what am I doing wrong?!

[thisisvb]

I've been prepping for the exam since mid april and am almost done with the OGs (at least in math).
I've been under the notion that I should work on improving my accuracy first and then worry about timing myself. I seem to have reached about 80% accuracy in most of the sections, but this is when I do questions untimed.

Yesterday, for the first time I tried timing myself and found that I'm unable to do most problems in <2 mins!! I've recently booked my test date for aug 14th and am really worried about how to proceed further.

What do I need to do?? I tried doing problems in groups of 5s/10s, but my accuracy goes down in each section when I time myself.
Should I be doing more paper tests or just CATs?

Can anyone pls help me with strategy/help me figure out what all I need to do before my test date?

I gave my first (and only) g-prep on may 18th and scored a dismal 620 (Q41,V31). I NEED a 700+

Finally, where should I be practising from for verbal after I'm done the OG? I've got princeton, kaplan, mgmat CATs.
when does kap800 come into the picture? how much time do I need to finish it?

Thanks for your help!

Anxiously, thisisvb

[VP_Tatiana]

Hi VB,

I'm not familiar with the OG materials, so please excuse me if I am suggesting something you have already tried. From what it sounds like, if you have been working through problems but not specifically studying the related curriculum and learning shortcuts, your time may suffer. I think familiarity as well as a few shortcuts are necessary to make it through on time.

For example, you shouldn't be solving all of the DS questions. You should only be finding out if they are indeed solvable with the information available.

Best wishes,

Tatiana

[thisisvb]

Thanks for your reply tatiana.. I do concur that I need to learn various shortcuts, but doesn't that come through practice?

My main concern as of now is timing. I'm unable to do questions in the recommended time slots (eg: I can't do a RC Q in less than 1 min, SC Q in 1.5 mins)
As some would say, how do I build an 'internal clock' ? I know it comes through practice, but how should I go about it? should I do more practice exams (I've only done one g-prep) or should I time myself for each question (which is much harder!) ?