Study advice

[evv89]

Hello everyone!
I would like to describe my situation and get advice...
Before I tell the story I want to write few questions.

1 Question: I have an appointment of GMAT on 14 of July (10 days left). I understand that 4 weeks is not enough for studying, but I was just wondering how I would perform... and if I hit 700 and get QUant of 49 - 50 it would be ok. However, MGAMT score drop significantly as I describe this and possible reasons below. So how do you feel should I simply postpone the test or go for it just to see how I will perform?

2 Question: Another thing why I am worrying is AWA section. As I am not native speaker I feel that it can be an issue for me. I got 6.5 for writing in Ielts exam that is not very bad, but not very good. As for GMAT Write : Argument - overall 5, Issue - at first overall -3, then 4. The topic seemed to me a little bit difficult. How can I improve AWA just to ensure to score at least 4,5? Shall I take GMAT on 14 July just to see my performance in this section? Or it is not worth? Does Manhattan have some tutoring concerning writing? How can I prepare for it?

3 Question: I cover 6 week of MGMAT session and if you recommend me to go for GMAT on 14 July should I continue study session or just practicing what I learned and take another MGAMT before the test?

I have been studying GMAT almost for more than 3 weeks using self guided prep pack and covered 6 weeks of study plan as I am not working and can devote up to 8 hours a day to it. Before prep I took a MGAMT and got 680 Q- 73% V-85%. Despite the fact that during these 3 weeks I was training and feeling that I improved certain areas of quant as well as verbal I got MGMAT 2 score - 600 Q- 70% V - 53%. I was quiet shocked, but the fact that I was tired a little when taking the test calms me down a little bit. During the verb part I was feeling a huge fatigue and got last 5 questions wrong in a row.

All tests were done under 100% official conditions, but during the second test I was a little bit disturbed.


Some info about the tests:
MGMAT 2 :
PS : 27%
DS: 87%
SC: 67%
CR: 50%
RC: 25%

World translations were the worst part, I could hardly concentrate to comprehend the question... however it was not an issue during the first test.
MGMAT 1:
PS: 55%
DS: 53%
SC: 73%
CR: 64%
RC: 42%

As for timing, although I spent quite a lot doing 2-3 questions I can't say that I ran out of time or was rushing. The only reason for such fail I can find is the tiredness as I was intensively studying for 3,5 weeks for GMAT. My target is 90% Quant, about 80% verbal and at least 4,5 AWA. I hope to get such result till September. However, not preferable, but the maximum is December. So could you advice me the study strategy for this?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

[StaceyKoprince]

Whatever you're scoring about 1-2 weeks before the real test is about what to expect on the real test assuming that you are taking your practice tests under 100% official conditions, including essays, length of breaks, only eating or drinking or using the bathroom on a break, EVERYthing.

It is still possible to score higher or lower than that, of course, but it's very unusual to score significantly higher. It's a bit more common for a score to drop - if someone messes up timing, can't sleep the night before, gets very nervous, etc.

Read this for the essays (if you're taking our class, we discuss the essays during class 6):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/ace-essays.cfm

Don't take the real test just to practice essays - not worth it.

Don't take the real test until you figure out why your score dropped so much on your 2nd practice test. If you don't know why, then you can't do anything to make sure it doesn't happen again. Read this article to help you figure out what happened:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

You can also share that analysis here with us and we'll help you figure out what to do.

You can also use this article to analyze your strengths and weaknesses in general:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

And again you can share your analysis here and we'll help you figure out what to do as a result.

And one more important article on timing:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Next, you don't mention what score you want to get on the test. What's your goal?

I don't have quite enough information here to advise you fully, but certainly you shouldn't take the real test until you figure out why your verbal score dropped so much on your 2nd test and then take whatever steps are necessary to fix those problems. On top of that, if you are also looking for a 700+, you need some additional time to lift yourself into that scoring range.

Note: it's great that you have lots of time right now to devote to studying; in general, though, be careful about trying to do too much each day and then not really remembering anything well enough. That's called cramming, and it's usually a pretty inefficient way of studying because it's very difficult to learn to remember too many new things in one day.

Finally, you should definitely finish the full program and give yourself at least 2 weeks of review before taking the real test - here's what you do for the final 2 weeks:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -game-plan
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -to-review

Again, finish your main study prior to the final 2 weeks (if not longer); the last two weeks should be mainly about review, not learning (much) new material.