Reviewing is more critical than doing problems <14 days out?

[michael.chung91]

Hello,

I'm scheduled to take my GMAT about 12 days from today, and I was wondering if any of you can give me some advice in structuring my game plan.

Results so far:
GMAT Prep 1 (47Q, 40V) 710
GMAT Prep 2 (50Q, 39V) 730

So as you can see, my verbal has been stagnant. I exactly know my weaknesses for Verbal: Inference Q's on RC, style&usage + meaning/modifier questions on SC (Although i improved my hit rate ALOT on the 2nd mock exam) and sometimes Str/Weaken + Misc. questions for CR.

So i'm at a point where I'm making a mental check list in terms of things to watch out for so I Don't fall into the same traps on the test day. However, I still want some problems to practice, but not sure which ones to use. By the way, I've already taken the MGMAT CATs.

I pretty much did the OG problems more than twice, so for the most part I know why certain answer choices are right (vs. knowing it based on memory). I was thinking of doing some GMAT Prep problems, but I plan on re-taking the GMAT Prep twice before the real exam (after re-installing the software) so I dont want to inflate my exam scores.

What would you suggest I do in terms of finding "fresh" problems to do? This is more just a test to see if I've learned something from my reviews. I was thinking I do the question banks in MGMAT.

Thank you!

[ghag.kamlesh]

Hi there,

You may like to read Stacey's blog:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/

(note: the above is a two-parter; you can find the link to the second half of the article in the first half)

All the best for the exam.

Kamlesh

[StaceyKoprince]

Kamlesh did indeed give you exactly the article that I would have - thanks, Kamlesh!

Your practice scores look good, Michael. (You did take those under official conditions, including essay and IR?)

Let's see, 12 days. You can take 2 tests if you take one pretty much NOW and the other 5 to 7 days before. Otherwise, only take 1 (look at the article that Kamlesh linked).

Your focus at this point is review - your focus is not (much) on trying to improve. If you still want improvement at this point, then you should give yourself more time (ie, postpone the test). It's okay to try to plug a few small holes, but your overall focus needs to be a comprehensive review (again see the article).

Re: practice questions, I'd use official materials as much as possible. If you've already done the OG stuff, I'd try GMATPrep Question Pack #1 - a $25 add-on to GMATPrep that includes about 200 quant and 200 verbal questions (and 24 IR questions). You can specifically pick out only the difficult ones (they're grouped in three buckets). The questions do not overlap with the GMATPrep CATs.

RC Infer:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... estion.cfm
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... m-passage/

SC meaning / modifiers / structure:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

CR strengthen, weaken:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/

Given the timeframe, I wouldn't worry about CR minor types - they're not as common, so lower priority given limited time.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[michael.chung91]

Thank you Stacy,

Yes, those were all done under official conditions including misc. stuff (break time, what kind of drinks/snack I will eat during break etc, putting on headphones like I would at the test center etc.)

At this point, mentally I'm feel ready, but at the same time I don't want to get ahead of myself. I took another practice test this past weekend, (used the reinstalling GMAT Prep trick). While I did get fair number of new questions, I still got a fair amount of repeated ones, which led to a highly inflated score. I think part of this has to do with the fact that the GMAT Prep software doesn't have many 700+ questions.

Is it normal to feel ready to take on the test this far out? I normally imagined I'd feel ready maybe 3 days out but it's I feel as if I'm ready to take the test liek tomrorow if I wanted to. I'll heed your advice and just continue to review and fine tune some things for test day. Everyone can always improve their timing strategy right?

[StaceyKoprince]

Sure, people can definitely feel ready sooner than they planned. :) You had to guess when you'd be ready - most people don't guess exactly right.

If you really feel ready, you can even look into moving up your test date. They charge a $50 fee to change your test date as long as you do so more than 7 days in advance of your test date. (Within 7 days, you have to pay the whole $250 all over again.)

I will say one thing: give yourself a couple of days to do (almost) nothing - the last 2 days before the test. The article will explain why (think: athlete resting up for the marathon).

[michael.chung91]

Currently I'm 8 days out so I think I will take advantage of the extra time.

I was a little afraid to take some days off, but now that you suggested it, I think I will take those extra days off just to get my brain super fresh for the d-day. I think as long as I invest little bit of time for review everyday, I should be okay...

Thank you!

[StaceyKoprince]

let us know how it goes!

[michael.chung91]

Hi Stacy,

Just took the GMAT today, and scored a 710 (47Q, 40V). While I am happy with my verbal score, I'm a little disappointed in my quant score, which would have given me a score good enough for me to put off the GMAT forever.

Should I consider a retake? My dream is to enroll in at a top 3 MBA program - please consider my situation, as listed below:
-Recent undergrad from top 3 undergrad business school
-GPA: 3.82, magna cum laude
-Just started my job as an investment banking analyst at a bulge bracket bank
-Extra curricular: nothing stellar at this point besides club activities and executive role in my fraternity during college

As for when I will be attending/applying for b-school, I'm not certain. In the next 2 years, I may try to pursue something different within the financial services industry if I am not happy with banking. But I see myself most likely applying after 4 years of work.

The reason why I am considering a re-take (which will most likely be not be in the near future...at least 2+ years later) is because by the time I apply, the median score & percentile ranges may have changed to put me at a disadvantage...especially for quant. While I did do well for my quant courses in college (got all As), I am not comfortable with the quant score i got from the GMAT.

Thank you for the invaluable advice and help. I really appreciate it!

[StaceyKoprince]

Nice!! Congrats. :)

Take a look at this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... es-update/

The nutshell: the schools generally aren't using the 80/80 any longer (if they ever did), and upping that percentile is not the thing that's going to get you in.

Luckily, you've got at least 2 years to get some things on your resume that will increase your chances of getting in. Go set the world on fire!** :)

**disclaimer: metaphorically speaking of course!

Also, go talk to an admissions consultant. I like MBA Mission (and if you're one of our students, you already have a free 30-minute consultation offer in your student center from them), but there are lots out there so talk to whomever you think is good and see what they think.

[michael.chung91]

Wow that was really helpful Stacey - thank you!

I think for now I'm just going to pat myself on the back for what I've done today. Granted that I feel like it's not my 100% performance, it's still quite a feat considering I've pulled close to a 150 point improvement!

Thank you MGMAT!

[StaceyKoprince]

I agree - go celebrate tonight. :)

Congrats again and let us know how it goes!

[ghag.kamlesh]

Hi Stacy,

Just took the GMAT today, and scored a 710 (47Q, 40V). While I am happy with my verbal score, I'm a little disappointed in my quant score, which would have given me a score good enough for me to put off the GMAT forever.

Should I consider a retake? My dream is to enroll in at a top 3 MBA program - please consider my situation, as listed below:
-Recent undergrad from top 3 undergrad business school
-GPA: 3.82, magna cum laude
-Just started my job as an investment banking analyst at a bulge bracket bank
-Extra curricular: nothing stellar at this point besides club activities and executive role in my fraternity during college

As for when I will be attending/applying for b-school, I'm not certain. In the next 2 years, I may try to pursue something different within the financial services industry if I am not happy with banking. But I see myself most likely applying after 4 years of work.

The reason why I am considering a re-take (which will most likely be not be in the near future...at least 2+ years later) is because by the time I apply, the median score & percentile ranges may have changed to put me at a disadvantage...especially for quant. While I did do well for my quant courses in college (got all As), I am not comfortable with the quant score i got from the GMAT.

Thank you for the invaluable advice and help. I really appreciate it!

Congrats to you..

Kamlesh.

[StaceyKoprince]

:)