I take the GMAT in 10 days

Question

What should I do to maximize these last 10 days? I have unlimited free time so no worries there. My last CAT exam I scored a 650(38Q,40V). I usually score around a 43 on Q, but I misallocated my time on a few problems. I understand I should be more focused on the Q section and after analyzing my error log, I really need to focus on DS, Geometry, and Word Problems. I have not begun prepping for IR/AWA either.

Any good suggestions for the next 10 days with possibly breaking down each day? I have 1 more CAT exam and the 2 GMAT Prep exams. I plan on putting ~8 hours/day until next Tuesday when I really will cut back until as I take the exam at 8am on Friday.

Thanks in advance.

bb · Answer

Here are a few posts to point you in the right direction:
how-to-improve-your-quant-from-q44-to-q50-141670.html
what-to-do-30-14-7-3-1-days-before-the-test-152506.html
what-to-do-for-the-last-14-days-before-the-real-test-120895.html

As to my thoughts - focus on your error log and going over the questions you missed before as those will be the most valuable learnings and fixes (if this is even grammatically correct).

Also, focus on following the strategy, preparing any check lists you may need, and don't overkill the last 2 days. Take a break on the last day.

See the links above - that will give you plenty to play with.

Most importantly - good luck!

codeblue · Answer

I was shooting for a 730. Honestly, do you believe I should look to reschedule the exam in order to continue prepping? I feel like with my Q so low, I am not fully grasping the concepts for 700-800 level problems and even some 600-700.

daedalus1989 · Answer

Hi!

If you're shooting for a 730, you're going to need a 50 in Q to go with your 40 in V. Even if you get a higher score in Verbal (say, 43) you'd still want to hit 47-48 in Q, at least. After all, you want a balanced score that won't raise any doubts as to your ability to complete the quantitatively challenging classes that all MBA programs will throw at you.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I would advise you to reschedule and give yourself a couple of months. Go hard on Quant, starting from the basics (OG13 type questions) and working your way up to 700-800 levels. Make sure you work on AWA and IR just a tad, since it would be a shame to pair a 730 with a dismal essay or IR performance. That being said, I doubt that someone who is scoring a 40 in Verbal will have much of a problem putting together a good essay in 30 minutes.

Furthermore - don't try to overdo the studying. Unless you have remarkable stamina, 8 solid hours a day will not really impart more wisdom than 4 hours, as you tend to slow down towards the end. Pace yourself and develop good study habits, and it will pay dividends down the line.

I'm sorry if this isn't the sort of news you were hoping for, but hey - what do I know? I could be totally wrong about all of this.

Regardless, I wish you the best of luck in your GMAT journey.

codeblue · Answer

Thanks for the honest reply. When reading the MGMAT books, I don't think I gave myself a good enough foundation of the concepts before jumping into the problem sets and practice tests. I scored a 35 on math on the ACT so I thought I would breeze through the Q section and spent more time on the Verbal. It has been the complete opposite so far.

Do you think I am better off relearning the concepts or just going back to the beginning problems in the OG13 to master every problem then move onto an advanced quant book?

Also, do you believe it would be in my best interest to take time away from it then hit it hard when I am fresh? Recruitment for investment banking starts in a few weeks and will wrap up near mid October. I scheduled for next Friday to so I would not have to worry about both the GMAT and the IB interviews, and if I reschedule, I feel like I will be overwhelmed as I am also in my senior year in college.

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