GMAT Strategy

uptowngirl92 wrote:Did an important assessment today...
Now that's both good news and bad news..please people send in your suggestions as to what should be my next step.

Great babo, Go ahead we all r with u...u can do it(or so confused mgmat sc guide to blame)

~~Trying to understand~~
Is it just me?Are'nt people supposed to be all charged up a couple of days before the exam??Then why do I feel like not touching the books..why am I wasting my time (third in a row)when I know that if I waste these last few days everything will go in vain?Is this a burnout?How can it be when I have hardly been studying the last few days?Then I must face the fact that indeed I am de-motivated..Have'nt the amazing people in this forum repetedly told not to take the Test scores to heart?...why oh why..
.............
Sorry for the off-topic guys I just needed to vent out a bit..I'll go listen to a couple of mood-elevating songs..

I was feeling pretty demotivated before the test too, but don't stress: it's all going to be just fine. Don't sweat over your lack of GMAT mood! Besides, you are not supposed to be wasting your energy in the last couple of days - just relax, review and rest!

uptowngirl92 wrote:~~Trying to understand~~
Is it just me?Are'nt people supposed to be all charged up a couple of df mood-elevating songs..

Humm great luck do not loose tempo...9/11 is approaching rather fast....

hey uptowngirl92,

i have been following your posts regularly...and i must say you are doing really great!!

it happens that at times you don't feel like studying at all...and you don't even feel the tension of the exam date approaching...in short you feel nothing...it did happen to me as well...what I did may sound insane but it worked for me and brought me back on track

wake up early...really early and watch the sunrise...if you love photography...take a few beautiful sunrise clicks!! it made me feel calm...
then i visited some of the universities websites where I want to get through...browsing through these websites gave me a kick-start to follow my dreams once again

i hope you could get back on track and do a thorough analysis of what else is needed to push your score even further up...

good luck to you!!

Cheers,
Vivek

Gave my GMATprep 2(retake) 660 V35 Q45
PS 12/20 DS 10/17 SC 7/9 CR 13/19 RC 9/13
Yes people..I am STILL there..there is absolutly no change and it feels like I am stuck in a rut..Really need some advice now as to how to get over this hurdle..

Pt1: My Quant was actually terrible this session.Clearly I have been ignoring it the past few days.

Pt2:The long hours spent on Sc day after day is not helping me RAISE my score but to keep it constant..

Pt3;I would consider postponing my exam,but my deadline is November end(Have a trip in dec so want to get it done before that)So even If i postpone i'll get just 15 days..not sure if it will make a difference.

There are so many of you out there..Did somebody face this..being stuck at the same score no matter what?It seems I am spending my day pulling this heavy cart which just refuses to budge!!Grr..!!

Don't know about you guys,but when I need inspiration..one word..MUSIC!!!!!

Tyrone Wells (Remain)

Take a deep breath
No more time left
This is what I thought I wanted
Why am I afraid?



Are we going down or will we fly?
This could be a shipwreck on the shore
Or we could sail away forevermore
This time it's sink or swim, sink or swim[

Received a PM.

Before I say anything, can you please tell me if the PS 12/20 DS 10/17 SC 7/9 CR 13/19 RC 9/13 are correct/total? I'd like to clarify that before I can provide any feedback, please.

Yes Dana..the scores are correct/total.
SC 13 correct out of 19
CR 7/9
RC 9/13
DS 10/17
PS 12/20

(I had swapped the CR and SC score above..sorry!)

Hey Guys..will write a detailed post later..just wanted to get a quick opinion about something:

I am seeing that my confidence level is very very low when solving questions ESPECIALLY DS because I know I am weak at it..
eg:Started my error log today...Og 11 Ds section..20 questions..I got just 1 wrong whereas while solving I went in my head..this is wrong..this one is too..third one wrong in a row..I have done this one before but sure I am doing it wrong..

Sheesh!Confidence girl confidence!!

Hmm... Tough one! You say you don't have enough time for the SC guide, but unfortunately I can't think of a better book that covers the topic of GMAT-specific grammar (maybe the PowerScore SC Bible?). My advice is to go for the Resources page and check out the links there - Spidey's Notes and the like. I see you've been practicing, but if there's no background to all the practice, then you're going nowhere. You need to have a solid concept basis before anything else!

While it's really good that you've been targeting your weakness, you should not neglect your strengths either. Since your quant level is not top tier (i.e. 49-50-51), as you've said, you should pay due attention to this section as well. Even though you feel that DS is your problem in quant, notice that the hit rates are comparable (60% for PS and 58% for DS), which might be a sign that you should not completely ignore PS either.

Rescheduling your exam is always an option. I personally do not know if you can do that much in 15 days, but I've heard of people actually cramming their whole prep in two weeks, so... I guess it depends on what type of learner you are. But IMHO, your main issue is not studying, but rather attitude/mindset. There's no reason for you to be so negative! I find that the best option for me when taking tests is to be optimistically realistic, if I may say so. Getting in a good vibe will also help you, since it relaxes you and you perform much better.

Good luck!

Yes, indeed, I agree with DanaJ all the way.

Optimistically realistic...realistically optimistic...

Anxiety comes from not knowing how to do things...

But you don't need to know nearly everything in order to get a 700. Confidence comes from knowhow, and you know how to do a lot (based on the fact that you scored 660 recently).

In the final days before the exam, mindset is everything. Need to go in being confident.

How do you become confident? Well, confidence comes from generating good feelings towards the test. Dwell in everything you know, all the concepts, tactics and techniques that you have mastered. Visualize yourself using them on test day. In the last few days, it is a really bad idea trying to do a whole bunch of questions that stump you. I understand the sentiment--you still have stuff to learn...but again, you don't need to know nearly everything to get a solid score.

Your confidence level (and your score) is way better off by looking at question types and concepts you've already mastered and perhaps looking at questions you have not done in a while. But really, you shouldn't be doing a bunch of new and hard questions in the last few days...trust me!

Best of luck!

So have done the disappearing act since the last couple of days..mainly due my nerves..have'nt really studied either..more like WORRYING about studying.. the concentration is so weak that i am unable to stick with a particular thing for more than a couple of mins...and then,since the last couple of days u really cannot do anythng to elevate your position..what's the point of sitting long hrs with books right..whatever had to be done,is done.

its saturday morning 5:30Am..in 48 hrs ill be getting up this time for my real thing.

Hi uptowngirl92,

Make sure you rest and spend some time contemplating all that you have learned. Consolidate some of your learnings but don't go crazy reviewing. Try to visualize yourself applying concepts and strategies you know you are good at. Look at questions and say: "Oh, when I started studying that stumpted me, but I've learned that concept, (or now I know I've mastered that strategy/tactic)."

Also, remember, writing the GMAT is not the end of the world! If you don't quite hit your goal score, what's the worst that can happen? Build up another year of work experience on your resume, and hit your goal score next time? I know that would kind of suck but that is not the same as the end of the world.

It's just one test, and from what I remember reading, I think you've already hit your goal score or have come close to it on a practice test or two.

Don't think it's over just because you haven't scored as high as you wanted to on practice tests. Remember, your attitude now can make a huge (80 points at least) difference. In fact, it can't be over because it has yet to begin! Just relax, you know your stuff enough to get a good score.

Remember not to obsess or worry about how you are doing when you are writing the exam. Many of the questions will be experimental; it's not worth it. The test is adaptive and everyone will find it very difficult. Many posters on here have commented that they thought they were doing terribly but then were surprised by how well they did. This is what happened to me too.

And, in the last few days, the kind of questions you should give the most respect to are the OG and GPrep ones.

uptowngirl92: Go Beat the GMAT!!

Thanks a lot!I so appreciate the motivation!!
Now I know what i'll be reading before I head off from home on the day of the test to keep me going:):)