Help needed desperately for time management and preparation!

[papgust]

Hi Stacey,

I've been preparing for GMAT for the past 2 months. This is my second attempt. First attempt was a major blow for me scoring just 500 (Q36, V23). I wrote my first exam in the end of July this year. I then took 1 month off from studies and have started fresh.

From my first attempt score, my weak areas are open widely in both Quants and Verbal. I know that i really need to push the bar in both the sections. After 1 month of rest, i decided to plan my own strategy and follow. It has been 2 months now of my preparation and i'm still in my learning phase.

For Quants, i felt that i need to really study the fundamentals first before heading to the problems. This is the mistake i did in my first attempt when i never made any effort to study the fundamentals thinking that i'm already familiar with the math concepts and headed straight to practice problems. This time i don't want to do this mistake and i'd started my fundamentals learning phase diligently. Till now, i've almost completed learning my math fundamentals and feel a bit comfortable now. But, i fear that at some point of time, i would forget the concepts when i start doing the problems. I also get a bad feeling that i would not be able to apply the concepts in the problems. In order to avoid that, i can make flashcards and review them, BUT i feel that volume of flashcards would become huge and end up reviewing just the flashcards alone and not doing anything else. This is what is running in my head at the moment and looking forward to your advice.

For verbal, i almost need to concentrate on all sections. For CR, i bought Powerscore CR bible and learnt the strategies. I'm actually feeling comfortable with the strategies. To test my level of accuracy in CR, i took a OG 11 diagnostic test in CR in an untimed mode. My accuracy shot upto 85-90% from 40%. I was happy with my improvement but actually i took 3 mins avg per question in this test which makes me a little worried.
For SC, i already have MGMAT SC 3rd edition and a grammar refresher book to start with. I'm not sure whether MGMAT SC 3rd edition is good enough to cater to my needs or i should go for MGMAT SC 4th edition which people advice that there is a vast change from the previous edition.
For RC, i'm confused on how to start my prep. I currently own MGMAT RC 3rd edition. People advice me to start reading Economist, Sciam etc. to improve on RC. But most of the days, i tend to neglect doing this and really not able to read the articles diligently. Even if i start reading them, i tend to read at the max of 10 mins and feel really bored with and end up closing the site. Finally, i really don't know how to go with my prep of RC.

Finally, as i need to improve in both Quants and Verbal, i find it difficult to categorize my study schedule by concentrating in both Quants and Verbal equally. Looking forward to your invaluable advice in helping me to overcome these problems.

Note: I'm working in an IT industry and i can manage to sneak in at least 2 hours/weekday and at least 5-6 hours/weekend.


Thanks!
Pradeep

[StaceyKoprince]

i felt that i need to really study the fundamentals first before heading to the problems. This is the mistake i did in my first attempt when i never made any effort to study the fundamentals thinking that i'm already familiar with the math concepts and headed straight to practice problems. This time i don't want to do this mistake and i'd started my fundamentals learning phase diligently. Till now, i've almost completed learning my math fundamentals and feel a bit comfortable now. But, i fear that at some point of time, i would forget the concepts when i start doing the problems. I also get a bad feeling that i would not be able to apply the concepts in the problems.

Good, I'm glad that you're taking the time to learn the fundamentals. How are you doing that? What resources are you using that teach you (a) the actual content (formulas, rules, etc) that you need to know and (b) the techniques for doing different kinds of problems?

It's a good idea to use what I'll call "cycle learning." Start with fundamentals in one discrete area - eg, "number properties: divisibility and primes." (So, not just an overall topic, but a sub-topic within that overall topic.) Learn what you need to learn. Then do some practice problems that are NOT GMAT-like, just math problems that will test you to make sure you learned the basic concepts. Then do some OG problems to see whether you can apply the concepts you just learned to GMAT-type problems. (Don't do all of the OG problems in that category - save some for later.) Review those problems and your work to see whether you were able to recognize what particular problems were testing, whether you could figure out how to apply your content knowledge to this particular problem, what techniques were most appropriate to use to solve the problem, etc. If you find weaknesses / holes in your foundation, go back to the basic concepts again and review / relearn whatever was missing, make flash cards, etc.

Once you've done that cycle and feel pretty good about that area, pick a new area and start doing the cycle all over again. At the end of the week, do a random mixture of problems from all of the areas you cycled through that week. As you start to build your "database" of expertise, do a random mixture of problems that you've reviewed up until that date (not just the past week, but prior weeks as well).

I was happy with my improvement but actually i took 3 mins avg per question in this test which makes me a little worried.

I agree that the timing is a little worrisome. It's okay, to start, if your timing is too high, but that's not going to get better on its own. You have to work at it. From now on, when you're doing practice problems out of non-OG books (MGMAT, Powerscore, whatever), don't do the problems timed - just try to get the techniques right. When you're doing problems out of OG, though, always do them timed. Part of what you're learning is how to do the problem in 2 minutes, not just how to do the problem. So you have to hold yourself to that. If you can't, then you have to go back and review the problem until you figure out either (a) how to do the problem in 2 minutes or (b) how to make a good guess on the problem in 2 minutes.

For SC 3rd edition vs. 4th edition, there isn't a huge change in the actual content, but there is a big change in the order of the material. The 4th edition separates out the more advanced content. Some of my students really like this - then they can concentrate on the basics first and only move to the more advanced stuff once they master the basics. Some other students don't think it makes a big difference. You'll have to decide whether you think that would make a difference to you.

For RC, start using your book. Read a chapter, do the exercises in the chapter, do the recommended OG problems from that chapter (where applicable) - basically, do the "cycle" learning that I described above for quant. Reading Economist / SciAm can be helpful too - and it's okay to do it for only 10 or 15 minutes. But start with the first three chapters, at least, of your RC book.

In terms of quant vs. verbal, only do one in each study session (a study session should be about 1.5 to 2 hours). One day on, one day off, or maybe two days on, two days off. If you study more than 2 hours in one day, make sure to take a substantial break (hours, not minutes) between study sessions - don't study for more than 2 hours at one sitting. (Except, of course, when taking practice tests - but that's not actually learning. That's doing. :)

[papgust]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for your kind and encouraging words. To be honest, i'm feeling a little better after reading your post!

Good, I'm glad that you're taking the time to learn the fundamentals. How are you doing that? What resources are you using that teach you (a) the actual content (formulas, rules, etc) that you need to know and (b) the techniques for doing different kinds of problems?

I've actually purchased a few quant materials from a local coaching centre here. These books cover end-to-end content required for GMAT and the books are unbelievably great. I'm also studying from my high school math book which undoubtedly all required basics needed to ace the exam. So, it is so far a good learning phase for me!

It's a good idea to use what I'll call "cycle learning." Start with fundamentals in one discrete area - eg, "number properties: divisibility and primes." (So, not just an overall topic, but a sub-topic within that overall topic.) Learn what you need to learn. Then do some practice problems that are NOT GMAT-like, just math problems that will test you to make sure you learned the basic concepts. Then do some OG problems to see whether you can apply the concepts you just learned to GMAT-type problems. (Don't do all of the OG problems in that category - save some for later.) Review those problems and your work to see whether you were able to recognize what particular problems were testing, whether you could figure out how to apply your content knowledge to this particular problem, what techniques were most appropriate to use to solve the problem, etc. If you find weaknesses / holes in your foundation, go back to the basic concepts again and review / relearn whatever was missing, make flash cards, etc.

This is a wonderful tip stacey! To be honest, i have been following this method almost. I take a wider topic for a week (say Number properties) instead of a sub-topic and i learn all the required concepts, practice with non-GMAT problems to test my understanding and analyze whichever problems i got stuck with. BUT! i stop the process here. I've not tried practicing OG problems relating to the topic. I'll start with that right away as you mentioned.

Actually, my flashcards are growing big! :-) I'm not sure whether i'm making unnecessary long flashcards. Basically, what should be entered as flashcards (the level of information) and how the flashcards should be entered (in a detailed way or a very concise manner)? I really apologize if my question sounds silly to you :-) But, i have a feeling that i'm making unnecessary notes as flashcards not sure of what exactly to enter.

I agree that the timing is a little worrisome. It's okay, to start, if your timing is too high, but that's not going to get better on its own. You have to work at it. From now on, when you're doing practice problems out of non-OG books (MGMAT, Powerscore, whatever), don't do the problems timed - just try to get the techniques right. When you're doing problems out of OG, though, always do them timed.

Thanks stacey! Glad to hear that i'm moving in a right path. I will ensure that i work out OG problems in a timed mode.

For SC 3rd edition vs. 4th edition, there isn't a huge change in the actual content, but there is a big change in the order of the material. The 4th edition separates out the more advanced content. Some of my students really like this - then they can concentrate on the basics first and only move to the more advanced stuff once they master the basics. Some other students don't think it makes a big difference. You'll have to decide whether you think that would make a difference to you.

Thanks again! I have had this doubt for a very long time. Posted my queries in other forums but didn't get a proper reply. Only then i realized that this is the right place to ask!

For RC, start using your book. Read a chapter, do the exercises in the chapter, do the recommended OG problems from that chapter (where applicable) - basically, do the "cycle" learning that I described above for quant. Reading Economist / SciAm can be helpful too - and it's okay to do it for only 10 or 15 minutes. But start with the first three chapters, at least, of your RC book.

What book are you referring to, stacey? Currently i dont have any RC book except OG. As you mentioned, i'll start working out passages in OG and do the cycle learning. I read your post in another forum that one needs to practice only 3-4 questions per passage while practice and come back and work out rest of the questions later. I really liked this tip and i would definitely follow that!

Another query regarding RC. How to make the sessions with sites like Economist / Sciam very effective and productive in terms of my preparation? Any strategy to make this session really useful for my preparation?

In terms of quant vs. verbal, only do one in each study session (a study session should be about 1.5 to 2 hours). One day on, one day off, or maybe two days on, two days off. If you study more than 2 hours in one day, make sure to take a substantial break (hours, not minutes) between study sessions - don't study for more than 2 hours at one sitting.

I'm actually taking breaks every 2 hours but i only take 10-15 minutes or max of 30 min. Do you want me to take breaks for more than an hour?

Thanks!
Pradeep

[StaceyKoprince]

Actually, my flashcards are growing big! :-) I'm not sure whether i'm making unnecessary long flashcards.

It's okay to have detail on the flashcards and to have a lot - just remember that, sometimes, you are going to retire flashcards. Once you've really mastered something, set that aside. (Don't throw it out - you'll want to review it again in a few weeks to make sure you remember.) You should basically categorize your flashcards: I definitely know these (so I won't look at them again for a few weeks); I think I know these (let's set them aside for a few days and come back to see what I remember); I'm really struggling with these (and maybe I need to go back to the fundamentals to get better)

Also, you don't need to make flashcards for everything - if you already totally understand all aspects of a concept or problem, you don't need to make a flashcard for that.

What book are you referring to, stacey? Currently i dont have any RC book except OG.

In your original post, you said "I currently own MGMAT RC 3rd edition." That's the book I was referring to. Do you not actually have that book?

Another query regarding RC. How to make the sessions with sites like Economist / Sciam very effective and productive in terms of my preparation? Any strategy to make this session really useful for my preparation?

Pick an article. If there are any anecdotes (stories about real people, real companies, etc), then skip the anecdotes - ignore them. Read about 3 to 4 paragraphs, taking notes as you would for the GMAT. Time yourself / read fairly quickly, as you would for the GMAT.

When you're done, go back over the text more carefully with your notes and see whether you did manage to get the main ideas being expressed in the paragraphs you read. Did you miss anything important in terms of the overall message? (It's okay if you didn't understand all of the detail.) Note that this may sometimes feel a bit harder than the GMAT, because you're reading only part of the article, not the whole thing - depending on which 3 or 4 paragraphs you pick, it could be kind of disjointed.

I'm actually taking breaks every 2 hours but i only take 10-15 minutes or max of 30 min. Do you want me to take breaks for more than an hour?

At least 30 min. An hour would be better, if you can. Basically, when you're in learning mode, your brain continues to process what you're trying to learn for a long time after you finish actively learning. So you want to give it some time to make strong long-term memories before you start loading more stuff into your brain!