value of practice tests

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aleph777: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 131; Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:19 am; Location: New York, NY; Thanked: 10 times

value of practice tests

by aleph777 » Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:34 am

What does everyone think is a better way to spend your last few Saturdays when you have 4 weeks left til game day? (Keeping in mind, I work full-time, and only get between 1.5 and 3 hours of study time on week days).

Taking practice CATs and studying each problem afterwards OR Doing general practice problems and focusing on weaknesses?

I've done two MGMAT CATs already. One in December, just before I began my studies, and another a couple weeks ago. They're definitely useful in terms of stamina and time-management, but how do others feel is the best way to use their time in those last few weeks?

Thanks!

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Fri Feb 04, 2011 9:34 am

Adam@Knewton: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 132; Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:26 pm; Location: New York City; Thanked: 68 times; Followed by:37 members; GMAT Score:780

by Adam@Knewton » Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:52 pm

I think with 4 weeks to go, one practice test per week is the best approach, and for you it sounds like that means (as it does for most of us) on Saturdays. By now you should (hopefully) be pretty strong on your concepts, so the challenge isn't so much learning specific details on each question type but learning how to put those skills into practice on test day. A great GMAT teacher I once knew called this "closing the cap between what you can do and what you actually do," and the best way to improve this skill is by actually practicing CATs, where the question types change back and forth all the time and you have to learn to roll with the punches.

Good luck!

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