Beat The GMAT

piyushdabomb · Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:21 am

Hi,

My exam is on December 12 and I just started studying a few days ago. I have just about 9 weeks to prepare. A few questions:

1. I'm focused on the verbal section because it's my weaker link. I started working on the SC section. Should I study the SC section, the RC section, and then the CR section, followed by the Quant section or should switch between the Verbal section topics and the Quant section topics to keep me 'balanced'? So for example, should I study the SC section for 2 weeks and then move to a math section for a couple days and then back to the next verbal section?

2. Knowing that I have 9 weeks to prepare, how often should I take an exam? I'm worried about taking exams because I just started studying the SC section of the exam and 'feel' like my other sections are going to result in cumulatively terrible score!!

Thoughts?

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DanaJ · Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:50 am

1. There's no clear cut way of answering this. It really depends on what type of a learner you are. I used this post to devise my strategy and as you can see the test taker suggests working on one section at a time without mixing it up. Note that the only practice I had for quant was answering questions on this forum, usually 5-10 a day. This is because I started off with a 50 in quant on my very first CAT (I'm pretty strong in quant).
However, if you get bored easily, you could try to go for one or two sections. The best idea is to figure out a plan for yourself quickly: whatever you choose, stick to it! Consistency is essential when prepping for a test.

2. CATs are there for:
- stamina
- knowing where you stand
- timing
CATs are not for practice, or at least not mainly for practice. You improve by diligently studying one section or the other, not by taking CATs. My advice to you is to avoid taking more than one CAT per week - I've noticed some people around here usually study the whole week and reserve Sundays for a CAT. You could try that, or go for one every two weeks. Just remember to keep a GMATprep CAT for your last few days so as to have an accurate predictor of your score. I scored 760 on my last - pretty close to my official 770.

Good luck!

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piyushdabomb · Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:43 pm

Thanks Dana!

I looked at the strategy guide and I've decided to do the following:

1. Work on SC
2. Move to math (arithmetic)
3. Work on RC
4. Move to math (data suff)
5. Move to CR

I believe this will atleast give me a 'balanced' version of how I prepare, rather than studying all of verbal and then studying all of the math.

How much time should I typically spend on a SC question? I'm spending 2 minutes per question and getting a success rate of 80%.

What I'm having trouble though is with the overwhelming amount of information on SC. I'm trying to spend a chapter a day and trying to finish all the questions in the OG and the Verbal book. This is taking me around 5-6 hours per day. I work from 8-7, I run from 7-9 and by the time I end my 'preparation' I'm tired at 3:00am. Is this a normal routine for others? Are people dedicately reading every note in the SC book? Am I just a slow person?

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DanaJ · Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:35 am

Well, you are supposed to take your time with SC - that's a fact. I'm not really sure what you mean by slow, it's a subjective measure. After all, keep in mind that the pace that's right for you depends on what your personal style is.

You should be spending about 1 min 15 s on SC questions. This is lower than the 1 min 45 s average for verbal questions, because you're supposed to go faster for SC so you have extra time for RC (mainly) and maybe CR. Fact is, if you've only just begun with SC, 2 min is OK - your timing will improve as you study and organically know the rules.

All the best!

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