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urgent: need advice for the last 5 days

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urgent: need advice for the last 5 days

by dan4o » Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:48 am
In have read a few posts by Stacy and other consultants where they warn against exhaustion and underline the importance of planning one's brain power appropriately for the day of the exam.

I may be at a point where I can use an expert's advice tailored to my situation.

I will do my GMAT on the morning of 14 October. I have 5 days to go, but I feel a little exhausted mentally and maybe emotionally. I would appreciate a few lines of advice on how to make the most of the time before my exam.

Here is a bit of a background. I have been studying for about 6 weeks now. I did Prep 1 3 weeks ago and scored 730 (q 49; v 41). I did Prep 2 last Sunday (4 days ago) and scored 750 (q 47; v 44). I made 4 mistakes on verbal that last exam (1 each on SC and RC , 2 on CR) and 14 on math. I finished the verbal just in time; on math I was 3-4 minutes behind the clock for most of the exam.

Starting from the end, I have now completed about 60% of the OG 12 questions. I covered most of the Manhattan guides and Kaplan 800.

I have been feeling significantly less productive for the last 3-4 days.

I am wondering if I should take my mind completely off the subject for couple of days and then step up the pace from Sat/Sunday on. Shall I do more new Q's or study again all past mistakes? Shall I review some of the study materials and which ones can be most relevant to my score (especially on the quant section), i.e. learning new concepts (combinatorics) Vs polishing the basics and improving timing?

How many hours a day would you advise me to study during the days I have left. Would you advise me to practice the day before the exam?

Thank you for your time and thoughts in advance.

Daniel
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by shadowsjc » Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:13 am
hi

since our practice scores were similar, i can maybe give you a bit of advice that worked for me.

definitely study during the last 5 days, but dont overdo it. if youre used to studying 2 hrs a day, then study the same amount for the last 5 days. during my last week of studying, i took 2 more full length tests (they were manhattan gmat tests). this was actually a bit risky, since the quant section is generally much harder than in the GMAT Preptest. i actually wound up getting a pretty low score in a couple of my MGMAT tests (i even got a 660 on one of them). however, you should be taking these tests to refine your timing skills, and not necessarily be worried about the score.

from your scores, it sounds like youre in a good position to do really well. the only thing you should be worried about is making sure your timing is excellent for the test. if you work too fast or too slow, it could negatively affect your score.

i took my last full length test the day before the exam. it was only during this test that i finally figured out my timing strategy for verbal (until that point i had been working too quickly).

the day of the test, i would recommend not doing anything GMAT related at all. but the 5 days before the test, i think there's still time to study and work on your timing. also, if you feel weak in any specific math sections, now would be the time to focus on those. i was really weak in permutation problems, and i worked really hard on that during the last few days as well (luckily, i didnt have any problems like that on my GMAT).
my GMAT debrief: https://www.beatthegmat.com/came-through ... 44327.html

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right, but it will not come near you.
- Psalm 91: 5-7
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by dan4o » Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:23 am
Hi Shadowsjc,

thanks for your answer. I needed to hear an advice from someone who understands my particular case and has the experience and your post comes right on time.

I think I will focus on the math section and my timing. I don't think I will spend more time on learning new concepts but I will review all the previous questions and focus on becoming faster and more accurate on concepts that I am already familiar with. I have dumped all the textbooks in the closet and will use only my post-it's to review concepts. I hope I get to throw all the post-it's away too and solely focus on practice the last couple of days.

I read your debrief. You have done a great job. Good luck further and I will let you know of my score next week.
daniel
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