DAY 2
DAY 2 (Scheduling, Test Review)
Ready for the second day of your GMAT journey? Yesterday we established your priorities for studying for the GMAT based on the A-D group system that we developed. Remember the last two questions that you answered right after your took the test:
• How much of the test were you able to complete within the time limit? (state in a percentage)
• Write down any other issues that you noticed during the test.
If you weren’t able to complete the test in time and answered less than 30% of the questions, let’s indicate “time” in Group D as a priority. If you noticed any other issues during the test that might have a major impact on your score, keep them in mind (and in your notebook). We need to handle these issues before test day.
Brandon's Tip
Remember you have 75 minutes to answer 41 questions in the verbal section, which equals roughly 1.8 minutes per question (1 minute and 48 seconds). And, you have 75 minutes to answer 37 questions in the math section, or roughly 2 minutes per question. Keep this in mind at all times! We will talk more about time management in phase III.
Our next step is to plan our study schedule. Since we only have 29 days left, we need to plan accordingly to ensure that we use our time efficiently. Remember, the goal is not to absorb the greatest amount of information, but rather to absorb the information most relevant for you. This is what an effective study schedule achieves.
Macro Schedule (10 day increments)
We will divide our study into three major phases. In Phase I (the first 10 days), we will familiarize ourselves with the logic of the GMAT to basically learn how the writers of the test think. The GMAT does not test your knowledge of the world; it is, as is any other standardized test, a test of how well you understand the test itself. We need to abandon our own thinking at times and adapt to the “GMAT way of thinking.”
We will spend 10 days on this phase to train our brain for this purpose. And we do this by spending the majority of the time studying individual questions and answers in an attempt to understand why the answers are considered “GMAT correct.” This can often go against what we consider to be ‘common-sense’ correct.
In Phase II (the second 10 days), we will dive into various techniques and tips for taking the test. There are millions of test-taking techniques, and learning all of them simply isn’t possible given the amount of time that we have. Instead, I will tell you about the techniques that worked for me when I took the test. Some of them are simple, and some may seem trivial and obvious. But keep in mind that we are not trying to become scholars. We want effectiveness, and the best techniques for you are the ones that are simple to implement and, at the same time, give you the greatest improvement on your scores. We will spend 10 days during this period learning and mastering these techniques.
In Phase III (the final three days), we will do only two things:
1. Review what you learned.
2. Get ready for the test day.
It is useless to continue learning new techniques when you are near the test day. The pressure will be too great for you to absorb any new information. Instead, we will make sure that we remember everything that we have learned, and ensure that we are physically and mentally ready for the test. As woo-woo as it may sound, your mind and body can have a big impact on your test performance.
As we progress, you will gradually spend less time on the planning part of the book and more on the skill-building part that follows this section.
Micro Schedule (daily)
Having a fixed daily study schedule will force you to study. It will also get your body accustomed to following fixed schedules—something you will need to do on test day. Let’s take a look at your micro schedule for Phase I.