Is it advisable to do a mock CAT 2 days before exam day?

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flexed: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 49; Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:09 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by flexed » Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:09 am

Hi all,

My exam date is this coming Wednesday (Sept 22), which gives me just about two days left to study:

Sat (today): go through final set of about 50-75 problems, hitting each of DS-PS-CR-RC-SC (10-15 each)

Sun (tomorrow): Rest day (MBA Fair)

Mon: GMATPrep?

Tues: Rest

Wed: Exam Day!

How does this look? Should I look to write a mock CAT so close to the actual exam day (literally 2 days before)? If I rest up entirely on Tuesday, would this be okay? Or should I look to focus my attention on something else on Monday, like light revision of concepts and maybe a 10-10-10-10-10 set of problems?

I haven't done too many mocks:

GMATPrep v.1 (3-4 months ago) - 540 - 39Q, 26V - with AWA
MGMAT #1 (5-6 weeks ago) - 700 - 44Q, 40V - with AWA
GMATPrep v.1 (1 week ago) - Only Quant section - 47Q, skipped verbal - with AWA
GMATPrep v.2 (3 days ago) - 690 - 48Q, 37V - without AWA

Should I do one more with AWA on Monday, 2 days before the exam? Will this wear down my stamina being so close to the exam day? I've read that it's not a good idea to study much during the last two days before the exam.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:09 am

outreach: Legendary Member; Posts: 748; Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:54 amFollowed by: 3 members; Thanked: 46 times

by outreach » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:18 am

do not strain urself with another CAT
rather just revisit ur previous CAT and check the mistakes that u have done

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Sun Sep 19, 2010 5:40 am

If you are not yet where you want to be in terms of preparation, you could do another CAT two days before the exam. Especially considering that you are taking today (Sunday) off entirely. I have had students take a practice exam the day before the test and learn something extremely valuable about their strategy, timing, etc. that really transformed what they did on test day and allowed them to score significantly higher.

I would suggest that if you do choose to take an exam that you revisit the VERBAL (at least) of GMATPrep test 1, which you have not taken in a few months. I would not do any exam other than the GMATPrep so close to the test. Unofficial exams will not give you the sort of feedback that you require. And yes, you can take the entire exam (with AWA) and recover by Wednesday.

Your verbal score is not near your quant score at this point, and unfortunately the verbal counts for more as you get into the higher scores. A couple of questions more right on the verbal could mean moving from 690 to 710. Personally I would never want to go into a test with Sunday, Monday, Tuesday all off or just light work. But that is me - you have to decide what is right for you.

If you do take an exam tomorrow, what are you looking for besides the score?

1) Your timing strategy - are you devoting too much time to particular quant questions? Are you rushing through the verbal and making careless assumptions?

2) Are you making silly errors? These can be addressed, even in the course of just 48 hours. It is not ideal to have so little time, but better than missing lots of questions on test day that you did not have to.

If you do take an exam and you have some result that you need advice on, let me know...it is never too late to learn something valuable and increase your score.

Good Luck!

Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor

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flexed: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 49; Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2010 2:09 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by flexed » Sun Sep 19, 2010 8:00 pm

Thanks for the insight, David - I appreciate it!

I think it'll be a judgement call tomorrow re: whether I decide to write another GMATPrep mock. At the very least, even if I don't go through another mock, I plan on spending a good chunk of tomorrow reviewing old problem sets that I had troubles with. I'll probably also try to write up a set of AWA essays as well, just to get it down pat.

Anyway - fingers crossed, and if I have any more last-min questions I'll certainly direct them to you! Thanks David!

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