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Intern
Intern
Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 35
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Intern
Intern
Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 35
Own Kudos [?]: 93 [0]
Given Kudos: 3
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Intern
Intern
Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 35
Own Kudos [?]: 93 [0]
Given Kudos: 3
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Founder
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Posts: 37321
Own Kudos [?]: 72925 [0]
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Location: United States (WA)
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
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Re: Please critique my situation!!! [#permalink]
Expert Reply
It is tough to really prepare in a week.
I would recommend that you REALLY hard to get a strategy for each question type and stick to it. I think that's the best thing you can do. That and review your mistakes and take full length tests.
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Director
Director
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
Affiliations: Consortium (CGSM.org), NSHMBA
Posts: 929
Own Kudos [?]: 249 [0]
Given Kudos: 113
Location: New Haven
Schools:Yale SOM Class of 2012
 Q48  V51
WE 1: Investment Banking Summer Associate (Boutique tech M&A)
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Re: Please critique my situation!!! [#permalink]
it seems you've already identified one of your main flaws - spending 6-7 mins on any question, no matter what the difficulty, is killer. it takes away valuable time from other questions, and you'll be forced to play "catch up" the entire test.

knowledge isn't everything on the gmat. in fact i'd venture to say (this is my opinion) that it's not even the most important thing tested! the most important aspect is timing (and along with that, knowing when to quit on a question).

to give you an example, during my gmat there were several instances when i knew i would have no shot on a math question. this wasn't because i didnt know the formulas or the fundamental knowledge, but rather it was too cumbersome to sit down and tackle, and would slow my pacing down. in these instances (not many - maybe twice or 3 times max) i opted to skip the question altogether and just guess - rather than taking 6 mins to solve it.

i know it's tough to do (especially if it's a seemingly easy question) , but if a question is taking you longer than 2-3 mins to do, then cut it as a loss, make an educated guess, and move on to the next one. and don''t ever ever ever leave a question blank on the real test - that's killer too.

the real trick is knowing WHEN to quit on a question. please don't interpret this post as meaning you should skip any question that seems difficult. this is something you get by taking multiple full length tests. i'd recommend to spend the last week trying to focus on mastering this skill.

to give you some hope, the mgmat tests are generally thought to be a little harder than the actual test. in fact on my MGMAT tests, i scored between a 660 and a 720. so you definitely have a realistic shot of achieving your goal
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Intern
Intern
Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 35
Own Kudos [?]: 93 [0]
Given Kudos: 3
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Re: Please critique my situation!!! [#permalink]
wow thanks for all the help! I'm glad SOMEONE thinks I can achieve my goal :)

Yeah, I truly think that if I had skipped those 6-7 minute questions, I would not have had to blindly guess the last 6 or 7 questions due to timing issues.

I have asked off work for this and next week so I can prepare for my test. I have caluclated I have roughly 80 hours or so if I study 14 hours a day (HAHA, i know that's ridiculous)... but still...

I'm planning to perfect my SC skills by grinding through the OG11 and MGMAT SC book. I want to be so good at SC that it's fast and easy, giving me more time to read/comprehend RC and CR. I think if I had more time on CR/RC questions, I would feel more at ease to when answering questions. I think the RC just depends on the topics I get. I also need to practice taking notes faster.

I'm also going to finish Word Translations (I am more than half way done) then review over the subjects I had difficulty with. After that, I'm going to review the Advanced Chapters in Number Properties and practice those questions.

Probably every other day I will attempt to take a Full Length test to get a better feel for timing. I believe if I skip questions that take too long and focus on answering the next question correctly then I will have a better chance to make my 700.

If I have time, I'm going to try to do the Kaplan 800 book. I haven't even touched that book yet since I started preparing for the test.

Also, I'm going to review all the mistakes I made with the help of my error log.

Bleeehhhh so much to do, so little time to do in...
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Director
Director
Joined: 25 Aug 2009
Affiliations: Consortium (CGSM.org), NSHMBA
Posts: 929
Own Kudos [?]: 249 [0]
Given Kudos: 113
Location: New Haven
Schools:Yale SOM Class of 2012
 Q48  V51
WE 1: Investment Banking Summer Associate (Boutique tech M&A)
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Re: Please critique my situation!!! [#permalink]
i'd advise against trying to cram for the gmat by studying a huge amount per day. it's unlikely that you'll retain any of that information, and you'll just wind up stressing yourself out.
GMAT Club Bot
Re: Please critique my situation!!! [#permalink]

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