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You care for them, don’t you? Good…you can watch them die!

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A GMAT story

Hi guys, I just came back from the test center with a big smile on my face.   Got a 700 (Q47, V39). As many of you guys remember, I joined this site after getting a 420 back in October. I was feeling so down that I chose "positive soul" as my username. I have to say that the road was not easy, but I found very helpful all the support I got from you guys. I am exhausted, so I will write in more details in the next few days. Now, I am going to sleep. Remember to never give up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you all for your kind words. I am very happy to see that all my effort and sacrificies paid off, and, hopefully, my experience will help others to beat the GMAT. Before I start, I want to thank all the active members of the GMAT Club, specially, ywilfred, professor, vivek123, HongHu, GMATT73, coffeeloverfreak, laxieqv, ps_dahiya, Futuristic, fig, rhyme, u2lover, haas_mba07, necromonger, kevincan, and yezz. I really learned from you guys. I take my hat off. My GMAT experience is a very LONG one. I took the GMAT the first time in 1995, when it was still on paper and I was considering the idea of going for my MBA right after college. I got a 560!! I knew this score was too low to try to get into a top school, so I decided to take a Kaplan course. After 3 months, my score improved a little to 590. Luckly (I guess), I landed a very good job in an European Multinational, so I decided to put off the MBA for a couple of years. The years went by, and I started to climb the corporate ladder, so every year I put off the MBA. The funny thing is that during 4 years, my GMAT books traveled with me around the world. In October 2006, (10 years later), I took the GMAT again, obtaining a very VERY dissapointing score 420 (29Q 20V) I knew my preparation for the test was not optimal, but a 420 was just too low. For my preparation I used the OG and my old Kaplan books. I was consistenly scoring above 550 in sample tests, so I was expecting a low 600. I will never forget that day, it was the worst day of my life. I went back home thinking I was never going to get into a decent MBA program. Out of my dissapointment, I found strength to look for help. So searching the web, I found this amazing site. I posted my experience, and I got encouraging words from some of the member. At this point I saw light at the end of the tunnel. My second try: I became determined to at least break the 500 level. I read many posts regarding preparation materials, and strategies. So I gave myself 3 months to retake the exam. Looking back, it was a mistake because I was working 60+ hours, and under a lot of preassure to deliver a project by the end of January. I went ahead anyway because I wanted my "revenge". My preparation consisted on reviewing the same OG and Kaplan materials that I used before. I also started to solve some of the problems in the GMATClub. I studied on and off during the first 2 1/2 months, and started to put 2 hours during the weekdays and 8 hours during the weekend. I got a 510 (36Q 20V?) this time. Believe it or not, I was happy that I improved my Quantitative score.   Final Try Eventhough, I improved my score, I knew I had to improve. I was not near the 650 I need to even dream about applying to a top MBA. Then I decided to make it happen. I made a decision to score a 700. I was no longer going to be complacent with myself. So I started to make changes in every single aspect of my preparation. Thinks that I did, I believe it made a difference this time around: 1. I committed myself to put the time and effort. Work and travel was no longer an excuse. I made the time. I promised myself I would study at least 2 hours per day. No matter what. This was very difficult, and I did not do it every day, but al least 90% of the time. I became more focus on achiving my objective. 2. I gave myself a realistic timetable to take the test. I knew, I was not going to improve my score by 200 points in one month. At least not with my working schedule. This was one of the mistakes I made in the first 2 tests. However, I knew that I had to be serious with this issue, otherwise history would repeat itself. 3. I put together a very complete list of study materials and resources. This was my list: - OG Materials: GMAT review 10th Edition, Verbal review and Quantitative review. I also obtained old GMAT paper tests from their website. - Kaplan Materials: Kaplan GMAT 2005, Kaplan GMAT 800 and Kaplan GMAT Verbal. - GMATprep Software: Downloaded from the website. - LSAT sample tests - GMAX online - GMAT Club Forum and Challenges. - GMAT 1000 Questions I could have gotten more books, but I wanted keep it as simple as possible. I knew I was NOT going to improve by doing all available questions, but by changing the way I study (I will develop later). 4. I totally changed my study approach: a) I decided to cover the basics: I came to accept that I did not have a good grasp of all the topics (Math and Verbal). It was that simple. I was really troubled by very simple rate and distance problems, and I was a dummy when I tried to solve number properties. What did I do: I took the GMAX online course. I will not recommend this course to everyone, but if you make an honest self-assessment of your skills, and think you need help. I highly recommend it. Note: This course by itself will NOT help you to increase your score dramatically but it will provide you with the basic knowledge you need to apply some strategies. b) I started to use an error log: I cannot tell you how many times I read about it. I always said, I will defenitely do it, it makes sense, etc..... BUT I NEVER DID IT (sounds like anyone you know????). Deep in my mind I thought it was a waste of time and energy: What did I do: I just did it. It was really a pain in the begining. But I cannot tell you how much time I saved, and the things I discovered about myself. After going over the GMAX course, I discovered that 75% of my mistakes were careless mistakes, such as I did not multiply correctly (  ), I did not read the question properly, I did not read all the answers, etc. I think this made a huge difference because on test day, I was right on the ball. I knew in which questions and calculations I was prone to make mistakes, and I paid a LOTof attention. c) I always tried to solve a question on my own, I did not seek help until I knew I could not solve it on my own. Before, I used to try a problem, I got it wrong, I will see the explanation given. BIG mistake. I was only doing the most convinient thing but I was not really learning. What did I do: Sometimes I would spend 10 minutes on a question (obviously not during a sample test), trying to solve it. You might say "what a waste of time", now ask me if got a similar problem wrong. Very few times. I made a comittment to think and learn. d) I never jumped to solve a question before spending a few seconds thinking about the quickest way to solve it. I read once on post, not to attack right away a problem using "brute force". This is a skill you need to develop, and it is very difficult to think about it when you know that the clock is your enemy. What did I do: When I was practicing, I realized that If I could not solve a problem under 1 1/2 minutes, I was using the wrong approach or I did not know the concept tested. So I tried and tried until I found a faster way. e) I decided to learn from the GMAT questions. In some courses, you read about traps, question types, etc. I knew about them, but I never actually thought about them when solving a question. I never said to myself, "this is a global question, so answers that are too specific will probably be wrong....". I knew the theory but I never applied it. What did I do: For every SINGLE question, I would analyze each answer and find WHY it was right and WHY the other 4 were wrong. This way you learn to identify first hand what the GMAT test makers are throwing at you. I was getting so good, I could eliminate in a few seconds 2 to 3 answer choices. Depending on the question, you could eliminate the wrong answers by knowing your scope (even in math) and identifying how GMAT tries to trick you. In summary, Re-do the questions and read every single answer. Identify the reasons for being right and wrong. Do this and you will identify patterns that repeat themselves all the time. Once you do this on YOUR OWN. You will work faster and more efficient. 5) I participated more actively on the GMAT Club. I have to accept that I always felt apprehensive about participating because some of you guys are VERY GOOD. However, once I improved my skills, I started to try. I answer some questions wrong but I learn from them. Don't be intimidated. I found myself learning a lot, trying to explain some of my answers. Sometimes, this process is a great teacher. For you guys that feel intimidated, I can tell you that some of the questions I found in this site were just too hard for me. Some of the explanations were very hard to understand. In summary, I felt dumb. But on test day, I was so ready, I found very few questions I was not able to handle 6) Practice with the GMAT Challenges. They were not easy, but they were great practice. The concepts tested were right on the money, and the time constraints really pushed me to my limits. I scored over 80% after my 6th challenge. It was a good tool to measure my improvement. 7) When I felt overwhelmed, I looked for the GMAT Club for inspiration.. Things were never a piece of cake. I had my ups and downs. I really struggled to overcome my low score stigma. There were days that I would try 10 questions, and I would get 7 wrong. I just convinced myself that it was possible to do it. I logged in everyday for inspiration. (However, I have to say I felt frustrated when members posted their 700+ score on their very first post. Why?, because they made look easy to get a 700, while I was killing myself to get reach that level.) No hard feelings because you probably deserve it. My point is, If you want to improve, you have to work hard for it, and the GMAT Club has examples of people who have done it. Dream that it is possible just as I did. 8) I took care of myself: There is a very good post about improving your score by exercising and eating better. I cannot say for sure If it really help me, but I believe it did not hurt. I convinced myself that this change would help me score higher so I started to exercise 3 times a week and eat better. I made no radical changes and I lost 10 lbs. I will not discuss about the test itself as I don't believe I can add any value to comments made by other members. However, I had a scary moment when the power went out in the middle of the verbal section. The computer shut down and it took 6 minutes to restart and recuperate the test. I believe I could have done a better job on the verbal part since I have to guess the last 5 questions. Maybe I could have reached 720 and make a 300 points improvement.   My final GMAT score was 700 (47Q 39V). Finally, I think I need to talk about things that I could have done better. GMAT can take a huge toll on your personal life. The obsession to score higher hurt my relationship with friends and family. I distanced myself from them for 2 reasons: 1) I was ashamed of my score (since I live in an environment where people seem to get 650+ all the time  ) and 2) I felt guilty when I took some time off. Don't let this happen to you. Find a balance, and try to get support from your friends. Good luck, and remember to be positive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Rhyme mentioned, I got accepted in the Wharton/Lauder Program. I want to thank you guys for your support since the begining. I really worked hard on the applications and followed some of your advise. The only thing I can say about the application procress is that it is a pain in the %%$!!!!!!!  In a serious note, I think you need to market yourself well. Tell your story and be clear on your goals. Schools really look for people that will make a good use of their MBA, thus marketing the school for them. So you know, I also applied to: Harvard....haven't heard from them so I think they dinged me. INSEAD: Accepted London Business School: Accepted. Columbia: dinged after interviewing It has been a long journey since my 420 in the GMAT. Although, the road was not easy, I am really satisfied with the outcome. It is really a dream come true. Good luck guys in your projects and if you need anything, please drop me a line. Remember to be POSITIVE and the only obstacle to achiving your goals is yourself. Your friend

from:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/from-420-to-700-it-is-good-to-be-part-of-the-700-club-35919.html

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Unreal City, Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled

T.S. Eliot- Waste Land

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It's dreamy weather we're on You waved your crooked wand Along an icy pond with a frozen moon A murder of silhouette crows I saw And the tears on my face And the skates on the pond They spell Alice I disappear in your name But you must wait for me Somewhere across the sea There's a wreck of a ship Your hair is like meadow grass on the tide And the raindrops on my window And the ice in my drink Baby all I can think of is Alice Arithmetic arithmetock Turn the hands back on the clock How does the ocean rock the boat? How did the razor find my throat? The only strings that hold me here Are tangled up around the pier And so a secret kiss Brings madness with the bliss And I will think of this When I'm dead in my grave Set me adrift and I'm lost over there And I must be insane To go skating on your name And by tracing it twice I fell through the ice Of Alice

Alice- Tom Waits

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When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

William Butler Yeats -When You Are Old

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Tom Waits gived this poem to Keith Richard for his birthday

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quando penso ai cattolici  anti abortisti ringrazio per l’esistenza di questo video, che è tutto quello che desidero dopo averli sentiti parlare

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I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

William Worsworth - I was wondering lonely as a cloud (via dudewayspecialfarewell)

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I LOvE BOjack

quando penso ai cattolici  anti abortisti ringrazio per l’esistenza di questo video, che è tutto quello che desidero dopo averli sentiti parlare

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a poem

There's something special in life,

something that's attracting as the night

there's somo spotligh.

You will see many sunset swminng into the see

you will ask to yourself many times

if life have to that much hard.

Nevermind, going around

it's only another way to search freedom

and peaceful state of mind

behind the spiral hole of humanity indifference.

Everytime i see trees boarding the street

no one cares of them, no one ask to himself

if our lifes can kill them.

I do, i ask that things to myself

but nevermind

There's always something special in life

destruction of empty places is my own and only crime

[its-shadystarlightbouquet-blog]

Lincoln Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln November 19, 1863

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Cybersecurity of 96 federal agencies reviewed. 71 of them rely on 'at risk or high risk' programs.

A recently concluded cybersecurity review conducted by the Trump White House and  Department of Homeland Security finds most government agencies remain shockingly insecure, despite Trump’s campaign promises for super great cybersecurity unlike the very bad hacker criminal Hillary Clinton who bleached emails and acid-washed her network devices, and should be in jail.

https://boingboing.net/2018/05/30/insecure-as-heck.html

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Developper reflections

It’s really important to understand the difference between complicated and complex :  the first words mean that something is too crowded with things, the second one means  that a thing, such as a car, is made by a  number of  processes, but  it’s not crowded ( probably if it’s a car it’s running). Too many things doesn't means that something is confused, it means just that  takes more time and patience to understand it.

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Operai che fanno le maschere di V per vendetta in serie