Test on July 19th-Need help and advice

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Test on July 19th-Need help and advice

by IknowIcan » Mon May 28, 2012 11:18 am
Hi all,

This is a great forum. I have been silently following all you guys and couldn't be thankful enough. I have been studying for GMAT for the past 3+ months and was booked for June 2. I took the GMATPrep tests and was scoring around 630 range while missing(not attempting like the last 10-15_ a ton of questions(I am hoping for a 700+). I also took a Knewton test, scored V42 and Q 36 while only attempting 23 questions on the Quant section. Overall, my problem is not the material, its the timing. I sat down and did all the questions I got wrong or had to skip due to lack of time, and was able to do them correctly within 2-3 minutes. I don't know if this happens to other people but I seem to be freaking out during a timed practice test and get stuck on a question or two and lose all my time. In the verbal section, I am consistently getting V36-42 and this includes missing a few question (not attempting at all) due to lack of time. I know the GMATPrep penalizes for missing a question more than getting it wrong. I feel some of my weak areas are Primes/divisibility/remainders/Averages/Standard Deviation/Inequalities and Absolute values. I feel I am good at word problems and other question types in general.

I am booked for July 19th and would really appreciate if the BTG community can help this poor soul with their expert advice on how to practice speeding up my thinking process and brush on the concepts I am missing. I have the Manhattan GMAT books and access to Princeton as well. Also, should I take the MGMAT tests now or should I wait till I get better at the above concepts?

Also, what is the best way to practice questions on this forum?

Any brief strategy would be super helpful!

Thanks in advance!
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

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by pavand » Wed May 30, 2012 3:31 am
Hi there

First of all, build your aggression and confidence. That will help kill your anxiety and in turn enable you to prepare well and perform well.

I'd recommend that you make short notes (from your Manhattan GMAT books or any other) in a notebook or on the computer for the weak areas you have mentioned. You have to review these notes once a day. Spend may be about an hour. Nothing more.

As you write that you have to improve your timing as well, start taking the practice tests. This is important because it only matters how well you answer 37 questions fired at you in quick succession. It does not matter if you can answer them at leisure. Quickly relate the concepts you have noted to the questions you see. This will start building your confidence. Always remember that you should quickly 'exit' a problem and never 'dwell'. With more cycles of the steps in this paragraph, you will improve on speed and accuracy. Do not focus on getting 37/37 questions right. Learn to give up 1 or 2 questions and maintain your pace.

Another notable gap in your preparation is that, it does not matter if you can get a question right in 2-3 minutes, then relax for 5 minutes and then get another right in 2-3 minutes. You got to demolish the question one after the other. If it feels overwhelming, you can close your eyes for a second to refresh yourself after answering every question.

All the best
Pavan
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