReplyDeleteWow, congratulations for getting a high score on the GMAT. These are some pretty useful tips, and I'm sure a lot of exam takers-would benefit from all the pointers you put up here. I agree with your first point on answering questions in the Quantitative section: make sure you understand the question completely before answering. Sometimes, there are trick questions that lead you to misinterpret their meaning. Don't fall into that trap.
ReplyDeleteKimi Stremmings
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