GMAT Strategy

All,
I cancelled my GMAT appointment scheduled for tomorrow, for the 4 th time. I'd greatly appreciate if you guys can provide any suggestions on my next steps.

I've been studying of and on for more than 8 months for the GMAT, I know it's not the way to do. This was more so driven by my personal circumstances. I took the manhattan gmat class at the end of 2008 in the hopes to get it done in March 2009, but I lost my job subsequently and had to put my exam plans aside for a while. I started preparng seriosuly from Jan of this year, and spent the last 3 months pulling in anywhere from 3 to 5 Hrs a day.

I took my diagnostic exam back in the beginning and I scored a dismal 440, from then on my score kept on creeping up until 570 in a span of 3 months. My original date was scheduled for April 19, however after realizing my crappy test scores and work deadlines I inevitably ended up loosing money and schedule another appointment for May 6, with the hopes that I could improve my score a bit with extra time.

Today, I was totally saddened by my performance so far and decided to pull the plug. I am not sre at thsi point what to do. My head is clogged up.

Few things:
1. I am very sloppy when it comes to making notes, and I did not keep track of my errors etc However, I pay very close attention to mistakes and try not to repeat them.
2. I took all the MGMAT tests but scores were terrible, Quant seems to be my enemy, I consistently scored 30 - 32 on Verbal.
3. I am out of all test practise exams, even GMAT Prep
4. Materials used: OG 11, MGMAT All Materials (although I have not finished everything), Kaplan Premier, and Princeton Quant Review
5. Last GMAT Prep score 590 - Given, I re-read several times that this is very close to the real test, I could not help but cancel my appointment.
6. Most importantly, I feel I have attention disorder, I am distracted so often I have soo hard time concentrating. Sometimes, I wonder how people are able to pull those fantastic scores.

I feel this test is more than knowledge, equal parts health, sanity, and eating good. I suck at everything.

I am not aiming for a 700 score (no pun intended), but realistically speaking a 650 should give me a solid entry point into good schools. I am curious to know if anyone has ever wasted so much money on cancelling tests and reschedules? I am at a loss of words right now and feel pathetic.
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You're going to need to study for at least 3 hours a day for 5 days a week, until your exam. I would recommend spending 2 days on verbal, two days on quant, and one day on weaknesses. Use one day to take CATs and one off day. This should position you to maximize your preparation and you will position yourself to perform at your best. You took the Manhattan class, so go through their materials again, except this time take the time to memorize everything that you think is important that you should memorize (mainly number properties rules and concepts). If you do this, you can get your 650. Good luck.

Thanks for the response Osirus. What you have described is definitley doable. The other concern I have at the moment is timing, whether I should refrain from scheduling another appointment. I know I perform better under pressure, but I have also cancelled them several times (which is terribly bad). I am thinking a month from now, but no later than that.

Do you have any suggestions on what CAT exams I should look at ? I have pretty much depleted all CATS from MGMAT and GMAT Prep. I looked at few threads here but could'nt really figure out - Knewton, 800 Score etc. My biggest problems are timing (30 Q in 70 Min), and slow start - meaning I am unable to identify the proper method when look at a problem. I am not sure if it's due to weak fundamentals or practice. I have an arts back ground, however I have dealt with Math all my life.

I am also looking at buying the Powerscore bible to enhance my CR skills, I am fairly comfortable with Verbal overall, but Quant is pulling down my hopes and score terribly.

geokid wrote:All,
I cancelled my GMAT appointment scheduled for tomorrow, for the 4 th time. I'd greatly appreciate if you guys can provide any suggestions on my next steps.
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There was another question on the forum about rescheduling GMAT: https://www.beatthegmat.com/if-i-am-not- ... 57089.html You might read it as well.
Also, there was an article about cure for procrastination. It seems counterintuitive, but I have no evidence to the opposite, so it might as well be true: https://blogs.bnet.com/entry-level/?p=2274
Hope it would help.

Hey buddy, don't worry, I just rescheduled my exam. At least you now know you are not ready for the exam and that's good. This are my test scores so far - 540, 540, 570 and 520. So, I am certainly not the GMAT expert at the moment but this what I am planning to do.

I just got the Manhattan Strategy guides and they are really great. They cover all the concepts you need. My plan is to make sure that I know all the concepts by reading the strategy guides and workout all the exercise problems. Then go on with the diagnostic tests, practice more and more practice tests. Don't strain too much, take it light. Also, don't think about GMAT all the time, it does not help.

Try this link -

https://www.beatthegmat.com/770-50-q-46- ... 40093.html

@beatvit

Thanks for sharing the link and wisdom. Great one! I am not sure if I will ever forgive myself, but I do hope I do not procrastinate I was on the edge to take the exam as early as 7 PM yesterday night, but somehow after thinking through, I realized the downside of taking it unprepared may have a negative impact than if I lost it after walking in prepared. But, I do agree 300% that it's better at least to experience the test than to waste the money. Perhaps, if I read your post yesterday I probably would've thought twice before canceling.

@ Jerryragland
My experience is exactly similar to you in terms of scoring. You are absolutely right, I think too much about the test - especially what will happen if I do not fare a decent score, this is not helping me much with my prep as it builds up unnecessary stress. I have to say, because of this my life style has changed...I have become totally un social, no hanging out with friends, no nothing period. My concentration is also terrible, I am heavily caffeinated to stay focussed, any suggestions here would be very helpful too.

Manhattan series are great, but somehow I was never able to finish them fully, they seem too lengthy and detailed. I may sound silly, but that's what I feel. Let me know how you feel once you read them...I typically loose interest on excessive details, perhaps that's my weak point. I will give them another shot! Do you make notes while you read ? and track all your errors ? I see people do consistently here.

Good luck with your prep!

Geokid,

The first step in the right direction would be knowing all the concepts cold. Anyone who is planning to take the GMAT goes through this step. Some people have strong analytic skills and they will connects the missing dots really fast and so for them this step will be easy. From my scores, it looks like I don't have strong analytic skills and so I believe that I have to spend more time in reading the concepts.

So, I decided to buy the MGMAT guides and they are great in explaining every basic and advanced concepts that are needed for GMAT. Believe me, nothing in this study guide is unnecessary or can be neglected. Everyone's study style is different. I am always good when taking notes as when I study. It is easier to go through them as well. Some people underline the text in the books to take a note but it doesn't work for me.

I have 3 notepads 1 for Math, 2 for RC and CR and 3 for SC. As and when I come across a concept that I am not aware of from MGMAT or from the tough problems I take a note. Sometimes I will have full worked out problems in the notepad and also take important concept notes. I mark 'C' for concepts and 'Q' from tough/interesting questions on the side. For CR - I am reading the Powerscore's CR bible and it is the best. You would be amazed to see how little you know by just going through the first few chapters. I take similar notes for CR as I do with math. SC is my weakest. I need to define a strategy for this and I am not a native speaker and so going through each and every topic is hard and confusing. I will get there someday. For RC - I try to understand the passage first by taking 1-2 lines notes for each para. I don't have a book for RC. May be when I am done with CR bible that may help a little with RC. Taking notes really help because you don't have to go through the book again and when you read something which you wrote it will look a lot familiar and easy to brush up the concepts. It saves a lot of time in the long run. You can use your notes to revise the topics before the exam.

Knowing the concepts is just the first step and quite frankly this is the easiest step. Applying what you have studied comes through practice and its tough. After going through the concepts my next step would be do more practice problems and apply the concepts efficiently from MGMAT guides and CR bible. I also noticed that I did not have a plan when approaching a problem. Does not matter whether a question looks easy or difficult to you, you should always have a systematic plan for approach the problem. I have to come up with a plan for each question category, hopefully I will succeed in that.

I rescheduled my exam last week and I am taking it light this week. You are right, it affects the social and personal life, but sometimes we have to do it. I feel that I over did it. Now I try to put 1 hour in the morning and 1 - 2 hours in the evenings and just read the guides, taking notes and working out and understanding the given problems. One day I do verbal and one day I do math and alternate it. I need to spend time on AWA issues too. I am weak with examples. Let me know if you have any good strategies. I do not have a way right now to keep track of my errors. I have to work on that. I will let you know if I find some good strategies.

Good Luck!!

Thanks for the great info. I am changing few things after reading your response above (1) I will maintain separate books to take notes. Until now I took notes on small memo pads and they were all over, I never really payed attention to my notes. (2) I will try to learn MGMAT materials with close attention again - number prop, word translations, SC.

As for the AWA, I think you will just do fine. For a non native speaker, you are doing a great job with your writing. I took the AWA practice test from from GMAT write and I scored a 5.5 on both the sections. Simply put you'd need to pay close attentions to three things (1) strong opening (2) lot's of examples either explaining your stance or supporting the authors view and (3) summing up everything and closing out on a strong note. Use simple words that are not verbose, simple sentences and be concise.

Check this link... https://www.vantageonlinestore.com/produ ... ctid=16237

Also check this out.. https://www.beatthegmat.com/argument-ess ... 38032.html

Thanks for the wonderful suggestions, a new perspective always shines the light in dark corners. Lets keep tabs on how we progress!