mamagee wrote:Hello,
A little about my background. Am NigeriaN Female, i work in one of the fastest growing commercial banks in my country, a relationship Manager, 5 years banking experience as at date, i graduated from the university in 2002 with a degree in Finance and my GPA is 2.8 of 5. I started writing the GMAT january 2010 and wrote the last one in November 2010, i scored 240, 350 and 340. am about to take 3 weeks unpaid leave off work to study and write the test in 3 weeks. i have a private tutor, the manhattan strategy series and the OG. i think i can DO THis BUT I NEED TO have a strategy that will work. please Advice.

thank you.

My honest advice is that 3 weeks is not enough time to improve from a 350 to a reasonable score (550+). I don't know what your goals are but I would advise a different approach. Instead of taking 3 weeks off of work and cramming in as much studying as possible, schedule your test for later this fall, November or December, and create a study plan with about 10 hours of studying per week, every week until then. This will give you enough time to learn the necessary material, practice the strategies, and eventually improve your performance.

If this were a memorization test of certain facts, then you could just take 3 weeks off from work and memorize them. But it's not. The GMAT tests content but it also tests your skills and habits in regard to critical thinking, logical reasoning, and problem solving. These skills cannot be improved overnight, and intense studying sessions won't help either; you need time to change your habits, your thinking, your approach.

Instead of thinking of this like a test on memorizable material, pretend it's a musical instrument. If I told you, "I've never played the violin before, I have to play with a major symphony orchestra in 3 weeks, how should I practice for 3 weeks to be ready?" You would say that it doesn't matter; I need a span of time to regularly practice, not a brief window in which to cram. Skills, like sports, music, and the GMAT, take more than just a few weeks of intense study, they take enough time for you to change your habits and instincts.

I hope this advice helps. Please come to these forums for any help you need along your journey. Best of luck to you!

Edit.