Preparing for the 5th Time

So wait...

what should I do then to prepare?

You graduated with honors so you know what it takes to do well on a test. Apply that to the GMAT. Buy the right books: (OG11 and the MGMAT series are well liked here) and STUDY. REAL studying. Not browsing a book while watching the game. The more WELL PLACED time and effort you put into this test the better you will do. When you have questions, come on here and ask them. When you get a question wrong, sit down and spend the time figuring out WHY you got it wrong. Try the Club GMAT challenges here for quant. Practice verbal (1000 series are popular for practice Qs, MGMAT SC is the bible for learning the SC tricks). When you think you have a firm grasp on quant and verbal take a few practice tests. Then review the tests and identify your weak points. The trick is being dedicated to doing well. Don't shoot for a 540, shoot for an 800. If you fall short and score a 540 that's fine, but really strive for excellence in all that you do.

So far, I am going through the OG 11 Questions and reviewing what I got wrong by making an error log. Do you think thats helpful? Next plan is to do the GMAT Prep and from that do the 1000 sets.

definitely helpful. I just started doing an error log myself. Not only is it useful to refer back to, it forces you to really think about what you got wrong and why. It also makes it easier to spot weaknesses.

can someone clarify what does "error log" mean? I can't catch the right meaning...(

You check all the practice problems you do and write down which ones you got wrong and why you got them wrong. It shows patterns like "hey, 9 out of 10 of the quant problems I get wrong are about exponents! I should brush up on my exponents!" as well as forces you to take a close look at your mistakes.

EDIT: I've found that excel works wonders for doing error logs. I have one going right now for all the club challenges and 1000SC problems that calculates accuracy and totals and all that.

Your scores are completely in line with pure natural score variation, it doesn't indicate at all that you improved your knowledge or technique during those 4 exams.

If you have not done every single question in OG11, do that first. I think there are about 800 questions in the book, do them all. Mark the ones you weren't sure about and come back to them.

When you say that I am completely in line with pure natural score variation, does that mean I have no chance and therefore should not write the exam?

Yes I did do all the OG11. I'm now coming back to them the second time around and reviewing the mistakes.

*bump* more help please.

I would definitely do an error log. Find out where you're weakest and focus on those areas. Have you been scoring higher on verbal or quant? What study materials are you using? I've found that putting together a detailed study plan is helpful. Work backwards from the test date and schedule your weeks ahead of time to make sure you cover all of the material.

And keep your head up... this stuff is not easy!

Keep track of questions you got right and wrong (with your error log). Look at the questions you got right and find out what the test was asking for (i.e. Geometry? Work or Rate problems?)

Do the same for the questions you got wrong. I have a notebook of all the questions I got wrong during my preparation. I wrote the question in black ink and the solution in red ink and then identified what I missed the first time around. For example, I used to miss word problems that asked for a percentage of a percentage. Now, I've recognized this type of problem and know what they're looking for.

You should get to the point where you see a questions and know how to approach it right away. For example, Distance or Work problems. If you've read MGMAT, you know to draw a chart with Rate, Time, Distance (or Work). Practice the easy problems first so you get the basics down then move on to more advanced questions. MGMAT give you problems in this format and I highly recommend you get the math series.

Some of the questions may just be tricky but if you've done enough problems, you can recognize the "easy" way. For example: what is (0.99999)*(1.00001)? Impossible, right? But if you do (1-0.00001)(1+0.00001) it's much easier b/c you can then follow the (x-y)(x+y) rule where the end solutions is x^2 - y^2. In this case it would be (1)^2 - (0.00001)^2.

For Verbal, I'd say focus on SC and use MGMAT as your guide. Once you learn to recognize the question types, practice, practice, practice. You should be able to identify the 3/2 method (eliminate 3 or 2 of the choices right away) and then continue the process of elimination (POE) to find the right answer. THis takes practice and the GMAT club forum is a great place to practice.

For CR, try writing out a 5-8 word summary of the given information (like a math solution). If it's an assumption question, find the missing piece of info that gives you enough to reach your conclusion. The key is to look for answers that don't bring in any outside information than what you were originally given. Again, practice and it should start to become clear.

For RC, I found this was a big killer for me. I eventually learned to read just a few sentences out of the passage to understand the author's intent and what the body paragraphs presented (evidence, counter-evidence, etc.).

Work on problems first, understand how GMAT is trying to trick you and double check your answers for silly mistakes (huge penalty for easy questions).

Also, I think I mentioned this before, timing plays a big role. If you don't finish the section in time, you get a big penalty. If you can't pace yourself, at least guess on the last few questions--never leave em blank.

Hope that helps.
-JJ

Well put misterJJ. That advice is right on the money. Good luck mjoeb.

Thank you!