Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,
I keep an
error log and visit it often, so I've been able to remedy a lot of approaches but I will try to take careful note of areas where I'm still not being efficient. Maybe taking a course will help me stay on track with applying efficient tactics and breaking free of the old ones. In some instances, I feel myself reverting to traditional methods because I don't trust that I'm applying the tactical approach correctly. Maybe it also comes down to getting more practice. On this last test, I did notice myself getting hung up on questions that I didn't know. I should've guessed and moved on. I also noticed that it sometimes took long for the efficient approach to come to me and I'd freeze. I do think I need more practice applying the techniques. I hope I'm not getting stuck at a particular score!
Sorry, the 30 hours every week definitely includes breaks. I was adding up chunks I've allotted on my calendar. If I consider purely studying, I'd say a total of 20-23 hours.
Thanks so much for the link; I'll definitely reach out to the experts and ask questions about my overall profile.
1) In your original post, it was not clear that you had taken more than 1 CAT/mock. On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
I've taken six CATs prior to this one. In total:
a) August 2020 -
Kaplan Diagnostic CAT: 580 (unfortunately, don't remember the scaled scores for each section)
b) Oct 2020 -
Kaplan Test 1: 650 (40Q,39V,IR3)
c) Nov 6, 2020 -
Kaplan Test 2: 680 (44Q, 39V,IR5)
d) Nov 30, 2020 -
MGMAT CAT1: 630 (44Q,32V,IR4.5)
e) Dec 13, 2020 -
MGMAT CAT2: 620 (39Q,36V,IR7.3)
f) Jan 10, 2020 -
MGMAT CAT3: 600 (36Q,35V,IR7.3) - this one was taken under less than ideal circumstances
g) GMAC Practice Test 1: 670 (44Q,38V,IR4)
I definitely found the
MGMAT exams tougher but I also was only able to take them really late at night after work. I'm planning to take practice tests from now up until the week before the exam to build up stamina. I'll probably take the next official GMAC free mock on Feb 6 (two weeks before the real thing).
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
I can continue to study the same number of hours each week going forward (20-23). I can probably allot more time but as you said, I don't want to burn out right before the exam. I'm really committed to changing my tactics and doing well on this test, so I recognize I'll probably have to take the exam more than once to score my overall goal of 720. I know it may not be realistic to aim for a 720 by Feb 20, so I'm aiming to get as close to a 700 as possible and to continue improving my Quant skills.
To be honest, I don't think I studied efficiently at all after I finished my
Kaplan course in November. I wish I had signed up for another course like
Empower or
TTP earlier on to keep drilling in the skills I had been building. I think it was the wrong move trying to solely self-study using the Manhattan Guides. But alas, here we are! Just trying to figure out how to make the best use of the next month and if I'd benefit from enrolling in a course now or just doing
OG question sets/using the GMAT Club Forum for the answer explanations.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!