ONLY 9 WEEKS TO GO. PLEASE HELP !!

[abhay.seetha]

Hi, I have slightly less than 9 weeks to go for the real test.
I am aiming for a score of 740+.

I have been prepping for close to 25 weeks now.
I have exhausted 4 of the 6 online CATs.
My highest scores have been 670,680,530,670 so far.

a) Please advise how to change my prep strategy in the next 9 weeks so that i can reach my goal.
b) Since i have already exhausted 4 online CATs, please advise if i should buy the "additional CAT" exams available in student centre.
Also please advise how many more CATs should i take from now until real test.
c) I have in the last 12 weeks been reviewing around 20 questions per day spread across different topics in quant and verbal. I am doing this to build mental dexterity, to get used to changing problem types. Please advise if this is a good strategy.
Also please advise if 20 questions per day is too less and what should be my daily target?
d) I have noticed that for CR questions i tend to take 150 seconds per question whenever i take down notes. However i take on an average only 80 seconds when i write town only the crux of the argument. I have seen that my accuracy has not gone down. Please advise if i should continue doing the same.

[StaceyKoprince]

First, your prep is not about how many questions you do or how many tests you take. It's about how effectively you're studying. :)

Second, look at the list of test scores you gave me - are those accurate? You listed three scores in the high 600s but one in the low 500s. Unless that was your very first test, that's concerning - why did your score drop so much on that test?

Next, what have you been using to prepare so far? How have you been studying? Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Have you been studying in the way that article describes? Analyze a practice CAT thoroughly and use that to set up a several-week study plan. Analyze every problem thoroughly (spend way more time analyzing afterwards than you spent doing it in the first place). Learn how to decode test questions. Learn more efficient solution methods. Learn how to make educated guesses. Learn how to modify your bad habits to minimize careless mistakes. Etc.

If you haven't been studying in this way, then you're going to have to go back over a lot of the previous work that you did, because you didn't get as much out of those questions as you could / should have.

Also, read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Does that reflect your overall study approach? Or has your study approach been a more school-based approach? You won't get to a 740 with a school-based approach (as described in that article).

Read the above (and follow the links to other articles), then use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think your plan needs to be based on all of that. 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!)

Also, I can't tell you whether 9 weeks will be enough time - it might be, but a 740 is a really high score. It's going to depend on what I hear from you after your analysis, and also whether you typed that 530 score correctly and, if so, why your score dropped so much on that test.

Oh, and on your question about buying more practice CATs, we only have one set - you can't buy more. When you buy access to the CATs, you can continue to take them for as long as you want. The first 6 tests are guaranteed not to contain any questions that you've seen before. The tests after that may have repeated questions.

For your CR question, as long as that approach isn't killing your performance, that's great - go for it. It might be the case that you were taking too much time to take full notes, writing down things that ultimately didn't matter.

[abhay.seetha]

Thanks for your response Stacey !!

My study strategy has actually been constantly changing.

I read an article about 10 weeks ago and started reviewing my practice problems. I have mantained all data in an elaborate excel file. the Review would have looked something like this:
Problem: OG13 DS 160:
Error: Did not simplify condition or expectation
Error Type: PLANNING
Implications: Speed and Accuracy
Deeper Analysis: Restating the text into a formula immediately solved the issue. Also vetting of options did not happen.
Recommended action: Restate expectations from question stem to simplify going through the clues.

Now after your recommendation i have started doing this:

Problem: CAT 1 PS 4: The 1 metre log cut into 3rds and 5ths
Content: Fractions
Approach: Drew out the log on scrap paper and marked out the cuts. Then called out the size of each piece.
Any Careless Mistakes: Fell short in computing. put down
2/3-3/5=3.33/100 and not 6.66/100
Best approach: The trick is to use the LCM of the two fractions to call out all the cuts. This will eliminate silly mistakes.
How to remember this trick: The dicey log

To your question: Did i "Analyze a practice CAT thoroughly and use that to set up a several-week study plan."?
NO !! i just licked my wounds and moved on. My study approach has been a school-based approach.

The 530 was not a typo. It happened because i took 6:30 for the first PS question and lost it all after that. It took a lot for me to even to bring myself to look at cat 4. After cat 4, i just felt good that i was atleast back to my old 670 ways :-).

I have calculated that there are 72 types of topics overall(across PS, DS, SC, CR and RC). So even if i analyze 10 per day i need 7 days just for one iteration. Considering that i have only 58 days left, do you think i should just focus on reviewing all past work and take the 2 remainings CATs(14 days and 7 days before real test)? PLEASE Advise as i am really going bonkers at this point in time.

[abhay.seetha]

Just to add, i have followed the 8-9 week foundation and the 12-16 week practice work. My 16 week practicework ends in 3 weeks from now. After which the last 6 weeks of "comprehensive review" was to commence.
I would need your advise on "what to do when i am doing comprehensive review?" would it be the review of all that i have practiced so far? Please advise.

[StaceyKoprince]

I like your analysis approach.

The 530: okay, you have timing issues (like we all do). Read:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

I have calculated that there are 72 types of topics overall(across PS, DS, SC, CR and RC).

You don't need to review every one of those topic areas equally. Up until about 2 weeks before, spend greater effort on your areas of weakness (though don't spend much time on things that aren't commonly tested, such as combinatorics or CR evaluate, even if they are weaknesses for you).

Don't forget about techniques. Translation. Plugging the answers into the problem. Breaking a sentence down to its core. These cross all topic areas and are crucial to your performance / progress!

Which topics and techniques? Analyze that practice test - your analysis will tell you what to do. (And you can check your analysis with us) :)

For the last ~2 weeks, read these 2 articles:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ew-part-2/

[abhay.seetha]

Hi Stacey,

I am back.
I followed your instructions diligently for the last 4 weeks.
Of course, my approach to my prep has been more of "challenging" myself.
I analyzed all the past CAT exams thoroughly. Found out common error patterns and common pattern recognition issues which i had.
I have been able to rectify a few and am still working on rectifying the others.
I have started frequently revising online flash cards. I have started writing down techniques, practicing them and analyzing their utility and then tuning them if required. concrete method for CR still eludes me.

This week, i took another CAT. I thought i did fairly well on the quant and i wanted to deliberately challenge myself on the verbal.
i set 60 mins for the entire verbal, did 37 properly, blind guessed 3 more before i ran out of time. Could not complete the last one and so was expecting a MAJOR SLAP on my face. HOWEVER, the score was a 700 with 81% in verbal.

I also analyzed my answers on the "blind guessed ones and all were wrong". So i am sure that the 700 was not due to any fluke.
This is a big morale booster !!

I shall keep revising my review and keep honing my techniques. I have 9 more days before i hit the 2 week deadline(the 5th cat).

I dont want to do anythign stupid and lose myself from here.Please advise what i can do to solidify the gain i have.

[StaceyKoprince]

It sounds like you're doing the right kinds of activities. Good work.

For CR, see whether this helps:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... reasoning/

Wow - nice job on the verbal section on that test with only 60 minutes! From now on, do give yourself 75 - you want to make sure that you're making decisions based on normal conditions - but I think you proved your point to yourself. Spending a bunch of extra time on stuff you're not sure how to do anyway just hurts your score. :)

Keep doing what you've been doing as far as working on the weaknesses that you identify from your practice CATs and your study. If you find yourself struggling with a particular thing (eg CR, as above), post here and also check our blog - there are a lot of good resources there.

When you get to the final 2 weeks, use these two articles:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ew-part-2/

[abhay.seetha]

Hi Stacey,

Seeking your advice seems to be the best thing i ever did. In CAT 5, i am at 720.
However, all is not well. During the quant, i started exactly as you advised. I was unable to decipher the first two questions. Hence i decided to dump and move on. This helped really well since i got time and saved mental energy. I reached 25 problems milestone with 35 mins to spare. This is where my problems started. I ran out of scratch book. I did not want to stop the exam since i wanted to simulate the real test. I had to spend 2.5 mins erasing past calcs and making space. 26th and 27th went wrong. Also the 31st problem did me in. I knew that i had done well from 3rd till the 25th(zero errors). So i got into the same old mould again(of trying to solve it). Combinatorics has been one of my achiles heels but i decided to pursure it spending 4.1 mins on it. Realised that i had less than 90 seconds per problem from then on. I got all 7 wrong(31 to 37). I failed to recognize a probability question and an overlapping sets questionand wasted some more time.
Trust me, when i took the 8 min break before verbal, it took an enormous amount of "its ok buddy" to convince myself to head back to verbal. I can feel the shivers even now, as i type this.
Luck favoured me in the verbal as i scored 45/60(99th per). I say luck because i know how difficult it is to repeat a 99th per score. I may not be so lucky on D-Day ;-).
Hence i seek your advice on what i can do to avoid low scores on quant. This quant was lower than my first quant(when i started prep). Hence i feel nervous. Please advise.
Also please advise how i should spend the remaining 11 days before DDay.

with regards
abhay

[abhay.seetha]

...contd from previous post. I have already read "what to do in the last 2 weeks part 1 and part 2. It would be great if you can give me advice considering my present situation.

with regards
abhay

[StaceyKoprince]

First, NEVER erase your scrap paper! You need that work to review afterwards, and that's the most important part of the learning process! Just grab more paper and keep going.

Next, if you were at problem 25 with 35 minutes to go, then you had 12-13 problems left (depending on whether you'd already done #25). So you were WAY ahead and probably made careless mistakes on earlier problems as a result. Go take a look - did you?

Wait... after #31, you had 9 minutes left? So you spent 26 minutes on problems 26 through 31?

As you learned - massive timing problems anywhere along the way will kill your score. You need to learn to balance your timing well all the way through the test. I don't have anything new for you there -go back to the same timing materials that I gave you last time.

Also, if you think that nerves / anxiety helped lead you astray, then see whether these stress management techniques can help:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

You mention that you've got 11 days to go and that you've already read my "last 2 weeks" articles... but those articles tell you what you need to know already. If your practice score is not where you want it to be approximately 1 to 2 weeks before the real test, then you should be thinking about postponing the real test (or lowering your goal score).

I agree with you that you shouldn't count on repeating a 99th percentile score on verbal. It's great if that happens, but everything has to come together perfectly on test day, so we can't absolutely count on that.

Go back to the timing stuff in my earlier post and start doing what it says. Be aware, though, that the timing meltdown (or a combination of timing and stress meltdown? you tell me) may not be fixable in 11 days. You can try taking another test at the 7 day* mark and see whether you can get yourself back on track - otherwise, you'll have to consider postponing.

* I said 7 days because you can reschedule your test for a $50 fee as long as you do so 7+ days in advance of the scheduled test date.

Next, if you want specific advice about topic areas, etc, you'll need to analyze that test and tell me your results (and your own analysis). But I suspect the two big issues are really timing and stress / anxiety here...

What do you think?

[abhay.seetha]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for your response !! I have taken the last mock CAT with 710 as the score. This score was more believable(Q 48, V 38) and more in line with my comfort levels.

This is the 3rd time that i am touching the 700 mark. I hence feel fairly confident that i should be able to stay around the 700 mark in the exam. I have decided to go ahead with the final test.

It is 3 more days to go before D-Day. You are right. Nerves do play a major role(and have done so in the past). I guess conquering my nerves has been one of my main challenges. I understand that i may not reaCH MY TARGET SCORE OF 740, but i do not see how my score will change drastically from here.
I aim to submit my applications and score in the first round itself(some institutes here in India who accept GMAt close their deadlines by Aug 31st). Hence the decision.

with regards
abhay

[StaceyKoprince]

Good luck! Read (or re-read) this the morning of your test:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Keep reminding yourself that your task is to make the best possible decision for the current circumstances - which sometimes DOES mean letting a problem go!

[abhay.seetha]

Hi Stacey !!

I probably was half way through my test when your post came through :-)(blame the 11 hour time zone difference).
However, i am glad to tell you that i have done exactly what has been suggested in the article. Any problem that seemed strange to me(i could not figure out in 30 to 45 seconds), was flushed mercilessly. As a result i was done with my Quant test 13 minutes ahead of schedule. I took the same approach on the verbal as well and completed the verbal section 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
The FINAL score is the same as my score in the last mock(710). However, this time i hit the sweet spot in both Quant and Verbal[Q49(81%),V38(84%)].
At this point, i would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped me when i was in an all time low in my prep journey. I could hardly have imagined crossing 700 9 weeks ago. Your advise helped me a immensely.
a) I am NOT IN IT to WIN IT ALL
b) GMAT is a decision making test more than anything else.

However, i got really bugged by the IR section(it felt excruciatingly tedious/boring even). I hope i do decently on that one as well.

THANKS AGAIN !!
with regards
abhay

[StaceyKoprince]

Yay! Congratulations!

And you were In It To Win It - you did win! You learned how to play the right game. :)

I'll cross my fingers for you on IR. Good luck with applications!

[abhay.seetha]

Thanks Stacey !!

with regards
abhay