Karite wrote:
Hey Mike,
I really enjoyed your article. I am somewhat stuck in this situation. My exam is scheduled for 05-19 and I have been studying since mid December. I do not feel ready but I still have about seven weeks to go. I spoke with a tutor and he said that you shouldn't take the test if you are not ready but I have been studying for four months. It doesn't seem like it because of my progress though. I didn't do well on the practice tests.
Well, that's a difficult question. I am trying to understand in what way you are "stuck" --- are you studying and just not learning/remembering? Or are you learning, but not seeing improvement on practice tests? And what exactly are you studying?
First of all, on the issue of what it means to say you "understand" a certain concept, see this blog:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/understand ... rformance/If you feel you know the material, but can't seem to perform on practice tests, then you may find these blogs about reducing stress & anxiety helpful:
a)
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/overcome-g ... y-breathe/b)
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/beating-gmat-stress/c)
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/the-gmat-b ... g-picture/Another question: when you practice, do you always practice under timed conditions, or do you do most of your practicing untimed, and just have timed conditions on the practice tests? On this issue, I would recommend this blog:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/pacing-and ... -the-gmat/Finally, when you study, are you studying just content, or are you studying both content and
GMAT-specific strategies? You can know all kinds of content, but if you aren't familiar with the particular strategies that are effective on the GMAT, the test will still give you trouble.
In this case, I would highly recommend checking out
Magoosh. For about the price of a couple tutoring sessions, you will get access to all our content --- 200+ lesson videos, covering all the content & strategy you will need on the GMAT; 800+ practice questions, each with it's own video solution; and responsive help that will answer any question from any GMAT prep source (it's like buying online help for all the GMAT prep books you already own).
Here's an example lesson on CR:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/lessons/579-dis ... n-argumentHere's an example DS question:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/questions/1035When you submit your answer, the next page will have the video explanation.
Finally, you have 7 weeks left, so you might check out the 3 -month study plans I created -----
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-gm ... beginners/That's the first of four versions --- you can see the others in the side bar. You would have to do a bit of adapting, since the plan is 9 weeks, and you have only 7, but since you've been studying for 4 months, you probably could skip some stuff (like learning the format of the various test questions).
So, that's a load of information, because I don't know the exact nature of your "stuckness." I hope that's helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
Mike
I mean "stuck" by applying the content that I have learned. I seem to do fine with the study guides from Manhattan but when I do
12 then it seems like the techniques I learned do not help. I can contribute half of this confusion to how the questions are being asked in
. Some of my problems deal with forgetting the concepts as well. Right now I am doing the verbal
and it seems to be helping. My quantitative and verbal was 24 and 19, respectively. It was a Manhattan practice test and I scored an overall 400 in December and last night I scored a 450. Would an online class benefit someone with such a low score? It appears my fundamentals are lacking as well as understanding the question being asked.
Nope, I do not practice under timed conditions because I haven't gasped the content well enough. I hired a tutor but it didn't work out. The person didn't have a GMAT prep background and I think that's how the mis-communication started. Sometimes people (tutor)feel that practicing is the best way but you have to practice right to become better. And you have to understand the material and that's why I had hired him. And to learn strategies to complete the problems faster.
I am studying mostly content because I do not seem to be able to apply it. The strategies are useless until I can understand what the question is asking and even how to do it. Based on your article, I am probably a level 2 or level 3. I have gone blank on the practice tests. Even though I do not feel prepared for the test, I do feel I can make significant gains because I have been studying for almost four months.Thanks again for the links. I will definitely check them out. Also, I created the thread below last night.