agentcooper wrote:
Hi all, I have a question about date selection, would love some input!
I know cramming isn't ideal but here's my situation:
I did GMAT 4 times 4 years ago - got 700 3 times. Now I'm trying again and shooting for 730+. Did the official practice tests without studying, got 750 and 710.
Now - My work situation is pretty intense: I typically do 12-14 hour days. So, I'm taking next week off just focusing on studying. I plan on starting this Saturday so I have 5/15 - 5/24:
10 full days. My plan is to 1) review my saved questions from 4 years ago, 2) do a CAT every second day, and 3) go through as many of the
OG Verbal/Quant review questions as possible.
I have a few options for test dates:
[*] 5/26 @ 8 AM - pretty much right after my 10-day bootcamp. Downside is I will likely be buried in work on 5/25 and won't have any bandwidth to study
[*] 6/1 or 6/2 or 6/4 - I can take the day before the test to study
My question is this:
based on your experience, what's the optimal time for taking the GMAT after cramming? Thanks in advance!
Sorry to hear about your work situation. I can understand. A cousin of mine did a similar thing cramming. It sort of worked out but it was pretty crazy.
I am actually not good with cramming.... so I have no advice for you on the best process for it. I would just say I hope you will learn things and remember them... I am very curious how it goes so please update us once you take the test.
As to the test itself, I would suggest NOT studying the day before. Think about it - if you are going to have an eating contest, you don't want to do a big dinner the night before. GMAT is kind of like
you want to be fresh and performing at the top your abilities. If you think spending a day before doing questions will energize you the day after to perform then great but if you are just trying to get 1 more of crazy studying, then I would say don't. You have done the cramming before so you have had your shot. I would suggest taking the day before the gmat easy and perhaps cramming for 8 days, take 1 day off, and take the test then.
P.S. My approach was actually studying 2 hours before work. I know it is super tricky for people who are in demanding types of jobs (the same case with my cousin. It is tough). Anyway, I would highly recommend making lots of notes and writing down what you are learning. Write it all down as notes and make pages and pages of notes - that will help you remember it.
I am worried. It is a very risky plan. I hope it works for you. Feel free to post if you have any other questions/ideas. Ideally would be to take some decent amount of time to prep (def not more than a month or two)