r.anderson's study reboot thread

[r.anderson]

I postponed my exam, which was previously scheduled for Oct 22nd to Dec 20th, 2011.

I've taken the MGMAT course and have been studying/reviewing the material in what I now believe to be an inefficient way.

I took my first CAT in mid-August and received a score of 660 (w/o the essays) - 44Q 36V, which I thought was decent for my first try, and without even studying any Geometry.

I answered nearly all of the SC questions incorrectly, and so I decided to focus on SC for the next few weeks. I touched on the other areas, as well, but felt like I was neglecting RC and CR a little bit, because I was getting a high proportion of 700-800 levels questions correct on the CAT.
I also studied the Geometry sections, as well.


I took my 2nd CAT in mid-September, and to my dismay I received exactly the same score, with exactly the same break out - 44Q 36V. Although, my SC did improve (7/15 vs 3/15), the % correct on the other areas of verbal decreased.

On Quant, I had noticed that I was getting mostly the 700-800 level questions incorrect, so I thought it was time to move on to the advanced material.

Since my second CAT, I'd been experimenting with different ways of studying, but hadn't visited these forums until recently, so I didn't read up on your recommended method of studying.

I blew two of the CATS by just taking only the Quant section, in which I improved only slightly from my first two CATS - I scored 45 on each of them.

The only upside is that I have a pretty good idea of where my weaknesses are in Quant.

Word Translations except Statistics and Ratios
Quadratic Equations
Basic Equations
Inequalities
VICs
Triangles and Diagonals
Circles and Cylinders

I had done some analysis on these problems I answered incorrectly, and found that I was getting them correct when not under test conditions, and was able to make a few distinctions. For the most part, the ones I was getting wrong are all in the 700-800 range, with a few in the 600-700 range.

This week I'll be focusing on Word Translations, while doing a few Verbal problems (plus analysis) each day. (1 RC passage, 3 SC, 3 CR). I will review the material in the strategy guide, do some of the benchmark problems with the analysis methods you recommend, and then move on to the Advanced material.

On the 6th day, I'll do some review of my strengths.

And I will take a CAT under official conditions on Sunday the 23rd.

From there, I'll review my exam and assess what my new priorities will be.

In the meantime, I will do the best I can to log what I've been doing each day, the way you've suggested.

[r.anderson]

Oops! I just read the "Read This First" thread. Should I not post an activity log in this forum?

[r.anderson]

Ok, since there was no reply, I'll assume it's ok to post.

So I've been brushing up on word translations (WT).

Rates and Work problems are starting to click with me.
The same goes for combinatorics. The advanced sections really help a lot.

As far as the breakdown of my study sessions go, I prefer to study theory in the morning before work and just do problems and analysis after work.

I am postponing my first full CAT until Sunday November 6th, since I already know what weaknesses I need to work on from the analysis of CATS i've taken previously.

This coming week I will devote mornings to Sentence Correction problems and analysis, and the nights to a particular "Quant" weakness. I find I like to do a little of both Verbal and Quant each day, rather than just focusing on one.

This week when I was just studying Word Translations, I kept feeling my previously Verbal knowledge was slipping away. And by the time I was finished with my two hours of study, I was too tired or hungry to go a third hour to study verbal.

Anyway..

I have gone over all of the material in all the strategy guides at least once (The advanced sections in WT were the last ones I needed to go through).

I will begin tackling the Advanced Quant book starting the week of October 30th.

Main Distinctions:
Write the final question out for PS!!

[StaceyKoprince]

This is the best place to post this, yes. (I'll assume that you're posting because you do actually want advice from teachers, so this is the right folder for that kind of advice!)

(after reading your first post)
Good stuff. I like your plan. Remember that there's a delicate balance of quantity and quality. Clearly, you do need to study a decent number of questions - one a night isn't going to cut it. :) At the same time, you don't want to do so many that you can't really give quality attention to the problems you're studying.

When your reviewed your practice test results, did you make a distinction between problems you knew how to do but got wrong due to careless error, timing, or some other similar problem vs. the problems you just didn't know how to do? The former are higher priority because you already know how to get them right but your technique is holding you back somehow. You can study technique just as you can study content - and you do actually need to study both.

(after reading your 3rd post)
Yes, I agree with your decision to postpone your next practice CAT. Might as well get everything you can out of your analysis of your previous CAT.

I do like your plan to do some quant and verbal each day, and to split that between morning and evening. I agree that most people can't go 3 hours straight without suffering a slip in performance, so it's best to limit any study session to 2 hours max.

Like your posts - keep up the good work and keep us informed!

[r.anderson]

Haha phew! I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use this forum as my personal study log.

So I'm not sure I'm doing the analysis part correctly.

I printed out a bunch of the articles. I refer to the "How to Analyze a Practice Problem" the most. I try to answer the analysis questions as best as I can.

the ones I feel I get the most out of are how I would make an educated guess and the trap or trick question.

I have two notebooks with all the notes I took from the strategy guides. Actually, I wrote them all on note cards first, but I ended up having 100s of notecards. So then I copied them in one or two line chunks to two note books - one for verbal and one for quant.

On the other side of the notebook page, I would write a brief takeaway from each problem.

For example, I have a notebook page dedicated to SC comparisons.
The first line reads:
1. Like vs as - "Like must be followed by nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases.

There are 5 other notes pertaining to comparisons on this page.

On the other side of the notebook page, I have the problem # and a brief takeaway.

eg
76 OG: as much because x as because y. Watch for bad comparisons.

If I get it wrong, I put an asterisk by the problem #, as well as add it to my "Error List" - problems which I'll do again on a review day (6th day).

I try to review at least a part of the notebook each day, when I have downtime at work. This is to keep me fresh on concepts that I may not have time to study that day or even that week.

................................

How should I go about studying technique?
I've been trying to stick to the OG problems, because I want to use the ones from the other guides for Mini-Gmat sections that I'll be creating later in my study (Generally 3 days before any CAT or the last two weeks before the exam) in order to work on timing and question "dumping".

Should I just study the explanations of problems, and apply the technique to problems I've already done from the OG?

Oh and one more question. Are there testing sites where we can take practice gmats? I thought my instuctor mentioned something like that on our first day but not sure.

[StaceyKoprince]

I like your whole review and tracking process. Keep that up.

Do prioritize to some extent - things that aren't as commonly tested shouldn't take as much of your time. You don't want to get totally overwhelmed by the level of detail.

When you're reviewing explanations and need to learn something from them, then yes, first apply that to the problem you just did, which might involve as much work as actually writing out the work again for the problem (not always, only if warranted). Then go look at a couple of other similar problems you've already done and ask yourself how your new knowledge changes anything (if at all). If you need to drill anything, drill it - that could be a specific skill or something to memorize, or it could involve doing a new similar problem to test out your new knowledge.

Then test yourself at the end of a few days or a week - with a mix of new Qs that reflect what you've been studying all week, along wtih some other random stuff tossed in. See whether you really retained your new learning, and whether you can pull it out of the jumble in a "mini-test" situation. (If you only test yourself immediately after learning something, chances are good you'll pass the test... but you may not 3 days or a week later!)

Re: testing sites, do you mean physical sites where you can go to take a practice CAT instead of at home? If you're in NYC, we have a computer room at our headquarters, so yes, you can do that there. You can ask next time you're there for class.

[r.anderson]

Just took my GMAT today and got a 700 (47Q 39V). Thanks for your help, Stacey. Sorry I didn't keep up with this log. I sort of got burnt out studying for such a long period of time-- 6 months, but very inconsistent. The last two months I averaged less than an hour a day, with a total of only 3 whole CATs (Only 1 with the essays) for the entire 6 months. I think my inconsistent studying had more to do with me questioning whether I actually want to pursue my MBA.
But as for the MGMAT course and your help, I couldn't have asked for more. Thanks, again!

[StaceyKoprince]

A 700 - that's fantastic! Congratulations.

Good luck with everything! (I assume you did finally decide that you're going to pursue the MBA? Or did you just take the test to get it out of the way in case you eventually decide to do so?)

[r.anderson]

Yea, I just took it to get it out of the way. If I decide to pursue an MBA, do you think I should take it again?

BTW I scored a 5.0 on the analytical writing section, which was a pleasant surprise; I felt like I was writing just a bunch of gibberish.

[StaceyKoprince]

BTW I scored a 5.0 on the analytical writing section, which was a pleasant surprise; I felt like I was writing just a bunch of gibberish.

:)

There aren't that many circumstances in which a 700 would be considered a negative, so you probably don't have to take it again, no. If you're concerned about that at the point that you plan to apply, though, then talk to an admissions consultant at that point. They'll want to know your general profile and where you plan to apply in order to advise you.