Final Preparation - 3 Weeks From Test Day

[gayatri.k]

Hello Instructors!

Firstly, thank you all for conscientiously checking these forums and providing us all with your guidance.

I will be taking the test on June 27th. The following is an overview of my test preparation. I took my first MGMAT diagnostic and for a 620 (Quant 42; Verbal 33) in April 2013, followed by the 10-week MGMAT course. I chose not to take the GMAT soon after, because I did not have the time to dedicate to adequate prep.

Since February 2015, I have used all of my MGMAT guides, Official Guides, MGMAT online, and GMAC Free Prep as resources.

Overview of Preparation

February 21, 2015, GMAC Test 1: 620 (Quant 39; Verbal 36)
- From February through April, I went through all of the materials in the MGMAT Guides, and did the OG problems. Basically, I followed the syllabus of the 10-week course, and did the corresponding OG problems for every week. I followed the syllabus and took a CAT after completing the study plan for weeks 6 and week 8 (or maybe it was week 9).

April 25, 2015, CAT 2: 590 (Quant 37; Verbal 34)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed and redid wrong and guessed questions
- Condensed all of my notes, and reviewed past problems, to create flash cards

May 16, 2015, CAT 3: 610 (Quant 35; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed and redid wrong and guessed questions
- Reviewed Algebra, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Geometry, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed FDPs, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Verbal MGMAT Guides
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

May 25, 2015, CAT 4: 640 (Quant 39; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 6, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed and redid wrong and guessed questions
- Did Critical Reasoning questions from the Official Verbal Guide (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Number Properties, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Word Problems, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

June 6, 2015, CAT 5: 640 (Quant 40; Verbal 37)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I finished Verbal about 5 minutes early - oops, definitely got bored during the last reading passage

I now have 3 weeks till my GMAT, and wanted some guidance on my study plan henceforth.

My Plan

For the next week: focus on quant (I think I have all of the concepts down, but they are just scattered in my brain, haha)
- Review ALL past problems (including questions from CAT 5) and notes; take easy, medium, and difficult OG quizzes after reviewing each Quant section
- Take CAT 6 on June 12

After CAT 6:
- Review all problems from test; add to notes and flashcards
- Review IR
- Take GMAC Test 2 on June 19 (1-week prior to test day)

After GMAC Test 2 (I have taken time off from work for the week before my test)
- Review all problems from test; add to notes and flashcards
- Don't do new problems, instead review and redo all previous problems
- Relax; workout; get a massage

Specific Questions
1. Does my plan sound good? I need some guidance on how I can really lock down the Quant concepts and strategies in my mind.
2. Given I have taken the week before my test off from work, how many hours should I be reviewing per day? (I plan to stop reviewing by noon on the day before my test, which is Friday June 26)

If you need more information on my Quant strengths / weaknesses (they're all pretty bad though, haha), my two lowest categories are currently Algebra and Geometry. Number Properties was my lowest earlier, but I was able to bump that up, and I also just know to skip combinatorics problems if I don't understand them within the first 30 seconds.

I really appreciate all of your help and guidance, and thank you in advance!

Best,

Gayatri

P.S. I've read the following articles several times, and found them super helpful. Reading through the other articles, and the GMAT Roadmap, has encouraged me to be conscious not to tire myself. Thanks to the suggestions in these resources, I also don't have much test anxiety because I have made an effort to simulate test-like environments for my CATs (including snacks, and what I wear). I also switch up my study locations frequently.

http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... -the-gmat/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... -problems/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... ts-part-1/

[gayatri.k]

Just wanted to give this post a bump.

[StaceyKoprince]

Please remember to read the forum guidelines before posting. Please don't "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response.

Okay, so you finally started to figure out that timing problem. It's possible that you still have timing problems, though, so I'd like you to analyze your recent CATs for me.

**Interlude! I just got to the end and saw that you have read the below articles already and that you have found them helpful. Good! But you have more to get out of them. You keep saying stuff like this:

instead review and redo all previous problems

That tells me that you are not concentrating on stuff in Bucket 2; you're still trying to deal with Bucket 3. Your tendency to redo everything has been hurting you, because you've been prioritizing getting everything right, but that's not how this test works. You actually do NOT want to try to get everything right. You seem to be partially getting that, based on what you said, but most of you is still convinced that you have to get more right.

You need to change your mindset. Your goal is to make a series of decisions, as though you are running a business, and you cannot do it all. (If you try, you're going to go bankrupt!) So what is the best priority / biggest bang for your buck? Concentrate your studies there AND your time and attention while you're taking the test.

**Okay back to what I was saying before I saw the end of your post!
I'm going to repeat the below instructions that I've posted elsewhere because, although you told me you read these articles, you gave me very general / high-level information as to your strengths and weaknesses. Nor did you address the buckets. The only "business-like" decision you told me about was combinatorics. So try that again - be very specific and give me more detail.

First, read these two articles:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

Think about how what you've been doing does and doesn't match up with that and how you may need to change your approach accordingly.
Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

[gayatri.k]

Please remember to read the forum guidelines before posting. Please don't "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response.

Stacey, my apologies, I should have read the guidelines regarding bumping your own post.

Thank you so much for your response though - here's a progress update on my end:

6/13/15: CAT 6 - 680 (44 Q, 38V)

6/20/15: GMAC Prep Test 2 - 700 (45Q, 40V)

What did I do differently? The biggest thing I did was to just CHILL OUT and not worry as much, haha. I was much more confident in targeting problems and didn't try to review to much the day before the test, or on the morning of the test. Another change was that I did NOT redo old problems, and instead glanced over them to make note of what I was doing wrong, and how I should prevent myself from repeating those errors. I then did practice sets to solidify my analyses - this really helped, and I've noted that I am a kinesthetic learner. I did recognize that the IR problem on the GMAC Prep Test 2 were the same though, so I'm taking the higher IR score with several grains of salt, haha.

So, here're my thoughts on the final week:
Sunday (today) - I reviewed IR and did an essay using the online tool. The tool was a great confidence booster, and so I will not be focusing on the essay. In terms of IR, I am just reviewing my strengths and weaknesses to decide which questions to skip. After today, I don't plan on focusing on IR.

Monday - Wednesday - given that I learn best by doing, versus reviewing (where I just end up memorizing an answer to a problem that will not be repeated), I plan to thoroughly review my notes and do a few drills. If I get NEW problem types wrongs, I will NOT try to learn new material, and will instead just focus on reviewing problems types that I have seen before to solidify my understanding. I only plan to do any drills / review from 12:00 - 4:00pm (my actual test time) to make sure that my mind is sharp and doesn't hit afternoon slumber tendencies.

Thursday - I plan to seriously wind down this day, only doing minimal review, like making sure I remember my multiplication tables, square roots, and fractions, just to optimize my calculation speed. I will also do a quick glance over of idioms for sentence correction.

Friday - I plan to glance over my flash cards in the morning, and stop all study at noon. I then plan to hang out at the beach, go workout, and end my day with a massage. I'm going to be in bed by 10:00pm to get a good night's rest (as I plan to do all week - yay for PTO from work to focus on GMAT, haha)

Saturday - TEST DAY, and here's where I need your expertise because I've heard and read conflicting things:
Should I review the morning of? During my CATs, I've been reviewing from 9:00 - 10:00am (just a quick glance over of my flash cards). I was planning to do the same on Saturday, but will NOT take my flash cards to the test center.

I am SO EXCITED (I know that sounds nerdy, haha) to be done with test day. I no longer worry about what score I am going to get, because all that matters is I will be giving it my all this Saturday.

Thank you in advance to you, and all the other instructors who support us through this forum - MGMAT has been so integral to keeping me calm through the preparation process.

[StaceyKoprince]

Hello! I hope your test went well; I'm sorry I didn't get to your post till now. We launched a new curriculum today (to match the new OGs that were published about 3 weeks ago), so it's been a crazy few weeks.

Everything you wrote was good - I wouldn't have told you to do anything differently. Re: whether to review the morning of, I would've said it's okay to spend about 30 to 45 minutes just doing a high-level strategy review (how am I going to keep track of time? what will I do if I find myself ahead or behind? etc), but that you could also do this the day before.

So, how did it go?