Retaking to break 700 - how to study, and when to retake?

[gayatri.k]

Hello!

Apologies in advance for the long post - I am hoping for some expert advice on how to best prepare to retake the GMAT.

Official GMAT: 680 (IR 8; Quant 46; Verbal 36)
- My verbal score was a disappointment (I haven't scored this low since my diagnostic): I wasn't as engaged during the verbal section; I think I was too excited about math going decently well, and I was just ready to be done with the test.
- I did not have test anxiety; I took the week-off from work and relaxed, worked out, got massages, ate right, and did comprehensive reviews. I took my last, full-length practice test 1 week prior to the real test, and didn't do any new problems during the week of the test.

Study Plan for Retake
Plan:
1. Conduct thorough review of CAT results; bucket questions in to 5 categories, and then pick 2 categories (1 quant, 1 verbal) to focus on each week.
2. Watch online lesson videos, attend weekly quant review series, and conscientiously log OG problems using the online tool.
3. Do not take another CAT for another 4 weeks (mostly because my family is visiting from. overseas, so I want to spend as much time with them as possible, and don't want to burn out)
4. Study hours: 1.5 hours per day on weekdays, and 8-10 hours over the weekend.
5. Don't sign up for the GMAT again until I have achieved 700+ on at least 2 practice tests.

Questions for you:
1. Will focusing on 1-2 areas a week make me rusty in the other areas? Should I focus on more areas per week?
2. Am I studying enough? I am a Consultant with 80+ hour work weeks, and have been studying over 2 hours / day, and 8-10 hours over the weekend since April. I do enjoy studying, but I don't want to burn out. I am much more comfortable with the test now, and not intimidated, so is it okay to reduce my study time?
3. Will watching the online lessons be helpful, despite how long I've been studying? Or, do you think it would be more effective to learn my doing problems and reviewing?
4. Should I continue to focus on weaknesses and "low-hanging fruit," or would it make sense to address weaknesses (problems I had chosen to skip) now too? E.g. rate problems, conbinatorics?
5. Is there anything I am missing?

I look forward to hearing back.

Best,

Gayatri

[gayatri.k]

Apologies for adding to this post (I tried to make it part of one post, but my window kept crashing, and the post kept failing).

I just re-read all of these articles, and added to my notes on test-taking strategies, CAT analysis, executive reasoning, etc. http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... -the-gmat/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... -problems/
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... ts-part-1/
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

For your reference (I have posted this before), the following is a summary of my GMAT prep journey

Overview of Preparation

I took my first MGMAT diagnostic and for a 620 (Quant 42; Verbal 33) in April 2013, followed by the 10-week MGMAT course. I chose not to take the GMAT soon after, because I did not have the time to dedicate to adequate prep. 

Since February 2015, I have used all of my MGMAT guides, Official Guides, MGMAT online, and GMAC Free Prep as resources. 

February 21, 2015, GMAC Test 1: 620 (Quant 39; Verbal 36)
- From February through April, I went through all of the materials in the MGMAT Guides, and did the OG problems. Basically, I followed the syllabus of the 10-week course, and did the corresponding OG problems for every week. I followed the syllabus and took a CAT after completing the study plan for weeks 6 and week 8 (or maybe it was week 9).

April 25, 2015, CAT 2: 590 (Quant 37; Verbal 34)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all questions
- Condensed all of my notes, and reviewed past problems, to create flash cards

May 16, 2015, CAT 3: 610 (Quant 35; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all questions
- Reviewed Algebra, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Geometry, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed FDPs, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Verbal MGMAT Guides
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

May 25, 2015, CAT 4: 640 (Quant 39; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 6, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all wrong and guessed questions
- Did Critical Reasoning questions from the Official Verbal Guide (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Number Properties, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Word Problems, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

June 6, 2015, CAT 5: 640 (Quant 40; Verbal 37)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I finished Verbal about 5 minutes early - oops, definitely got bored during the last reading passage
Following the test I
- Reviewed all quant questions; reviewed all wrong and guessed verbal questions

June 13, 2015: CAT 6 - 680 (Quant 44; Verbal 38)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I managed my time much more effectively, and did not feel rushed
Following the test I
- Reviewed all quant questions; reviewed all wrong and guessed verbal questions

June 20, 2015: GMAC Prep Test 2 - 700 (Quant 45; Verbal 40)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I managed my time much more effectively, and did not feel rushed

[gayatri.k]

I just re-read all of these articles, and added to my notes on test-taking strategies, CAT analysis, executive reasoning, 2nd level of GMAT, etc.

For your reference (I have posted this before), the following is a summary of my GMAT prep journey

Overview of Preparation

I took my first MGMAT diagnostic and for a 620 (Quant 42; Verbal 33) in April 2013, followed by the 10-week MGMAT course. I chose not to take the GMAT soon after, because I did not have the time to dedicate to adequate prep. 

Since February 2015, I have used all of my MGMAT guides, Official Guides, MGMAT online, and GMAC Free Prep as resources. 

February 21, 2015, GMAC Test 1: 620 (Quant 39; Verbal 36)
- From February through April, I went through all of the materials in the MGMAT Guides, and did the OG problems. Basically, I followed the syllabus of the 10-week course, and did the corresponding OG problems for every week. I followed the syllabus and took a CAT after completing the study plan for weeks 6 and week 8 (or maybe it was week 9).

April 25, 2015, CAT 2: 590 (Quant 37; Verbal 34)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all questions
- Condensed all of my notes, and reviewed past problems, to create flash cards

May 16, 2015, CAT 3: 610 (Quant 35; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 8, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all questions
- Reviewed Algebra, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Geometry, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed FDPs, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Verbal MGMAT Guides
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

May 25, 2015, CAT 4: 640 (Quant 39; Verbal 38)
- I ran out of time on Quant and guessed the last 6, or so
Following this test I
- Reviewed all wrong and guessed questions
- Did Critical Reasoning questions from the Official Verbal Guide (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Number Properties, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Reviewed Word Problems, and did Official Quantitative Guide Problems (2 min per problem)
- Made and Reviewed Flashcards

June 6, 2015, CAT 5: 640 (Quant 40; Verbal 37)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I finished Verbal about 5 minutes early - oops, definitely got bored during the last reading passage
Following the test I
- Reviewed all quant questions; reviewed all wrong and guessed verbal questions

June 13, 2015: CAT 6 - 680 (Quant 44; Verbal 38)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I managed my time much more effectively, and did not feel rushed
Following the test I
- Reviewed all quant questions; reviewed all wrong and guessed verbal questions

June 20, 2015: GMAC Prep Test 2 - 700 (Quant 45; Verbal 40)
- I skipped math problems that I was dwelling on, and did not run out of time!
- I managed my time much more effectively, and did not feel rushed

[StaceyKoprince]

I know you were having some issues with the system - it wasn't posting your posts. If I understand correctly, your third post contains your final updates test-by-test, so I don't need to look at the earlier posts for that info. Yes?

First, I know your goal is a 700, but I still want to congratulate you on your 680 score. That's a great score! Nice job!

I wasn't as engaged during the verbal section; I think I was too excited about math going decently well, and I was just ready to be done with the test.

That sounds like mental fatigue. So one aspect of your re-take needs to address what you are going to do in order to still have mental energy by the verbal section!

How did IR and essay go? What were your scores? Do you have room to essentially get lower scores / do less next time? Or is there room for you to study a bit more for IR so that you can get the same score but using less mental energy?

For quant, it sounds like you have mostly solved the timing problems you were having before (spending too long on too-hard questions), which will also help your mental energy levels. Just make sure that you are continuing to pay attention to that. When you're deciding whether to bail on a problem, part of the decision should be based on how much mental energy this thing is going to cost you. (My benchmark: when I'm thinking, "Ugh, I really wish they hadn't given me this problem," then I probably shouldn't be doing that problem.)

1. Will focusing on 1-2 areas a week make me rusty in the other areas? Should I focus on more areas per week?

You should focus on more areas per week, yes. What you are describing is called the "blocking" theory of study: you concentrate on one thing for a period of time before moving onto other things. Problem is, research shows definitively that "interleaving" is much better for learning. Interleaving is when you mix together multiple different things. It feels harder as you are studying, because you're making your brain jump around more and work harder - but you learn more in the end.

2. Yes you can reduce your study time. You are almost at your goal. You do not need to study 20 hours a week at this point, given your work schedule. Make sure that your study time is high quality and you will be fine.

3. At this point, your most effective study is going to be doing blocks of mixed, timed problems, then analyzing those problems to figure out where you can get better, then taking the necessary steps to get better at those discrete things. eg, you realize that you messed up a problem dealing with negative exponents, so you re-read those rules, and then go do some drill sets to practice manipulating negative exponents. You realize that you missed a meaning issue in an SC, so you pull open your OG and just go looking for meaning issues. Then you look up the solution in Navigator to see whether you correctly did spot a meaning issue.

4. Still low-hanging fruit. Always low-hanging fruit! Especially now. You are almost there! You don't need much and it is always easier to get better at stuff that you are almost getting right now.

5. Nope. You are good!

Given what you described, I think the primary issue is dealing with the mental fatigue so that you can get back in there and do well on the verbal (while maintaining your quant score). That's your big focus: how can you use less energy in the earlier sections (while maintaining your scores) and how can you build mental stamina in general.

For that last part, let's say that you're going to sit down for a 2-hour study session. In advance, figure out what you're going to do for the entire 2 hours. In fact, plan extra, just in case you finish early. Then GO for 1 hour without stopping. No checking email, no chatting with a friend, etc. Take a 10-15 minute break, then GO again for another hour, no stopping.

Then stop. Don't do the above for 4 hours straight. It's actually a lot more mentally fatiguing to study than to take a test. When studying, you're both recalling existing memories and trying to create new memories to use in future. When taking a test, you're only trying to recall existing memories.

So if you try to study for 4 hours straight, you'll be so mentally fatigued for the last couple of hours that you won't make very good memories... and your study time will be very inefficient.

[gayatri.k]

Stacey, thank you so much for your detailed reply. I did have posting issues, so apologies for the repeated post - I tried to delete it but I didn't see an option to do so.

I just checked my score report and turns out I got a 6 on the essay and an 8 on IR . I only spent 2 days during the week before the test on IR, so I may have just got very lucky, haha. One thing I did do was skip 2 problems entirely, so that I could spend an adequate amount of time on other problems.

This past week, I started going through the problems outlined in the course syllabus; however, this does break problems down by topic area (I think). Based on your advice to mix things up, I've come up with a new study plan.

What are your thoughts on the following study schedule? I am accounting for the fact that I am currently on vacation with family.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - QUANT
AM - 30 minutes, timed, mixed problems, 30 minutes analysis (ID focus area(s))
PM - 30 minutes focus area problems, 30 minutes analysis / Review
Make and review flashcards, as necessary

Tuesday, Thursday - VERBAL
AM - 30 minutes, timed, mixed problems, 30 minutes analysis (ID focus area(s))
PM - 30 minutes focus area problems, 30 minutes analysis / Review
Make and review flashcards, as necessary

Saturday - RC
30 minutes reading comprehension, 30 minutes analysis
Make and review flashcards, as necessary

Sunday - IR
30 minutes IR, 30 minutes analysis
Make and review flashcards, as necessary

Realistically, I may only be able to put in an hour a day. I know this isn't too many hours per week, but I'll be vacationing with family through July 19th, so I want to make sure I spend enough time with them and relax, but also that I don't lose touch of the test content.

For the mixed problem sets (I read your advice from an older post to someone else), I plan to randomly select problems from the OG (low and high numbers), PS and DS, and will mark them with a dot so I know not to repeat them. However, my concern with this strategy is that I may end up repeating a lot of the problems that are then identified in the topic-specific sets. Should I purchase the 400 extra problems from GMATPrep? Or should I go through all of the OG problems before making this purchase?

Please let me know if there is anything else that you recommend that I do. I am suddenly feeling very positive, and know to just make sure to keep my stamina up. I plan to take my next practice test on July 24th - should I reset my MGMAT tests, or you would recommend that I purchase new tests from GMATPrep?

Thank you again Stacey, your advice has been invaluable to me!

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, sorry I'm just getting to your post now - I was on vacation and then traveling for business for the past 10 days.

I like that you're mixing stuff up. The analysis phase should easily take twice as long as the "do the problems" phase. I will often spend 4 to 5 times as long analyzing as I spent trying the problems in the first place. That's where you really learn. So don't shortchange that step.

Woohoo! You got an 8 on IR! Even if you got lucky, it's still enough to score 6+, so don't bother studying that. Follow the same strategy next time, and drop Sundays from your study schedule. You need a day off. (Or study something else in its place. But do make sure you give yourself one day a week during which you will do NOTHING related to the GMAT!)

Re: problem sets, you took our class or did our self-study program? The syllabus assignments were all from the big OG book only, so you could do all of your mixed sets out of the Q and V supplements (the smaller books). But there's not anything wrong with redoing a problem you did before. First, you're going to have forgotten a lot of them. Also, you may see a new angle or have a new insight that you didn't have the first time - and then you'd want to ask yourself what jumped out at you differently this time so that you know to look for that kind of clue in the future.

You can also get the 400-question add-on pack for GMATPrep if you like - it's good value for the money. But I'd try just doing it from the books first and see. If you find that too annoying or you find that you're repeating too many questions that you completely remember, then go for the extra question pack.

Re: what tests to take, you've done a good job of lifting your score, so you are putting yourself into a new pool in the database, which is good. However, the two most recent tests are the ones you're most likely to remember - and those are also your highest scores / at your current level, so those questions are more likely to be repeated if you repeat our tests.

I'd try one of our tests and see how many repeats you get that you actually remember. If you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks vaguely familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have.

Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.

If you only see a few repeats that you remember in each section, no big deal. If you're seeing more than about 5 questions in each section, then try the extra GMATPrep next.

Oh! And, between now and your next test, don't go over our CAT questions. It's already been a month since your last one; in another 2 weeks, you'll have forgotten even more of them.

[gayatri.k]

Hi Stacey (or anyone else who is reading this post)!

The purpose of this post is three-fold:
1. Validate study strategy, and gain your input on how to change it, if needed
2. Validate numbers of CATs to take prior to GMAT, including time between last CAT and real GMAT
3. Learn how to make flashcards for CR / RC

I finally signed up to retake the test - November 25th - which gives me a solid (almost 3 months to study again). I was on vacation following my last test (June 27th), and then got really busy at work. I made sure to do a few problems every week, but definitely didn't make time for a comprehensive review - I was getting kind of burned out so I didn't want to push myself.

I took a full-length test again (first time since real test in June) last weekend, and got a 670. I am happy to learn that my level has stayed pretty constant since my real test. Unfortunately, this Kaplan test didn't give me a V/Q score breakdown, and instead gave me a percentile rank: IR - 7, Q - 74, Q - 89.

I am looking for some guidance on my study plan through November, specifically how to balance doing OG problems with taking practice tests. Here's my thought:

Week 1: OG Problems - the topic-specific sets will focus on a specific sub-topic (e.g. Quadratic Equations) and I will make flashcards during the review process.
M: 30-min Mixed Problem Sets and Review (Q and V); Geometry 30-min Set and Review
T: SC 30-min Set and Review
W: NP 30-min Set and Review
R: CR 30-min Set and Review; FDP 30-min Set and Review
F: Catch-Up / Rest Day
S: WP 30-min Set and Review; Algebra 30-min Set and Review; RC 1 Passage and Review
Su: 1-2 IR Problems and Review; Flashcard Review, and redo problems flagged as "Redo"

Week 2: Question Banks - these will include problems from the MGMAT Question Banks
M: 30-min Mixed Geometry Quiz and Review; 30-min Mixed NP Quiz and Review
T: 30-min Mixed SC Quiz and Review
W: 30-min Mixed CR Quiz and Review
R: 30-min Mixed FDP and Review; 30-min Mixed WP and Review
F: 30-min Mixed Algebra and Review; RC 1 Passage and Review
S: Review all flashcards / problems from the week
Su: CAT Exam

Week 3: Review
M: Review CAT Exam Quant; make flashcards, and ID 3 topic areas to focus on for the week
T: Review CAT Exam Verbal; make flashcards, and ID 4 (2 SC, 2 CR) topic areas to focus on for the week
W: Review flashcards for 1 Quant topic; redo problems, as necessary
R: Review flashcards for 1 Quant topic and 1 Verbal topic; redo problems, as necessary
F: Catch-Up / Rest Day
S: Review flashcards from 1 Quant topic and 3 Verbal topics; redo problems, as necessary
Su: Review flashcards from last three weeks

Because there are only about 1-hour worth of MGMAT questions banks, after 6 weeks (through October 18th), I plan to switch to the following schedule:

Week 1: OG Problems - the topic-specific sets will focus on a specific sub-topic (e.g. Quadratic Equations) and I will make flashcards during the review process.
M: 30-min Mixed Problem Sets and Review (Q and V); Geometry 30-min Set and Review
T: SC 30-min Set and Review
W: NP 30-min Set and Review
R: CR 30-min Set and Review; FDP 30-min Set and Review
F: Catch-Up / Rest Day
S: WP 30-min Set and Review; Algebra 30-min Set and Review; RC 1 Passage and Review
Su: 1-2 IR Problems and Review; Flashcard Review, and redo problems flagged as "Redo"

Week 2: Review and Test
M: Review Geometry, Algebra and SC
T: Review NP
W: Review CR
R: Review FDP, IR and WP
F: CAT Exam
S: Review CAT Exam Quant - ID sub-topics for next week
Su: Review CAT Exam IR and Verbal - ID sub-topics for next week

This schedule will mean that I only take 5 CATs before my real GMAT, the last CAT being 5 days prior to my real GMAT - do you think this is sufficient, and that the timing between my last CAT and real GMAT is fine? I don't plan to review the last CAT in detail - it will mostly be for pacing - and plan to just review flashcards during the 4 days prior to my test.

LAST QUESTION, I promise (for now, haha) - how do you recommend I make flashcards for critical reasoning and reading comprehension? I am categorizing these problems (buckets 1-4: strengths, low hanging strengths, low hanging weakness, weaknesses) just as I am for quant, but I'm not sure how to make flashcards to review these. Should I not make flashcards for CR / RC?

As you can tell, my brain is kind of everywhere (bouncing off the walls) and I just want to find a good rhythm, and a study process that switches things up without being unfocused.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

[StaceyKoprince]

In general, we learn better by doing mixed practice, not topic-specific practice. So I wouldn't do topic-specific sets of OG (or OG-format) questions. It's okay to do topic-specific drills (eg, pure math drills all of exponents just to practice skills).

If you want to read more about this theory, called interleaving, check this article:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2015/07/ ... s-say-what

Next, one 30-min set of quant questions would be 15 questions. It should take at least an hour to review 15 questions (sometimes longer), so that's at least 1.5 hours of study every day (except Fri). I just want to make sure your schedule and brain can handle that - I don't want you to get burned out again.

And that's a minimum. I will sometimes take 30 to 45 minutes to review a single question, because my analysis makes me realize that, oops, I haven't done negative exponents in a long time and I'm feeling a little shaky, so I need to go review the rules and do some drills to solidify...and etc. Don't rush the review process - the review tells you what you need to study.

That goes for reviewing CATs too. On your schedule, you have one evening dedicated to "Review CAT Exam Quant" and one evening for verbal. Not enough time!

It should take you an hour or so (one evening) just to do the high-level review (if you are taking a test that gives you the kind of data that our tests do).

Going through those 37 and 41 questions should take days. Your review of any questoin isn't about reviewing just that one question in isolation. It's about learning / refining your approach to the entire test as a whole - that content area, that question type, that type of trap, the strategies / processes for solving, etc.

Read this (again):
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

So, overall, I have two big recommendations:
(1) Leave yourself proportionally more time for review. That review time is when you're actually learning how to get better at the test overall, not just how to do this specific problem.
(2) Interleave your studies. Most of your problem sets should be mixed, not topic- or question-type specific. You don't need to give everything equal-ish weight, though. Do prioritize / weight your studies according to the low-hanging fruit!

5 CATs over 3 months is plenty. And taking your last one 5 days before is fine (but no closer to the real test). Agreed that you don't do an in-depth question review of that last one - just the overall review so that you reinforce good decisions and ask yourself how you want to tweak your decision-making process on the next test (the real one!).

Flash cards in general are best used for two things:
(1) specific rules / formulas / facts that you need to memorize (so doesn't apply to CR/RC)
(2) decision-making processes that you want to reinforce: When I see X, Then I'll think / do Y

The latter can be used for CR/RC. For example:

When: imply, infer, or suggest is in the question stem
Then: this is an Inference question. For both CR and RC, the goal is to find an answer that must be true according to some evidence given in the argument / passage.

When: I see an extreme word in an answer
Then: on RC, I'll be very skeptical (extreme words are usually wrong) but on CR, it doesn't tell me much (extreme words can be in the correct answer).

On CR, when: I've narrowed to 2 answers
Then: I'll check whether one of them "looks" good because it has exact language matches with the argument, but the meaning of the sentence isn't actually the right meaning. I'll also check whether one of them seems less good because it doesn't have as may exact matches, but it does use valid synonyms for what the argument says.

[gayatri.k]

Stacey, thank you for your detailed response, and for the resources you shared.

I have been using the Quant and Verbal Review guides to do mixed problems, and have been doing topic-specific problems from the OG using MGMAT's topic-specific OG list. So are you recommending that I do about 15 OG problems every day, follow by a review (1.5 hours / day), and only do topic-specific studying via any drills from my MGMAT guides, as needed?. This would mean that I would only be doing OG mixed problem sets if I don't have specific topics to go back and drill.

I am a Management Consultant, who travels Monday - Thursday every week, so I am usually unable to carry more than 3 books with me (OG, Quant Review, and Verbal Review). Perhaps I could do mixed problems Monday - Thursday, and then do drills, as needed, Friday - Sunday?


I can then spend the entire week after a test, reviewing that test in detail and relating the problems to those I have seen in the past - does that sound good to you?

One more question - how do you suggest that I incorporate my MGMAT question banks into my study?

[gayatri.k]

Hi Stacey,

Sorry in advance for the mega-long post, but I FINALLY did a mega-detailed analysis. My main problem right now is that my brain feels so scattered, and I spend hours conducting analyses and trying to develop the optimal study plan instead of actually doing, haha - the struggle is so real!

I am taking your advice of not doing the OG problems by topic area. I read the article on interweaving, and also re-read all of MGMAT's study guidance articles .

I've analyzed all of the OG problems that I've done so far, and the one free practice test I took two weeks ago (it wasn't MGMAT so it didn't give me a comprehensive report).

Here are my analysis buckets:

1 - Strengths "50% + correct plus timing within the expected timeframe.
A. Did you use the optimal method? Examine other ways to do the problem and figure out which way is the best for you.
B. Further, how are you going to recognize a different future problem that tests the same thing, so that you can immediately replicate your “best way” approach?
C. Finally, if you had had to make a guess on this problem, how would you have done so?"
2 - Too Slow 50%+ correct plus timing way too slow (an average more than 30 seconds slower than it should be); these are still weaknesses even though the percentage correct is high! Figure out why the timing is higher and how you can do these more efficiently.
3 - Weaknesses Less than 50% correct, but timing too fast (silly mistakes would fall in this category). Slow down to prevent errors, and be sure to review concepts that help minimize error / increase efficiency.
4 - Biggest Weaknesses Less than 50% correct plus timing way too slow (an average more than 30 seconds slower than it should be); these are the biggest weaknesses, obviously. Get them wrong faster. Seriously – you’re getting them wrong anyway, so start by just taking less time to get them wrong! That will improve your performance on all those ones on which you’re currently rushing and making careless mistakes!

Here is my analysis, based on those categories:
Bucket 1:
Quant -
- Linear Equations
- Quadratic Equations (I'm finally able to spot questions e.g. exponent and root questions, which have quadratic equations hidden in them - it's a huge AHA moment for me)
- Positives and Negatives
- Odds and Even
- Consecutive Integers (can't believe this has become a strength - I'm no longer afraid of them)
SC -
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Meaning

Bucket 2:
Quant -
- Polygons (I make very careless mistakes on these because I'm speeding through them, but it's usually on the hard problems)
- Ratios (again, very careless mistakes)
- Percents (ditto)
- Exponents and roots (I noticed that the problem here was that I would forget the exponent rules / had not learned my powers of two, so I went back and reviewed, and that helped)
- Translations (I try not to get caught up in these, and often guess and move on. When they're percent related I sometimes get confused by the language and forget what I am actually searching for - I have become better at catching this, especially with age problems where I now just plug numbers and go from there)
- Fractions (these and percents / decimals, I am always making silly mistakes on because my long division is rusty - will be working on that. I write down tricks to avoid long division e.g. use a power of 10 in the denominator)
SC - I mostly get the hard / devilish problems wrong here
- Idioms (I just need to keep reviewing the list of idioms)

Bucket 3:
Quant -
- Inequalities
- Sequences (I always forget the formula / how to use it)
- Overlapping Sets (I've realized I need to use the table drawing methodology instead of drawing out sets - it's much more efficient and helps me get to the right answer)
- Coordinate Geometry (so many silly mistake here, which I am getting better at after reviewing the rules)
SC - I mostly get the hard problems wrong here
- Parallelism (I need to keep reviewing the list of parallel markers)
- Modifiers (I need to not get caught up in modifiers because this means I often forget to check the parallel structure - I've noticed that this is a reoccurring theme on the hard / devilish problems that I'm getting wrong, so I am on the lookout for this trap)

Bucket 4: I usually guess and move on
Quant (I kind of get intimidated by these and know that they will take me forever to do, so for now I just choose to skip them)
- Combinatorics
- Rates and Work
- Absolute Value Problems
SC -
- Punctuation (semicolon vs. comma use - I make an educated guess on these if I'm still going back and forth after a minute, and I am right about 60% of the time)

Here is my revised plan based on that analysis:

M-Thu: 30 min mixed problems (alternating between Quant and Verbal), followed by 1-hour review, which will involve going through every question and IDing why I got things right, and why I got things wrong / common tendencies. I will continue to track these problems, including buckets and flagging for redo in the online tracker / my spreadsheet. I will ID weak areas for drill sets, and will make flashcards for concepts, as needed.
Friday: Day off!
Saturday:
- AM - 8:00-9:30 MGMAT Question Bank, and spend the rest of the day reviewing this question bank (trying to keep my mind fresh during the actual test hours - 8am-12pm).
- PM - continue MGMAT Question Review and ID weak areas for drill sets.
Sunday:
- AM - 8:00am - 12:00pm (in 1 hour chunks, with breaks) Drills Sets and review
- PM - Review all takeaways from the week, and any flashcards. Review all problems flagged for redo.

Here are my questions for you:

How does my strategy / study plan sound?
- I plan to get through the OG problems (I don't know if I'll get though them all; I hope to get through as many as my schedule permits) by October 10th.
- From October 10th through test day (November 25th), I plan to take a practice test every week, and to spend the week reviewing. I will take the test on Saturday, and conduct my 1-hour analysis that evening. Sunday-Thursday I will dedicate one day to each topic, conducting a comprehensive review of why I got things right, and why I got things wrong. I'll review my notes / concepts as I go along.
- This will allow me to do 6, full-length practice test before my test (the last one being 5 days prior to my test)
- I will spend the last 5 days before my test reviewing concepts and any problems I had flagged. I will NOT learn any new material, and will wind down my study time.

How should I weave-in the MGMAT, topic-specific question banks?
- As you can see in my plan, I have these scheduled for Saturdays, so that I can get through them, but I think you may say this is too rushed, which I totally understand. If so, how should I use them?

How should I use flashcards?
- I know you mentioned that flashcards should be for overall concepts e.g. "when I see this...I do this," but how then shall I review my OG problems? Shall I just review them in a notebook, or create flashcards for them too? I don't want too many flashcards, but I want to give the OG problems enough attention too.

As you say, doing a lot of tests, frequently, is not the way to go, so this time round I want to focus on locking down the concepts by doing OG problems for the next month. After that I plan to only do tests, and reviews, tweaking / refreshing my concepts along the way.

How does this sound to you?

[StaceyKoprince]

Starting with the first of your two posts.

No, I'm not saying that you'd do problem sets every day, sorry. "Mixed" practice means can mean "mix up the problems in your problem sets." It can also mean " do a mix of activites in one study session," as the article about interleaving your studies describes.

Also, your analysis of any work you do will drive your studies in general. Based on how some problem went, you may just need to look up a fact or rule, or you may realize that you want to review that entire chapter, for example. If something on the simpler side, look it up right away. (Note: you can download e-versions of all of the MPrep books to take with you on your travels.) If something on the more complex side, put a note on your study calendar: Saturday, review circles & cylinders.

Oh. Now I see your second post mentions that you get the interleaving idea now. Okay.

On to your analysis. FYI in case I mess this up: in my test-analysis article, I have only three buckets: (1) strengths, (2) low-hanging fruit (including careless mistakes or stuff you get right but a bit too slowly), and (3) forget it and move on. You've split things into 4 buckets. So if I mix up talking about these below, that's why.

Er. Hmm. Now I'm confused. You first describe category 2 as being "way too slow" but then in your analysis, you say that you make careless mistakes on these because you're rushing. Can you clarify?

- Sequences (I always forget the formula / how to use it)

Then why is this in your bucket 3 and not your bucket 4?

SC - I mostly get the hard / devilish problems wrong here
- Idioms (I just need to keep reviewing the list of idioms)

Get them wrong faster.

For your bucket 4 items, you can let them go fast forever, if you like. You don't have much on the list and none of it is super common.

Study Plan.
M - Thu. Don't forget that some things should go in the "I should get these wrong fast and here's why" bucket. Just be careful about the fact that your notes are still biased towards, "How do I learn to get everything right?" Not the goal.

Other than that, your study plan looks good. Don't worry about getting through all of the OGs. You just want to do enough to expose yourself to a wide variety of problems, and then make sure you're studying those ones thoroughly.

From October 10th through test day (November 25th), I plan to take a practice test every week, and to spend the week reviewing.

In general, analysis of one test should give you enough work for at least two weeks of study. If it doesn't, you're not analyzing deeply enough. So I'd adjust that plan.

conducting a comprehensive review of why I got things right, and why I got things wrong.

Replace that with: conducting a comprehensive review of what I did well (and want to do the same in future) and what I didn't do well and want to change in future - both what I want to differently and how I'll know to do it differently.

Re: our question banks, in general OG questions are better, since they're written by the people who write the real test questions. Our explanations are better, though. As long as you still have quant and SC questions available in the big OG, do those, because those have solutions in our GMAT Navigator program. Once you get to the point of needing to use the Q and V supplemental OGs, then you can start to mix in some of our question banks if you like, since you may learn more from our explanations. But again, I wouldn't think of it as "I have to get through all of this material by the test."

Your flash cards should be containing elements of your OG problems - you'll have picked out the specific things that you need to learn from them. You never want to review a full OG in flash card format - rather, you'd just re-try the problem again and see how it goes (and maybe make new flash cards for new takeaways). You can also do exercises where you, say, open up OG to a random page and try to find all the problems on that page where you could use smart numbers. Or all the problems on that page with parallelism markers.

But you're not putting OGs on a flash card because you're not trying to memorize these problems. These aren't the problems you're going to see on the test. Your goal is to learn the best ways to think through new problems, using the current ones as practice / a guide.

What do you think about all of that?

[gayatri.k]

Thank you for your detailed response, Stacey.

To answer your questions around my bucket allocations - bucket 2 is essentially silly mistakes that are a super quick fix, or that occurred as a result of misreading something or rushing. For example, I may have forgotten the compound interest formula. In this case, it's not that I have trouble with the concept or doing the problem, I just need to glance at the formula and remember it. This bucket would also include any careless mistakes e.g. I accidentally rewrote the fraction 1/4 as 3/4 in my calculation, and didn't realize. Essentially, bucket 1 and 2 are very similar in that I understand the concept and best approach, but just rushed.

Bucket 3 is the "low hanging fruit," I guess? Problems that I am getting right but spending way too long on, so I just need to practice the most efficient method.

Bucket 4 is my "I see this, I guess, and I peace out," haha. That being said, I've recently started getting rate problems right, so what I do now is I read the question, think about how much effort it's going to take to do. If I can immediately relate it to a problem I've seen before and can remember the approach, then I go for it; if not, then I guess and move on.

Are my buckets a little clearer now?

OG vs. Question Banks vs. Tests

I am SO happy with your response to this - it's definitely helped me breakaway from the mindset of "I must get through all the banks before the test."

Final question - after my 1 week analysis and detailed review of test problems,should I be doing more OG problems, by topic, in the second week after my test? I guess I'm still confused about how to study in-between tests.

[StaceyKoprince]

In this case, it's not that I have trouble with the concept or doing the problem, I just need to glance at the formula and remember it

Ack, no! Don't dismiss careless mistakes that way - these are the biggest of your low-hanging fruit and you've got some work to do to stop making these mistakes in future! You can't just tell yourself, "D'oh, don't do that next time" - that won't work!

Read this right now:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

And then tell me what you're going to do in future when you make a careless mistake (and, in particular, when you realize that you've made the same type of careless mistake more than once).

Other than that, yes, your buckets are clearer now. Also, I like your new rates approach.

after my 1 week analysis and detailed review of test problems,should I be doing more OG problems, by topic, in the second week after my test? I guess I'm still confused about how to study in-between tests.

My point here is that this should really be taking you 2 weeks to do a detailed review of a test. Your review should drive to other activities, like "Hmm, I messed up this exponent rule, and you know, it's been a long time since I've reviewed exponents, so I'm going to go re-read that part of the book...and I think I need to drill some of those rules to get back into practice...and then maybe circle back around to an OG problem or two to test that out...Hmm, that OG problem had a hidden quadratic that I missed, I've got to review those...opening up that chapter..."

And 30 to 60 minutes later, you might move on to review the next CAT problem. Think of each problem as a jumping off point. I've had one problem send me off into a few hours of wide-ranging review. You might end up deciding to re-watch a full class lesson that takes an hour plus.

Yes, do periodically do OG (or official format) problem sets - you always want to do that to test the skills that you're trying to improve. And then those get the full analysis treatment too.

WIth all of that, you can easily spend 2 weeks studying off of one test!