Beat down AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN!!

[sujkar]

I am extremely passionate about business, entrepreneurship, have a zeal to learn more, and make a difference in this world. The intention of going back to school after a 8 year break is not to drum up the resume, but to learn.

I have been planning to study and give the GMAT for the last two years, a demanding job in Healthcare in Chicago, leaves me little to no time to pursue further education,and added to all the excitement we had a new addition to our family in January!! i am very hard on myself and for me "no time = Xcuses!!", and this keeps pushing me to work harder and harder, but every sample test, and every wrong answer just keeps beating me down.

I enrolled into Kaplan Anywhwere classes on March 17th, and have been diligently working on Math,Verbal, Math is my nemesis, i feel much more confident than before but when it comes to giving to Sample CAT's my score is pathetic, 450-500. I have used several books, and tried to follow the 2 hours/weekday and 4 hours/weekend days schedule, when i look back on my performance analysis, i am still where i was before, what is it that i am missing? I know i am not that dumb, and constant beating into the craft and read and review will bring success, but there is some disconnect.

My issues are:

1. Quant section.
2. Time Management.
3. Every question, seems to be new, even though i have solved similar questions before. (CONFIDENCE!)

I was planning on giving the GMAT on June 22, but i am not ready and feel like i might be giving up!! , How much time should i allow myself?

But i am not a quitter, I will give up, no never, and aim for a high score, i need some direction, PLEASEEE!!

[basso25@]

caveat: i am not an expert; rather, i found similarities in our situations/background, so i felt compelled to respond. that said, if you don't feel ready and if you have flexibility on test date, then i think you should consider postponing taking the test. serve little purpose to take the test when you're not feeling ready or if you're not scoring close to/at your target goal on your practice tests. i (too) am juggling prep with full time position; i too am getting back into it w/ 8 years of work experience (30 y/o); i too have the same issues as you (quant - ugh). And... i am trusting the process and not rushing it. i have 350 hours of studying under my belt (starting jan) and expect another 100-150 to give my self a shot a hitting my goal. i hear a lot of me in your choice of words; i suspect you are (like me) a "grinder" -- we detest quitters and drive ourselves to excellence. so apply that principle in an effective and strategic manner; get your priorities in line to tackle your goals. don't give up.

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

I don't have much to add to basso25's great advice/observations, except to repeat what he said about postponing the test. In my opinion, there's no use taking the test unless you've achieved your target score on at least 2 practices tests. It's extremely rare that a student beats all of his/her practice test scores on test day.

If you're looking for some direction prep-wise, you might consider signing up for BTG's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day you will receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Cheers,
Brent