Please critique my plan for the next 4 weeks!

[michael.chung91]

Hi all,

Just some stats for me to begin with:
-online course (started in beginning of april)

-CAT #1 (diagnostic): 570
-CAT #2: 640 (Q44, V34) - end of april
-CAT #3: 600 (Q40, V33) - end of may
-CAT #4: 600 (Q39, V34) - 2 weeks ago

After a thorough analysis, I concluded that the following are my weak points:

Verbal
a) CR: Weakening, Inference, Evaluate arguments
b) SC: Comparisons, parallelism, Idioms
c) RC: Inference

Quant (struggle a lot with D/S)
a) Fractions, decimals, percentages
b) Inequalities
c) # Properties
d) Too slow on word problems

Other thoughts:
a) seem to miss some questions in a row during verbal - I conclude this to be lack of focus / agility / stamina
b) timed out on math often

What I have been doing:
a) in-depth coverage of the topics / question types I'm missing through strategy guide review & dialing in on the OG problems (both supplement and big book)
b) started practicing pacing on the math mini problem sets consisting of 5 quant questions (7 minute timed for P/S & 10 minute timed for D/S)
c) couple RC passages a day AFTER I've done other studying (to simulate test conditions when I'll be tired)

Am I on the right track here? Overall, the past couple of weeks has been valuable and I have been seeing my hit rate improve in the OG problems. How would you guys go about improving my agility during verbal? I sometimes find it difficult to do well on RC after a series of tough CR questions that require me to think hard.

Also, whati s the most efficient way to keep my strengths fresh? I am planning on maybe doing 5 - 10 problems a day that lie within my strengths, but I'm not sure if that's a plan structured enough to deal with it.

I have 4 weeks until my scheduled exam, and would like to utilize that valuable time as much as I can. Thanks :)

[StaceyKoprince]

Read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Right now - before you read the rest of my post.

Okay, now you can read the rest here.

Also have you read this yet?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

If not, start doing what it says, today. :) Start by building your 1m time sense (section 4 of the article).

If you're timing out on math "often," then you're probably too slow on more than just word problems. As a general rule, over about 2.5m = danger zone and over 3m = never go there (even if you get it right).

Are you more likely to spend extra time on PS? Most people with timing problems do. How's your DS timing? A lot of people tell me they struggle with it, but really that's because they're rushing on DS - because they've spent too much time on PS elsewhere. Is that a possibility in your case?

Are you more likely to spend extra time on things you think you "should" be able to do, maybe even things that you think you're good at?

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

Change that mindset (which the above articles will help you to do) and your timing will follow. :)

Okay, lots of resources below, tied to what you told me in your notes. I'm guessing timing is a pretty big problem at least on the quant, so make sure you're giving that enough work.

First, before you use any of the specific resources below, read the "how to study" section of this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

It's important to make sure that you actually know HOW to get better before you spend a bunch of time studying inefficiently or ineffectively. :)

started practicing pacing on the math mini problem sets consisting of 5 quant questions (7 minute timed for P/S & 10 minute timed for D/S)

Why are you giving yourself only 7 minutes for a set of 5 PS questions? Am I reading this incorrectly? It should be 2 minutes per quant question, on average.

Also, don't split up PS and DS. Mix them. Mix topics. Make it like the real test. Time yourself for the whole group so that YOU have to figure out when to cut yourself off, etc. Don't set a timer for 2m and keep repeating it.

DO, though, keep track of how much time you spend per question. Get a lap timer (most smart phones have one already) and cover up the actual time so you can't see. Hit the lap button every time you finish a problem, then check your times afterwards. Have another timer that counts down from 10 minutes (or whatever your time limit is).

Also, sometimes do sets of 10 questions for 20 minutes (or similar) - again, mix it up. :)

couple RC passages a day AFTER I've done other studying (to simulate test conditions when I'll be tired)

Like it. For verbal, just as for math, consider how you're spending your two most valuable resources - your time and your brain power. Maybe you should be letting go of one or two of those hard CRs so that you're not tiring yourself out so much. (Hint: not maybe. Definitely! Remember my first article above?)

DS:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... questions/

decoding math in general:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -Problems/

FDPs are often story problems - so a lot of times, these are really about translation. Ditto word problems.
translation:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... into-Math/

NP:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -gmatprep/

CR process:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... g-problem/

infer:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... e-Problem/

weaken:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/

Evaluate:
guess. faster. :)

RC:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... estion.cfm
set of 3 articles for one passage:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... -passages/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... m-passage/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... m-passage/

SC:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

Finally, for your strengths, instead of doing a set that's ONLY strengths, do mixed sets (as noted above for quant). In a set of 10 questions, maybe 5 or 6 will be from whatever you've been studying lately, and the rest should be *random* - strengths, weaknesses, middling areas, whatever, who knows. That'll help you to review and keep on your toes in ALL areas. If you realize you messed something up because you forgot some rule or you were slow because it's been a while, then you know to add some practice in that area.

All right. That should keep you busy for a couple of weeks. :)