I have a month before test and I am still not satisfied with my score, kind of low, still. Any suggestion of what should I do?
Here is my daily routine:
- Work full time form 7:30-4:30
- Study at lunch time (1 hr)
- Study after work form 5-8 (M-Th)
- Study on week-ends (Sat and Sunday about 6 hours in total)
Book reviewed:
- OG (yellow book) and OG both verbal (purple) and math (green). Took 1 practice test, still 1 left
- Kaplan the whole book including the review section with CD, took 1 practice test, still 2 remaining
- Princeton Review the whole book
- Manhattan Sentence Correction the whole book, did not do any test yet
So, at this point what should I do, more practice test? More review questions? Other books? Should I increase the number of hours of study?
Any advice is welcome. Thanks!
5-Day Free Trial
5-day free, full-access trial TTP
Available with Beat the GMAT members only code
MORE DETAILS
One month left (Test Feb 10th). Advice please.
This topic has expert replies
-
isisalaska
- Community Manager
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:24 pm
- Location: St. Louis
- Thanked: 7 times
- Followed by:3 members
-
isisalaska
- Community Manager
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:24 pm
- Location: St. Louis
- Thanked: 7 times
- Followed by:3 members
last time (2 days ago) 500, not good...I need 600 
Isis Alaska
-
maxim730
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:26 am
- Followed by:3 members
I am taking the exam on Feb. 10th also.
My Review Strategy:
- Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT (almost done, on the Essay part)
- Take all 4 exams in PR book for Math and Verbal each (Math done)
- Review supplementary notes, printouts, GMAT Flashcard (found these visiting the forum)
- Finally, do OG11 problems
Schedule:
Work 9-6
Study from 7-9,10
Repeat TIll feb. 10
My Review Strategy:
- Princeton Review Cracking the GMAT (almost done, on the Essay part)
- Take all 4 exams in PR book for Math and Verbal each (Math done)
- Review supplementary notes, printouts, GMAT Flashcard (found these visiting the forum)
- Finally, do OG11 problems
Schedule:
Work 9-6
Study from 7-9,10
Repeat TIll feb. 10
GMAT/MBA Expert
-
Stacey Koprince
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2228
- Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:28 pm
- Location: Montreal, Canada
- Thanked: 639 times
- Followed by:694 members
- GMAT Score:780
Hi, Isis
First, you need to get a handle on your individual strengths and weaknesses so you know how to spend your study time. Second, you need to incorporate analysis into your study, not just reading and doing problems.
If your last test score was a 500, then it is likely there are still content areas (math concepts / formulas and grammar rules) that you sitll need to review. As you learn the fundamentals for the different content areas, you then need to practice GMAT questions that cover each area. So, for example, first you might study triangles and learn everything you need to know about triangles. Then, you do some geometry questions (both DS and PS) that specifically relate to triangles. (Ideally, take these from OG - even if you've done them already, you still have a lot you can learn from them.)
After you do a problem, go back and analyze. Did I do it correctly? If so, how long did it take me? Is that acceptable? Is there a more efficient way to do it? How might I have gotten tricked or pulled away from the right answer? What are the most common mistakes people would be likely to make on this problem? How do I avoid making those mistakes in future? (Even though you didn't make them this time, you might just have gotten lucky - you should be as conscious of the mistakes you don't make as you are of the right steps to take.)
If I got it wrong, why did I get it wrong? How do I do it correctly? (Note that those last two questions are different questions.) How will I remember how to do it correctly?
Regardless of whether I got it right or wrong, what is it about this problem that tells me what concept it is testing? How will I recognize a similar problem in the future (that is, a problem that is testing the same concept, even though it is a different problem)? What will I do the next time I see a problem of this type?
You can spend 10 minutes examining one problem if you ask yourself all of these questions. When you get good at this analysis, you will probably only spend 2-4 minutes analyzing each question.
First, you need to get a handle on your individual strengths and weaknesses so you know how to spend your study time. Second, you need to incorporate analysis into your study, not just reading and doing problems.
If your last test score was a 500, then it is likely there are still content areas (math concepts / formulas and grammar rules) that you sitll need to review. As you learn the fundamentals for the different content areas, you then need to practice GMAT questions that cover each area. So, for example, first you might study triangles and learn everything you need to know about triangles. Then, you do some geometry questions (both DS and PS) that specifically relate to triangles. (Ideally, take these from OG - even if you've done them already, you still have a lot you can learn from them.)
After you do a problem, go back and analyze. Did I do it correctly? If so, how long did it take me? Is that acceptable? Is there a more efficient way to do it? How might I have gotten tricked or pulled away from the right answer? What are the most common mistakes people would be likely to make on this problem? How do I avoid making those mistakes in future? (Even though you didn't make them this time, you might just have gotten lucky - you should be as conscious of the mistakes you don't make as you are of the right steps to take.)
If I got it wrong, why did I get it wrong? How do I do it correctly? (Note that those last two questions are different questions.) How will I remember how to do it correctly?
Regardless of whether I got it right or wrong, what is it about this problem that tells me what concept it is testing? How will I recognize a similar problem in the future (that is, a problem that is testing the same concept, even though it is a different problem)? What will I do the next time I see a problem of this type?
You can spend 10 minutes examining one problem if you ask yourself all of these questions. When you get good at this analysis, you will probably only spend 2-4 minutes analyzing each question.
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!
Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT
Contributor to Beat The GMAT!
Learn more about me
Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT
Contributor to Beat The GMAT!
Learn more about me
