10 days to go - Help Needed

Question

Hi guys,

I started studying like 3 weeks ago, and my test is due in days. I already gave two mocks and got 620 (Q45, V31) and 640 (Q42, V37). I need your advice to ramp up and get the best out of the remaining time (Can study for up to 15 hours a day). I am keeping my composure but i really need to get it up at least to 680

Alphaneus · Answer

Hey Masri .I would recommend that you don't spend so many hours studying as it will be counter productive . Really ! The brain has a limit and slogging away won't really help you . I would recommend that you spend a good seven hours of stuying with small breaks in between . Given the paucity of time , I think it will be best if you attempt a mock each day . This will surely help you curb test anxiety and improve your timing . Brush up your fundamentals for sc , revise quant formulas and practice as many official questions as you can . Also get good sleep. Most test takers don't realise how important sleep is . I have personally experienced my performance in the verbal section go down by at least 60 percent if I have had six hours of sleep or less .

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Alphaneus · Answer

Hey Masri .I would recommend that you don't spend so many hours studying as it will be counter productive . Really ! The brain has a limit and slogging away won't really help you . I would recommend that you spend a good seven hours of stuying with small breaks in between . Given the paucity of time , I think it will be best if you attempt a mock each day . This will surely help you curb test anxiety and improve your timing . Brush up your fundamentals for sc , revise quant formulas and practice as many official questions as you can . Also get good sleep. Most test takers don't realise how important sleep is . I have personally experienced my performance in the verbal section go down by at least 60 percent if I have had six hours of sleep or less .

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

it is better if you share your weakness part/section in GMAT. Then we can help you, probably.

Masri · Answer

Thank you for passing by. i would say the verbal section could be highly improved if i am doing a better job truncating the time that i spend on reading the RC paragraphs. additionally, i feel weak and i even get terrified when i face assumptions-based questions (CR).

On the Quants front, Algebraic inequalities, Coordinate geometry and some parts of the 3D questions (Geometry). And a huge problem of not paying attention to what the stems present. For example; " x and y are integers " and then when i am correcting my mistakes, i see that i spend a heck of time trying fractions.. stuff like that

Masri · Answer

Thank you so much for your valuable advice. I feel like i want to get the best out of the remaining time knowing that i am on a study leave.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Masri,
 
740 is a great start! To improve your GMAT score to a higher level, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
 
In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses . You also may find it helpful to read the following articles about  The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT .

Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Masri,

Many Test Takers spend 3 MONTHS (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so while you've performed really well after just 3 weeks of study, with only 10 more days of study time, there will likely be a limit to how much you can improve. The variations in your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores from these two CATs/mocks implies that you are susceptible to making silly/little mistakes - and a 680+ requires a fairly high level of 'precision.' While I understand that you probably really want to take the GMAT sometime soon, if you ultimately "need" a 680+, then you might need to consider pushing back your Test Date so that you can put in the necessary time and effort to hone all of the skills needed to consistently score at that higher level.

If you are going to stick with your current Test Date, then you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) Over the last 3 weeks, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
4) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Masri,

Even though your overall score improved from 620 to 640, the individual scores seem to be inconsistent. I recommend you to take another mock (official one preferably) so that you can accurately predict your current level. And regarding the work to do, I would suggest you to go through your mocks in detail, analyze the solution of each question, compare your approach with the right one and narrow down the gaps if any.

Honestly, 3 weeks of studies is not very ideal but as you have your test scheduled, I think working on your weak areas in the only way forward. Focus on the process rather focusing on practicing too many questions. Learn the right methods and strategies to solve questions. You can go through a few webinars on our   youtube   channel. And if you still need any help regarding the study strategy, feel free to get in touch using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

If you take the best scores from your two mocks, i.e. Q 45 and V37, then you are already very near to 670.

All I will say is be confident and don't burn yourself out. Feel fresh for the exam. As you have mentioned about your weaknesses below, just try to convert them into your strengths. All the best! DO keep us posted on how it goes?

bb · Answer

Agree, though I feel it is not as much of an issue if someone is only studying for 1 month. Burnout is usually a longer-term issue... in my experience

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Thanks,  bb !

I felt 15 hours a day vis-a-vis a slightly balanced approach by keeping yourself fresh by studying fewer hours, the latter might be better, knowing he/she has already scored Q45 and V37 in mocks.

Masri · Answer

Thank you, Scott.

Totally agree with you. Apparently, i need to work on filing the gaps and define where do i fall. I am a bit short on time now, so i will just Thank you again for your detailed answer. and will be providing feedback once i am done with this test.

Masri · Answer

1) Over the last 3 weeks, how many hours did you typically study each week? I work 70-80 hours a week. so i managed 20 to 25 a week 
2) What study materials have you used so far? Manhattan, and now trying experts' global exams
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks? 17& 19 December
4) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility? a test facility one
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to? ( Fourth round - Cambridge, Oxford, LBS and Manchester and open to see a couple more)

Masri · Answer

Thank you my friend.

I agree with you. I decided that i will stop this method three days before the exam to feel fresh. I hope this works

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

You are welcome. Good decision, Do let us know how it goes? All the best!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I'm happy to help!

	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $79 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $325 $200 Discount + $79 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

10 days to go - Help Needed

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards