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GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!!

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dutchmen991
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GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   31 Mar 2015, 14:19
Hi guys. Please help me come up with a plan/timetable to re-take my GMAT. I will try to provide a description of where I am at as brief as possible. I would really appreciate some help.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
I am a senior at a top 30 LA school. I didn't work too had in HS and got in to school for sports. I became motivated and got my act together mid-Freshman year. Will finish school with a 3.5 GPA. My goal, like the majority of GMAT-takers, is a 700.

Once I decided to take the GMAT, I made my class schedule very easy and my overall study time was 300+ hours (yes, I know about diminishing marginal returns--but I needed to revisit the absolute basics of algebra, basic grammar, etc.). These issues kept coming up while I was studying.

JANUARY
-Decided to start studying for GMAT. Chose Veritas Prep Materials / Official Guide as well as Private Tutoring.
-Set my Test Date for March 19th
-I went through every book / lesson (with the exception of Statistics/AWA/IR) for each Veritas section, and consulted my tutor a couple times on Quant related stuff (mostly Algebra)
-I rushed on Word Problems since it was one of the last sections and I felt the need to take practice tests.

PRACTICE TESTS (March 1 - March 17)

March 1: 590 (Q42 / V30) OFFICIAL
March 3: 620 (Q39 / V81) VERITAS
March 6: 640 (Q43 / V35) VERITAS
March 12 630 (Q45 / V31) OFFICIAL
March 16: 640 (Q43 /V35) VERITAS

Test Day (9 AM / 30 min drive)
-Felt the need to stray from what I did during preparation and drank a coffee with three espressos before I get to the test
-During the breaks, I drank a half a red bull
-Also took 3 10-mg adderall during the test (usually take 10 mg when I study for a day or none)

Obviously this was a big mistake, and I know that I need to do exactly what I do for practice tests on test day.

QUANT SECTION:
-Spent WAY too much time early and was on Q31 with 1 min left (had to randomly guess on the last 6 questions)
VERBAL SECTION:
-Spent WAY too much time early and had to guess on the last 5 questions in the last minute

SCORE: 580 (Q37 / V32)

WHERE I THINK I AM AT:

Overall, I abandoned where I had made progress in regards to test strategy. I was always finishing the verbal section in perfect time, and I got away from that on test day. As far as quant goes, I was really bad at letting go of questions in the first few practice tests (4+ mins on many questions), and figured out how to let go with about 2 weeks to go.

Verbal: I am extremely confident at RC and CR for upper-level questions. Sentence Correction is a big time weakness for me. It is consistently my worst area.

Quant: Data Sufficiency is pretty solid in comparison to problem solving, but obviously the subject area matters. My biggest weak points are word problems and algebra.

WHERE I NEED FEEDBACK:

How much time do I need to study? If needed, I can spend about 6 hrs/day again. But I'm not sure that is what is needed since that is essentially what I did last term.
What do I do for my weak points? (SC, Algebra, Word Problems)
Do I start from square one for my weak points?
How frequent should I take practice tests? I have 8 remaining Veritas tests.
How frequent do I need to review sections/subjects I am confident on (CR,RC,# props, among others)
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   31 Mar 2015, 21:39
Quote:
WHERE I NEED FEEDBACK:

How much time do I need to study? If needed, I can spend about 6 hrs/day again. But I'm not sure that is what is needed since that is essentially what I did last term.
What do I do for my weak points? (SC, Algebra, Word Problems)
Do I start from square one for my weak points?
How frequent should I take practice tests? I have 8 remaining Veritas tests.
How frequent do I need to review sections/subjects I am confident on (CR,RC,# props, among others)


6 hrs a day is plenty - you don't need to do this amount every day -- that might contribute to fatigue. A few days a week at that level of intensity would be good. For the remaining days - something closer to 3-4 hours will be fine.

For your weak points, really focus in on them and keep at these problem areas WITHOUT doing any other type of question. Maintain this focus in order to maximize your improvement in this area. The minute you mix questions up - that's when your mind will get confused.

You don't need to take every practice test that you can get your hands on. At a minimum, you should take the two from mba.com ---and we recommend a supplemental one like the GMAT PILL practice test: www.gmail.com/gmat-practice-test/practice-test/

Hope that helps.
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   01 Apr 2015, 17:31
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Hi dutchmen991,

The GMAT is a specific "event" which you can train for, but you can't be inconsistent with your decision-making and you can't afford to do "silly" things. The information you've provided is helpful in that it points out a number of things that you could/should have done differently. I'm hoping that you can provide a bit more information about how you've studied and your overall timeline/plans:

1) It looks like you studied for a little more than 2 months. Most Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies to hit their 'peak' scores. Is there any particular reason why you tried to finish this all off by March 19th?

2) You described a heavy intake of caffeine and Adderall on Test Day, but it also sounds like you didn't normally do that during practice. WHY did you do in on Test Day? The reaction that you had to the Adderall is actually common for someone who does not use it all that often.

3) Your goal is to score 700+, but you didn't get close enough during your practice CATs to have made that outcome likely, so why didn't you push your Test Date back and continue studying?

4) When you took your practice CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
5) Did you take your CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
6) Did you do ANYTHING while taking your practice CATs that would considering unrealistic (such as pausing the CAT, skipping sections, listening to music, eating/drinking while taking the CAT, skipping the breaks, etc.)?

As to your questions, you've already defined some of your "weak" areas - if the practice materials that you've used are not helping you to improve in those areas, then you need some new resources (and likely some new tactics). You should plan to take 1 FULL-LENGTH practice CAT every 1-2 weeks. From your Official Scores, I don't think that you've 'mastered' any of the material, so revisiting all of it is probably warranted.

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Also, Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once, so doing so is not a problem. Before you retake the GMAT though, you really have to focus on making your practice "line up" with Test Day in every way that is reasonably possible. You might also need to invest in some new resources to help you pick up those missing points.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   02 Apr 2015, 08:39
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi dutchmen991,

The GMAT is a specific "event" which you can train for, but you can't be inconsistent with your decision-making and you can't afford to do "silly" things. The information you've provided is helpful in that it points out a number of things that you could/should have done differently. I'm hoping that you can provide a bit more information about how you've studied and your overall timeline/plans:

1) It looks like you studied for a little more than 2 months. Most Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies to hit their 'peak' scores. Is there any particular reason why you tried to finish this all off by March 19th?

2) You described a heavy intake of caffeine and Adderall on Test Day, but it also sounds like you didn't normally do that during practice. WHY did you do in on Test Day? The reaction that you had to the Adderall is actually common for someone who does not use it all that often.

3) Your goal is to score 700+, but you didn't get close enough during your practice CATs to have made that outcome likely, so why didn't you push your Test Date back and continue studying?

4) When you took your practice CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
5) Did you take your CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
6) Did you do ANYTHING while taking your practice CATs that would considering unrealistic (such as pausing the CAT, skipping sections, listening to music, eating/drinking while taking the CAT, skipping the breaks, etc.)?

As to your questions, you've already defined some of your "weak" areas - if the practice materials that you've used are not helping you to improve in those areas, then you need some new resources (and likely some new tactics). You should plan to take 1 FULL-LENGTH practice CAT every 1-2 weeks. From your Official Scores, I don't think that you've 'mastered' any of the material, so revisiting all of it is probably warranted.

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Also, Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once, so doing so is not a problem. Before you retake the GMAT though, you really have to focus on making your practice "line up" with Test Day in every way that is reasonably possible. You might also need to invest in some new resources to help you pick up those missing points.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich


1) I studied for 10 weeks. It was the length of my semester and I chose to try and finish it within that amount of time. I figured even if I didn't get my desired score, it would serve as a good trial run for a second attempt.
2) I usually take 1 adderall/day when I study. I thought increased focus would help, but it obviously served as a detriment to my score.
3) see #1
4) I took ENTIRE tests every time.
5) I took the last few CATs at the same time of day.
6) During my CATs, the only unrealistic aspect was that on the majority of them, I was at the library and could hear people walking, doors closing, etc.

I will make sure to take 1 CAT every 1-2 weeks. How should I go about studying my weaknesses? Should I start from square one for SC, Algebra, and Word Problems?

Thanks a lot for the input, I really appreciate it.
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   05 Apr 2015, 18:32
Expert Reply
Hi dutchmen991,

Now that you've experienced the Official GMAT, you have an understanding of all of the 'details' that go into Test Day. You can use this knowledge/perspective when taking CATs during this next round of studies. I suspect that the extra Adderall and Red Bull had a significant impact on your performance, so you should plan to go back to the "normal" amounts of everything that you consumed during your CATs.

From your last several practice CATs, you were clearly scoring in the low-to-mid 600s, so we have to see if there's any more improvement that you can make on your own or if some new practice materials and tactics are required. To score 700+ on Test Day, you're likely going to have to make some significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

I suggest that you study "your way" for the next 1-2 weeks, then take another FULL-LENGTH CAT. If your scores are 'in line' with your other scores, then we'll have the evidence that some changes will have to be made. If you improve, then it's possible that you just needed more time and repetitions. You should report back here with your scores and we can go from there.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   12 Apr 2015, 12:37
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi dutchmen991,

Now that you've experienced the Official GMAT, you have an understanding of all of the 'details' that go into Test Day. You can use this knowledge/perspective when taking CATs during this next round of studies. I suspect that the extra Adderall and Red Bull had a significant impact on your performance, so you should plan to go back to the "normal" amounts of everything that you consumed during your CATs.

From your last several practice CATs, you were clearly scoring in the low-to-mid 600s, so we have to see if there's any more improvement that you can make on your own or if some new practice materials and tactics are required. To score 700+ on Test Day, you're likely going to have to make some significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

I suggest that you study "your way" for the next 1-2 weeks, then take another FULL-LENGTH CAT. If your scores are 'in line' with your other scores, then we'll have the evidence that some changes will have to be made. If you improve, then it's possible that you just needed more time and repetitions. You should report back here with your scores and we can go from there.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich


Hey Rich,

If you have a second, I would really appreciate some advice! I spent 1 week reviewing one of my weaknesses (algebra) and 1 week reviewing word problems. I just finished a practice test where I scored a 650 (my highest score yet). After looking through the Quant questions, I was able to eliminate wrong answers on these two sections, but most of my missed questions were tied to arithmetic. I think I will be able to regain my arithmetic skills with a few days of review. Somehow, I got 10/13 correct on SC which is much higher than usual.

Given my scores for these sections, where it is more likely I can make improvements? Increase my Verbal to 90th percentile, or get Quant up to 75th percentile. Obviously, I struggle more with Quant, but want to attribute more time to the area which is more likely to improve my overall score.

Scores are attached.

Thanks,
Ryan
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Screenshot 2015-04-12 15.32.36.png
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   12 Apr 2015, 15:04
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Hi Ryan,

Based on the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores, you have a fairly equal opportunity to pick up points in BOTH sections. All things being equal, many Business Schools tend to prefer applicants who have a higher Quant Scaled Score, so you might want to put some extra emphasis into your studies for that section. Your Quant Scaled Scores mean that you're likely doing really well on the "math" questions that you face, but you're missing out on a lot of 'strategy' points (including a number of missed DS questions) and you're likely making some little mistakes on other 'gettable' questions. As such, you might want to invest in some resources that focus on strategies, tactics, patterns, etc.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink] New post   17 Apr 2015, 13:53
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:
Hi Ryan,

Based on the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores, you have a fairly equal opportunity to pick up points in BOTH sections. All things being equal, many Business Schools tend to prefer applicants who have a higher Quant Scaled Score, so you might want to put some extra emphasis into your studies for that section. Your Quant Scaled Scores mean that you're likely doing really well on the "math" questions that you face, but you're missing out on a lot of 'strategy' points (including a number of missed DS questions) and you're likely making some little mistakes on other 'gettable' questions. As such, you might want to invest in some resources that focus on strategies, tactics, patterns, etc.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich


Hey Rich, I really appreciate the advice. I spent a lot of time reviewing OG DS questions and just took another practice test. I got my best Quant score and then lost stamina during the Verbal and performed WELL BELOW what I usually score (usually only miss 1 or 2 CR). So now its been about 3 weeks:

Week 1: Algebra
Week 2: Word Problems
Week 3: Data Sufficiency

(Spent 90% of time just on the subjects above. Would do a RC or set of 14 SCs at the end of the night about 3x per week)

My question is to you is where should I focus now?

-I know test stamina is big since I think that was my downfall today. I had a little bit less food/red bull/water than usual for this test (tried it out).
-As far as test areas go, where should I focus my efforts (more balance toward Verbal?).
-Is it fair to combine my Q45/V36 as what I am capable of under perfect conditions?
-When should I take my next practice test.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the advice.

Ryan
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File comment: Breakdown 2
Screenshot 2015-04-17 16.45.36.png
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File comment: Breakdown 1
Screenshot 2015-04-17 16.45.11.png
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Re: GMAT Re-Take Plan -- PLEASE HELP!!! [#permalink]
17 Apr 2015, 13:53

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