Preventing regression with minimal study?

SlikRick,

My first week, I went through the MGMAT Guide 1-7 included. On my second week, I went through OG quant and verbal problems, then took a CAT. Repeated the same process as week 2 in week 3.

I briefly looked at why I was making mistakes in my practice questions, without actually taking any notes, same thing on my CATs. Only after the second CAT, did I realise the importance of keeping an error log, and so I went through the quant section of my second CAT, thoroughly analysing my mistakes, taking notes to why I did x and y mistake, and making notes on the topics to review. Then creating a custom-made lesson on the topics I was weak.

On the quant section, it is fairly easy to improve and realise why you made x and y mistake. For my part, most of the questions I got wrong were because I either did not take proper notes on the pad or did not have a good enough understanding of the topic.

That being said, I can't really come up with a proper review strategy for the verbal part. I don't have much problem identifying assumptions, premises, conclusions and question types in critical reasoning; but whenever I make mistakes, I can't think of a way to review my mistake in a way that would really help me to avoid making the same mistake the next time. For instance, I could very well review a critical reasoning question, and realise that the reason I got the question wrong was because I failed to, say, identify the conclusion- and make a note of that in my error log. But how does that help me? It hasn't helped me one iota so far.

On reading comprehension, although passages are very dry and use very complicated terminologies, I understand that I should focus on structure, rather than words. I take proper notes, and timing does not seem, at first, to be an issue. I am also able to identify the proper answer, after reading the question and going through my notes and the passage (if necessary), but when the time comes to select an answer choice, I often select the wrong one. After conducting some self-analysis, I realised that the primary reason to why I selected the wrong answer choice, despite having the correct answer in mind, was that the correct answer choice was formulated in a fairly "vague" and "ambiguous" manner. I can't seem to get around this "vagueness" and "ambiguity", and select the proper answer choice. Similarly to critical reasoning, I fail to come up with a good review strategy...

Sentence correction, on the other hand, is not problem. I can identify why I made x or y mistake, make a note of it in my error log, review the idiom, rule or whatever, and rarely make the same mistake again.


Thanks for the suggestion bb,

would you advise doing any practice in between, or only making notes and reviewing them, or both

I somewhat mis-read your note, thinking you would not have any time to study during the 2 months.

Looking that you have an hour, it depends if it is an hour in the morning when you are fresh or at night when you are dead.
If you are fresh, I would go over the material you covered the day before and repeat in my mind some highlights or things you have memorizedand reattempt some questions you messed up for 10-15 mins. Then start with something new.

If you are dead, then go all the way back to what you have learned in the last 3 weeks and just stay there - reviewing and practicing and improving what you know; would not try to cover much new; spend 30 mins on review and then 30 mins just reading books/fiction to get your mind into reading mind-set.

Hi mipek,

With just an hour of study a day, you could certainly maintain your current skills, but it will be challenging to make big gains in any particular area (that type of improvement almost always requires a larger time commitment to learn new Tactics and get in the proper practice). If there's really nothing that you can do about these study limitations for the next 2 months, then we should try to define your long-term goals for this process so that we can plan for what happens after these 2 months pass:

1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Thanks everyone for the suggestions made so far.

bb, I am an early riser, so studying one hour per day in the morning will be a good initiative to take indeed


Rich,

Whenever I do something, no matter what, I strive to achieve the maximum possible result.
(1)What is my goal score? 800. But I cannot accept anything below 760 (with a minimum of Q49)

(2)When am I planning to take the GMAT?
I will be free to work 3-4 hours per day from the 1st week of December, onwards. Ideally I would like to pass the GMAT early/mid February.

(3)When am I planning to apply to Business School? To clarify, I will apply to Msc Finance programs, not MBAs.
Applications should be submitted within a month and half of passing the GMAT.

(4)What schools am I planning to apply to?
HEC Paris, IE and probably Oxford (Saïd).

Hi mipek,

From a statistical standpoint, defining your score goal as an 800 is a poor choice - most Test Takers will never score at that level in their lives. Given your current CAT scores, a 760+ will also be a remarkably challenging goal. Thankfully, NO Schools/Programs require a GMAT score that high. Over the next several months, you might want to set aside a bit of time so that you can better research each of the Programs that you plan to apply to. In that way, you can get a sense of how your OVERALL application/profile would measure up to what each Program (generally) looks for. You might also want to consult with an Admissions Expert at some point. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

Once you're ready to commit more time to your studies, you should post back here and we can discuss your study plans going forward.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich