Please help me get the timing right!

Question

Hey guys,

My test is early next month(about two weeks from now), and I have given two practice tests recently

GMATPrep Test 1 - 690 (Q49,V34)
Kaplan Free Test - 670

So, when you are stuck at some quant problem and you know you can do it but you realize that you are exceeding the time you should be taking, how do you decide if and when to stop? (I try not looking at the clock too much)

I am really struggling with this and in the Kaplan test I gave today, I had to guess 7 questions in quant at the end. Luckily i got 4 of them right and i got 94% but that makes my score more skewed. I seem to get stuck at some questions and take longer to get to the answer..is there strategy that i can use to overcome/avoid this? I noted from the official test that i got 49 even after getting 12 wrong, so i know i should be skipping some questions

Also, I lose concentration by the time I am half way through verbal

my verbal score has never gone above 34-35. I feel that I can improve a few points in verbal just by improving concentration level. But I'm mostly lost in this section and find myself mostly eliminating rather than confidently selecting the answer..

I studied from the MGMAT guides, the OG & CR bible. Are there any resources that can improve my verbal in the next 5 or 6 days? I don't have much time..
I have access to the MGMAT tests and the 2nd GMATprep test that I am saving for later after I have exhausted the free CAT tests

Thanks!

my verbal score has never gone above 34-35. I feel that I can improve a few points in verbal just by improving concentration level. But I'm mostly lost in this section and find myself mostly eliminating rather than confidently selecting the answer.. I studied from the MGMAT guides, the OG & CR bible. Are there any resources that can improve my verbal in the next 5 or 6 days? I don't have much time.. I have access to the MGMAT tests and the 2nd GMATprep test that I am saving for later after I have exhausted the free CAT tests Thanks!

msvel2304 · Answer

You cannot answer every question within 2 minutes, some questions take longer than that and some questions you can solve it within a minute. So the best way to tackle this problem is to use a timing strategy like below (the one i use). Make sure you check the time only after you complete every 5 questions and not in the middle (this reduces your anxiety) - Hide the timer. For quants it should be 10 mins for 5 qn and for verbal - 9 mins for 5 qn. If you are ahead of time, slow down and be careful you might be making careless mistakes, if you are lagging behind then guess one and move on to the next one. +/- 2mins difference is fine unless you don't accumulate it in every interval. This helps you avoid checking the timer often, reduces your anxiety, time spent on calculating the remaining time in the middle of solving a problem and the guesses are evenly spread out. Since you are close to your actual test, try this in atleast two mocks and if you don't find it comfortable, leave the option. Moreover avoid taking mocks two days before the test - it will drain you out and you won't be much motivated while taking the actual test.

# V Q
0 75 75
5 66 65
10 57 55
15 48 45
20 39 35
25 30 25
30 21 15
35 12 5
40 3
40 3

For the verbal part, you can try taking notes for whichever section you are comfortable with either CR or RC. It is not a wise idea to change your strategy at the last moment because taking notes will be time consuming and you don't want to end up with timing issues, but you can tweak it a little here and there. Otherwise try striking down the incorrect options in scratch pad instead of taking notes. Use the last five columns of your scratch pad and use a tick/wrong or round for doubtful for each question it will keep you focused. Hope this helps !!

# V Q 
0 75 75 
5 66 65 
10 57 55 
15 48 45 
20 39 35 
25 30 25 
30 21 15 
35 12 5 
40 3 
40 3

For the verbal part, you can try taking notes for whichever section you are comfortable with either CR or RC. It is not a wise idea to change your strategy at the last moment because taking notes will be time consuming and you don't want to end up with timing issues, but you can tweak it a little here and there. Otherwise try striking down the incorrect options in scratch pad instead of taking notes. Use the last five columns of your scratch pad and use a tick/wrong or round for doubtful for each question it will keep you focused. Hope this helps !!

mohater · Answer

Have you read our timing thread and our stay healthy score higher thread?

timing-strategies-on-the-gmat-80176.html
stay-healthy-score-higher-22103.html

Also, mental stamina is important. At some point, you simply need to push through the test. The test is designed to break you.

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Please help me get the timing right!

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