I took the exam in Jan 2012 and didn't get the score that I wanted.
Instead of taking the time to re-do the whole course via self-study I wanted to know how I should tackle studying for the exam to take it a second time.
Math: I pulled a report of all 6 practice CAT exams I took and found all areas I was weak in.
Verbal: Pulled the same but I don't know how I would study in strengthening my weaknesses.
What I noticed was that I typically spent too much time on problems which made me run out of time. So at the end I was selecting any answer choice just so I would leave all answers questions.
I'm kind of lost and would some kidn of guidance.
GRE Forum Archive
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- mikeyyoo
- Course Students
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:36 pm
- jen
- Manhattan Prep Staff
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:50 am
Re: How To Study After you Take the Exam
Hi there,
If you've identified your problem as a timing issue, then the reports of your weaknesses are helpful, but maybe not the MOST helpful thing. What you need to do, obviously, is get faster without sacrificing accuracy.
Focus mainly on the official body of problems in the Official Guide. Secondarily, focus on all the problems you missed or took too long to complete on the online practice exams.
Do/re-do everything with time limits of 1 minute 15 seconds for Quant Comp and 2 minutes for other quant. Make flashcards for missed or too-slow problems.
Anything you couldn't do fast enough, ask:
- Do I just need to practice? If so, could I change the numbers (for instance, in a word problem), do it again, and make sure my answer makes logical sense?
- Can I find similar problems in the appropriate section of the Strategy Guides?
- Should I have used the calculator?
- Should I have written more or less down? Should I have been more organized? (For instance, when trying numbers on Quant Comp, did you use the notation we learned in class 1 so you are totally clear when you've succeeded in proving D?)
- Should I have skipped/marked this one so I could get to easier/shorter problems in the section, and hopefully come back?(Don't overuse this, but skipping/marking 2-3 problems per section is reasonable, especially anything with enormous charts.)
- Did I take too long figuring out what kind of problem this was and what I was supposed to do about it? If so, what kind of cues exist in this problem that would tell you how to act for a similar problem? (For instance, a problem with two separate averages and an overall average is a weighted average problem; a problem that mentions factors or multiples is a primes and divisibility problem; a ratio problem with "COULD be the total number..." is also really about divisibility.)
Keep in mind that successful test takers usually spend 100 or more hours preparing, and speed is a result of practice (of focused, deliberate practice, anyway).
Good luck!
Jen
If you've identified your problem as a timing issue, then the reports of your weaknesses are helpful, but maybe not the MOST helpful thing. What you need to do, obviously, is get faster without sacrificing accuracy.
Focus mainly on the official body of problems in the Official Guide. Secondarily, focus on all the problems you missed or took too long to complete on the online practice exams.
Do/re-do everything with time limits of 1 minute 15 seconds for Quant Comp and 2 minutes for other quant. Make flashcards for missed or too-slow problems.
Anything you couldn't do fast enough, ask:
- Do I just need to practice? If so, could I change the numbers (for instance, in a word problem), do it again, and make sure my answer makes logical sense?
- Can I find similar problems in the appropriate section of the Strategy Guides?
- Should I have used the calculator?
- Should I have written more or less down? Should I have been more organized? (For instance, when trying numbers on Quant Comp, did you use the notation we learned in class 1 so you are totally clear when you've succeeded in proving D?)
- Should I have skipped/marked this one so I could get to easier/shorter problems in the section, and hopefully come back?(Don't overuse this, but skipping/marking 2-3 problems per section is reasonable, especially anything with enormous charts.)
- Did I take too long figuring out what kind of problem this was and what I was supposed to do about it? If so, what kind of cues exist in this problem that would tell you how to act for a similar problem? (For instance, a problem with two separate averages and an overall average is a weighted average problem; a problem that mentions factors or multiples is a primes and divisibility problem; a ratio problem with "COULD be the total number..." is also really about divisibility.)
Keep in mind that successful test takers usually spend 100 or more hours preparing, and speed is a result of practice (of focused, deliberate practice, anyway).
Good luck!
Jen
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