Help with Timing...

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IWillSurvive: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 51; Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:03 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by IWillSurvive » Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:59 am

Hello All,

Just took my first practice test. Well, the story is not really unusual...I did terribly. I did worse on this practice test than I did on my last GMAT test!

Could something have been off with the timing? Anyone have any recommendations on timing? I seemed to lose my steam after the first several questions. I need to get a good score here. If I flub this test, then I am not quite sure what I will do.

I would appreciate any help - thanks a million!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:59 am

kenji: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 40; Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 1:02 pm; Location: Belgium; Thanked: 6 times; GMAT Score:520

by kenji » Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:17 am

Hi!

I found in the OG Archer Guide from Mgmat a good tool for timing training
Check it out!

Good luck!

Believing is making it

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tpr-becky: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 509; Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:08 pmFollowed by: 85 members; Location: Irvine, CA; Thanked: 199 times; GMAT Score:750

by tpr-becky » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:33 pm

There are lots of reasons why your score could have gone down and more detail would be important to diagnose your specific case. studying for this test basically boils down to three things.
1. Organized knowlege - knowing what the test tests, and how they test it with concrete strategies to approach each question type.
2. Test taking - this is timing, using techniques to get faster answers when appropriate, knowing when to give up on a question etc..
3. Confidence - this means you take each question one at a time, you know what you are doing, even when you decide to guess on a question and you don't stress out or rush becuase something feels difficult on the test.

If you can master all three of these then you can master this test.

Becky
Master GMAT Instructor
The Princeton Review
Irvine, CA

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IWillSurvive: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 51; Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2010 12:03 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by IWillSurvive » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:04 pm

Hi Becky,

I believe you may be right. I believe confidence and strategy may be a key issue here.

I am indeed having difficulty in which strategy to choose when confronted with a difficult question. Also, I ran out of time very quickly when I approached my first practice test.

This was my fault, and I just need to continue working on timing strategies. I will most definitely continue to pursue that.

This brings up a good point. I plan to keep an error log of all of my careless mistakes. With this, timed blocks of problems and practice tests, do your recommend any other techniques? I believe this may be it, but I am unsure.

Thanks again,
A

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tpr-becky: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 509; Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:08 pmFollowed by: 85 members; Location: Irvine, CA; Thanked: 199 times; GMAT Score:750

by tpr-becky » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:40 pm

In keeping the error log make sure you have a consistent way of labeling what the question is asking and use that to continously review how you would approach such a problem. For instance when I see a problem with ratio I have a consistent way of approaching the problem depending on what is being asked - then I apply that consistent method to the specific question to find the best way of completing that problem.

Strategy and confidence are the two hardest things to master on this test and you may consider getting a tutor that focuses on those areas more than on the basic knowledge if you find you cannot make the improvements you are looking for on your own.

Best of Luck

Becky
Master GMAT Instructor
The Princeton Review
Irvine, CA

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