New to MGMAT - Could Use Direction

[lalfaro2]

Good evening Stacey,

I took the GMAT in December 2014 after what I would describe as very erratic study habits in preparing for the test. I used 3 different prep courses in my 50-60 hours of studying because I didn't know which I should rely on. Further, during my studying I was also dealing with a very ill father who passed away about 2 weeks after taking the GMAT. I am a CPA (contrary to popular belief, this is NOT a math based profession, as it requires VERY basic math) and I haven't touched geometry or algebra in over 10 years. To further add to that, my memory is HORRIBLE, so I don't really remember anything I learned 10 years ago.

All of this resulted in an official GMAT score of 420 (cant recall my verbal or quat scores, but they were similar, about 26-30ish), which I chose not to report. About 2 weeks prior I had scored 450 on a GMATPrep test. In both instances above, I took way too long on per question (in both verbal and quant) and I ended up guessing about half of each section in the last couple of minutes remaining.

Needless to say, my weakness is... everything. Although it's worth noting that I feel more comfortable with verbal, as my job requires me to read and digest wordy technical accounting regulations and use it to support a given accounting position. However, I focused about 75% of my short study period on quant, which was what held my verbal score back.

To get into the PhD programs I'm considering, I need to score in the high 600s at least, but my target score is 700 to ensure that the GMAT isn't a hangup at any of the schools given their competitive nature (only 2-5 students are accepted per year).

I can allocate 2-3 hours a day to studying during the week, and another 3-4 over the weekend (15-18 hours a week roughly) from now till the end of June, and plan to take the test in July or August.

I read the "Developing a GMAT Study Plan" article, which suggests studying 2 hours a day and 6 days a week and assessing your position at the end of every week to determine how the following week will go.

I purchased the MGMAT Interact package on 12/31/14, which allows access to the lessons till the end of June. I was planning on allocating 2 weeks to the math workshop and plenty of basic math drills and 2 weeks (30-35 hours) for each lesson and the corresponding homework per the syllabus. This will put me at 20 weeks of studying by the end of June, plus some time for a final review subsequently.

I have no idea if my head is in the right place, so some expert advice would be greatly appreciated!! :)

Thank you for reading my lengthy post!

Best,

Laz A.

[StaceyKoprince]

Hello! Thanks for joining us on the forums.

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. It's not surprising that you weren't able to concentrate on your studies.

I ended up guessing about half of each section in the last couple of minutes remaining.

Okay this is actually great news. (I know that seems weird.) You were scoring at a much higher level halfway through - then your score tanked when you had to guess on the second half. It's actually impressive that your score was still at a 420 after that.

The GMAT is a "where you end is what you get" test. We need to fix your timing / decision-making so that you can maintain a more steady performance through the section. You will always get stuff wrong / be given questions that are too hard or will take you too long to answer. That's just how the test works.

What they're really testing you on is your ability to decide which opportunities to pursue and which opportunities to dump - just like a good business person has to do. So you need to change your overall mindset and approach to this test, but once you do, your score will get a lot better.

Read this:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning

Bookmark it and keep reading it. For the first week, read it every day. Then read it once a week. Each time, write down one sentence that summarizes what you just learned this time.

I like your overall plan - as long as we first get your mindset turned around so that you are approaching the test in the right way. After you get your head wrapped around that first article, read this one:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

I typically send that second one to my course students after we finish our first class. Again, it's a good one to bookmark and keep re-reading, as you'll get more out of it as you continue your studies.

You'll also need to start working on timing. Read and bookmark these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/2013/ ... -to-do-it/
http://tinyurl.com/GMATTimeManagement

For the 2nd, pay particular attention to section 4 at this stage of the game.

I particularly like that you are giving some solid time upfront to Foundations of Math. Also, I'm going to quibble with you on something: your weaknesses are NOT everything. :) I know it feels that way, but you do have some strengths (you couldn't have scored a 420 after guessing on half of each section without some strengths).

If your Q and V scores were similar numbers, that means you performed better on V (the scoring scales aren't actually the same, even though they use the same numbers). This matches with your own assessment.

After you've finished the foundations of Math material, take a practice test (this is assigned as homework for the first class of the main program). Use this article to analyze those CAT results:
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Your analysis will help you to prioritize your studies and allocate appropriate time when you're going through the subsequent Interact lessons.

Keep us posted!