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wondering_too
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 12:54 pm
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Hello All,
I have a common situation for non-native speakers.
My first GMATPrep Test has shown 710 (Q51 and V34), which could be a good luck.
My goal is 720-750 in 6 weeks, I was familliar with the test before (2-3 years ago), and even practiced several months, but never took the test, so I don't expect that the result will simply rise due to familiarity.
So, what I have now:
1) AWA - skipped this section first time, absolutely don't know what it is all about.
2) IR - new theme for me, got 7 from 12 correctly first time on GMATPrep test.
3) Quantitative. I have very good mathematical background, still I can make mistakes due to time pressure, inaccuracy, or unknowm wording. I expect about 3 errors per test maximum, and would like to stabilize it or eliminate entirely.
4) Verbal is my poorest section. V34 could be a luck - for comparison I have downloaded Barron's guide and did only 1 from 20 questions correctly. So I need some smart practice here. In more details:
4.1) RC and CR seem to be more familiar to me, my performance depends mostly on timing and reading speed, which I need to improve somehow. For example, I can compare the number of errors I did in 1st GMATPrep test and the percentage of errors which I made practicing OG 11 (in calm environment without time pressure).
RC: Test - 30% mistaken, OG 11 - 10% of mistakes. (1 of 10)
CR: Test - 27% mistaken, OG 11 - less than 3% of mistakes. (1 of 40)
4.2) Sentence correction is my weakest point. I got 50% correct on the test and my performance in OG is that I make 20-25% of problems incorrectly.
According to this information, I would like to ask two questions:
Q1) What could be the wise goal for 6 weeks?
Q2) How to distribute the efforts wisely to improve maximally in this term?
I have the following hypotheses for now:
1) I have a strong belief, that Quant is not a problem, so I won't spend any time in learning concepts, instead I would better practice tests in time pressure. (full test once a week).
2) I don't know if IR can affect my overall score greatly - need help to understand - how much time to spend on it.
3) I have a hypothesis that I am ok with CR and RC. To check this hypothesis, I am planning to spend 30 minutes per day to make RC and CR problems, and check the performance. If it will be 1/10 wrong, than I'll just work on boosting the reading speed. If it'll be greater, then - study. Still, this can be a mistake from my side, since in Barron's tests there were hard CR and RC questions for me, at the same time questions from OG seem to be much more easy.
4) The rest of the time I think I'll spend on SC. Maybe Manhattan SC Guide, studying twice a week and practice about 20-30 problems a week...
As for now I have a dilemma, should I concentrate on weakest point (SC), or is it more benefitial to improve my stronger points all by a little?
I have a common situation for non-native speakers.
My first GMATPrep Test has shown 710 (Q51 and V34), which could be a good luck.
My goal is 720-750 in 6 weeks, I was familliar with the test before (2-3 years ago), and even practiced several months, but never took the test, so I don't expect that the result will simply rise due to familiarity.
So, what I have now:
1) AWA - skipped this section first time, absolutely don't know what it is all about.
2) IR - new theme for me, got 7 from 12 correctly first time on GMATPrep test.
3) Quantitative. I have very good mathematical background, still I can make mistakes due to time pressure, inaccuracy, or unknowm wording. I expect about 3 errors per test maximum, and would like to stabilize it or eliminate entirely.
4) Verbal is my poorest section. V34 could be a luck - for comparison I have downloaded Barron's guide and did only 1 from 20 questions correctly. So I need some smart practice here. In more details:
4.1) RC and CR seem to be more familiar to me, my performance depends mostly on timing and reading speed, which I need to improve somehow. For example, I can compare the number of errors I did in 1st GMATPrep test and the percentage of errors which I made practicing OG 11 (in calm environment without time pressure).
RC: Test - 30% mistaken, OG 11 - 10% of mistakes. (1 of 10)
CR: Test - 27% mistaken, OG 11 - less than 3% of mistakes. (1 of 40)
4.2) Sentence correction is my weakest point. I got 50% correct on the test and my performance in OG is that I make 20-25% of problems incorrectly.
According to this information, I would like to ask two questions:
Q1) What could be the wise goal for 6 weeks?
Q2) How to distribute the efforts wisely to improve maximally in this term?
I have the following hypotheses for now:
1) I have a strong belief, that Quant is not a problem, so I won't spend any time in learning concepts, instead I would better practice tests in time pressure. (full test once a week).
2) I don't know if IR can affect my overall score greatly - need help to understand - how much time to spend on it.
3) I have a hypothesis that I am ok with CR and RC. To check this hypothesis, I am planning to spend 30 minutes per day to make RC and CR problems, and check the performance. If it will be 1/10 wrong, than I'll just work on boosting the reading speed. If it'll be greater, then - study. Still, this can be a mistake from my side, since in Barron's tests there were hard CR and RC questions for me, at the same time questions from OG seem to be much more easy.
4) The rest of the time I think I'll spend on SC. Maybe Manhattan SC Guide, studying twice a week and practice about 20-30 problems a week...
As for now I have a dilemma, should I concentrate on weakest point (SC), or is it more benefitial to improve my stronger points all by a little?
