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Time Off suggestions

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by fltingley » Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:39 am
Well, I finally registered for the GMAT for Sunday, Nov. 11 [cue nervousness], and was planning on taking off work the Friday before the test to get a good last-second concept review.

Keeping in mind that I will use the entire weekend prior to the test to study, as well as every weeknight the subsequent week, is taking just the Friday off before the test enough time to properly prepare? I will still have Saturday to review, but I know the day before the test there's not a whole lot you can do and everything I hear urges me to take it easy that day.

Keep in mind I work a pretty high stress job that goes about 10-12 hours a day. However, I do plan on squeezing in some studying during work time. Shhhh.... :wink: I have put in about 100 hours of studying thus far, so I am at the "refining and reviewing" stage, not the learning stage.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
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Re: Time Off suggestions

by beatthegmat » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:32 pm
fltingley wrote:Well, I finally registered for the GMAT for Sunday, Nov. 11 [cue nervousness], and was planning on taking off work the Friday before the test to get a good last-second concept review.

Keeping in mind that I will use the entire weekend prior to the test to study, as well as every weeknight the subsequent week, is taking just the Friday off before the test enough time to properly prepare? I will still have Saturday to review, but I know the day before the test there's not a whole lot you can do and everything I hear urges me to take it easy that day.

Keep in mind I work a pretty high stress job that goes about 10-12 hours a day. However, I do plan on squeezing in some studying during work time. Shhhh.... :wink: I have put in about 100 hours of studying thus far, so I am at the "refining and reviewing" stage, not the learning stage.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
I actually think that you shouldn't do any prep in the day or two prior to your GMAT. It's not likely that you will be able to learn anything new in such short amount of time, and by then you are probably well grounded from your weeks/months worth of studies.

My recommended approach is quite different: DO NOTHING! Just take the time to relax, catch a movie, eat well, and sleep a lot. The best thing you can do to prep your mind for the test in those last few days is to arrive to your GMAT rested.

Best of luck! Please let us know how your test goes.
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by fltingley » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:23 am
Good (and nerve wracking) advice. I'll continue to scour these boards and report on how I do and my reflection on studying.

4 1/2 weeks to go!
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by Stacey Koprince » Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:20 pm
Yep - only very high-level review in the day or two before - reminding yourself what your pacing strategies are, that sort of thing. Don't do a ton of problems or take a practice test - would you run a practice marathon the day before the real thing?
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by beatthegmat » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:21 pm
Stacey Koprince wrote:would you run a practice marathon the day before the real thing?
:)
Awesome analogy.
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by aim-wsc » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:08 pm
beatthegmat wrote:
Stacey Koprince wrote:would you run a practice marathon the day before the real thing?
:)
Awesome analogy.
Indeed!

There's some reason why I selected this avatar ;)
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