Took the real deal on 4/4/9. My advice to you:
Expect that the real deal will be hard because most likely it will be.It was for me and most others I have talked to. If you walk in knowing that it will be hard and may not at all resemble or reflect anything you have ever done or seen, and it probobly won't, then you won't be as much in a risk of being a deer in headlights. Also, don't get psyched out by an absolutely crazy passage. Focus on the questions!!!!! More often than not they will be staight forward or at least somewhat managable. Last advice: Do not and I mean do not spend more than a min 30 sec on any hard question the first time around. Pick an answer, mark it, and try to answer other easier questions in 30 seconds or so. This way every easy question buys you an additional 30 seconds so that once you went through all the questions, you can go back and look at the marked ones. If you save 30 seconds on 15 easier/more manageable questions, that will be 7.5 minutes that you just gave yourself to go back and have a second look! This may make a difference between a 9 a 12. If on the other hand, you spend 3 or 4 minutes on a hard question you just screwed your self on time, which will you put in tough situation even with the easier ones. You will also be psyched and begin to doubt yourself after months of hard work and good practice scores and this will cost you bigtime. The mental part is going to be the most costly part of such a mistake.I am serious, don't do it. If you miss all 7 "hard/crazy" questions out of 52 then you can still do pretty good ,so its ok. But you must nail the other 40-45 questions. The above strategy will increase your odds at nailing the easier ones. You don't want to miss those because you got psyched out on a couple of questions early on in the test. Remember, its probobly a hard test for most people so don't focus on the hardness. Instead stick to your "attack the questions" gameplan. What I just wrote here is probobly no news to most of you and I know that. But remember that if you forget these simple rules and fall into a panick mode, then mark my word- you will even think about voiding. Trust me. Write these rules down and on the last day, including right before you go in to the test center, look at the rules rather than a formula sheet. No formula or content info, even if you remember all of them, will help you in the real deal as much as following the simple rules! These simple rules have to be second nature before you step foot inside the testing center.Good luck to all you taking it.
However, I'm taking things at a slow pace. I'm not doing anything timed since that will wear me out. During my lunch break at work, I do two Kaplan PS passages and over my answers. It keeps my memory fresh and still puts me in the test mood.
