Hi Aximili,

It sounds like you've really been working hard and paying attention to your weaknesses. You mentioned that you've been taking the MGMAT exams-- have you been running the assessment reports on them? I've found the breakdowns of question categories to be really helpful for my tutoring students, especially when there is as large a volume of data to draw from as you have (from multiple CATs)--you can also analyze the payoff in time on questions--for higher-scoring students (especially ones used to working hard and doing well in school) I often find a big problem is staying too long on questions that should be abandoned in favor of strategic guessing...remember that, due to the adaptive nature of the test, even if you scored a 700+ you would miss a huge chunk of questions--being ok with that and picking your battles is a strategic, psychological step that can often get overlooked. And if you can nudge your guessing percentage up on questions that aren't worth your time (which I find almost always to be the case), those are free/cheap points that can have a huge difference in your score--especially since saving that time allows you to have more time on other questions you can do. If you see that you are spending longer on questions you get wrong than questions you get right, that could be an area that needs attention.

I generally recommend saving the GMATPrep test for 1 week before the exam, to do as your final CAT. The score and algorithm are more accurate, but it is much more difficult to draw conclusions from the question material since all you can see is wrong/right instead of categorization, time, etc.

It sounds like you're planning to do sub-chunks of 50 questions a day-- that may be too many! Doing a really detailed review is preferable to burning through a lot of new questions--especially if you haven't mastered the old questions. If you've seen a question before and mastered it, then any time you see it again you will be able to CATEGORIZE it (and know why it fits into that category), and then select from possible STRATEGIES to do it QUICKLY and ACCURATELY. If that's not the case for questions you've worked on, you haven't squeezed the value out of the work that you've done. A student I worked with, who had the biggest score jump I've ever seen, was a martinet about review, and made a separate page for each question she ever did (other students do notecards), and if that question still troubled her she reviewed it and left it in the stack to hit again a little later. You don't have to go that far, especially if you've already done a TON of questions, but that kind of deep review works a different part of the brain and is just as important as doing new questions.


Finally, whenever anyone's working as hard as you are I like to remind him or her to keep an eye out for burnout. No full CATs a few days before the test...the closer you get the more you'll want to taper off to conserve your energy for the main event. After the detailed content review you've plotted out, the next few days (days 13-16?) should involve timed sets from the supplemental OG books --mixed content (PS and DS, CR/SC/RC) to give you practice shuffling back and forth between types, as well as identifying question types.

Hope this helps.
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JP Park | Manhattan GMAT Instructor | Los Angeles

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Sorry didn't realize you were going under the name Parker; Thanks for your awesome advice Parker!
I'm feeling more confident by the day about this exam which has caused me so much grief last year!
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How to improve your RC score, pls Kudo if helpful! http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-improve-my-rc-accuracy-117195.html
Work experience (as of June 2012)
2.5 yrs (Currently employed) - Mckinsey & Co. (US Healthcare Analyst)
2 yrs - Advertising industry (client servicing)

Hi Ananta
That diagnostic test is kinda hard! I did that before beginning OG prep and got pretty dismal scores first time round. I would just like to say that in general its the timing on this exam which really makes or breaks you (i've written it twice already and am going for a rewrite).

One indicator, as you've mentioned, for your low timed score might be that you're concepts are weak. That means you should figure out what topics you are particularly weak in, buy/find targeted supplemental material for this (or consider a prep course, bb always mentions one with a money-back guarantee), and target you weaknesses.

I would recommend that if your timed questions are going badly, taking a step back and analyzing what the overall problems are is not such a bad idea (what I've been doing for the last 3 months too). Don't blindly launch into more timed sections without covering the basics! I made this mistake last two times. It will require a meticulous prep schedule from you.

Try a study plan where you've highlighted topics you're weaker at, you do a chapter on a specific topic, practice the questions corresponding to it (NOT under timer to get the concepts right), THEN practice the OG questions/other questions under a timer. See if that helps!

And no offense, but I would not go the Kaplan way. But that's just me.
_________________

How to improve your RC score, pls Kudo if helpful! http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-improve-my-rc-accuracy-117195.html
Work experience (as of June 2012)
2.5 yrs (Currently employed) - Mckinsey & Co. (US Healthcare Analyst)
2 yrs - Advertising industry (client servicing)

Hey BB!
I'm new on this group and I'd like to know how you can manage to read fiction while at the same time be able to be focused on your Quant Prep?
I'm on my first internship and do not have time for all that reading

Hi Everybody:
This is my first post and I am little anxious whether I am posting at the right forum! First of all, I think there is no word that could thank you guys enough for this website, I am sure everybody is thanking you from their heart, but specially me, I will be ever greatful for such a good resource for GMAT preparation.

Now, I have just started to prepare for the quantitative section following your study plan idea, focusing only in Math right now, and I have completed 160 questions from the OG12, and reviewed most of the MGMAT Math strategy book (6 of them). I haven't practice the Data sufficiency yet.

Just to check where I am with Quant, I have taken the GMAT Prep Test 1 (Quant only, skipped all other sections), and within the given timeframe I have answered 24 questions, and result shows 13 incorrect, so Quant raw score is 25. I know looking at it, anyone would say I am very bad in Math...and I do feel down right now, but I want to nail this Quant to a raw score Quant 44 in next 1 month, what should I do now? I hope you could help now, you guys are my only solace.

Well... what do you do after 10 PM? Watch TV? Well, you read books instead as you should NOT be studying at that hour - it is kind of tough to get much remembered and learned.
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BB - Just read your signature link with its mention of the Manhattan Advanced book, now I'm wondering if I should go look for it to raise my Quant score.. but then I have about 11 days left (test on August 3rd). I do find myself faltering on strategies with 700-800 level questions, and score on an average M 45-47 in various practice tests. I think my verbal is taken care of (44 on last MGMAT, 43 on Knewton free test), and I'll be focusing more on Quant while brushing up verbal alongside.

Tough call, worst case scenario - postpone test by a week to August 10th, bare the repercussions at work since they've been gracious enough to give me 2 weeks for study prep already. Do you think its worth me looking for it? I've reviewed 2 of the Manhattan books (Word Translations & number props)? A Manhattan instructor had recommended I take it easy in my last few days to avoid burn out. I'm in two minds, third attempt, I want to hit all the major resources.
_________________

How to improve your RC score, pls Kudo if helpful! http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-improve-my-rc-accuracy-117195.html
Work experience (as of June 2012)
2.5 yrs (Currently employed) - Mckinsey & Co. (US Healthcare Analyst)
2 yrs - Advertising industry (client servicing)

I think I misunderstood between MGMAT foundations book and Number & Properties, Word translations (all 5). I thought they are the same. But after looking it up in amazon, seems like they are not same.

Do you think I should start with MGMAT foundations book or those 5 strategies book would be fine? What about Kaplan GRE/GMAT math workbook, would that be comparable to MGMAT foundations book? I am going to get the Kaplan math work book today from the library and if you think I need to start with MGMAT, I will just buy it from Amazon....waiting for your kind reply

Hard to say.... you could cover that book in about a week if you are good. I think it may be worth it so that you don't regret it later on but 11 days is tough.
As to the advice about burn out - absolutely agree!!! try to relax and go to a place in the city you have never been to or something you like. Then 24 hrs before the test, take a sample test (at the same time) and wake up at the same time you would for the next day. That way you will get in the mood. Don't study much else though.
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Nothing special - just read, learn, make notes, and review again what you missed - everything you would do for other books.
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Founder of GMAT Club

Just starting out with GMAT? Start here... | Want to know your GMAT Score? Try GMAT Score Estimator
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