Any of you take (or plan on taking) the GMAT?

[green tea]

I haven't taken a math class in about 15 years.  And I'm deathly afraid of the GMAT. 

I took a look at a few practice problems, and I didn't even remember things like how to calculate the area of a triangle...or how to factor binomials. 

I'm even afraid to take a practice test, for fear that I'm going to score a 400. 

Any tips? Advice?  Words of encouragement?

I guess the positive side is that there's nowhere to go but up!

[BASS_THUMPER]

advice..?

pray

im still tryin to help my youngest how to figure out if jan had 120 slices of ham..and bobby had 76 slices of chezz and greg had 67 tomato slices..how many sandwiches can they make and still have the same amount of ham chezz and tomatos on each sandwich....?.

aarrrrggghhhh~

[Edgar]

Well

Good luck and dont get to worried
you will remember all if you study the basics
emphasis in trigono and dont go algebra...

[green tea]

advice..?

pray

im still tryin to help my youngest how to figure out if jan had 120 slices of ham..and bobby had 76 slices of chezz and greg had 67 tomato slices..how many sandwiches can they make and still have the same amount of ham chezz and tomatos on each sandwich....?.

aarrrrggghhhh~

LOL...yes, there will be plenty of opportunities to pray. 

Sigh...I have to go back to basics.  I don't have much time...and I get too distracted when I study.  It's ooohhh...SOOO easy to take a "5" minute break and come visit celticsblog.  LOL. 

[green tea]

Well

Good luck and dont get to worried
you will remember all if you study the basics
emphasis in trigono and dont go algebra...

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Edgar. 

I took a few pre-tests to gauge how I would do, and it put me in the bottom 40% for the math.  That was REALLY disheartening.

But I will start from the beginning.  It will be a long journey....

[Edgar]

Well

Good luck and dont get to worried
you will remember all if you study the basics
emphasis in trigono and dont go algebra...

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Edgar. 

I took a few pre-tests to gauge how I would do, and it put me in the bottom 40% for the math.  That was REALLY disheartening.

But I will start from the beginning.  It will be a long journey....

yes
thats the spirit
and you can always carry a blackberry and "Ask Edgar"
I am darn good at math

[green tea]

Well

Good luck and dont get to worried
you will remember all if you study the basics
emphasis in trigono and dont go algebra...

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Edgar. 

I took a few pre-tests to gauge how I would do, and it put me in the bottom 40% for the math.  That was REALLY disheartening.

But I will start from the beginning.  It will be a long journey....

yes
thats the spirit
and you can always carry a blackberry and "Ask Edgar"
I am darn good at math

Thanks again, Edgar.  Maybe you shouldn't have told me that.  I might hold you to it!  But you'll have to deal with an iphone user instead. 

[Edgar]

Well

Good luck and dont get to worried
you will remember all if you study the basics
emphasis in trigono and dont go algebra...

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Edgar. 

I took a few pre-tests to gauge how I would do, and it put me in the bottom 40% for the math.  That was REALLY disheartening.

But I will start from the beginning.  It will be a long journey....

yes
thats the spirit
and you can always carry a blackberry and "Ask Edgar"
I am darn good at math

Thanks again, Edgar.  Maybe you shouldn't have told me that.  I might hold you to it!  But you'll have to deal with an iphone user instead. 

well ...call me plan C

[Donoghus]

I haven't taken a math class in about 15 years.  And I'm deathly afraid of the GMAT. 

I took a look at a few practice problems, and I didn't even remember things like how to calculate the area of a triangle...or how to factor binomials. 

I'm even afraid to take a practice test, for fear that I'm going to score a 400. 

Any tips? Advice?  Words of encouragement?

I guess the positive side is that there's nowhere to go but up!

Taken the exam twice.  

I was in the same boat as you when I started studying and saw all the geometry and stuff.  Math problems that I hadn't seen in 10 years.  I got through it, though.

Basically, I just picked up a study guide and CD and plugged away.  I can't emphasize how important it is to consistently plug away at multiple choice questions.  Learn from your mistakes.  When you review the questions you did, take the time to see why the correct answer was correct and the other answers were wrong.

If you get crappy scores on the practice tests, take another one.  Learn from your mistakes.  They're practice tests so the scores don't mean crap.  

Eventually, all the multiple choice questions and learning from your mistakes are going to leave a mark in your brain and you'll be fine.

[ToppersBsktball10]

how to find the area of a triangle: 1/2 base times height haha. just relax and study hard for it.

[bdm860]

You say you don't have much time, well how much time do you actually have?  A few days, a week, a month?

When I studied for the GMAT all I did was buy the latest Princeton Review GMAT study book, went through that book and accompanying CD non stop for a week and did good on the test. (Of course I was only a year out of undergrad when I took the test, so having some of the school stuff still somewhat fresh in my head helped too).

I'd say don't even sweat the test. Eeal world work experience means more than your GMAT scores, and if you haven't taken a Math class in about 15 years then I'm guessing you got that real world experience going for you.

[green tea]

I haven't taken a math class in about 15 years.  And I'm deathly afraid of the GMAT. 

I took a look at a few practice problems, and I didn't even remember things like how to calculate the area of a triangle...or how to factor binomials. 

I'm even afraid to take a practice test, for fear that I'm going to score a 400. 

Any tips? Advice?  Words of encouragement?

I guess the positive side is that there's nowhere to go but up!

Taken the exam twice.  

I was in the same boat as you when I started studying and saw all the geometry and stuff.  Math problems that I hadn't seen in 10 years.  I got through it, though.

Basically, I just picked up a study guide and CD and plugged away.  I can't emphasize how important it is to consistently plug away at multiple choice questions.  Learn from your mistakes.  When you review the questions you did, take the time to see why the correct answer was correct and the other answers were wrong.

If you get crappy scores on the practice tests, take another one.  Learn from your mistakes.  They're practice tests so the scores don't mean crap.  

Eventually, all the multiple choice questions and learning from your mistakes are going to leave a mark in your brain and you'll be fine.

Thanks, Donoghus.  I've been procrastinating.  Instead of actually STUDYING for the test, I'm browsing other sites to learn about their study techniques.  Oh, and of course, reading cblog.  LOL. 

And you're absolutely right.  I have to start plugging away at practice exams, I guess.  Just keep going and keep going...and figure out why I'm getting problems wrong. 

Right now, the Data Sufficiency questions are killing me.  But I will keep trying.  Thanks for your encouragement!  =)

[green tea]

You say you don't have much time, well how much time do you actually have?  A few days, a week, a month?

When I studied for the GMAT all I did was buy the latest Princeton Review GMAT study book, went through that book and accompanying CD non stop for a week and did good on the test. (Of course I was only a year out of undergrad when I took the test, so having some of the school stuff still somewhat fresh in my head helped too).

I'd say don't even sweat the test. Eeal world work experience means more than your GMAT scores, and if you haven't taken a Math class in about 15 years then I'm guessing you got that real world experience going for you.

Hey, BDM. 

I have about 1.5 months to prepare.  Sounds like a long time, but from most accounts I've read, if I really want to do well, I need to give it a solid 2.5-3 months of prep time...especially given how long I've been out of school.

You're right-- I have pretty solid work experience.  But I STILL need to do reasonably well on the exam. 

A 450 just ain't gonna cut it.  Hehe.

But I will try!

[Bahku]

Nope, but I took the MCATs many years ago, and I've forgotten far more than I remember. From what I hear, the GMAT is pretty heavy on math, too, and while I never had a problem learning or using it, I had a great deal of trouble retaining it for any length of time, and for me, Kaplan was the most help, as it preps you for the types of problems/questions you'll be faced with. I imagine there's a great deal of online help now, too, (which I was without), so I don't know how that compares with Kaplan. Wish you the best on studying and taking the test! (TP)

[Cman]

I will basically repeat what others have said (but repetition isn't bad  ).

Shell out the $25 or so for the  Princeton Review book for the GMAT.  I used it about 10 years ago and thought it was really good.  Take an hour or so each night and read your way through it and work with the practice tests they have. 

In addition, you can sign up with dictionary.com to send you a word a day via email.  The bigger your vocabulary, the better you will do.

You'll hear stories of people who don't study and go in and get an 800 on the test.  The reality is that these people are few and far between.  Most people who don't study go in and bomb the test.  There's just nothing to brag about when that happens so you don't hear about it.  The most sure-fire way to do well is to study, study, study.  1.5 months will be ample time; the key is to put in a little bit of time each day.

Good luck!