dear experts

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dear experts

by resilient » Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:22 pm
Is it ok to do the smae questions over again in the OG books? ALso I have noticed that i am slow and will be timing myself from now on. HOwever, I feel as if I am missing one last point because my scores actually went down. I am especially slow on RC. ANy suggestions? FInal question is - I know this a question that is looking for the magic answer but maybe you can help. IS there a breaking point where everything starts making sense. I consider myself asa pretty intelligent persona and quick learner but the gmat has been showing otherwise. I know i will get there but i want to speed things up and devote 6 hours a day until success. need 720 about!
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by beatthegmat » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:45 am
Moving to correct forum area.
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Practicing

by GCHall840 » Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:03 am
Hi Enginpassa1,
If you are practicing problems in the Official Guide, did you make up some sort of plan about what you wanted to study? And, if you are missing things and scoring lower on your practice test or tests, did you go over every question from the one that you took before? How many practice tests have you taken in the last couple of months?

You really need to make sure that you know and understand all of the math concepts that are tested on the GMAT. Take a good look at the GMAT resources on this website where someone posted a list of what is tested on the GMAT. I know that you don't have a detailed list of what subjects are covered in the Official Guide questions because there isn't one for the 11th edition yet. Maybe, I can help you by making up a list for you, but you will have to let me know?

Reading Comprehension is pretty hard for me, too. But, the key to being able to do that kind of thing, you have to look for and find the technique that will work for you. Maybe, you could go to the library to see if they have copies of GMAT test prep books. Or, you can go to the GMAT resources part of this website and look for any posts or blogs written about Reading Comprehension. You have to have your own strategy for that and use it every time you do an RC passage. Focusing is the key with RC the most, too.

Studying, practicing, and "trying to get it" when it comes to the GMAT, can be a very frustrating experience for most people. I think that there are a lot of examples on this forum about some people who have done very well on the GMAT and, there are lots of people who haven't done very well on the test, too. The thing that you have in your favor is that you haven't taken the test yet, you are still studying for it. I think that I have to reaffirm the statement that I made to you before about making a plan about what you are going to study and, that you know why you are going to study it, every day that you study. Then, you need to make sure that you are learning something from everything that you do. That especially means that you need to focus the most on the things that you can't do right, or that you don't how know to something well, or that you missed things on your practice tests.

Let me know if you want me to make you a list of the subjects covered in the Official Guides? I will send you that information on a step by step basis.

You will only feel comfortable with how you are doing with your prep work for the GMAT, if you have been practicing efficiently and effectively. That means that you have to know the math concepts cold. You have to have a set study plan and schedule. You have to do practice problems and questions in a systematic way, paying attention to both your strengths and weaknesses. You need to know how to work under timed conditions. And, most of all, you need to develop a certain sense of confidence in yourself so that you can proceed in this endeavor as the GMAT aspirant that I know that you want to be. That will come to you if you have made a plan, did the things that you said that you were going to do, and that you turned your weaknesses into strengths. Studying for the GMAT is a long drawn out process that does require a lot of focusing and stamina to do well on the prep work that will lead you to the test.

By the way, you are going through the same things that I have before myself. I am not an expert, I am someone who cares and I do like to help other people, too. I would think about working for a score on the GMAT that you think is realistic in terms of what you know and what you don't know. Be as realistic as you can about that for sure. I couldn't develop a target score because I only want the score that will get me into the MBA program that I am aiming for. That is all I am doing is trying my very best to get what I need. I know what score that I have to get. I am looking for nothing more and nothing less than that.

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by beatthegmat » Fri Jul 27, 2007 2:37 pm
It's not about the quantity of study, but rather the quality. 6 hours per day sounds a bit much and you might risk burning out.

Take a GMATPrep test (if you haven't already) and see how you are performing in your current state. If you aren't far off of your target score (within 30-50 points), then I think 6 weeks of prep is sufficient. Best of luck!
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by Stacey Koprince » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:37 pm
Study in blocks of 2 hours. Don't do more than one study session on work days. You can do two on weekends, but separate them by a substantial break (at least a few hours). As Eric said, you will totally burn out if you study too much - and the study won't even be that effective. You don't process the material as well when you're trying to cram so much in all at once.

Greg had some great tips. Also, you should go over problems more than once - most people don't. You shouldn't put a problem aside as completely done until you know it well enough that you feel like you could teach it to someone else. This does not mean that you have it memorized and can tell someone what the right answer is. It means that you can explain to someone why the right answer is right, why the wrong answers are wrong, what the most efficient process is to answer the question, what the traps are (and why they are traps), and how you would recognize a similar question in the future (not the same question, but one testing the same topic or with a similar setup).

Until you can do that with any given question, you haven't finished studying that question. Most people just rush through as many questions as they can when they could do 1/5 of the questions and learn more if they just took their time and studied the right way.
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Very good advice, Stacey

by GCHall840 » Sat Jul 28, 2007 6:51 pm
I have been going over the questions in the Official Guide that I marked for "review." Those questions were the ones that I didn't really understand the concept behind them. I am glad that I am going back through those questions because the second time around, has made me understand things a lot better than when I first tried to solve them. I have been making flashcards for some of the things that I want to remember. But, I am only memorizing certain things that I thought would be appropriate for future reference.

I also think that the amount of time spent on prep work for the test should be no more than ninety minutes at a time with a little over four hours maximum total on the days when I am not working. I have been trying to remain consistent when it comes to study times for my prep work. I am on a limited schedule at work right now, so I can spread things out more. On the days when I work, I can only handle two hours at the most. On my time off, four hours is maximum for me. I just get too tired if I spend hour after hour on my studies. I also had to make sure that I took one full day off a week, too. For awhile there, I was studying every single day. That just didn't work for me, so I put that one day in there just so I could go off with my lady and do something fun.

Greg