I am taking the actual GMAT on November 11th. Any tips for the next two weeks are greatly appreciated.
Thank you
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- cooper2248817
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9360
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Take a practice test approx. 2 weeks before. Take it under full official test conditions at the same time of day as you plan to take the real test. Spend a day or two going through and figuring out what your current strengths and weaknesses are. Think about content, technique, and timing.
For content, what specifically is giving you the most trouble? (eg, in SC, modifiers and verbs) Include in this category the different types of questions for CR and RC (eg, find an assumption vs. weaken or inference vs. main idea). Cross check this with the most common content areas and question types tested on the exam (see below for a short list).
On what types of questions or content areas are you struggling with technique or timing? (Technique is knowing how to identify / categorize a particular type of question and knowing what you're expected to do / answer as you move through the problem. Timing is both being able to answer the question within the expected amount of time and being able to balance your time appropriately as you move through the entire set of questions.)
Work on the areas in which you are weaker and which are commonly tested on the exam.
Here's the stuff that's tested most commonly:
Number Properties: all
Algebra: basic, quadratic, and exponential equations; inequalities specifically within DS
Word Translations: general algebraic translations (word problems), rates & work, averages, ratios
Geometry: circles and triangles
Fractions, Decimals, and Percents: fractions, percents
SC: modifiers, parallelism, and comparisons, also subj-verb agreement, verb tenses, and pronouns
CR: weaken, strengthen, find the assump, draw conclusion, explain a situation
RC: inference, specific detail "what" questions (note: typically only get 1 "main idea" question per passage, but it's also important to do well on these because (a) these tend to be lower-level than the other questions, and (b) if you don't get the main idea right, you're a lot more likely to get the detailed questions wrong too)
Also, remember that, no matter how good you get, you will still have to guess on something like 5 to 7 questions in the math section. You don't want to be forced into making those guesses in a row at the end of the section, so choose the 5-7 hardest questions AS YOU SEE THEM throughout the section. Remind yourself that you CANNOT get to the point where you can answer everything given to you in 2 min - that's just not how the test works. You have to let those go.
Instead, learn how to make effective educated guesses, in particular on those types of problems for which you tend to get sucked in (see your analysis, above). An "educated guess" is just identifying (and crossing off) some wrong answers before you guess from among the remaining answer choices. The way in which you make an educated guess is dependent upon the type of problem and (in math) the content area: the way in which you tend to guess on geometry is different than the way you tend to guess on rate problems. Also, the way in which you tend to guess on weaken problems is different than the way you tend to guess on draw a conclusion problems. Etc. So make sure you study how to guess on the areas that are giving you lots of trouble.
Note: it's easiest to learn how to make an educated guess by studying problems that you can get right today - basically the hardest ones that you can get right without any problems. Learn how to do it for problems of that type, and then apply the method to harder problems that you can't actually do.
A week before, take another practice test. Before that test, decide what your major strengths and weaknesses are. Be aware of these during the test. If you're struggling with a hard question in one of your weaker areas, pull the plug - make a guess and move on. If you hit a harder question that's in an area of strength for you, consider: perhaps you actually should spend an extra 15 to 30 seconds on this one. It's a strength, so that might be time well spent. Also, for any questions that are both not very commonly tested and an area of weakness for you: do NOT go over the allotted time, not even by one second! Be prejudiced against those questions.
So take that last practice test a week before and implement your strategy according to those strengths and weaknesses. After, repeat the analysis that you did at the 2-week mark. A day or two before, decide again: what are my major strengths and weaknesses now? What do I give myself permission to bail on during the test? (Weaknesses!) What do I give myself permission to spend a little extra time on during the test? (Strengths!)
The last couple of days should be aimed at reviewing your major content, technique, and pacing strategies across the entire test. Be very careful not to stress yourself out or tire yourself out in the couple of days before the test.
Good luck!
For content, what specifically is giving you the most trouble? (eg, in SC, modifiers and verbs) Include in this category the different types of questions for CR and RC (eg, find an assumption vs. weaken or inference vs. main idea). Cross check this with the most common content areas and question types tested on the exam (see below for a short list).
On what types of questions or content areas are you struggling with technique or timing? (Technique is knowing how to identify / categorize a particular type of question and knowing what you're expected to do / answer as you move through the problem. Timing is both being able to answer the question within the expected amount of time and being able to balance your time appropriately as you move through the entire set of questions.)
Work on the areas in which you are weaker and which are commonly tested on the exam.
Here's the stuff that's tested most commonly:
Number Properties: all
Algebra: basic, quadratic, and exponential equations; inequalities specifically within DS
Word Translations: general algebraic translations (word problems), rates & work, averages, ratios
Geometry: circles and triangles
Fractions, Decimals, and Percents: fractions, percents
SC: modifiers, parallelism, and comparisons, also subj-verb agreement, verb tenses, and pronouns
CR: weaken, strengthen, find the assump, draw conclusion, explain a situation
RC: inference, specific detail "what" questions (note: typically only get 1 "main idea" question per passage, but it's also important to do well on these because (a) these tend to be lower-level than the other questions, and (b) if you don't get the main idea right, you're a lot more likely to get the detailed questions wrong too)
Also, remember that, no matter how good you get, you will still have to guess on something like 5 to 7 questions in the math section. You don't want to be forced into making those guesses in a row at the end of the section, so choose the 5-7 hardest questions AS YOU SEE THEM throughout the section. Remind yourself that you CANNOT get to the point where you can answer everything given to you in 2 min - that's just not how the test works. You have to let those go.
Instead, learn how to make effective educated guesses, in particular on those types of problems for which you tend to get sucked in (see your analysis, above). An "educated guess" is just identifying (and crossing off) some wrong answers before you guess from among the remaining answer choices. The way in which you make an educated guess is dependent upon the type of problem and (in math) the content area: the way in which you tend to guess on geometry is different than the way you tend to guess on rate problems. Also, the way in which you tend to guess on weaken problems is different than the way you tend to guess on draw a conclusion problems. Etc. So make sure you study how to guess on the areas that are giving you lots of trouble.
Note: it's easiest to learn how to make an educated guess by studying problems that you can get right today - basically the hardest ones that you can get right without any problems. Learn how to do it for problems of that type, and then apply the method to harder problems that you can't actually do.
A week before, take another practice test. Before that test, decide what your major strengths and weaknesses are. Be aware of these during the test. If you're struggling with a hard question in one of your weaker areas, pull the plug - make a guess and move on. If you hit a harder question that's in an area of strength for you, consider: perhaps you actually should spend an extra 15 to 30 seconds on this one. It's a strength, so that might be time well spent. Also, for any questions that are both not very commonly tested and an area of weakness for you: do NOT go over the allotted time, not even by one second! Be prejudiced against those questions.
So take that last practice test a week before and implement your strategy according to those strengths and weaknesses. After, repeat the analysis that you did at the 2-week mark. A day or two before, decide again: what are my major strengths and weaknesses now? What do I give myself permission to bail on during the test? (Weaknesses!) What do I give myself permission to spend a little extra time on during the test? (Strengths!)
The last couple of days should be aimed at reviewing your major content, technique, and pacing strategies across the entire test. Be very careful not to stress yourself out or tire yourself out in the couple of days before the test.
Good luck!
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1