Advice needed on how to improve my score

[lpycharles]

I just took my first practice exam (Princeton Review) and got 580 (Math 42, Verbal 28).

The difficulty I encounter in Math and Verbal was very different and here's why.

For Math, in fact I was quite confident that I could achieve a good score. Yet, I guess my confidence gave me extra pressure to make sure that I had to get every question correct, and I ended up spending more than two mintues per question on the first 10 or so questions. Worse, when I saw a very difficult probability question, I spend roughly 5 minutes on it. Eventually, I was left with very few time to finish the final 5-6 questions. That probably lowered my score a lot.

For verbal, the whole situation with different. As I realized that time was such an issue for me, I forced myself not to spend too much time on each question. ,At the end when I finished the verbal session, surprisingly, I had 15 MINUTES LEFT! Then I found out from the result that I got half of the reading comprehension questions wrong. I guess this was really due to the fact that I was just too cautious of time and just skimmed through the passage and didn't understand the passage to well.

Apprently, time management is really an issue for me. Can anyone offer advice to me on how to improve time management?

Moreover, after finishing the AWA and the math session, I felt my level of concentration got lower as I was getting tired. This probably affected my ability to understand the comprehension thoroughly. Did anyone of you encounter the same fatigue issue? If so, how did you overcome it? A 3.5 hour exam is chllenging to me, espcially that I only have so little to answer each question in the multiple choice session.

Sorry for this long description on my first exam. I hope I am clear on letting you know my challenges and can get some valuable advice from you. My D-date is on 10/17 and I am targeting 700!

[Prasanna]

lpycharles

I should say you have made a great start, in the sense that you have identified the Critical Success Factors for this exam:

1. Time management
2. Maintaing the energy and concentration levels through the exam
3. Strategy forumation and application for each of the section

Almost everyone is in the same boat as you are, when one starts prep. So you dont need to worry. I am not sure how much you have prepared before the first test.

There are no shortcuts in the prep. You need to start from the basics. Review and identify each section, the different question types, your strengths and weaknesses etc. Devise a plan you would stick to. Concentrate on accuracy first then on time in the tests. With practice and protein rich food, maintianing energy levels should not be a problem. This forum is there to help you with the prep, so shoot out questions in the respective forums whenever you get stuck.

[lpycharles]

Thanks! I think your advice really helps. My next step will be going through my mistakes and make sure I won't do the same in my next practice exam. I am working on the OG11 I think the questions in there are really helpful.

And for sure I will need to improve on time management as well as to maintain the constant energy level. Yes I will try to get more rest and intake more protein in the morning of the day when I take my next practice exam!

Just one quick question, if I find a question really hard to solve, how much time should I spend at most on it before I have to give up and guess? Thanks!

[lpycharles]

No worries, I just read Stacey's response on how to "let-go" on difficult questions I think it is all I need to know. Thanks Stacey for the detailed explanation!!!