Hi,
My test is scheduled for next week and I am not sure what else I should do to study.
These are the scores from my sample tests
11/2008: q40, v37=640
1/2009: q46, v35=670
4/2009: q43, v35 =640
I took the 9 session course that ended in February and I have finished all Strategy Guides and Official Guide Problems.
I used the OG Tracker and these were my percents:
Quant- PS-86%, DS-81%
Verbal-85%
I felt more confident and like I was getting more problems correct when I was doing the OG problems. Are my practice test scores equivalent to the OG percents? Also, I feel like I forgot all the techniques or dont know which technique to use when I do the sample tests even though I was using them on the OG problems. Does this just mean I need more practice? Or do you have any advice?
Right now I have been doing more of the practice tests and the Challenge Problems.
What should I be studying? Or what would be your advice to do next?
Thank you in advance.
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- sara.mobasseri
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:30 pm
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9361
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Re: Final advice for test in a week
The test is not actually scored based upon percentage correct, so there isn't a way to equate percentages from OG with CAT scores.
The Challenge Problems are too hard - don't spend time on those unless you're already scoring a 50 on quant!
There are two different things I want to address: what to do in the final week, and how to address what you describe re: not being able to recognize things.
Generally speaking, in the final week, we don't learn a lot of new things. The final week is best spent reviewing what we already know, solidifying our strengths and our pacing plan, and knowing how to deal with our weaknesses (give the question a shot, but don't spend extra time). There is a real danger to "over-prepping" in the final week and burning yourself out right before the test.
It is also the case, generally speaking, that we will probably score about what we have scored on our most recent practice test (within a week or two of the real test).
If you are scoring (on practice tests) in the range you would like to score on the real test, then you're in good shape. Spend the week doing high level review and getting yourself mentally prepped to peak on test day. Don't take a practice test within 3 days of the real test and don't do more than an hour or two of very high-level review on the day before.
If you are not scoring in the range you would like to score on the real test, then you most likely need more time before you take the real test; as I mentioned above, big improvements in score tend not to occur over the course of one week.
On the issue of recognizing what to do, I'm guessing that part of the reason you knew what to do with OG questions was that you knew what you were studying before you started the question. You knew the question came from, say, the Word Translations book (or maybe even a specific chapter). But the test doesn't tell you that, right?
When you first study the material, you do need to limit yourself to certain topics, even though that means you already know what the question is supposed to test before you start it. But as you get closer to the test, you need to start doing random sets of questions so that you build the skill of recognizing what to do with a problem. You can (and should!) spend some time this week studying problems just from the point of view of: how do I know what this tests? Pick a random group of problems and spend just 30 seconds on each. During that 30 seconds, try to categorize the problem. Can you name the book it would come from? The chapter? Can you write the formula or name the technique or grammar rule being tested?
And you need to do this in 30 sec or less. If you spend any longer than that, then you aren't actually *recognizing* it - you're just figuring it all out from scratch.
When you don't successfully recognize something, spend some time figuring out what it is (or look at the explanation to see), and then spend some time figuring out how you should have recognized what it is. What are the clues that should have helped you to recognize, to categorize, to know what to do?
I do have to give you a warning: most people need more than a week to develop this skill. You can certainly get better at it in a week, but most people need 4-6 weeks to get really good at it for all of the different question types on the test. Spend your time on the areas of greatest weakness for you, since you have only a week. If you're already scoring in the range you want to score on the real test, then you should be fine. But if you are hoping to get better, then this is another reason why you made need more time.
Good luck - let us know how it goes!
The Challenge Problems are too hard - don't spend time on those unless you're already scoring a 50 on quant!
There are two different things I want to address: what to do in the final week, and how to address what you describe re: not being able to recognize things.
Generally speaking, in the final week, we don't learn a lot of new things. The final week is best spent reviewing what we already know, solidifying our strengths and our pacing plan, and knowing how to deal with our weaknesses (give the question a shot, but don't spend extra time). There is a real danger to "over-prepping" in the final week and burning yourself out right before the test.
It is also the case, generally speaking, that we will probably score about what we have scored on our most recent practice test (within a week or two of the real test).
If you are scoring (on practice tests) in the range you would like to score on the real test, then you're in good shape. Spend the week doing high level review and getting yourself mentally prepped to peak on test day. Don't take a practice test within 3 days of the real test and don't do more than an hour or two of very high-level review on the day before.
If you are not scoring in the range you would like to score on the real test, then you most likely need more time before you take the real test; as I mentioned above, big improvements in score tend not to occur over the course of one week.
On the issue of recognizing what to do, I'm guessing that part of the reason you knew what to do with OG questions was that you knew what you were studying before you started the question. You knew the question came from, say, the Word Translations book (or maybe even a specific chapter). But the test doesn't tell you that, right?
When you first study the material, you do need to limit yourself to certain topics, even though that means you already know what the question is supposed to test before you start it. But as you get closer to the test, you need to start doing random sets of questions so that you build the skill of recognizing what to do with a problem. You can (and should!) spend some time this week studying problems just from the point of view of: how do I know what this tests? Pick a random group of problems and spend just 30 seconds on each. During that 30 seconds, try to categorize the problem. Can you name the book it would come from? The chapter? Can you write the formula or name the technique or grammar rule being tested?
And you need to do this in 30 sec or less. If you spend any longer than that, then you aren't actually *recognizing* it - you're just figuring it all out from scratch.
When you don't successfully recognize something, spend some time figuring out what it is (or look at the explanation to see), and then spend some time figuring out how you should have recognized what it is. What are the clues that should have helped you to recognize, to categorize, to know what to do?
I do have to give you a warning: most people need more than a week to develop this skill. You can certainly get better at it in a week, but most people need 4-6 weeks to get really good at it for all of the different question types on the test. Spend your time on the areas of greatest weakness for you, since you have only a week. If you're already scoring in the range you want to score on the real test, then you should be fine. But if you are hoping to get better, then this is another reason why you made need more time.
Good luck - let us know how it goes!
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1