Hi all,
So with 6 days left til D-Day (I write the GMAT on Sept 22), I'm just looking for some last-min tips/advice. I've scoured the forums on final-week prep tips... but this is generally what I plan on doing:
(Brief History: started studying in March, so it's been about 6 months of continuous study now. I've exhausted all the MGMAT books, the entire set of Veritas books, about 15 hours with a private tutor, and most of the OG as well as a few other third-party sources.
Mock #1 - 3 months ago: GMATPrep, 540 (39Q, 26V).
Mock #2 - 1 month ago: MGMAT #1, 700 (44Q, 40V)).
----
Wed (today) - took a mock, GMATPrep, only the AWA and quant section (I was an idiot and decided to go swimming right before I took my mock... thinking it'd wake me up - unfortunately, it did just the opposite, as I was too tired to even bother with the verbal section). - Scored 47Q... ran out of time at the end so guessed on the last few Q's... I attribute it to fatigue.
Personally, I don't really see too much need to do another mock before my actual GMAT. If anything it might mess with my head, so close to the exam date. I think I've got a good grasp/handle on quant... my hit rates have been pretty solid (about 80-90% accuracy on the OG and Veritas problems), and I time all of my problem sets, making sure I generally keep within the 2 min/question rate. This is my thinking anyway. I'm also hitting about 80-85% of my SC and CR too.
So Thurs - Fri - Sat: try to just work through a bunch of problems from each area, making sure to hit each of DS-PS-SC-RC-CR each day. Maybe do the 10-10-10-10-10 set-split that many people seem to endorse here on the forums. And I'll try to go through more 700+ level questions... I've got the 198 700+ GMATPrep question set to work on, as well as the 1000 Q series sets too.
Sunday - rest day, going to an MBA fair
Mon - possibly a final mock CAT... unlikely... but will probably just go over final notes one last time.
Tues - rest day.
Wed - exam day.
Any thoughts/additional tips? At this point, (in hindsight) I definitely feel that I've overprepared and spent way too much time studying for this thing. I should've cut my studying off a month ago, because lately Ive been feeling as though I'm forgetting things that I would've known several weeks ago, and having to constantly review it again.
The biggest thing for me, I think, will be mental stamina on test-day. Getting a good night's sleep, making sure the mind is clear, getting myself amped, etc. will have a big part. Whenever I write mocks, I feel so restless and just don't have the adrenaline... which slows me down. Sometimes I even stare at the screen for a good 30 seconds with a blank look on my face (haha). I normally do well under pressure, so hoping that exam-day will prove to give me that extra boost to kick my mental stamina and adrenaline into overdrive.
So with 6 days left til D-Day (I write the GMAT on Sept 22), I'm just looking for some last-min tips/advice. I've scoured the forums on final-week prep tips... but this is generally what I plan on doing:
(Brief History: started studying in March, so it's been about 6 months of continuous study now. I've exhausted all the MGMAT books, the entire set of Veritas books, about 15 hours with a private tutor, and most of the OG as well as a few other third-party sources.
Mock #1 - 3 months ago: GMATPrep, 540 (39Q, 26V).
Mock #2 - 1 month ago: MGMAT #1, 700 (44Q, 40V)).
----
Wed (today) - took a mock, GMATPrep, only the AWA and quant section (I was an idiot and decided to go swimming right before I took my mock... thinking it'd wake me up - unfortunately, it did just the opposite, as I was too tired to even bother with the verbal section). - Scored 47Q... ran out of time at the end so guessed on the last few Q's... I attribute it to fatigue.
Personally, I don't really see too much need to do another mock before my actual GMAT. If anything it might mess with my head, so close to the exam date. I think I've got a good grasp/handle on quant... my hit rates have been pretty solid (about 80-90% accuracy on the OG and Veritas problems), and I time all of my problem sets, making sure I generally keep within the 2 min/question rate. This is my thinking anyway. I'm also hitting about 80-85% of my SC and CR too.
So Thurs - Fri - Sat: try to just work through a bunch of problems from each area, making sure to hit each of DS-PS-SC-RC-CR each day. Maybe do the 10-10-10-10-10 set-split that many people seem to endorse here on the forums. And I'll try to go through more 700+ level questions... I've got the 198 700+ GMATPrep question set to work on, as well as the 1000 Q series sets too.
Sunday - rest day, going to an MBA fair
Mon - possibly a final mock CAT... unlikely... but will probably just go over final notes one last time.
Tues - rest day.
Wed - exam day.
Any thoughts/additional tips? At this point, (in hindsight) I definitely feel that I've overprepared and spent way too much time studying for this thing. I should've cut my studying off a month ago, because lately Ive been feeling as though I'm forgetting things that I would've known several weeks ago, and having to constantly review it again.
The biggest thing for me, I think, will be mental stamina on test-day. Getting a good night's sleep, making sure the mind is clear, getting myself amped, etc. will have a big part. Whenever I write mocks, I feel so restless and just don't have the adrenaline... which slows me down. Sometimes I even stare at the screen for a good 30 seconds with a blank look on my face (haha). I normally do well under pressure, so hoping that exam-day will prove to give me that extra boost to kick my mental stamina and adrenaline into overdrive.
