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stuck in lessons and needs help

by Azizakaria » Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:45 am
Hello, i'm , i'm planning on taking the GMAT & IELTS next Jan. i quite my job to have enough time to study, and i tried the 60 days plan but i couldn't keep up with it, because it asks to solve too many OG question after each lesson, and i'm bad with math so i'm starting from the MGMAT foundation, and it's taking a long time for me to study a lesson and solve for it, and when i get back to that lesson a week after i forgets the strategy i used to solve the problem , and i find myself need to restudy the concept again, although i'm doing my best to focus on the lesson i'm studying. but things just doesn't stuck in my head for a week, i'm afraid that after i finish the whole math and verbal i'll forget what I've learned. because it's too much lessons and questions to master.

Thanks and sorry for the post lenght.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Fri Aug 14, 2015 6:00 am
My advice: once you finish a lesson, try to distill the most important elements of that lesson into a short review sheet. Maybe this review sheet will have some equations. Maybe it will have reminders that you can use certain strategies in certain situations. Either way, it will be a very condensed version of the lesson. Then, make sure to spend 5-10 minutes each night (or every other night) going over that review sheet. By the time you've worked through a full complement of books, you'll have 8-10 of these sheets. Maybe review 3-4 each night. There's a lot of research about how we retain more if we do frequent shorter sessions, so this approach will likely be more effective for you than what you have been doing. Once you feel your foundation is stronger, you'll want to take regular practice exams, as a good deal of preparation for this test is simply learning how to manage your time under pressure/when to guess/etc.
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by [email protected] » Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:04 am
Hi Azizakaria,

Training to face the GMAT is a BIG task, so it's important to find the right study pace so that you properly prepare.

Since you mentioned that you were 'bad with math', you might want to pause your GMAT studies for a little bit so that you can focus on building your 'math skills.'

For free math practice and help, I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. After spending a little time re-building those skills, you can restart your GMAT studies.

Have you taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs yet? If so, then what were your scores (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
What is your goal score?
When are you planning to take the GMAT?

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:14 am
Hi Azizakaria,

There are a lot of great websites out there to learn basic mathematical concepts (like, as Rich suggested, Khan Academy), HOWEVER none of them address GMAT-specific concepts and strategies (data sufficiency strategies for one). Also, users are often exposed to concepts that are not tested on the GMAT, and many resources assume that students have access to calculators and, as a result, don't teach you strategies for when you don't have a calculator (like on the GMAT)

If possible, I suggest sticking with resources that are specifically geared towards the GMAT.

Our free video course starts with the most basic concepts and works up to 800-level concepts. I'm sure there are other courses that do the same.
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by Jim@StratusPrep » Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:39 am
Just know that this is going to take some time. I frequently see people race through the work just to say they have 'done it'. I would recommend working through material and mastering a concept before moving forward to the next lesson. If you keep piling on more information, it will be easy to forget things.
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by Azizakaria » Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:57 am
Thanks for your advice.

I'm Using MGMAT material, also PrepGmat videos. i study each lesson and practice after it from OG, i took a full length CAT mu score was 250 :( and i'm aiming for 700, i know it's a lot of ambition, but i work hard and have a lot of time to study as i said i quite my job and my test with be in the first of January, my problems is that i'm just can't find the best plan study for me, and i forget the questions strategies.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:49 am
One other thought: as you're doing your foundation-building, it's not a bad idea to occasionally post here to discuss how you're thinking about questions you get stuck on. If we can see how you're approaching various questions, we can better help you tweak your study plan. If, for example, the issue on a given question is that your algebra skills need work, that would lead to a very different recommendation than if you're getting stuck because you've misunderstood the underlying logic of the problem, or have failed to consider number properties, etc.
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by Azizakaria » Fri Aug 14, 2015 10:37 am
DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:One other thought: as you're doing your foundation-building, it's not a bad idea to occasionally post here to discuss how you're thinking about questions you get stuck on. If we can see how you're approaching various questions, we can better help you tweak your study plan. If, for example, the issue on a given question is that your algebra skills need work, that would lead to a very different recommendation than if you're getting stuck because you've misunderstood the underlying logic of the problem, or have failed to consider number properties, etc.
from my study so far i can say that i get stuck with the OG questions logic, it's not about the foundation lesson because i understand them, it's the question logic, in school i used to study a rule and answer it's questions which is testing this rule, but as you know GMAT doesn't test math itself, so i got stuck, when i see the questions answers i find it so easy, but it would never cross my mind, so i think i can say that i get stuck sometimes because i don't understand the underlying logic of the problem and fail to consider number properties..

Thanks you all are so helpful and i do really appreciate your help.
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by Bara » Fri Aug 14, 2015 12:34 pm
These are all awesome suggestions. I love that I'm among the top people in the GMAT world in supporting students!

I think what's clear is there are few things you're needing to pull together - - acquiring confidence in math, retention and recall and feeling more confident, and gaining speed. As such the following are a few more contributions which will make your study easier.

1. You can improve your retention and recall. One way to improve it is to identify and learn in the best way for your learning style type. Do you know if you're visual, oral, reading/writing, kinesthetic or a combo?

2. Figure out the BEST time of day for you to study the more difficult material. You'll not only want to study at that time, but book the test at that time. Work with your strengths!

3. Hypnosis has been shown to help with retention and recall as well as memory enhancement, concentration and the general stress and pressure of being a student, again. We have a many mindset exercises that use hypnosis and other techniques to help you improve in this arena. You can check out one that helps with staying the course and becoming better primed to study here: https://testprepny.com/timeline-for-ulti ... -on-tests/

Keep us posted on how it's going!
Last edited by Bara on Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by Azizakaria » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:42 pm
Bara wrote:These are all awesome suggestions. I love that I'm among the top people in the GMAT world in supporting students!

I think what's clear is there are few things you're needing to pull together - - acquiring confidence in math, retention and recall and feeling more confident, and gaining speed. As such the following are a few more contributions which will make your study easier.

1. You can improve your retention and recall. One way to improve it is to identify and learn in the best way for your learning style type. Do you know if you're visual, oral, reading/writing, kinesthetic or a combo?

2. Figure out the BEST time of day for you to study the more difficult material. You'll not only want to study at that time, but book the test at that time. Work with your strengths!

3. Hypnosis has been shown to help with retention and recall as well as memory enhancement, concentration and the general stress and pressure of being a student, again. We have a many mindset exercises that use hypnosis and other techniques to help you improve in this arena. You can check out one that helps with staying the course and becoming better primed to study here: https://tinyurl.com/ultimatemindset.

Keep us posted on how it's going!
Thanks for your advice, & sorry but this link https://tinyurl.com/ultimatemindset isn't working.
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by Bara » Fri Aug 14, 2015 1:49 pm
Well that's no fun!

Try this:

https://testprepny.com/timeline-for-ulti ... -on-tests/
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by Azizakaria » Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:41 pm
Bara wrote:Well that's no fun!

Try this:

https://testprepny.com/timeline-for-ulti ... -on-tests/
😀that's working fine thanks.
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by MartyMurray » Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:02 pm
From what you have said, it sounds as if maybe you are being a bit too rule driven.

As you have basically realized, the GMAT is not a math test, or an English test, for that matter. It is a reasoning game built using building blocks that are math and language based.

So, among others, a key goal for you is to get better at figuring out those things that "would never cross" your mind. That skill is what really drives getting answers to GMAT questions.

In sentence correction, for instance, I have seen people who know all kinds of rules barely get 50 percent of the questions right, while some people who know fewer rules may get almost all of them right, because the latter people are just reasoning their ways to the right answers.

One way to get better at seeing those things that "would never cross" your mind is to post questions and read explanations on this forum. Often you will get responses that include multiple different ways to handle a question. Seeing the different ways people handle problems can get you thinking too.

Meanwhile, consider how you have felt when starting a new job or activity, and maybe everyone around you seems confident of how to handle that job or activity while you feel clueless. What happens after a few months? You too gain skills and experience and become facile in handling that job or activity.

So one thing you can do is to just keep learning and keep playing this GMAT stuff like a game and realize that the more you play the game the better you will get at it.

With that in mind, I see that Veritas is offering seven practice tests for $20. I am guessing you already have access to six MGMAT tests given that you are using their books. Maybe you should buy the seven Veritas tests too and be ready to play the GMAT game over and over.
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by Rich@EconomistGMAT » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:27 am
Hi Azizakaria,

I'd also suggest that you go through your practice exam again and make a log of the question types you answered incorrectly most frequently. You'll also be able to see any timing issues you might have had that kept you from finishing sections at times. While it sounds like you'll need to dive into some fundamentals before teaching yourself GMAT-specific strategies, you'll learn quite a bit by revisiting your practice CAT and keeping a regular error log to track your progress.

Best,
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by Bara » Wed Aug 26, 2015 12:02 pm
In addition to the steps Rich mentioned, I recommend you investigate, and be curious about any emerging patterns in HOW you answer incorrectly. When we identify these patterns, we're more likely to effectively enlist predictable strategies to answer questions correctly, even as these changes feel counter to our habitual way of responding.
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