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- 6 and scores are dropping! Help needed!

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- 6 and scores are dropping! Help needed!

by kenji » Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:26 pm
Hi all

I'm entering the 9th day before the exam day and I feel I'm quite on the right path.
To present I've been preparing by practicing almost every night about 2.5/3 hrs after work, and took 1 or 2 simulations during the weekend. In the last month and a half I've been subject to a lot of pressure at work, now I believe I can release gradually from it (during this Mon. to Fri.) week to the point that I will take 4 days off included the one of the test.
My simulation history is as follows:

-Weekend #1: GMAT prep 1: Q46 V32 ->640
-Weekend #2: Mgmat #1: Q40 V31 ->580
-Weekend #3: Mgmat #2: Q32 V32 ->530
-Weekend #4: Mgmat #3: Q38 V33 ->590
-Weekend #5: Kaplan: Q77ile V92ile ->630
-Weekend #6(SAT): Mgmat #4: Q34 V34 ->570
-Weekend #6(SUN): Gmat Test Prep #2: Q43 V33 ->630
-Weekend #7(SAT): Mgmat #5: Q43 V32 ->620
-Weekend #7(SUN): Gmat Test Prep #2 (retook): Q42 V35 ->640


I've analysed my mistakes:

SC This tends to be my weakest point in verbal although I'm gradually improving, mistakes done indifferently from a subject to another.
CR&RC Tend to perform quite well on average.

DS My weakest point in math although improving also.
PS Weakest points: number series, triangle properties, combinatorics (difficult questions), VIC (difficult questions).



I plan to continue working on weakest points going thru theory review and keeping on exercising at night. I still have Mgmat question banks to go.
I'm reading the AWA section of the forum to learn from masters and read the Economist and New Yorker as much as I can to refresh my words and expressions repertory.



Do you think I shall keep on simulating at weekend?
I still have Mgmat sim to go and a retake of GMAT Prep Test #1 to go...


Last 3 days before the exam, fixed Thursday at 12:00, I will try to decompress gradually not to get overstressed at the moment of sitting down to start the exam.


Please fellow gmat takers, and experts too, I'm curious to know your thoughts and eventually benefit from your advices...
I'm nearly there I need another small improvement...( aiming at 660.. 680 would actually make me fly outside the test center straightafter :mrgreen: )


Thanks a lot in advance!
Last edited by kenji on Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by Orchid » Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:54 pm
I am in the same boart as you are. My test day is 12 days away and I plan on continue taking practice tests. It is just my opinion. You can check out those who scores above 700+ on this site and some of them took simulation tests till the last week of their exams. I think it may also depend on individual's learning style.

I think your study plan are in the right track. How many days are you taking off from work before the exam? Just keep your stamina and you will be fine.

Good luck!
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by kenji » Sun Jul 17, 2011 3:17 pm
Hi Orchid

I plan to take 4 days including the one of the exam, with Saturday and Sunday apart. That makes a total of 5 straight days off work before the exam. My plan was actually to have a simulation on Saturday and one on Sunday, starting right at the time when the exam is scheduled: 12:00. Then 3 complete days for review and decompression.

What are your plans?
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by Orchid » Sun Jul 17, 2011 5:06 pm
Kenji,

I work full time and wish I can totally take off this coming week. I will see how my study goes by Tuesday. My work hours are flexible but after a full day of work I am too tired to focus and less productive in my study.
My exam is on Thursday at 3:00pm. I plan to take a few more exams before the exam and will be doing the same thing as you do. In the weekends, I am taking the full exam at 3pm. I still have MGMAT CAT # 6 and Prep # 2 to go. I plan to repeat the Prep # 1 and # 2 a couple of more times before D-day, do some problems from V/Q 2nd Review, revisit any wrong problems, and of course, my notes.

What schools are you applying?
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by kenji » Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:36 am
Too focused on the GMAT... according to my score I will evaluate schools
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by kenji » Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:55 am
Did the 6th and last Mgmat test today...
570 Q36 V32

The test is on wednesday (-6 days), and I took the simulation today because of a bank holiday..

I wasn't able to complete QUANT, the 00:00 came when I was at question #34... so I left 4 blank :cry: This never happened to me.. I've always ended quant with some time left..
Verbal was a little tougher than other times especially CR and RC... I'm sensibly improving in SC scoring well also on tough questions...

From the reports I can see that avg difficulty of the questions was higher than those I had in my previous attempts..


I'm a bit confused: should I postpone the test or simply try to let things go and avoid further tension? :?
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by lunarpower » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:39 am
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kenji wrote:Hi all

I'm entering the 9th day before the exam day and I feel I'm quite on the right path.
To present I've been preparing by practicing almost every night about 2.5/3 hrs after work, and took 1 or 2 simulations during the weekend.
although it's not entirely clear, this wording suggests that you may be studying every single day.

if so, then that sort of over-studying would explain why your scores have remained almost flat -- this sort of test depends heavily on lateral thinking, which can't be developed without periods of non-studying. see the first paragraph of the following post for more on that topic:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/confused-how ... tml#366523

if you actually *have* been studying 7 days per week, then priority number A-1 is to step away from the books for at least an entire week.
DS My weakest point in math although improving also.
IF YOU MISS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DS THAN PS, THEN MATH IS NOT THE ISSUE.

instead, if you have this discrepancy, then your problem is one of strategy: basically, you haven't really taken the time to fully internalize the functionality and strategy of DS problems.
as a result, you are almost certainly not missing these DS problems because of the math itself -- you are probably missing them because of other things, such as not really understanding the format of DS, answering the wrong question, etc.

for more on this issue, please watch the first part of the APRIL 14, 2011, recording at the following link:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm

PS Weakest points: number series, triangle properties, combinatorics (difficult questions), VIC (difficult questions).
VIC is not really a separate question type; it's a technique that can be applied to a huge variety of problem types. (the reason why some problems are actually classified as "vic" in our test software is to emphasize the utility of the method.)

speaking of this topic, watch the FEBRUARY 4, 2010, video at the same link posted above -- if you truly take the time to master the "backup methods" given in that lecture (including but not limited to the VIC method), then those methods will probably be enough to add several points in quant.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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