2 Weeks Until Exam, Advice Really Needed!

[tomainom]

First off, would like to thank everyone on this site for all of the helpful tools and study plan advice that have really helped me advance in my GMAT studies.

I am currently 2 weeks from my test day (August 18) and I am looking to score a 750+. I have been studying alot since May (roughly 20 hours a week), and have gone through all of the Manhattan Guides and Official Guide books (OG 13 and Verbal and Quant Reviews). I also just completed the 9 week manhattan online course (extremely helpful). Since beginning my studies, I have taken 4 practice tests over the 4 month time period and here are my respective scores (these are all Manhattan CAT's):

6/3 - 630 (Q44, V 32)

6/26 - 640 (Q43, V34)

7/26 - 680 (Q43, V39)

8/5 - 710 (Q42, V45)

I was wondering what my study strategy should be for the next 2 weeks as I have gone through all the MGMAT books and all the Oguide questions. I realize a jump from 710 -> 750 is rather large, but I feel that it may be possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone on the forum for all the help so far!

[StaceyKoprince]

As a general rule, what you're scoring about 10 days before is about what you should expect to score on the real test. I know that isn't what you want to hear - but I do want to let you know the general experience.

In addition, the jump from 710 to 750 is enormous. It's *much* harder than jumping from 610 to 650 - it's the equivalent of jumping from maybe 600 to 680 or 700, with the added caveat that, by definition, the vast majority of test-takers will never reach the 750 (or higher) level, no matter how much / how long they study. I know people who wanted to teach for us who took several months to get the last 10 points (750 to 760), and some never made it.

That's not to say that you shouldn't go for it - but you should think about this decision: if it doesn't happen for you in that timeframe, would you rather postpone and go for the 750 at a later date? Or would you rather lower your goal score and keep your current test date?

Did you take these practice tests under 100% official conditions, including essay, IR, length of breaks, etc? Nothing to eat and drink during the test, etc? Literally everything just like the real test. That's always important, but it's especially so when you're going for an incredibly high score - you can't have any little thing costing you any points at all.

If you deviated from official conditions in any significant way (eg, skipped essay or IR or both, gave yourself longer breaks than allowed, used the pause button, etc), then your practice score are likely inflated, which means you aren't actually at a 710 level yet, so it's even less likely that you'll get to 750 in 2 weeks.

Okay, on to your results. Verbal is pretty much maxed out - it's 99th percentile already - so your improvement from this point on is going to need to come from quant. At the same time, you're going to need to keep up your verbal skills because you don't want them to slip.

In order to give you more specific advice, I need more detailed data on your strengths and weaknesses. Use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

[rohan.nanda]

Stacey,

I didn't want to open another thread so I thought I'd post here. My exam is on Tuesday Aug 14th. Today is Friday Aug 10th, it's 5:40 AM at the moment, my time. The following are the tests I've taken and the scores:

Princeton DIAG Sat, 12th May 2012 410
Princeton Tue, 5th June 2012 690
Princeton Sun, 24th June 2012 590
GMATPrep Thu, 5th July 2012 550
Princeton Wed, 12th July 2012 650
Princeton Tue, 24th July 2012 640
GMATPrep Wed, 2nd Aug 2012 610
GMATPrep(retake)Sun, 5th Aug 2012 710
ManhattanFree Wed, 8th Aug 2012 630



The last one I took was a Manhattan GMAT free test. And it was quite challenging in the quant section. Now, I'm in a huge dilemma . Should I give another test tomorrow when I have only 4 days to go for the test? I'm still not confident with my timing / pacing and that's why I feel I should take another one. But I'm scared that it will burn me out for the big day. Would you suggest I do normal practice problems in this time frame instead?

Just FYI, I have made error logs for each of the tests so i know exactly where I go wrong and how to steal time from my weaknesses. I've got a strategy in place and that's why I wanted to practice it. But tell me if it's a good idea giving a test so close to my date.

Another thing, I've got 2-page paper with a couple of points that I usually look at in the breaks before each section. I've jotted down a few things which are important to remember before the verbal and math sections. Is it a good idea to refer to them in these breaks? Do you advise that instead I just try to recollect it in my mind?

Regards
Rohan

[StaceyKoprince]

Please do post another thread - there isn't a good reason to add this post to someone else's thread-yYou're not going to get answered more quickly or anything like that - and it can get confusing quickly when the other student wants to continue discussing his / her case.

Right now, it's Aug 13th and your test is scheduled for tomorrow. In your post, you asked whether to take another test "tomorrow," meaning Aug 11th. Note for future that it's not super common to get an answer within 24 hours here - usually it's at least several days.

I would have told you no anyway. Your scores are fluctuating significantly - you don't need another test to tell you that. In the week before the test, you had two scores in the low 600s and one in the low 700s - but that one was a retake where you likely saw repeated questions.

As a result, we have to assume that your scoring range is in the low 600s. If that isn't the score you want on the real test (and I'm assuming it's not or you wouldn't be asking), then you shouldn't take the test tomorrow.

I've got 2-page paper with a couple of points that I usually look at in the breaks before each section. I've jotted down a few things which are important to remember before the verbal and math sections. Is it a good idea to refer to them in these breaks? Do you advise that instead I just try to recollect it in my mind?

You can't do this during the real test (refer to any notes), so don't do it in practice either. You'll have to do anything you want to do in your mind. DO NOT bring ANYthing into the testing center (even in your locker) that contains any notes of any kind - they will cancel your test if they see you referring to any notes or writing anything down.

If you want to discuss further, please start another thread of your own. You can cut and paste our starting discussion from this thread, if you like.