I presume that many of the experts and consultants here, have many other students in need, so I have highlighted the key points of my post in bold for a speed-read.
I have scheduled my GMAT for 14 October. I am looking for someone who can help me prepare my study program for the next 28 days
To date:
I have been studying for the GMAT for about 5 weeks now. (I have done less than 1/6 of the exercises in OG 12th). I feel I have made good progress and I feel more comfortable on verbal than on math.
Last weekend I attempted the first GMAT Prep Test from mba.com and scored 730 (q 49; v 41). I am told that this is a decent score for the first Prep Test, yet I do not feel very comfortable with my general performance. My approach towards some problems remains chaotic, I am not always confident about the answers I pick, certain quant problems I am conceptually unfamiliar with, I often make silly mistakes on the math section and essentially, my timing has not improved much.
In other words, the test still has the control.
Verbal:
I have covered the theory on CR, RC and SC and have done the first 4 Computer Adaptive Manhattan Practice Exams. Most of my attention to date I have dedicated to SC and even though it may sound unnatural for a non-native speaker I feel now I am getting in good shape for SC. On the GMAT Prep test 1 which I did for a first time few days ago 1 or 2 of the 6 verbal mistakes I made were on SC. I am planning to focus primarily on regular practice, unless something else can aid my performance.
The rest of the mistakes were on CR questions. I feel in my case, optimal performance on CR may mean clear understanding of the various concepts that the test-makers use when preparing the questions. So what I am starting to try out now is, after every test, to take each CR question, break it down to its parts (paragraph, question stem, logic used, answers) categorize it and with that information revisit the theory from the textbooks once again. I am hopeful this will help me to immediately recognize certain patterns as well as to eliminate an incorrect answer at once. (For CR as is the case also with SC I use a grid to eliminate the wrong answers first). I spend more time during the prep exams on CR than any other verbal section. I am also less confident about my CR answers than average.
RC - I believe I may not need any specific strategy, other than insane practice, to further improve the quality of my answers. However, I do need to improve my timing on the overall verbal section by about 5-7 min and at first look CR may provide some possibilities. I am looking for techniques and advice on how to raise my speed.
Math:
I am happy with my progress on verbal and even more so with my progress on math for the last 5 weeks. The difference is that as far as math is concerned I am still on this side of the hill. The last time I sat in a math class was about 10 years ago and the last time I studied for one was another 5 years earlier. To top it all off, concepts like integers, primes, evens and slopes were not studied where I grew up (as far as I remember). Yet I've always liked math and I know I can turn it into my stronger side on this test when I have the right approach in the next 28 days.
Currently the situation is like this: I have just ordered the Manhattan Guide 'Equations, Inequalities, and VIC's'. To date I have covered the number properties and word translations guides. I am in a rush to cover all concepts that show up at the quant section. If the same rationale applies on quant as does on verbal then there should be a finite number of concepts that repeat themselves. If I can be sure in that, then I will focus on quantity on all concepts that I am relatively comfortable with, in order to recognize the various wordings and to reduce my average time. (2 out of 3 mistakes are due to negligence or lack of shape (but not ignorance) and my timing is ridiculous: 7-9 minutes behind. Out of the 11 mistakes I made on the GMAT Prep 1, 6 were the product of my random guessing on the last 6 questions. And just as with verbal, my timing has not improved much.) (I have noticed that if I feel I can solve a problem I am not willing to guess it once the 2min are up. Psychologically it is quite tricky - I see it as an opportunity which I am reluctant to drop and move on)
All the rest: number properties, slopes, combinatorics, etc I still need to understand and learn in depth before I can focus on speed. Just as is the case on verbal, this means 2 separate approaches. My strategic challenge here though is that I know the time I have, but the total amount of information that I need to cover is unknown (not having looked at the other side of the hill yet). I would very much appreciate a good advice and hopefully a breakdown of all concepts and specifics I need to include in my program for the next 28 days.
The Objective:
My exam will take place in 28 days and I will dedicate on average 5 hours a day on preparation during that final month. My objectives are:
- > = 700 (first thing is to make sure I solidify the floor at 700. I am more excited about European schools like ESADE and IESE than Stanford and Harvard and a score in the lower end of 700 will serve my application fine. I should not drop below that. So any advice on the above will be cordially welcome.
- Second, I would like to make the most (also in terms of fun) out of my invested hours and capacity and I would like my GMAT score to be the optimal product of these. Therefore, I am interested in creating a 28-day trainig program and approaching the exam in the same way a professional athlete trains for the Olympics. I would like to not only master the material that is being tested, but also learn to recognize the way it is being tested. I would like to learn when to spend more than the average time on a question and which questions are best fit for guessing when I need to catch up. It would be great to know at this moment, based on my self-analysis above, how I should allocate my time between math and verbal, practice and theory. What should I focus on this week, next, 3d, last. When should I work on quality and when should I start raising the tempo just so that I don't burn out before the champagne is popped
Thanks for anyone who took the time and I hope you drop me a line.
I have scheduled my GMAT for 14 October. I am looking for someone who can help me prepare my study program for the next 28 days
To date:
I have been studying for the GMAT for about 5 weeks now. (I have done less than 1/6 of the exercises in OG 12th). I feel I have made good progress and I feel more comfortable on verbal than on math.
Last weekend I attempted the first GMAT Prep Test from mba.com and scored 730 (q 49; v 41). I am told that this is a decent score for the first Prep Test, yet I do not feel very comfortable with my general performance. My approach towards some problems remains chaotic, I am not always confident about the answers I pick, certain quant problems I am conceptually unfamiliar with, I often make silly mistakes on the math section and essentially, my timing has not improved much.
In other words, the test still has the control.
Verbal:
I have covered the theory on CR, RC and SC and have done the first 4 Computer Adaptive Manhattan Practice Exams. Most of my attention to date I have dedicated to SC and even though it may sound unnatural for a non-native speaker I feel now I am getting in good shape for SC. On the GMAT Prep test 1 which I did for a first time few days ago 1 or 2 of the 6 verbal mistakes I made were on SC. I am planning to focus primarily on regular practice, unless something else can aid my performance.
The rest of the mistakes were on CR questions. I feel in my case, optimal performance on CR may mean clear understanding of the various concepts that the test-makers use when preparing the questions. So what I am starting to try out now is, after every test, to take each CR question, break it down to its parts (paragraph, question stem, logic used, answers) categorize it and with that information revisit the theory from the textbooks once again. I am hopeful this will help me to immediately recognize certain patterns as well as to eliminate an incorrect answer at once. (For CR as is the case also with SC I use a grid to eliminate the wrong answers first). I spend more time during the prep exams on CR than any other verbal section. I am also less confident about my CR answers than average.
RC - I believe I may not need any specific strategy, other than insane practice, to further improve the quality of my answers. However, I do need to improve my timing on the overall verbal section by about 5-7 min and at first look CR may provide some possibilities. I am looking for techniques and advice on how to raise my speed.
Math:
I am happy with my progress on verbal and even more so with my progress on math for the last 5 weeks. The difference is that as far as math is concerned I am still on this side of the hill. The last time I sat in a math class was about 10 years ago and the last time I studied for one was another 5 years earlier. To top it all off, concepts like integers, primes, evens and slopes were not studied where I grew up (as far as I remember). Yet I've always liked math and I know I can turn it into my stronger side on this test when I have the right approach in the next 28 days.
Currently the situation is like this: I have just ordered the Manhattan Guide 'Equations, Inequalities, and VIC's'. To date I have covered the number properties and word translations guides. I am in a rush to cover all concepts that show up at the quant section. If the same rationale applies on quant as does on verbal then there should be a finite number of concepts that repeat themselves. If I can be sure in that, then I will focus on quantity on all concepts that I am relatively comfortable with, in order to recognize the various wordings and to reduce my average time. (2 out of 3 mistakes are due to negligence or lack of shape (but not ignorance) and my timing is ridiculous: 7-9 minutes behind. Out of the 11 mistakes I made on the GMAT Prep 1, 6 were the product of my random guessing on the last 6 questions. And just as with verbal, my timing has not improved much.) (I have noticed that if I feel I can solve a problem I am not willing to guess it once the 2min are up. Psychologically it is quite tricky - I see it as an opportunity which I am reluctant to drop and move on)
All the rest: number properties, slopes, combinatorics, etc I still need to understand and learn in depth before I can focus on speed. Just as is the case on verbal, this means 2 separate approaches. My strategic challenge here though is that I know the time I have, but the total amount of information that I need to cover is unknown (not having looked at the other side of the hill yet). I would very much appreciate a good advice and hopefully a breakdown of all concepts and specifics I need to include in my program for the next 28 days.
The Objective:
My exam will take place in 28 days and I will dedicate on average 5 hours a day on preparation during that final month. My objectives are:
- > = 700 (first thing is to make sure I solidify the floor at 700. I am more excited about European schools like ESADE and IESE than Stanford and Harvard and a score in the lower end of 700 will serve my application fine. I should not drop below that. So any advice on the above will be cordially welcome.
- Second, I would like to make the most (also in terms of fun) out of my invested hours and capacity and I would like my GMAT score to be the optimal product of these. Therefore, I am interested in creating a 28-day trainig program and approaching the exam in the same way a professional athlete trains for the Olympics. I would like to not only master the material that is being tested, but also learn to recognize the way it is being tested. I would like to learn when to spend more than the average time on a question and which questions are best fit for guessing when I need to catch up. It would be great to know at this moment, based on my self-analysis above, how I should allocate my time between math and verbal, practice and theory. What should I focus on this week, next, 3d, last. When should I work on quality and when should I start raising the tempo just so that I don't burn out before the champagne is popped
Thanks for anyone who took the time and I hope you drop me a line.
