Things to do in the exam week

Question

Bunuel chetansharma GMATinsight IanStewart ScottTargetTestPrep VeritasKarishma AndrewN BrentGMATPrepNow EMPOWERgmatRichC

Dear experts,

I have my exam on 13th December that is 3 days from today (9th)

I just need some advice.

Should I keep practicing questions till the last day or keep revising the concepts or both (on a lighter scale) or do something else?

Just a little bit about the conditions. I have nothing else to do. I can study or revise as long as I want. I do have some weak areas especially in Verbal and my verbal is in the V30 to V40 range.
Secondly I have dedicated a good amount of quality time to the concepts so now when I revise them I feel bored. On the other hand when I solve question I feel good. Because I can see the result of my application.

I know nothing will change drastically in 3 to 4 days but utilising them in the best way can certainly do some good.

Thank you

Posted from my mobile device

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Nups1324, I suggest you to no do anything different in the last week. Just stick to the basics. As you said you are struggling a bit with verbal, focus more on practicing verbal questions. By practicing, I mean: Take timed quizzes (For example, the quiz can consist of 5 SC questions, 5 CR questions and 2 RC passages with a time limit of 36 minutes) Once you are done with the quiz, analyze the solution of each question Identify if there are any gaps between your method and the right method and try to narrow them down Having said that, make sure you do not neglect quant. Allocate an hour for quant quiz daily. And an ideal thing would be to stop your prep on 11th of December. Just relax on 12th. Do not stress much. All the best

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Nups1324 . I second the advice of  GMATWhizTeam  above. Keep practice small, just enough to ensure that you are keeping your skills sharp and warding off anxiety. Do NOT place too much emphasis on Hard questions, assuming that your performance on Easy and Medium questions will just fall into place. That is probably the biggest mistake I see students make in the closing stages of their preparation. They get bent out of shape because their accuracy on Hard questions is not at, say, 75 percent, but neglecting Easy and Medium questions can prove costly—if your performance on these questions is not in good shape, you will not see so many of those Hard questions, and your score will suffer.

Beyond focusing on the answers to any questions you miss in practice, focus on what makes the incorrect answers wrong, particularly in Verbal. When you understand the common traps that GMAC™ likes to toss in, you can better navigate around them. Still, remember not to change anything radically in these next three days. Review is more important than pushing through more and more questions.

Finally, on the day before the exam, relax as much as you can and do things to take your mind off of what will happen. Focus less on outcomes to free up space to think clearly about the questions on the screen.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew

Nups1324 · Answer

Hi GMATWhizTeam

What a coincidence. I'm done with my practice for the day and I realised that I unknowingly did exactly what you suggested: 5 SC 5 CR 10 RC Qs, Haha. I will keep your suggestion in mind.

Thank you so much.

Nups1324 · Answer

Hi AndrewN Duly noted sire. I'll keep this in mind. I hope I'll be able to remember and apply things learned through your explanations. Thank you so much

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Nups123,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Regarding your plan, since your GMAT is just a few days away, do some light studying, such as doing focused practice and reviewing flash cards/notes from past topics to ensure that knowledge has not slipped through the cracks.

Every bone in your body is going to tell you to “study study study,” but trust me, cramming or over-studying will hurt more than it will help. Try to keep busy with activities other than GMAT prep, so you don’t spend the days leading up to your exam worrying about how things will go. If you take this time to do fun, relaxing things, come test day, you can walk into your GMAT with a fresh head and kick the pants off the test.

You also may find it helpful to read this article that provides some advice on  how to treat the final week leading up to your exam as well as some test day tips .

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Haha!! Good to know that you are on the right path. Keep up the good work. Keep me posted once you are done with the test. Would love to know your experience. All the best

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Nups1324,
 
In these last few days, you should limit your studies to general practice and light review (NO CATs and NO 'cramming') - you would be better served by getting some extra rest so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work.

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

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