GMAT in 6 days!!! Dip in scores....Plz help

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Hi Guyz

Really need your advise on this one. I know what are all the ideal things to do......but just could not follow them( i aint gonna give any exceuses).....and looks like i'm paying for it now :(

I scheduled my GMAT for the first time on Oct 14.....blanked out in the exam due to excessive study on the day before,anxiety and lack of sleep. So i cancelled my scores,this time more determined to hit the 720+ mark.

First Prep:
I had done most of the concepts this time around in SC,CR,Quant and solved 80% of OG and OG Verbal Review. Though solved only the last 50 problems in PS and DS from OG,coz i was scoring pretty well in Quant.

My Practices test scores(approx):
GMAT Prep 1: 630[Q49 V 28]
GMAT Prep 2: 660 [Q 48 V 31]
GMAT Prep1(Re-take):650 [Q49 V30]

So i thought wotever happened was for the good since i was not touching the 700 mark anyways.

2nd time Prep
I started my prep for the GMAT again after a 2week break.
Powerprep:650 [Q49 V31] (I considered this, test zero and was looking to improve from here on)

Went through the whole of manhattan SC again word by word and solved the corresponding OG10 problems. for about 1-2hrs daily(I could spend more time due to my work schedule)

Gave the free MGMAT (Verbal only) to score V33 (Not dissapointed,at least there was some improvement,though it could have been more)

From there on started a series of tests

MGMAT CAT 1(Quant only): Q40
MGMAT CAT 2: 600 Q39 V33
Quant 39 blew the day light of me....Brushed through some Quant concepts. After that.....
MGMAT CAT 3: 620 Q42 V33
MGMAT CAT 4:630 Q42 V 35
GMAT Prep 2 : 650 Q44 V 35

On reviewing my tests in Quant i realised about 60% of the mistakes are due to careless errors.

Have gone thru some more Quant concepts in the past few days. And plan to take 2 tests this week as i see a steady improvement (Hope to see a 700 before the D-day)

Guyz plz throw some light on the strategy i should follow to reach my target score!!!
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

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by thirst » Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:04 am
be thorough and careful. write things down, don't do math in your head.

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by bsandhyav » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:58 am
Thanks...i do that....but i'm making silly mistakes while even copying numbers from the screen to the notepad. I guess it is 'coz i've been having only abt 4-5 hrs sleep for the past 1-2 weeks. May be my brain is too tiered and it needs some relaxing....My exam is on this monday....so i've decided that i'm gonna have a good 8-10 hour sleep on fri-sat-sunday. But till then i have 3 more days and i'm gonna work really hard to improve my score.

I know a 50 point jump is not so likely in 6 days,but giving the benefit of doubt that i'm loosing my Q 49 on account of silly mistakes....i think i can still try.

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by thirst » Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:37 pm
If you were able to get 49Q before, a 50 point difference is definitely doable. If you can get back to 49Q by being careful, thorough, a 49Q 35V is roughly a 680-700.

So just focus on being thorough and careful.

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by cramya » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:29 pm
Sandhya,
My 2 cents. if u r good enough to score 49 on quant I would say spend more time on SC/CR.(reviewing the basics etc...). An increase in Verbal points definitely boosts your total more than a similar increase in quant points. Instead of trying to get to a 50 from a 49 in quant I would focus more on verbal (at the same time try doing some math to keep it in memory i.e to provide u the confidence that u r still good in quant and will do well on GMAT)

Get some rest before the big day and I you are only as good as what yout think u r . U have done the hard work so keep up ur confidence and try to positively motivate yourself that you are going to ACE the GMAT.

Apart from the reviewing some basics the last phase is all about positive re-inforcement and keeping a free uncluttered mind!

Regards,
Cramya

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by bsandhyav » Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:19 am
Just gave my MGMAT CAT 5 after returning from work.......Got a miserable 590[Q42 V31].....this is my lowest score ever ever :cry:

I really dint expect it coming at this stage :oops:

Timed out on the last 10 Q's in quant(guessed all in 1:42 minutes with 1 Question unattempeted)and 5-6 Q's in verbal(calculated guessing in 3 mins)

Guyz i feel really miserable rite now.....i really dont know wot 2 do. Will give 1 last GMAT Prep on saturday. I just hope i manage to get an improved score which truly reflects my abilities this time!!!!

But i really donno where i am going so terribly wrong :cry: [I just hope its 'coz i gave the test after coming back from office....though i did not feel too tiered during the test]

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by raajan_p » Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:26 pm
bsandhyav: I totally hear you, but cool down.

Just IMHO, I would advice you not to take a test after a long day's work..esp if you had lot to do at work...Your mind will definitely not be in the same situation as it should ideally be to take your GMAT exam...

So, dont think deep about the exam that you just took...

As Logitech first tip under the "ip of the day" topic says, try to simulate your practise test exactly similar to how you will be doing ur real test...

Now, coming back to the type of questions that you are answering incorrectly, do u see a pattern? As in, are you marking wrong answer choices for same type of questions? If you so, you need to make a note of it and make sure to scan through those topics on a daily basis...

Be confident! Its again you know wats your strengths and where u need improvements. Dont get dragged away by seeing posts under "I just beat the gmat" forum which talks about 750's score and that you aren't quite near there....

Yes, you definitely can with continous practise.

Just make sure to work out 15 questions each on SC, CR, PS, and DS..with atleast 2 to 3 RC passages on a daily basis.

I know its really tiresome to concentrate after a day's long work...but try to sneak in as much as possible...you will feel relieved when u finally see ur score..

So, just a final thought...you are not the only one around..there are many of us here who needs similar enthusiasm to get ourselves going.

So..keep goin, and I am sure that I will see a great post from you regarding your test results going forward.

-Raajan

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by bsandhyav » Thu Dec 04, 2008 2:18 am
Thank you so much raajan....your reply does calm my nerves to some extent and put the zing back in me to "BEAT THE GMAT"!!!

I will try and follow your advice of 15 Q's of each type daily(i wish i had got this valuable advice earlier)...but now that i have only 4 days left and dnt plan to do much on sunday(my test is on monday)...i dont know how feasible it is....
My study plan for the next 4 days is
4-Dec(Today): 1.Review MGMAT CAT 5 Verbal.
2.PS & DS OG 11 mistakes Review
5 Dec :1.Refer to Powerscore CR bible for weak areas in CR (I will be reading this for the 1st time only to target conclusion based Q's)

6 Dec : 1. GMAT Prep 1(Re take). Analysis of mistakes in GMAT Prep. Review Manhattan SC,idioms,Tips on RC, miscellaneous notes on verbal

7 Dec : 1st half of the day Review all the mistakes made in tests and OG so far. Relax for the next half of the day. (Create AWA template and write an issue and argument example each)

8 Dec: G-DAY. My GMAT is at 9 am.

Guyz you think there is something i should/should not do to ensure maximum output on the final GMAT exam?

Please let me know