Need a little strategy help...

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Need a little strategy help...

by Tenore » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:40 pm
So I’ve studied pretty hard for about a month and I got a 710 on the GMATprep software, which is a score I am very pleased with. My actual test is now less than a month away, and I want to polish up a few things. I’m hoping to get a little information to help me.

1) I did the first GMATprep test and I want to save the second one for the end of the month so I can get a good evaluation of my progress. Still, I feel I need to do a lot of CAT’s between now and then (at least 4 or 5). Which software is the best for 700 level test takers?

2) Over 75% of my verbal mistakes were sentence correction. What are good resources for learning the 600+ level questions (I’m OK at the 500 level)? Am I right in thinking that I am ramping up the difficulty in SC because I am doing well in the other two parts, or does the CAT recognize that I stink at SC and give me easier questions?

3) Over 60% of my quant mistakes were in DS. What’s a good approach to learning the high level DS questions?

4) Will the terrible anxiety and lack of focus go away if I do a dozen CATs? By the end of the verbal the letters start to dance on the screen. I think I lost 7 or 8 minutes re-reading and refocusing myself.
Any tips to reducing ‘CAT stress.’ It feels like mental torture to be rewarded by progressively harder questions as time dwindles away!

Thanks for any input… I’m just shooting for over 700, and with a month to prepare I want to strengthen my weakest points and get really comfortable with the timed CAT format.

- Chris
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

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by bates88 » Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:33 pm
If you got a 710 on a GMATPrep test, you are needlessly stressing yourself out. Work on your weaknesses, but you're already at a score that most people would kill for, so gently remind yourself of that if you start to stress.

You most definitely don't need to take a dozen CATs. Not necessary and you'll burn yourself out. Take a break from timed tests and work on those weaknesses using the Official Guide. I would also recommend Grammar Smart for SC help...the better your grasp of grammar, the better you'll do in SC. Can't help you much on DS, as that's my biggest weakness as well!

Other good tests to take are the PR CATs. They're adaptive like the real thing, and the answer explanations will help you figure out where you're going wrong on SC and DS.