Hi. I need some advice. Below I explain my situation. In short, I cant see any progress on my GMAT prep.
I am aiming for a 730-750 score. I have the resources and the time, well, actually, I had the time. Deadlines are creeping up fast.
I have been studying for more than 3 months. Took the GMAT on 8/16/12 with 90 points away from target, and yet to show signs of improvement.
I'll really appreciate it if anyone could give some advice on how to proceed.
TESTS7/29 MCAT#1 630 (Q42/V35) <-- preped using OG11, MG Guides, PowerscoreCR
8/14 GPrep 610 (Q42/V33)
8/16 GMAT 640 (Q42/V35) <-- official
8/18 MCAT#2 660 (Q45/V35) <-- with no prep after the official test
9/09 MCAT#3 560 (Q37/V30) <-- preped by redoing the MG Guides (advanced sections included) and OG11. Had not slept for 2 days
9/13 MCAT#4 630 (Q42/V34) <-- preped using mostly GClub guides.
9/23 MCAT#5 600 (Q43/V31) <-- preped using mostly GClub tests and redid
OG (medium and hard questions only). In good physical condition, after a week of a lot studying, really disappointed
The latest MCAT assessment shows 50%-60% accuracy on any given area, no particular strength. And this tends to be the trend for the other CATs as well. I was really hoping for a significant improvement on Quant and SC as it was the focus of my prep for the last MCAT. Timing of the CATs is okay I think.. I always end up guessing the last 2 due to time.
I need Q at 51 and V at 41 to be within the range of the target score.
CONDITIONSI'm currently not working, so I am treating this prep as a full-time job. I tend to study around 9-11 hours a day. I do get 8-9 hours of sleep and go to the gym everyday for aerobic and strength training (both recommended to improve brain function). This has become a routine for the past 2 months, after the dismal score on the official test. I've also stopped drinking any alcoholic beverage as some posts report that it damages scores or study, or something like that.
STUDY MATERIALSOG11: Have gone threw all the questions three times now. With error logs and MG's Archer. Accuracy is 90% average, mistakes tend to be careless and random. I have gone threw the answers at least once for every problem, several times for SC explanations (my weak area).
Manhattan Guides: The 8 set. Have gone threw them twice, practice questions as well. Once before the official test and again after it.
PowerscoreCR: Have gone threw it once, before the official test. Have not touched it since.
GClub Grammar and Quant Guides: Went threw them in preparation for MCAT#5. Quant has a lot of useless repeating of the same equations rearranged in different ways, really annoying.
GClub Tests: Started these a week ago, in preparation for MCAT#5. Mostly quizzes in sets of 20. Finished the 500, most of the 600, and 100 of the 700 level. I made sure to understand all the problems, and redid them until accuracy went up.
SC/CR Notes: Various SC and CR notes from members through
https://gmatclub.com/forum/new-to-the-verbal-forum-quick-links-list-44301.htmlUNTOUCHED MATERIALSOG Q2/V2: Have them, untouched. 600 questions.
MG Advanced Quant: It recommends a consistent 70th percentile before using it.
MG Quant Challange Set: Have not touched it. Came with the book.
GClub Tests (700-level): It recommends Q45+ before using them. Indeed, when I tried the 700-level q's, I only got 11 out of 37 correct.
GPrep Question Pack #1: Plan to purchase them if need be.
Sackman Extreme Challenge: Have them, untouched. Apparently on-par with GClub Test, so not touching them until I hit Q45.
Sackman Challange: Don't have them, but can get them if you advice me to... a bit pricey though.
CURRENT SCHEDULE (in order)
- Finish the GClub Tests, both the remaining 600 and 700-level.
- Finish
OG Q2 and V2.
- MCAT#6.
- MG
Advanced Quant book, MG Quant Challenge, and Sackman's Extreme Challenge.
- OG13 and IR, MG Essay & IR book, ChineseBurned's essay guide, and GPrep Question Pack #1.
- GPrep#1 (repeat).
- MCAT #1 through #6 (repeats), 1 a day.
- GPrep#2
- Official GMAT (hopefully within 3-4 weeks)
This is all really demoralizing. I used to be good at tests, study a little bit here and there and an A will magically pop up. I aced all my college math courses. I used to be good at math. What happened here? Ok, no more ranting.
Sorry for the long post. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. How should I proceed? Should I stick to my schedule and see what happens? Any other prep materials I should focus or not focus on?