I'm taking the GMAT tomorrow at 2pm!!!!  Lord, you are my only hope.  Last year  I know I rushed myself into taking the official GMAT by watching lectures online from Manhattan GMAT, and not studying everyday or practicing all the problems.

This time I moved past watching lectures, especially since I no longer have access to them (that's how I long I've been "studying" for the GMAT), and this time I focused a lot more time on Verbal and even completed all the questions on the Official Guide and watched all the video explanations. I'm hoping that the 630 on the MGMAT test and 660 on the Official GMAT Prep software will land me a score in the 660 range.  But I can only get this score with God as my strength.  I can't say I'm done with this process until I know my score, but I've learned so much about myself through this journey.  I've learned that I need to exercise my brain like I exercise my body, and as I do I'll get stronger and stronger.  Now that I am running almost 4 days a week I notice I can run a lot faster for a longer period of time.  I know that if I keep studying and learning new things, I can become a wiser and smarter man than I was in college.

I finished my practice test and scored a 660!  Granted, I recognize some of the reading comprehension I'm really proud of this score.  Quant:  46 (71 percentile) and Verbal: 35 (81 percentile)

Today I take my last practice exam before I take the official gmat in 5 days.  Even though I know I need more time to study, practice and and get help I feel as if this is going to be the last time I take the GMAT.  I'm going to allow myself one more try by end of Summer in case I don't get the score I want, but now seems like the best time to get this test over with.

This has been a humbling experience.  Getting a good score is not easy for me, even though I've spent so many hours prating problems over the years.  It's humbling to apply and interview to business schools where they'll accept or reject me.  

I've been trying to work out and sleep more so that my mind can be as sharp as possible.  And just like the little muscle I've gained, I realize how the brain is a muscle that continually needs to be strengthened by giving myself mental challenges everyday like studying the GMAT or learning something new through a book or business article.  I feel like studying for the GMAT has helped jump start my brain to start thinking academically again and become more of a critical thinker.  I think that's what the GMAT is really testing.  They want to know if David Synn can keep up studies as he reenters a learning institution, all while managing a full time job and taking care of his family, who by the way is only comprised of two people at the moment. I know I can do this, and hope to get at least a 650 on the test.  I'm giving myself a number, and to prove I can do it I need to get a 650 on this practice test, where I expect to seem some repeat questions from when I took these practice exams last year. 

I end in a prayer to my Lord, Savior, Helper,  Creator, Master, and friend.  Lord, you know how weak I am and how little I can be.  God help me now and on Thursday to do well on this test. Only you can make my mind work and only you can make me click the right buttons.  I'm just part of your never ending love story, so please use me to overcome this obstacle, because I know I can't do this by myself.  May my efforts be pleasing to you as I put all my hope in you.  Thank you that no matter what happens, you love me the same and will one day come to take me to spend eternity with you.  How can I not be happy while I live out my time on earth, in preparation for eternal life with you.   Thank you for Joann, please always keep her by your side as you continue to form her path to you.  She a is lovely doe and I thank you for joining our paths on earth to follow you, even though our paths are a little bit different.  I know that this only makes sense to you, and I'm so glad how omniscient you are.  

I'm officially taking the official GMAT in one week. Next Thursday as a matter of fact.

For now, I'm working on neutralizing my weaknesses.

Today the lesson is for sentence correction. 

1) Identify subject verb agreement
2) prounouns - correct verbs?  clear antecedent?
3) comparisons - parallel markers
4) modifiers
5) meaning

I took a practice test last Sunday and I got a 630 (42 Quant 57% /  34 Verbal 69%), which is a somewhat decent improvement after my streak of getting 580 in different CAT exams AND the official exam.

Kind of bummed because I wanted to get at least a 650 and then sign up to take the GMAT in two weeks from Saturday 4/13.  I simply ran out of time during both the Quant and Verbal sections.

I need to guage my internal 2 minute clock, because I spent 4 and 5 minutes on certain Quant questions!  That really killed my score, because I couldn't even answer the last question.  NO WHEN TO GUESS AND MOVE ON DAVID!!!!  

I realize that I need to study more around number properties, square roots, combinatorics, and so on.

On the flip side, I think the 34 on Verbal or 69% percentile was the best I've scored so far.  If I can maintain and improve on Verbal and raise my Quant score, I should really be able to get a 650 on the official exam.   

On Data Sufficiency, the graphs are drawn to scale.  Use the graph paper to estimate lengths.  I spent 4 minutes on a problem, because I just couldn't give up.   MOVE ON!!!


For any set of consecutive integers with an odd number of terms, the sum of the integers is always a multiple of the number of terms. For example, the sum of 1, 2, and 3 (three consecutives -- an odd number) is 6, which is a multiple of 3. For any set of consecutive integers with an even number of terms, the sum of the integers is never a multiple of the number of terms. For example, the sum of 1, 2, 3, and 4 (four consecutives -- an even number) is 10, which is not a multiple of 4.

I finished all the data sufficiency and problem solving questions yesterday, which marks my completion of all the practice problem in the Official Guide.  This is the first time practicing all the questions, verbal and math, and I hope this will help improve my score, since my verbal score on the official gmat test was particularly bad.

Lord, I need you now and forever.  I'm putting myself out there to take this test again in hopes for a good score to get into a good school and provide for my family, and be an example for my kids.  I want them that it's always good to challenge yourself throughout your entire life, and that age is not a factor.  I feel late getting to this point of really wanting to go to business school, but I know the Lord can use me and this time for good. 

DS 142

Work on sentence correction during spare time.


Problem Solving is complete.  Slow down, be careful, attention to detail, mastery of algebra and exponents are crucial. 

Trying to finish up Quant so that I can take a practice test, having gone through all the questions in the review guide.   I already finished verbal, so hoping to finish quant really soon.

Quant:
I'm making the same stupid mistakes again.  I NEED TO ANSWER THE RIGHT QUESTION!!!!!!  Stop taking useless shortcuts, and take the extra seconds to write the units of measure to make sure I'm organized.   WRITE DOWN THE UOM that the question is asking for.

For long work (w = r x t) problems, its probably going to be easier to plug in the answer choices.   Use this strategy for Quant for the actual GMAT.

For long word problems, read the problem twice:
1) Try to get the gist of the problem and not read the math.  Pay attention to the words/situation.
-organize and make a table or chart

2) go back and investigate the math



PS 157, DS 140

Reading Comprehension:

For the "primary purpose of the passage" questions, don't default to pick answers that sound like "present evidence that resolves a contradiction.  more likely the answer will be challenge a widely accepted explanation.   The notes should be sufficient to answer the question.

If the question says "explicitly" that means the answer is in the passage.

Completed: ALL RC, ALL CR,  PS 125, DS 130

Reading Comprehension:

Skim the passage, but write notes for each paragraph.  Get the just and write down key words and trigger words.   Know where the detail is, but don't read them too carefully.

The first sentence and last sentence of a paragraph are probably the most important.

Critical Reasoning:  Boldfaced sentence questions:  Determine if both sentences are positive and negative.  Look at both of the bold parts, ignoring everything in between, an access their relationship that way. 


Completed: RC 133

Reading Comprehension:  Find a way to stay organized for passages that are long, boring, and complex.

- Take good notes.

Critical Reasoning:  Use more abbreviations and less words for deconstructing.

Completed: RC 119, CR 115,  DS 120,

Completed: DS 111, PS 108, CR 110, and did some more sentence correction work on Pronouns.


"remember that PRONOUN AMBIGUITY IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE RULE"  

Critical Reasoning:
1) Pay attention to the switching of directions.
2) Pay attention when the question has the word "Except" in it.  Answer the right question.

Completed: PS 106, CR 104, Sentence Correction: Prounouns from OG12 (still need to do the ones from the Verbal book)

Problem Solving;  For sum of number questions, determine the number of terms first.

Completed: PS 90,  DS 101, CR 100

RC 110: CR 93

Critical Reasoning:  Watchout for the word "some" in the answer choices.  That means not 100% of people are acting in a certain way.  All people don't need to react in a certain way.

I completed Sentence Correction, but after I get down to two possible answers I guess, and often times its the wrong one.  I need to sharpen my skills with sentence structure and memorize Idioms I encounter on the official guide.

Completed: DS 89, SC 135

Sentence Correction is getting better, but I'm still not getting the harder questions right.  Often times I'm picking the second best answer, which is good to know I'm getting more familiar with wrong answer choices, but not enough to improve my score.

Completed: SC 129, DS 78


Goal is to also practice wrong answers and do the questions in the Verbal only guide.

Joann just got her residency at United in St. Paul, MN and now that we'll be in MN for another year, I really want to get into Booth.

Reading Comp:
I got most answers right, granted they were mostly categorized as "easier", but it still has been boosting my confidence.

- WRITE DOWN all trigger words that change direction and POV of the passage.  This time I missed a question because I didnt hone in on the word, "Surprisingly"

Dates (years) are important for answers that require knowing the chronology of events in the passage.

Critical Reasoning:  Evaluate the Conclusion question is tricky.  Here were are trying to find the answer that either strengthens or weakens the conclusion.

Find the assumption: look for the logic gap



Completed:  RC 86, CR 83, SC 105

Reading Comprehension is getting better.  The trick is read more carefully, stay calm under pressure, and feel the mood of the passage and record all the changes in direction (i.e. howevers)

Completed: RC 74, SC 100

Sentence Correction:  For problems that have the complete sentence underlined, try looking at meaning to see if the answer choices are even logical.  Then test all other basic principles.

CR 65, SC 98, PS70

Critical Reasoning:  For Find the Discrepancy problems  find what is similar and what is different and try to find an answer that explains the difference. 

Problem Solving:  Use Estimation for Exponent problems

Completed: CR 58, PS 65

I took more time on the reading comprehension problem and got most of the answers correct.

The trick for me is to stay calm and thoroughly read the passages to understand.  I didnt even exactly follow all the material, but was able to get the answers right.

This also wants me to be excellent at Sentence Correction to afford more time on RC and CR.

Sentence Correction:
- Watch out for answer choices that takes out information from the original sentence ex 87.
-  Questions with pronouns were weak today
- When I see "both", "and" or "or" look for parallelism

Finished:  RC 62, SC 94, DS73

Critical Reasoning:  Obscure long and wordy passages can be a drain.  Figure out the main points and mood of the passage.  Write them down and eliminate wrong answer choices.

Finished:  CR 45, SC 82

Goal for today and everyday:  don't make the same mistake twice.

For data sufficiency problems, don't rush to find an answer.  Work the process of elimination to get one final answer.

Sentence Correction:  comma needed before which

Completed: RC 51, SC 76

Critical Reasoning:  One some of the Critical Reasoning questions that I am getting incorrect and are listed with as "Easier", I'm noticing that I am over thinking the possible answer choices.  Keep it simple, David.

Sentence Correct:  When in doubt check for verb-subject agreement and parallelism.

Quant: Stay Organized on my scratch paper,  can save time if I have to rework problems.


Finished: CR 32, SC 66, PS 60

Took a two day break from studying because I had to pull an all nighter on Monday to do more POGs.  I didn't finish until 1:30 AM and by that time my hands were numb from all the mouse clicking and typing and I was just out of it all day Tuesday.

I am fully rested today, but lacked the motivation to study.  I started feeling anxious again and stressed about how long I've wanted to do well and take the GMAT and started to regret and feel embarrased that after many many years I haven't progressed a whole lot.  Now I don't think I'll be able to score well enough in the next two months, which would be the dealine to apply to Booth's Fall Weekend MBA program.   I need to refocus and rededicate.  I need to man up and power through.  Lord help me!


Today's tip for myself is to draw a number line when doing inequality problems, especially those involving data sufficiency.

Finished SC 50

Clean Slate

I deleted all my answers from the OG Archer, a database within MGMAT, and am doing all the questions from the OG 13th review with a fresh mindset.

First thing I think I should do for verbal, is quitely read the questions outloud.  I think I'm skimming too much, which is unintentional and a product of me trying to go too fast.  SLOW DOWN AND READ, DAVID!!!!


Completed: SC 41, RC 41, DS 56

Game Plan

I just got the new Official GMAT Review, and Joann reminded me that this now my THIRD review book!  haha.  What she actually doesn't know is that I also bought a Princeton Review GMAT book when we first started "studying" together, which was right before we started dating.

Wow, Joann has seen my struggles to study for the GMAT from the beginning, which is seven years ago!

I've had it with this test.  I'm determined to study diligently for this test, take it seriously, and get an above average score.   

Here are the number of questions in the Official Guide.

230 Problem Solving

174 Data Sufficiency

140 Sentence Correction

124 Critical Reasoning

139 Reading Comprehension

My goal each day is to start with verbal, since that would mimic the order of the actual test.

I'm going to try and do 

1 hour Verbal

1-2 hours Quant

Verbal

2 Pages of Reading Comp

2 Pages of Sentence Corrections

Alternate days of Reading Comp with Critical Reasoning

Quant

2 pages of Data Sufficiency (24 questions)

2 pages of Problem Solving (14 questions)

I will take all of these questions under a timed format. Not sure yet on how. 

When I face long sentence corrections, break up the sentences to see the point of the sentence.  Identify parallelism first, especially looking in the non-underlined sections.

Look at singular/plural and pronouns next.

Like vs As
"Like" introduces nouns
"As" introduces verbs

Starting Sentence Correction today with the diag problems I've done a few times before:

Read the Sentence Completely and out loud.  What is the meaning of the sentence?

Comparison:  Are the right things being compared?
Parallelism:  Look for in every problem.  At the very least can help eliminate wrong answer choices.

Does the pronoun have an antecedent?

Is verb in the correct past tense or present tense?

For Quant Problems, especially for overlapping set questions, remember to not just solve for x, BUT ANSWER THE QUESTION ASKED!!!!

Triangle Inequality Law:  Usually only given 2 sides.  Of the 2 sides:  The third side lies between the difference of the two sides and the addition of the two sides = (7-2) < k < (7+2)

For Geometry:  Cylinder problems - Sometimes you are given only half of the volume in the cylinder, but asked for the diameter of the entire cylinder.  Don't solve the problem using half the volume, but instead extrapolate the volume to be for the full cylinder.

Standard Deviation: (Dff-  Avg)^2 for all values  (=VARIANCE)  -->  Divided by total number of values  --> Square the result

Data Sufficiency: Sufficient or Insufficient to answer the question.

Quant: Rephrase as much as possible in Data Sufficiency questions.  Find similarities in the question and the two answer choices

Today marks the first day of studying for the GMAT seriously. Joann has been a great encouragement to me, especially by frequently calling me "elite".  I frequently undervalue my abilities or intellect, partially so I can make an excuse for not succeeding in career or gmat.  That's a loser mentality and I want to shake that off completely.  Another reason to kick the GMAT's ass!

Today I've started with Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning.

The take away today is for me to find the cue words that let me know the attitude of the passage/author. Noting the mood of the author and the critical.  Sounds simple, but under time pressure I can easily forget this simple step to find the correct answer through process of elimination.

Find a way to not miss key words when reading questions or passages. Read out loud?

For Quant don't be afraid to write a long formula, at least for now.  Learning the basics is good, and can sometimes help wasting time finding a "magical" shortcut.

Remainder = Decimal multiplied by divisor.  Ex. 0.12t    

The Trick is to find a value so that t is an integer

This is the beginning of the final time I try and take the GMAT and apply for MBA school.

After failing many times to sit down an study, even after spending $1,000 on the Manhattan GMAT online prep course, I am ready and want to succeed on the GMAT.  I actually took the official test last year, but scored poorly - 580.  I should have known from the CAT exams that I was not ready since they were both scoring below 600, but there were a few times I scored in the mid 600s in Manhattan GMAT exams.  Now I know to trust the practice exam scores from GMAC to see if I'm ready.

My goals now until test time are to study for 2 hours a day and 5 hours on the weekends.

I want to completely master math and also improve on all areas of verbal.
I will practice, practice, practice, over trying to learn strategies.  If I want to read more on strategies, I will read books at Barnes during my lunch break.   I will work, eat, study, and watch tv with Joann, and I will rejoice in the Lord during every minute of the day, especially during studying.  I will not fail to read the Bible in the morning, because living is not a guarantee and I rather have words from God in my head rather than geometry problem from this bloody standardized test.  I will prove to myself that I can do this and set a good example for my future child, that you can do anything when you trust God and give your best effort.  I don't want to make any more excuses for not pursuing a career change through a great MBA program.  I want a real, prestigious, intelligent, and rewarding career that can provide for all my members of my family, especially Joann and my future child(ren).  I love you all.  Lord, you are my strength!