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Justin Bailey
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Quoting your tag is just too easy here.
It would be to easy to quote your tag, yes.
Honestly, it really depends on your weaknesses. I'm terrible at math, and I barely, barely prepared for that part, and I'm good with english, so I barely prepared for that as well. Basically, I didn't do jack shit in preparation. I got a perfect score on the essay (which isn't calculated into your final score), and I was in the 87th percentile on the English portion. I kinda did terrible in the math portion, which averaged my score to be around 630. It really brought me down BAD. I would recommend focusing on the math area, for sure. More importantly, focus on the areas that you know you aren't too good at.
Honestly, it really depends on your weaknesses. I'm terrible at math, and I barely, barely prepared for that part, and I'm good with english, so I barely prepared for that as well. Basically, I didn't do jack shit in preparation. I got a perfect score on the essay (which isn't calculated into your final score), and I was in the 87th percentile on the English portion. I kinda did terrible in the math portion, which averaged my score to be around 630. It really brought me down BAD. I would recommend focusing on the math area, for sure. More importantly, focus on the areas that you know you aren't too good at.
I started to take a single practice GMAT (was actually a real test from year's past) and after a while I quit because it felt a whole lot like the SAT. The real test felt similar. I remember the GMAT feeling a little harder, but there was also a several year gap between when I took them.
Aced both, high 90s percentile on each.
Aced both, high 90s percentile on each.
I'm not sure how much the GMAT varies from the GRE, but as far as the GRE goes, I think it's useful to try one or two practice tests and read a few sample essays, but I don't think there's a lot of use in studying beyond that, unless you feel a lack of confidence in your math skills. In general, I don't think there's a lot that a native English speaker is going to do to improve their reading/verbal skills at this point in their life.
And it's 'Salma', not 'Selma'.
And it's 'Salma', not 'Selma'.
What's an average joe? I think it totally depends. Some people study for 2 weeks and can break 700. I've also met intelligent people that studied for 4 months and barely broke 600. I think with 2-4 weeks of studying a 500 shouldn't be a problem for the average joe, assuming you can read decently and don't have any real issues understanding basic math.
RoodyPooUS
Member
GMAT to me was slightly harder than the SAT. I think it was because I had not done trig/algebra/geo for 4 years.
I got 1440 SAT (Back when it was based off 1600) and 700 GMAT with 5.5 writing. I probably studied about 80 hours for the GMAT and 500 for the SAT.
I got 1440 SAT (Back when it was based off 1600) and 700 GMAT with 5.5 writing. I probably studied about 80 hours for the GMAT and 500 for the SAT.
RoodyPooUS
Member
I recommend you AT LEAST study for 20 hours or so. Go buy a study book and do everything. That by itself will raise your score 50-100 probably. The rest is just hard work.
Just think of it this way, those 20 hours will probably have a huge impact on your life. It will raise the probability you get into a good school of your choice, get a better job, more money/comfort, etc.
If I had to do it again, I would probably have studied even more. Sadly, these tests ARE life changing for the vast majority of people.
Sure there is the occasional self-made millionaire that never graduated from high school or college. But on average, the better school you get into, the more education you get, the more money you make over the course of your life.
Sure money doesn't buy happiness but it sure allows you to live a comfortable life, and gives you personal and financial freedom.
Just think of it this way, those 20 hours will probably have a huge impact on your life. It will raise the probability you get into a good school of your choice, get a better job, more money/comfort, etc.
If I had to do it again, I would probably have studied even more. Sadly, these tests ARE life changing for the vast majority of people.
Sure there is the occasional self-made millionaire that never graduated from high school or college. But on average, the better school you get into, the more education you get, the more money you make over the course of your life.
Sure money doesn't buy happiness but it sure allows you to live a comfortable life, and gives you personal and financial freedom.
I remember doing pretty poorly on the GMAT myself, with zero preparation... then again I signed up for it last-minute and I went in with like 4 hours of sleep and right after helping my g/f at the time move out of her apartment. Buy a book and take practice tests, at the very least.
I didn't end up going for an MBA anyways, got hired at a job with an in-house Systems Engineering MS program so I just did that
I didn't end up going for an MBA anyways, got hired at a job with an in-house Systems Engineering MS program so I just did that
I just took the GMAT about a month and a half ago and it's not necessarily a much harder test than the SAT I just found it to be a very different test. The GMAT gets harder as you go since it's adaptive so I thought the most important things for it are making sure you use your time well and just plow through. I am embarassed to say I didn't finish the math portion as I had 2 questions left when time ran out since I poorly managed the test. The essays and verbal weren't that hard and didn't take even close to the allotted time, but you only get a certain length for each portion. The math is really annoying and like people said, study algebra, basic math relationships like prime factors and series, and geometry, and you should be ok.
For reference I got a 1420 on the SAT on my second try on the 1600 scale without studying or practicing at all besides my first attempt (which I got a 1380 on). The GMAT I just took I studied off and on for a year or so, but took long (>6 months) breaks in between really working at it. I'd say I spent about 20 hours or so leading up to the test and got a 680 with a 6 on the essays. I was pretty disappointed because I wanted to crack the mythical 700 barrier, but oh well. Good luck.
For reference I got a 1420 on the SAT on my second try on the 1600 scale without studying or practicing at all besides my first attempt (which I got a 1380 on). The GMAT I just took I studied off and on for a year or so, but took long (>6 months) breaks in between really working at it. I'd say I spent about 20 hours or so leading up to the test and got a 680 with a 6 on the essays. I was pretty disappointed because I wanted to crack the mythical 700 barrier, but oh well. Good luck.
pel1300 said:
you really need to give the year on that. My cousin got into Princeton with an SAT score in the mid-1200s, but that was over a decade ago. I know kids who can't even get into good public schools (like UVa or Cal) with grades like that these days.
voodoojohn
Banned
How horrible of a score would something between 450-500 be? Can essentially any retard score that "high?"
voodoojohn said:
If you're reasonable and can logically think a question through, you should be able to, but I had a girlfriend a couple years ago that took the test and did HORRIBLE (she wouldn't tell me her score, but it wasn't high enough to get into the lowest level part-time MBAs) and she was fairly smart normally. She just couldn't deal with complicated questions and would freak herself out and miss everything. Absolutely putrid at math, too, but I digress. I think she took a class and bumped her score up to that level eventually though.
These tests have less to do with how smart you are and more to do with how quickly and effectively you can parse the test questions and answers. In this sense the amount of "studying" you require depends on how well you can actually do this. I never took the GMAT, so I can't give an exact comparison on what you need to know compared to the SAT, but I'd definitely take some practice tests and such. You won't know how well you'll do until you try, regardless of how intelligent you are.
RoodyPooUS
Member
Timedog said:
I think so...I just remember studying a ton, starting with PSAT, maybe it was 300 hours. Still, it was a ton. Asian parents, tons of pressure.
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