Preparing for Tests

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Neo
Major: International Business
Status: Light Keeper

A person with strange ideas in my head and strange feelings in my heart...

Preparing for Tests
Andy Neo

TIPS
This article is not intended to give you advice on how to study TOEFL, GRE General, GMAT, SAT or ACT well, nor will it attempt to introduce these test models. You can easily find those on plenty of websites mentioned. I just think these might be helpful to you all somehow & suggest that u take the following tips:
-- Most Important of all, check out the GMAT, TOEFL and other exams’ Official web sites. This is important ‘cause the ETS haas changed the GMAT exam pattern and you should know the new one. And also because these sites have the sample tests and test attempting tips which prove to be very helpful.
-- Now, I think you should also check out KAPLAN web site www.kaplan.com. Now these guys are one of the best GMAT and TOEFLL test prep agencies in the US. So... u could get tips, sample tests here and also the analysis of the previous and the next GMAT and TOEFL exams.
-- Yes, don’t fall for Barron's or Arco's guide for prep.. they're ok...But always go for "The Official guide to GMAT" and "The Official guide to TOEFL".
-- Go to USEFI, Educational Information Center (EIC - supported by the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Culltural Affairs (ECA), operate in Africa, East Asia/Pacific, Europe, Mexico/ Central America/ Caribbean, Middle East/ North Africa, Eurasia, South America, South Asia) or IREX, sit in their library and study there... they have the best resources.
-- Study for TOEFL, GRE, GMAT and other exams.
-- The first step in test preparation is self assessment. Take diagnostic tests to evaluate potential areas of weaknesses, sttudy word lists, understand basic structure of exam and types of questions asked. This will give you an idea of:
(a) the structure of the examination: the different sections and subsections
(b) the type of questions that appear in the exam
(c) the relative difficulty of questions asked
(d) most importantly, this will give you an idea of your performance on the test. That will help show you your strengths and weaknesses. Based upon these, you can decide what sections to concentrate your future study on.
-- There is always new vocabulary in every TOEFL/SAT/ACT test. Don't panic if you find new vocabulary everytime you try to doo a practice test.
-- Buy your own books if you can't study at the public libraries. Improve your score on all sections where you did badly in tthe initial test. Remember, even when the exam is computer based, the basic concepts and hence the questions remain the same even in a book. So it is better to read from a book in the initial stages. Also, practice time on a computer is precious. It is better to be completely aware of the questions at the time you use them, so that you have less to learn at a time.
-- Only when you have improved your scores on all sections where you were weak do you move on to practicing on the computer. Concentrate on improving skills like speed, accuracy etc.
-- If find these less, you can
(a) buy the you PowerPrep ot other software and use it on your own computer.
(b) join a course where they offer the Princeton or the ETS software in practice sessions.
(c) visit sites on the Internet where you can do Online testing, like Kaplan and Princeton Review . These sites also provide mini-simulations that give you an idea of how the test is actually scored and they provide tips to improve your scores. Best of all, they are FREE!
-- Be sure to take the test at least 1.5 months before the application deadline. ETS says it takes two weeks from testing datte for your score to be available, but it also takes about 2 weeks to reach your hand. So normally it would take about 4-5 weeks from testing date for the score sheet to be in your hand, ready to be copied and put in your application. Now the candidates taking the test in CBT will not have to wait 60 days for examination results, instead will know their scores immediately after the test before leaving the center. The official score reports will be mailed by ETS approximately 10 to 15 days after testing.
-- Not only taking the test should be way ahead of time, but so should registering for the test. More and more people are trying to go abroad.
-- Though SAT/ACT score is not required for international students in many schools, having high scores of those is definitely an advantage of yours, since it's getting more competitive.
-- I've got friends from other third-world countries having to study for TOEFL within 2 weeks before the test date, without any practicing materials, and still scored over 600, so don't complain there are not enough preparation materials your country. "Where there's a will, there's a way."
-- Now ready to Give the exams. By this time you should have been able to achieve about 700 and above (650, the minimum) in GGMAT and about 640 and above in TOEFL.
-- Take your valid passport, the names of schools where you would like to send your scores, and authorization voucher/letter,, if applicable. By this point u should ‘ve thought of at least 5 univs where u wanna apply ‘cause you can send your scores to 5 of them free when u write the exam.
-- Your test taking appointment can extend up to 4 hours for TOEFL, GRE General, and GMAT, up to 8 hours for USMLE Step 1, annd up to 9 hours for USMLE Step 2.

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