Could someone give me some tips on preparing for GMAT effectively? I tried going through the book and most of the things such as maths seem basic but the questions are freaking twisted. How did you tackle it when you took it?

I think 1000 questions is good
I didnt buy books from MGMAT so I really dont know .....
I bought the six tests for thirty something dollars which you can do over and over again...which are pretty close to the real thing....
I focused on doing tests rather than on books for my prep

G luck

At the end of the day, all been said, taking GMAT is totally different test. I recently took my GMAT and believe me I did not do that well. Since, I have good GPA, my GMAT won't be much of a issue for a normal grad school. ENGLISH is not our first language.... so practice more on it. 

stunning questions?

that is the whole point of the test....and it is a standardized test
if all these chinese and dhotis can score over 700 and get into the top 25 why cant we?

I am not pro gmat but that was kinda hopeless and discouraging......

anyways thats just my two cents

T'logic,

Could you direct me to a specific book that I should look while preparing for "Sentence correction" ?

I have seen many Chinese who hardly spoke English and wrote pathetic essays get close to 800. I cannot stop wondering how.

@quagmire  I looked at the princeton review book. It breaks down the types of errors that you see on the test. There are like 7 or 8 major errors and others are just miscellaneous. But that just applies to the 400 to 500 difficulty level questions (my opinion). But for higher level difficulty questions MGMAT tests have a better approach to pinpoint the error and fix it. At that level either all the options seem right or all the options seem wrong.

@newlynew ( I dont know how much of it is true but here it is ......)
                  i heard that they send people to take the test not for getting into a uni but for memorizing the questions that they see on the real test and then sell the questions to others preparing for the test. Thus the term jjings or jungle juice
The pool is massive for the questions and the test adjusts the difficulty level as you go through the test...but even you see five or ten questions that you know then it will bump you up several difficulty levels and besides 5-10 questions are experimental questions on the test
they  also shut down a website named scoretop.com which gave real live  questions for a membership fee. But this was a couple of years back. The website was run by a chinese national. Now the website has a warning posted on its frontpage. Anyone who had a membership and now in colleges (top 25 mba programs, i bet they got in with a 700+ score) are under scrutiny.
     
After rigorous hunting expeditions on the almighty internet i came across some sets of questions commonly referred to as  sets. I was able to download about 60 or 70 sets. I think these are questions retired by them  because I have seen some of the questions on OG books.

So, IF I get over 750 on the exam, will I get a free ride from top schools, because the cost for MBA is ridiculously expensive!!

Here are my 2 cents:

1. Chances are you will get very little financial assistance even if you do very well in GMAT and GPA is 4.0.  Most B-Schools do not provide grants.  You are expected to take loans, since the ROI usually is less than 5 years (assuming you go to Top 10 schools).

2. Unlike GRE, you will be expected to do very well in Verbal section of GMAT as well.  English as 2nd language usually does not cut it because when you are managing a company, you are expected to communicate well.  You cannot communicate well with poor English.

3. There are numerour online groups.  Join them.  Benefit from them.

Do you know which schools provide grants?

Sand_deep,

You said that you're on your way of acing ( or taking CPA , CFA and CMA ) at the same time or simultaneously. Should you pass your CPA exams, you're highly likely to land a secure job. Further, should you have a MBA degree from any above average University, your chances will be strengthened even more. As such, why'd you feel the need to getting a MBA degree from a top 10 institution? I believe most of the applicants in these companies already have another Master's or have a highly secure and great positions in different companies. Also, most of their companies pay for their education.

I don't see why you feel such a strong urge to getting a MBA from one of the best business schools if you're that highly qualified. Just pursue a MBA degree from a decent college, pass your CPA and get a job and start your own business.

Btw, what's happening to the venture?

On a different note, if only I had a 3.4 or a 3.5 in my undergrad. I scored a hapless/pathetic 2.6 in my undergrads and most of the colleges are saying that the minimum requirements are for 2.75 which is completely demoralizing me. God bless my pursuit of good GMAT score and hence, an enrollment in a MBA program.

Btw, you might wanna give a shout out on beatthegmat.com.

Good luck bro.

Alright. I just registered for GMAT on December 28. Might be a little too late but oh well...

hey dude...www.800score.com......buy he course with in 35 dollors....i tried that ..i score 690 in the test ....best of luck ..

Quagmire,

Where would you want to go for your MBA if you have a chance? I bet you would want to go to the top school too. Correct me if I am wrong.

The business venture will start one day, my friend. That venture is my career goal.

Btw, good luck to you on your test. I hope you do amazingly good and get into a top school. Then you can help me out!

Sand_deep,

I fked up big time while in college man, especially in the later years. Of course I'd love to go to a top college too but dreams don't necessarily get fulfilled, do they? I'm planning on moving to California early 2010 ( wish to get GMAT and admissions process sorted out before that ). I still don't know what college to go apply to, if I were to be totally honest. Further, most of the requirements range from 2.75/ 3.3 and my GPA in the latter half ( last 60 credits ) slumped to around 2.3. (overall GPA of 2.6). Hence, albeit I require great GMAT scores, I am not highly motivated. To be quite honest, I don't really know what I'm gonna do if I didn't get accepted.

girlfren_wife, thanks for your suggestion. I shall look into it.

Any suggestions/recommendations for Quantitative section fellows?

Yeah pretty much concentrate on the data sufficiency questions esp the Yes/No as those are really confusing. All i can say is practice makes a man perfect..in GMAT terms almost perfect. quantitative section is relatively easier as per my experience. I'm taking GMAT in Jan as well. goodluck preping Quagmire

TIP: I have heard from different parties who took the test that you should really work on your timing.

The other thing is once you are done with solving problems in the book start working on finding question banks that you

find  on the internet, someone told me that you cannot simulate the real GMAT test environment unless you take

the test on the computer. I am doing just that nowadays. 

Thanks for the tips M'ushroom.

Any suggestions on the test preparation material for Quantitative section? I'd suggest you to buy Manhattan's Sentence Correction.

Quagmire, don't think that you are not gonna get accepted. You are what they refer to as an "underdog". Just prove them wrong; do extremely very well in GMAT and write a kick ass essay.

Best of Luck! I wish you good fortune in your GMAT.