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Last 3 days- Need some advice

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Last 3 days- Need some advice

by rabab » Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:13 am
Hi

I am taking the GMAT in 3 days and I think I am almost at the verge of nervous break down :lol:. It's been over 2 months since I have been studying for GMAT. But my score doesn't seem to improve much.
For some reason my verbal score doesn't seem to improve anyhow. While taking the GMATPrep-4, I was pretty confident about scoring 30+. The questions seemed easier to me and I finished the test having 6 minutes in hand. But still, a low score of 22!!

I have covered OG-11, OG-10 (almost 60%), MGMAT SC, and Spidey's note for the verbal section. And it's my last week of preparation.

I am aiming at least a 600+ in the first shot. Seems like an under achiever? Well, my verbal skills are telling me not to be over ambitious right now!

Any last minute advice/ suggestions on how to improve/ tackle the Verbal section on D-Day would be much appreciated.

=R.
Last edited by rabab on Fri Nov 28, 2008 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Toph@GMAT_REBOOT » Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:25 am
Is there a certain section of Verbal that troubles you more than the others?
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by rabab » Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:09 am
Riprop wrote:Is there a certain section of Verbal that troubles you more than the others?
Hi

It seems like I am almost always equally wrong on all 3 sections. Like from what I have seen from the last couple of tests is that I got 6-7 SCs' wrong, 5-6 CRs' wrong and 5-7 RCs' wrong. That's why I almost always end up having +/- 20 mistakes.

However I feel that my understanding of SC needs to be improved. But how can I make it in these 3 days?
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by logitech » Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:11 am
rabab,

dude..frankly, do you really expect to improve your CR skills 72 hours before the test ?
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by rabab » Thu Nov 20, 2008 11:15 am
logitech wrote:rabab,

dude..frankly, do you really expect to improve your CR skills 72 hours before the test ?
Hey I'll just quote someone's signature from this forum--
Even impossible says I AM Possible :lol:
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by logitech » Thu Nov 20, 2008 12:08 pm
rabab wrote:
logitech wrote:rabab,

dude..frankly, do you really expect to improve your CR skills 72 hours before the test ?
Hey I'll just quote someone's signature from this forum--
Even impossible says I AM Possible :lol:
Awesome!!

So rabab, are you applying for Round 2 ?
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by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Thu Nov 20, 2008 12:37 pm
I wouldn't look to make any major changes 3 days before the test.

What I would do is be 100% certain of my game plan. Know my strengths and weaknesses. Know which questions are worthy of some extra time (especially if you normally finish with time to spare). Know which questions to guess on if you're short on time. Know which questions you can answer intuitively and which ones you need to break down more formally.

Over the next day or so, review the most commonly tested SC rules and your strategy notes for CR and RC. Make sure that you're well rested (mentally and physically) for Test Day so that nothing stands in the way of a great score.
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by Toph@GMAT_REBOOT » Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:45 pm
I agree with Stuart for SC. Focus on the SC basics. To accomplish your goal, you don't need to know the minute concepts. You need to understand the things that regularly show up.

For RC, use this tip when you get stuck on a question. When in doubt go with the less definitive answer. "May, can, could, likely" are words that are probably more likely to be in an answer than "always" and other words that are rather definitive. This isn't necessarily a hard and fast rule, but it can help with guessing.
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by lunarpower » Thu Nov 20, 2008 4:34 pm
one thing you can also do, more or less instantaneously, is change your viewpoint on critical reasoning, especially "draw a conclusion/inference" and "find the assumption" type questions.

remember that the critical reasoning questions tend to be very, very literal, and that your assumptions/conclusions must be tied to the passage by rigorous logic.

therefore, there are a couple of mental shifts that you can make, if you haven't already, that should help you right away:

* make sure your purported assumptions/conclusions are entirely within the scope of the passage.
- if a choice contains any concepts that are irrelevant to the direct content of the passage, and/or makes any distinctions that aren't already made in the passage, then rule it out.

* be aware of scope shifts - i.e., subtle changes in the topic of the passage.
- these may be more subtle than you're used to looking for. for instance, if a passage discusses "drivers who receive speeding tickets" and makes a conclusion about "drivers who speed", then those are NOT the same thing; that's a scope shift. if you encounter such a passage, it will require an assumption that connects those 2 different ideas.
- you need to develop a HEIGHTENED SENSE OF THE LITERAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TOPICS, so that you can detect these little differences (especially on "find the assumption" questions). this is a mentality that you can start using right away, although it runs somewhat counter to the way in which our brains usually work: i.e., you have to suppress the usual temptation to see links and connections between things.

other than that, stuart's advice, above, is right on: you can't reasonably expect to make huge changes to your test-taking strategy in three days (more like two, at this point). indeed, if you try to make huge changes at this point, you may crash and burn, since you'll be using strategies that you're just not used to yet.
instead, just focus on your strengths and your time management.

also, see my advice about test anxiety, here.
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by mayonnai5e » Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:34 pm
In general, it's difficult to see significant changes in just 3 days, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try your best. My suggestion from your looking at your verbal scores is that your fundamentals are a bit off. As such, I suggest looking over your notes on the basics of verbal and not the advanced materials that can get your head all wrapped up. By this I mean the first 2/3 of the OG verbal sections - rework the ones you got wrong, review the ones that took a lot of time, then restudy them yet again. Getting those fundamentals down will solidify your understanding for the advanced stuff and let's face it, it's easier to get the easy/medium questions right anyways.
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My last min suggestions

by ASPIRE800 » Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:41 am
You need to understand that apart from the content knowledge various other factors also have direct influence on the score. That is the reason many test takers call it as tricky test. However please remember the following tips when u take the test.

1. Try maintain 100% accuracy in first one third part of the section i.e atleast upto 14Qs in quant and 11/12Qs in verbal.

2. At the same time remember leaving any question unattempted will cost u a lot. So u should know how to manage the time properly all though the test especially for first 1/3rd questions & complete the test.

3. What matters in the test is patience level. Sitting for 4hrs and giving the test maintaining the same level of intensity of concentration till the end of the test is very diff. To coupe up with this, these last three days give the practice tests in the time slot that you have booked for the actual test. This will tune up your mind sitting for so long period and concentrate.

4. Go to the test centre very cool and calm with no high expectations because it will unnecessarily builds up nervousness, tension in you with which you may not concentrate upto your potential. Remember one thing that never your efforts go in vain, it will definetely pay off.


Try visit www.aspire800.com

All the best
Do let me know your score.
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