Prep advice

[yogeshwar.aca]

Hi

I intend to take the gmat on the 7th of feb 2011.However my current scores are in the region of q 45 and v 30. I intend to take my quant to 49 levels and verbal to 40.
I have also exhausted my mock tests and I'm able to guess the answers, therefore my scores would be highly inflated on the mocks.
My prep plan broadly is as follows
Verbal
1. Finish OG for SC and CR by 30th Nov 2010.
2 Work out atleast 50-60 RC passages by 15th dec 2010( from various credible sources).
3 Finish CR bible by 25th dec 2010
4 Cover Mgmat Sc guide by 5th Jan 2010. ( I have covered this once already)

Quant
1 finish manhattan strategy guides 4 and 1 by 15th dec 2010.
2 Finish strategy guides 1 & 5 by 31s dec 2010.
3 Cover strategy guide 3 in the first week of Jan 2010.

I intend to take 3 mock tests in dec 2010 and go all out in January with respect to mock tests. Please let me know if the strategy if flawed.
I intend to study for about 1.5 - 2 hours on weekdays and about 4-5 hours during weekends on an average.

Regards
Yogesh

[StaceyKoprince]

Unfortunately, yes, your plan is flawed in several ways.

First, overall, you are focusing on quantity right now. You need to focus on quality of study. I would rather see you do 1/3 of the number of questions you're referencing but really analyze those questions.

Second, stop taking so many practice tests. :) CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

Your focus needs to be on identifying your weaknesses and taking specific steps to address those weaknesses before you test yourself again. Most of this comes from studying / analyzing problems after you have tried them, not simply doing them in the first place. You learn only about 20% of what you could learn from a problem during the time that you are actually trying to do the problem.

Start with these two articles:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/ ... study-plan
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... your-study

Next, this article will show you how to analyze a practice problem (and you'll realize how much you can really learn from one problem!):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

In terms of setting your priorities for the next few weeks, use this article to analyze a recent test taken under official testing conditions (and without any repeated questions, or very few):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... -part1.cfm

Feel free to share your analysis with us and we will point you towards additional resources to address your specific weaknesses. You can also browse through articles yourself in these two locations:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/resources/ (click on links off to the right side)
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/manhattan-gmat (articles are posted by date, most recent first)

Good luck!

[yogeshwar.aca]

Thanks Stacey!!
I guess that makes sense and will follow your advice(will definitely do 1/3rd of the problems for sure;)..I come from an education background where where the focus was also on insane amount of quantity and therefore I'm conditioned to think that way.( Chartered accountant- India ( Scary course!!)
I'm also a retaker.In my mock tests , I have scored 700 (scores between 670-700) But in the real test , I fell awfully short.However I never did the AWA in the mocks, and I was fatigued and could not focus for the verbal in the real test.In fact I got so nervous , I was rushing through my verbal.
Is this because of lack of test stamina? Does skipping the AWA in the mock tests cause so much damage.I average about V 35 to 37 in mgmat mock tests but ended up with V 30 on test day.

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, skipping the essays in practice can make a HUGE difference on test day. Obviously, it's different for different people, but think of it this way. In practice, you're finishing the test at around the 2.5 hour mark. On the real thing, you're starting the verbal section at around the same time that you're used to being finished with the verbal section. What kind of impact is that likely to have? :)

So, message #1: all practice tests are done under 100% official conditions from now on.

There are some other reasons why scores might drop significantly. You might want to do the analysis described in this article:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/26 ... went-wrong

It's important to try to understand everything that might have caused a drop - then, you can actually try to do something about those things! If you need help with that, post your analysis here and we'll help you figure out what to do.

[yogeshwar.aca]

Hi stacey

I took a full length with AWA, and I got 630 ( q 45 v32) closer to what I got in the real test.In my previous mgmat (before the real test- aug10) , I had scored 700 but I didnt take the essays.
So that kinda explains the reason for below par performance in the real thing.Now coming to the plan, I had obviously taken the test to find out my level at the moment , which means that I have not given it all as of now.I need to get my quant to 49 levels and my verbal to 40 levels. Is that too much to ask in too less time ( 70 days). But I will not give the test unless I feel that I'm gonna kill it(unlike my earlier attempt)...

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, yes, so now you know that you're one of the (many) people who lose a lot of steam after having to answer the essays and that can take a toll on your multiple choice score. The good news is, now that you know, you can take steps to avoid that happening again in future!

First: every practice test from now on will include the essays and be taken under full official conditions, right? :)

Second, when sitting down for a study session, first take 5 minutes to figure out everything that you're going to do for the next 2 hours. When you start, GO for 2 hours, with one 10-minute break in the middle. Get used to having to concentrate for about an hour at a time without a break. (This doesn't mimic test conditions exactly, of course, but it's close enough. Also, don't do the above for 3.5 hours, the full length of the actual test. You actually expend more brainpower when you're learning, as opposed to merely taking the test, so 2 hours of learning is as taxing as 3.5 hours of doing.)

Quant is more your strength and you're talking about raising that about 15 percentile points in two months. That's doable, though you'll certainly have to work hard.

Verbal is your weaknesses and you're talking about raising that nearly 30 percentile points in two months. That's going to be harder. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go for it! But recognize that verbal's going to be more of a challenge, especially when you want that kind of improvement in only 2 months. Most people would need more time.

So, go for it! You can always decide later on to take more time / postpone. :)