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9 days until I take the GMAT

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9 days until I take the GMAT

by pdonaldson1990 » Wed May 18, 2016 4:28 pm
Hello ladies and gentleman,

I have 9 days left until I take the GMAT. I initially took it back in September 2015 and got a score of 474. I was extremely disappointed, and ended up being denied entry to my target school, University of Houston.

I took a practice test in February after deciding to retake the GMAT and got a 490(Q32, V24). I just took another practice test last weekend and got a 530(Q32, V29).

I could hardly concentrate once I got to the verbal section and kept having to re-read sentences / answer choices / paragraphs. I definitely did not feel like I functioned at my highest level. I'm aiming for a 580-630 on test day. Do you guys think I'll be able to hit my target score if I take 4-5 more practice tests in an attempt to condition my brain to function at a GMAT-length of time? Or is that a pretty far-fetched goal?

I am utilizing these last few days to try to brush up on areas I feel are lacking. Any helpful advice or feedback will be appreciated.

Cheers, and happy studying.
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by [email protected] » Wed May 18, 2016 10:22 pm
Hi pdonaldson1990,

Taking lots of CATs in a short period of time is NOT a good idea - you're far more likely to 'burn out' before Test Day than actually gain anything from doing that.

Since you can't score 474 on the GMAT, I'm going to assume that you meant to type 470. Given that these last two CATs are 490 and 530, you're scoring in a general range right around 500. Unfortunately, you're unlikely to pick up 80+ points in 9 days. At your current scoring level, it's not impossible, but you haven't shown that you're consistently performing at that level right now, so we can't assume that it would happen in a little over a week. As such, if you have the flexibility to push back your Test Date (even if it's just a couple of weeks), then that could provide you with some valuable additional study time.

1) How long have you studied? Were you studying consistently?
2) What materials have you used?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by pdonaldson1990 » Thu May 19, 2016 5:15 am
Thanks for the reply Rich, and yes you're right, I meant 470.

1) I have been studying since February, and between working full-time and studying, there were periods of inconsistency. Unfortunately, I do not have the flexibility to push my test date back.
2) I have used the 60 day study guide, and the OG2016 review book.
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by [email protected] » Thu May 19, 2016 9:18 am
Hi pdonaldson1990,

If you can't push back your Test Date, then how would you adjust your plans if you did not score at least 580? Would you still apply? Would you apply later on? Would you retake the GMAT?

With 9 days, you can't expect to learn/master everything, so you have to pick-and-choose the questions that you'll spend time on and the ones that you'll 'dump.' In that way, you can study the bigger categories during this last week and potentially pick up some points.

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu May 19, 2016 9:25 am
If you don't have any flexibility regarding rescheduling, then you have to make the best of the time constraints. I suggest that you focus on concepts that have the greatest return on investment (ROI). These are concepts that are tested frequently and require the least amount of time to learn. In my opinion, these concepts are:
- Sentence Correction
- Data Sufficiency strategies
- Percent
- Integer Properties
- Powers/roots
- Algebra
- Geometry

I should mention that CR and RC questions probably have the lowest ROI. I'm not saying that you shouldn't prepare for them; I'm just saying that improvement can take a long time. For CR, be sure you understand the various question types.

Over the next 9 days, take a couple of practice tests to perfect your time management skills and build your endurance. Remember that the GMAT is a test of your math and verbal skills AND it's a test of your test-taking skills.

If you're interested, we have a time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244


Finally, As part of your preparation, work on adopting the proper mindset/attitude on test day. To this end, you may be interested in reading the following articles:
- https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/min ... -destroyer
- https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/jun ... g-big-gmat

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by pdonaldson1990 » Thu May 19, 2016 2:11 pm
Thank you very much for the feedback. I think I'll prepare the best I can in these 9 days and I will still apply to my B-school of choice, regardless of the score I get. If I don't get in... well, I'll have to reevaluate and reapply.
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by Edison@VeritasPrep » Thu May 26, 2016 6:23 pm
Wish you all the best with your GMAT and the next steps.

Look forward to hearing your updates!
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by MarianEstes » Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:59 am
Good luck!
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