What NOT to do the week before your GMAT

Hi Everyone,

Like many BTG members, I've been a silent spectator on the forum for the past 6 weeks, during which time I gained a wealth of valuable insight and knowledge from its members- so thank you to all who contribute. There are already a ton of debriefs on here about what steps people took to score well on test day. Rather than provide you simply with details of what TO DO, I'm here to tell you about my mistakes during the week preceding the test date in hopes that others can learn what NOT TO DO.

For context, I'll share how things went during the first five weeks of my preparation. These are things that I felt I did right:
- I started with the Kaplan GMAT Premier 2011 review book. This book was great because it did a basic review of all the test's components and material. I was especially rusty on some of the medium-level math (combinatorics, probability, etc), so the book reintroduced me to those topics. It also has some practice problems for each topic, but not enough to feel fully prepared. A great introduction if you're rusty in some areas.
- Once I had the basic strategies down, I was ready for some more problems so I dove into the OG12. I wanted to practice as many problems as I could, and the OG had plenty of problems to choose from. I felt they were lacking the basic topic reviews that Kaplan had, but the OG made up for it with its large number of problems. It seemed, though I'm not positive this is the case, that the earlier problems in each chapter were easier and the later problems were harder. In the interest of time, I did the first 20-30 problems in each chapter, and if I got them all or mostly correct, then I skipped to the last 50-75 problems, skipping the middle 100 problems in some chapters. I COULD have done them but was more interested in trying harder problems and moving on.
- After the OG I took my first GMATPrep practice test and got a 760(Q50,V44). I was pumped to see this since I didn't know where in the range I'd fall. I decided to move onto the more advanced materials to make sure I was prepared for any question that could be asked.
- I followed the OG with the Kaplan 800 book. This provides some good detailed analysis of the typical problem types for each section that you'd see, followed by a few questions. The explanations and analyses far outnumber the problems, but it's still an alright book. There were a few objectionable answers in the book that others have identified as potential issues as well, but I just brushed those off since the official questions were likely to be more sound.

Now to the meat...

WHAT NOT TO DO THE WEEK OR TWO BEFORE YOUR TEST
At this point 4-5 weeks had passed and I was about 10 days out from test day. I had ordered the Manhattan GMAT books in the beginning of my test prep and decided I'd do them if I had time. Given that I had 10 days and 8 books (6, actually - I completely skipped 2), I felt I could knock most of them out before my test and have an edge on test day with my MGMAT advanced skills. That's where I went wrong. The verbal books were straightforward so I did those first. No problem there. Then I dove into the four math books. I've always been relatively strong in math, but I really wanted to perfect my math in hopes of getting a 50 or 51 on Quant. So I breezed through the easy math sections and then focused on the advanced portions in the back of the book.

Since I really wanted to do well, I spent a lot of time on the advanced sections and their respective problems. I read the detailed explanations and didn't move on until I knew how to do the problem well. A few days before my real test, I took another practice test to see if I had stayed the same or improved. When I got the score, I was frustrated and angry. It was still a good score 700(Q45,V41), but I was expecting higher, especially given all the advanced studying I had done. And that's when it hit me. I struggled on the basic problems (especially in math) because my mind was so conditioned to answer advanced problems.

One might think that if your brain can handle the advanced problems, then the easy problems should be even easier. However, that was NOT the case for me. When I looked back through the problems I got wrong, they were the basic ones. The problem was that since I was getting the easy and medium-level problems wrong, I never got to the advanced problems where I could have used my MGMAT advanced skills. Instead, my brain struggled to remember how to do the basic ones without overanalyzing them because it had been almost two weeks since I did easy and medium-level problems.

All the materials I used were great, but they need to be used correctly. Spending your last week of studying preparing for advanced questions may not be the best approach - it certainly wasn't for me. Instead, I suggest that you spend the last week reviewing the OG problems, since these are most like the problems you'll see on test day. If you have time earlier in your study period and can fit them in, then advanced problems can be beneficial. Just make sure you don't forget how to analyze the easy and moderate problems quickly and effectively.

How I redeemed myself
Once I realized my mistake, I had 1 1/2 days to fix it. I put my MGMAT books away and broke out the OG. I went to those problems that I had originally skipped and worked on those. Come test day, I felt I was better prepared than I was a few days earlier. I did all the standard stuff (got there early, had some caffeine, ate a snickers on my break, etc). I also did about 5 problems in the different sections in the OG that morning before the test, as recommended by another user to warm up your brain.

When I got to the first question on Quant, I froze. It was a basic question and I couldn't figure out how to do it. For some reason, the remnants of the advanced material in my brain were trying to convince me to solve it in a complex way. I actually spent 3 minutes on the first problem and had to guess - NOT an ideal situation for the FIRST question of the test, especially since everyone tells you that the first ten questions are crucial. Nonetheless, I settled down and completed the section with 15 seconds left.

I finished my test, hit Show Scores, and closed my eyes. When I opened them I was surprised to see 760(Q49,V44). I was super excited. My mind started to run and wonder "what if you had gotten that first problem right, or what if..." but I stopped it right there, realizing I was lucky to have reached my goal. Luckily, my strong verbal redeemed my less-than-ideal quant - probably because I didn't focus on verbal the last week before the test.

The funny part? I never encountered any really hard questions that I would say are characteristic of the MGAT advanced sections. For someone in the 760-800 range, those advanced problems would likely pop up with regularity. But for most of us, the regular problems are all we'll see. So my advice to you: don't spend the last week or two before the test preparing for problems you're much less likely to see. Master the easy to medium-level problems so you can complete them quickly. That will leave you with more time to figure out the advanced problems that will pop up - AFTER you get the regular questions right.

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