12 days till go-time

[david.f.godoy]

So a quick rundown, attempted the gmat 2x before...640 is my high. Been studying for past two months for a retake trying to know the content cold and working on my weak areas. I've used the following:

MGMAT
OG 12/13 (all the OG12, and the new questions from 13)

I took the OG pretest and post test, and I did above average, so the content isn't the problem (in untimed circumstances)

However, practice tests are the bane (or Bain, if you ask Mr. Limbaugh) of my existence, obviously along with the real GMAT. I've scored from 580 to 680 on MGMAT CAT tests, and 690 was my highest on the GMAT Prep Software (i've taken each 2x, and use them few and far between so as not to repeat questions, or at least remember them). So my question is, with my test 12 days away, should I take a test every day and recap? I've read the timing strategy articles, and practiced them some, should I just deliberately practice on getting in and getting out? Has anyone else encountered this and what was their respective strategy? Explaining to adcom's that I know the material, just not within 2 minutes doesnt seem like a great admissions essay strategy.

Thanks in advance,

David

[StaceyKoprince]

so the content isn't the problem (in untimed circumstances)

Which means the timing is? If the timing is bringing you down... I have good news and bad news. The good news is: that can be fixed. The bad news: not in 12 days.

So my question is, with my test 12 days away, should I take a test every day and recap?

No! Emphatically no. You do NOT get better simply by taking a million practice tests. You do spend a HUGE amount of time (3.5h each time!) for very little return if you then just take another one the next day.

Practice CATs are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving (including on timing). It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

I've read the timing strategy articles, and practiced them some, should I just deliberately practice on getting in and getting out?

Some, but not enough. :) My guess is that you still have the "old school" mindset that it's all about the material. This is NOT actually a content test. Yes, they do test us on various pieces of content, but this is actually a reasoning test, testing what are called executive reasoning skills. One example of executive reasoning is looking at a particular task and deciding, "This is not the best use of my time right now" or "I'll do part of this, but then I really need to move on to something else." (Translation, try it, but make a guess and move on before losing / wasting time.)

Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/

Unless / until you switch to the mindset described in that article, you're going to struggle to hit 700 / master the timing.

EVERYone struggles with timing, and the most common reason why? They don't / won't use the mindset described in the above article, and/or they won't ultimately "buy into" and use the timing strategies described in this time management article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

As long as someone continues to believe that getting something right is more important than managing timing, that person will struggle to get the score s/he wants. (Note: this doesn't mean that time management is more important than accuracy, just that the two are equally important.)

Okay, so the nutshell here is: you can learn to deal with this timing stuff, but you're almost certainly not going to be able to do this in 12 days (10 days now, I think). I've never seen someone fix anything other than very minor timing issues in that timeframe. So you need to postpone your test. Ideally, you'd give yourself about 4-6 weeks. You may be working against deadlines, though (it's deadline season!) - if so, give yourself whatever extra time you can. And then start working on this timing and mindset stuff TODAY.

Explaining to adcom's that I know the material, just not within 2 minutes doesnt seem like a great admissions essay strategy.

I agree - that idea is a non-starter. :) Seriously, though, I'm just going to repeat something I already said above: the actual reason this is a bad idea is that they don't really care how good you are at geometry. B-school doesn't use geometry; this test just uses it as a tool because they have to have some content base to use. They care how good your executive reasoning skills are - but you're not showing your skills to your best there because you're still approaching this like it's a school test where content was supreme. That's not the point any longer!