my first test:DISSAPOINTED

[tejal777]

So i took the princeton free test:heard its relativly easy.Sat for the full test(along with the awa)i think that was a major reason for my low score which by the way is 560 V30 Q37.Fact is the test WAS easy,i was'nt having difficulty with the content only that i could'nt sit and so my head was'nt into it.I could'nt wait for it to be over even though i wanted a nice score.Bottom line:i just could'nt sit and give even a mediocre performance:(

My test is in August.I know i have time that is why i study 4 days a week 3 hrs. so as not to over do it and not be too relaxed also.1 day is test day,1 day is test analysis day and 1 day I take off.Right now I am in the middle of doing OG11.I am making a log of all the sums i am doing and making notes.Please tell me how to proceed.

[StaceyKoprince]

Your score right now doesn't matter. What matters is your strengths and weaknesses, as identified on this test - use those to determine what to study and how to study it.

It sounds like you're taking a test every third day? If so, absolutely do not do that. At this point, you shouldn't be taking a test more than about once every 3 weeks. Taking tests is not how you get better (well, you get a little better that way, but not a lot). Taking tests is how you determine what progress you've made since your last test and what priorities you need to set going forward (based on your strengths and weaknesses). You get better by spending a lot of time studying and analyzing problems.

At this point, your time should be spent more on doing individual problems or small groups of problems (start with 5 at a time, move up to 10, 15, 20). Time yourself and hold yourself to the limit (timing is part of how you decide what to do to work through the problem!). Spend 2 to 5 times as much time reviewing each problem as you spent doing it in the first place (eg, spend 2 minutes doing the problem, spend 4 to 10 minutes reviewing problem). See my response to this post for ideas about what to analyze: http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/urgent-is-it-the-right-time-to-take-mgmat-cats-t6856.html

You also need to identify sources that teach you the material you need to know for the test (quant and grammar rules, techniques for all of the different question types, timing strategies, etc.). These can be books, online materials, a class, whatever - but something that actually teaches you what you need to know for the test. It will be a lot less efficient if you try to develop these lessons yourself from the questions and the explanations in OG.

Also, don't study for more than 2 hours at a stretch. Your brain can absorb only so much info at a time. If you try to go beyond what your brain can absorb (and for most people, that's about 2 hours max), then you'll end up not remembering / retaining the info well enough and you'll just have to go study it all over again.

For your tests, you'll obviously have to go a lot longer, but you're not trying to absorb / retain for future all the info you see over the entire length of the test. You're just focusing on answering the one problem in front of you right now.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[tejal777]

Thanks Stacey!
To clarify,I have divided the week into 4 study days and two test days(1 day i take the test the other day I analyze it).So i take one test every week.I do this to motivate myself..everytime i see a low score the following week i sit with renewed energy.
I'll keep you posted on how the nexttest goes.Will take your advice and ot take it the next week(I was planning to take my first gmat prep so i get a true analysis of where I stand)

[StaceyKoprince]

Sounds good! One more thing: I'm not sure how much you're studying in one day, but to review a full test would take me about 6-8 hours. I'm guessing (hoping!) that you're probably not studying that much in one day, so you may need more than one day to review your tests. If you're only taking 2-3 hours to review a full test, then you're not doing all the review you could be doing. The whole point of taking a test is to analyze it to death, so that you can learn every last thing you could possibly learn about each problem. The quality of your study is MUCH more important than the quantity of problems you study!

[s.irvine]

Hi Stacey,

I'm currently enrolled in the 9 week online and did poorly 470 on my first test. The weakest area being quant. I'm wondering if you have any suggested books to brush up on my Math skills aside from the quant books that the course provides. I'm looking for basic problems to work on while at work. Think NP pg 91 4th edition.

Any suggestions? Do you think that this retooling will be complimentary to the online course? How many hours should I put into this strategy weekly on top of keeping up with my course work?

Pheww that was a few questions!!

Thanks,

[StaceyKoprince]

Yeah, if it's really been a while and you need a more basic brush-up, you should definitely give yourself the time to do that.

We do have a couple of quant Foundations workshops that are designed to get people up to speed before a class starts (or for people who've already started and realize they need a bit of extra work to get up to speed) - info's on the web site. You may want to look into those or even ask the office whether you can just get access to the practice problems if you don't want to take the workshops. (I don't know whether they would do this - but it's worth asking!)

I also like the Demystified series of books (Pre-Algebra Demystified, Algebra Demystified, Geometry Demystified), but that requires you to buy several different books in order to cover multiple topics. Go to Amazon or a bookstore to check those out and see what you think. (Or try your local library - that's where I first found / learned about these books!)

In terms of how much time to spend, basically, you need to do what you need to do in order to be able to get the most out of the homework each week. I'd advocate a few intense weeks (starting right now) until you start feeling more comfortable with the homework. I know it's annoying to lock yourself inside and study as the weather's getting nicer, but it will pay off - really. :)

[s.irvine]

Woa, that was a speedy response. I'll check them out and see what I can see. Appreciate it immensely and I'll keep you in the know as to how I progress.

Sean

[StaceyKoprince]

You posted right before I happened to come on to check out the questions in the folder. :)

Good luck - let us know how it goes!