How much is enough + Timing tips

[wongee]

My D-day is 7 days away. So far I have concentrated on the following and somehow feel like my prep may be a little less although my concepts are strong. This is what I have done. I have been studying while working all this while, but these last 6 days technically (not studying a day before exam), I will be concentrating full time on studies. Would appreciate some thoughtful feedback.

- OG 11 (completed PS, will complete rest of sections in two.three days)
- OG Math (completed most from Verbal and Math and will finish the rest in the next few days)
- OG verbal
- Kaplan short 25 min quizzes on disk (completed half, due to complete remaining)
- Princeton Review: Completed book
- All flashcards from BTG
- My own flashcards which I have been reviewing to establish core concepts at least every second day


Tests:
Gmat Prep 1
PR CAT 1
PR CAT 2

Pending:
PR CAT 3 and 4
GMAT PREP 2
Planning to retake GMAT PREP 1 for practice.

I do have the Kaplan 800 book but havent reviewed it (need to find it actually!). Is the material amount sufficient. I have been considering buying the MGMAT tests online, but dont want to overhwhelm myself to complete more material. Is this strategy sensible?

Timing Issue: My concepts are strong. Timing was/is my weakness.

Test 1: Insignificant as there was no real strategy.
Test II: I scored 49 on Quantl but 28 or something like that on Verbal - granted I hadn't practiced verbal enough. But, next two weeks I worked on verbal and uped my score/qtns correct.
Timing for Test II: Accuracy was very strong, but I wasnt pacing myself, so while I was getting higher points and less incorrect, I took upto 8 mins for two qtns, which when I reviewed freaked me out! Yet, I scored OK, Quant carried me on this test.

Test III: Reduced quant, not significantly but vs a 5 incorrect on Test II, i got 9 incorrect on Test III. Verbal jumped to 38.
Timing: Realized I needed to pace myself so was too conscious about timing and made myself stick with pulling the plug etc on tough qtns. (range of time 50 sec - 4 mins max). In this case, I got four more incorrect than Test II, but I presume this is a better strategy if I can better the accuracy and stay calm. FYI. i was frantic about staying with limit for each qtn to lessen time spent.

"I" think this is still OK since I have my basics well ingrained, it is a matter of increasing my accuracy. I think this can be done with a few more practice tests? Am i correct in assuming so?

So overall, I know this is a long post so if you are still reading, thanks and hope you respond.
Key items -
- Is material enough (Kaplan 800, MGMAT tests?)
- Can you explain if my timing/pacing technique makes sense
- Are practice tests the best way to increase accuracy within per question timeslot?

[beatthegmat]

wongee:

It sounds like you have a packed schedule for your remaining days--my recommendation is that you should be lightening up your prep as you get closer to your test.

In terms of materials, you have all that you need. Do not buy any more material!

Your timing strategy is really interesting because the range is quite large. In general, I would recommend that you do not give more than two minutes per problem. I just don't want you to be spending four minutes per question on the test, especially if you encounter a lot of difficult questions that would warrant such attention.

I'm not so clear on your last question. Practice tests are a good way to improve your timing on the test, but to improve accuracy you need to be well grounded on GMAT subject concepts and learn to be comfortable with the time you are given per question (assuming a 2-minute pace). I believe that reviewing your flashcards as well as your previous errors are the best way to improve your accuracy given the time you have.

Best of luck! Please let us know how it goes?

[wongee]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the response! I figured you/someone here would ask me to lessen the load on the last few days and was dreading that - because I have obviosuly been reading posts and kNOW that is the right thing to do, yet I feel like this is the first time I can give complete attention to GMAT studying hence the stress! Thanks for reiterating though.

- I wont buy any more material.
- Timing, well yes the range is a lot, (50-4mins for tough qtns), but I think this is an improvement from my previous test so the main thing i have to work on is getting comofrtable with the 2-minute pacing time, and as you said DO NOT spend 4 mins. What is the longest one should spend on a tough qtn, outer limit? Wont hold you by it, but its good to know!

- also, when you say my timing strategy is really interesting, do you mean its kinda weird in that you havent seen something liek this before? Or havent heard very successful results with something liek this. When you say the range is high, I just want to point out that I now work with 1min - 2.30min perhaps for most qtns, but there were about 2/3 qtns where I spent upto 4 mins. Does this make more sense now? I think this is what is really my weak point so any advice help will be most appreciated!

- Accuracy, I guess my last qtn meant that I was making careless mistakes because I was frantic about keeping within time (2 min or so), so the best way to alleviate that is to keep practicing under timed conditions so that i can get comfortable and not be hyped up, correct? This probably causes me to lose valuable seconds from those 2 mins and then make more mistakes.

Thanks Eric, and I will lighten the prep for the next few days for sure! ugh dont want to...as I am clearly nervous about it...but will acknowledge thy advice!

[mayonnai5e]

It sounds like you have some the same concerns that I had with respect to timing versus accuracy. You may want to read the last few pages of my blog (linked in my signature) where I discuss my decision to focus on accuracy over timing on the real exam. The decision on what to focus on really depends on you, but you should do a careful analysis of the benefits and the disadvantages. For me, I felt I made way too many careless mistakes to warrant the increased speed so I chose accuracy. However, I think 4 minutes is far too long no matter what strategy you choose. I would say 3 minutes is the maximum time limit you should allot to any one problem and some on this forum would say that is still too long. For the hardest, hardest questions, if you really cannot figure out the correct solution path after 1 minute, you should strongly consider moving on.

You should definitely practice timed questions and take CATs so you can become more and more comfortable with timing.

[beatthegmat]

In my perspective, you shouldn't give yourself more than two minutes per question, period!

What I meant by your timing strategy being interesting is that I've never seen anyone use a strategy that feature such a big range for pacing 1-4min!