Getting Back on Track

[LaurenD216]

Hello! After a few months of studying, my discipline and resolve weakened and I didn't study for about a month and a half. I am currently about halfway through my GMAT Interact class. What is the best, most efficient way to review and pick up where I left off? Thank you for your help!

[StaceyKoprince]

It happens - it's okay. What are you planning to do differently this time around to help you stick with it / be more disciplined?*

You can do one of a couple of things. Did you take the first practice CAT at the beginning of your studies or did you skip it? People do skip it...but you really shouldn't, so if you didn't take that CAT, take it now. This will give you lots of good data about your strengths and weaknesses--which will help you to prioritize appropriately--and you'll be able to see how much you've retained of the stuff that you've already studied. Then, you can go back and re-do or review the lessons that need reviewing (Interact, book, some combination thereof - whatever you think you need).

Alternatively, you can try some medium-ish level problems from the Official Guide in the areas you've already studied. (See the Official Guide Problem Sets document in your student center to know which problems to try.) See how you do and use this to decide which lessons you want to re-do before you move ahead to new ones.

*Here's one idea: I set actual study "appointments" with myself on my calendar. When the calendar reminder pops up, I either have to study right then or I have to reschedule for a specific time within the next 24 hours. I can't hit snooze. If I'm not going to start studying right at the moment, then I have to pick a new time, change the calendar appointment, and that's it. I'm not allowed to reschedule the calendar appointment more than once. (And, again, the new time has to be within the next 24 hours.)

So I have *some* flexibility if something really has come up since I picked the time. But I can't just push it off and forget about it or skip it.

[LaurenD216]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you for your reply. A few things I have done in an attempt to stay on track this time:
1. Took my second CAT-- I took my first CAT about three months ago (38Q, 32V, 580). On this second CAT (39Q, 35V, 620) I was able to recognize topics and strategies that I either A. Recognized and remembered, B. recognized and couldn't remember, or C. didn't recognize at all. While I am encouraged that my score went up 40 points without any additional review, it was apparent that I didn't retain as much as I should have. My target score is a 680.

2. Created review plan-- I have been taking notes throughout all the Sessions and Strategy Guide chapters. I plan to review those notes and boil each topic down to a page, then tackle the "try easier quant/verbal" problems to refresh my foundational skills, then moving to medium-level.

3. Set a target test date-- I am taking the test well in advance of my application to business school. However, without the pressure of a deadline/test date, I found that it was easy to push off my studying. I will be moving at the end of June and decided that I would like to take my first test prior to that. I set a target date of June 4th.

4. Calendarized the GMAT Interact syllabus-- With this target test date, I broke up the remaining syllabus lessons and homework. I have Sessions 7-9 and their corresponding homework left to complete. With heavy, diligent studying I think I can complete the "catch up review" and the Interact Syllabus by the middle of May, leaving two weeks for a final review before my first test.

5. Created study appointments and a set time-- I set up appointments on my phone to study in the evenings after work. I'm going to take your advice! I also did little things such as put a sticky note with my target score on the corner of my TV... Just in case my priorities get out of whack again!

Do you have any additional critiques or advice? Do you see this as being feasible?

Many thanks,
Lauren

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry I'm just responding now - for some reason, this didn't show up last time I was here. I wonder if it got caught in our spam filter for a little while or something.

I was able to recognize topics and strategies that I either A. Recognized and remembered, B. recognized and couldn't remember, or C. didn't recognize at all. While I am encouraged that my score went up 40 points without any additional review, it was apparent that I didn't retain as much as I should have.

First half = great, second half = don't do that to yourself. There is no "should have." You are trying to learn a crazy amount of complex stuff all at once; it's not all going to stick the first time. That's okay.

Also, remember that there will always be stuff that you don't recognize at all. Seriously, no matter how much you study. I've been doing this for 20 years and I still see questions sometimes that are just... I've got nothing. (Sure, I try to learn from them after. But in the moment? Nope. Pick favorite letter, move on.)

One of the best parts of actually recognizing things is that it becomes more clear when you don't know - and it's easier to admit it to yourself because you know there are plenty of other things that you do recognize.

From a study standpoint, your three categories are:
(A) recognized and remembered: Great! Just keep studying periodically so you don't lose these.
(B) recognized and couldn't remember: Focus here. What can you do to remember next time?
(C) didn't recognize at all: forget it (for now). Focus on category B first and see where that gets you. If that gets you to 680, you're done. If it doesn't, then learn some of the stuff in this category. (If something here does seem really like "Oh, yeah, I can totally learn that; I just haven't seen it before," then feel free to learn it. But mostly this stuff should be "get wrong faster / not my priority right now."

Next, your item #2: love. Good plan.

Good for target test date - important to realize your tendencies.

Love the calendarizing and the sticky note on the TV. That's awesome. I'll only add: if you do feel super burned out one day, it's okay to take a day off. Better, actually, than trying to push through and not really retaining anything because you're burned out. Make sure your calendar includes 1 day a week on which you do nothing related to the GMAT at all.

This all sounds good - go for it! And check in / let us know how it's going.

[LaurenD216]

Hi Stacey,

My exam is scheduled for May 27th! I'm both excited and nervous. I took a good look at my CAT scores and reassessed my target score, which is now 650 and within reach.

I am scoring in the 80-85th percentile for Verbal and feeling confident about that portion. The Quant portion is really pulling my score down, so I am focusing on reviewing the commonly-tested Quant sections and recognizing when I can use strategies (i.e. Smart Numbers) to make the math less abstract.

I'm skimming back through the Quant Strategy Guides and making flashcards for any formulas or tidbits that I need to remember. After reviewing the relevant Strategy Guide, I'm working through the corresponding MGMAT OG Problem Sets (by topic, mid-book quiz, and final quiz). I also see that there are question banks by topic in my Student Center that I haven't fully utilized. Do you have any recommendations for changing or enhancing my review? I understand that my score won't skyrocket in the next three weeks. I do, however, believe that with some more review and practice, I can bridge the gap between my most recent CAT and that 650 goal.

One other point is that I am really not scoring well in the IR section. I've watched the lessons, done the question banks, and done the IR sections on my CATs. On my CATs, I'm scoring a 3 or lower. On almost all questions, I'm getting half of each question right, which means I'm missing them. How can I get even a little bit better in this section? I was planning to skip 2, which I think gives me about 3 minutes per question. How do you feel about that strategy? Should I skip more/less? I know that this section is gaining relevance in the admissions process and I'm very concerned that it might derail my otherwise strong application.

Any other "T-3 week" advice you may have about my particular case would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Lauren

[StaceyKoprince]

Mix those questions up! Don't do them all by category. If you do that, then you know what topics you're doing before you start, but the real test will mix everything up - so you've got to be able to see a bunch of random questions and figure out what they are. That's a key GMAT skill.

Other than that, what you describe sounds great!

You're scoring 3 on our (MPrep's) CATs? That's like a 5 on the real thing, which is good enough. Our IR is really hard.

Skip 4 if you're going for a score of 5+ and skip 3 if you're going for a score of 6+. (You only need to go for 6+ if you want to go into management consulting or i-banking and you want to work for one of the big firms.) Those skip numbers also allow you to get other ones wrong. You can get quite a lot wrong and still get a good IR score.

Last bit of advice: don't try to study everything in quant. Pay attention to stuff that is more common; don't try to learn every last little nitpicky rule or formula. 80/20 rule: study the stuff that's most likely to show up and shrug / guess immediately when they do toss something unusual at you.

Good luck! Let us if you have any other questions!