Hey Erika! Great video! What would be the important things to focus on during the last stretch of your preparations (I.e., after going through concepts multiple times and after solving a few mock tests) to maximise your score? Also, when do we know that we’re ready to take the exam?
Hi Anmol! Thanks for stopping by :) When you are ready to take the exam is a fairly person question, but I would like to say that you are ready when you can consistently hit your target score on practice exams. That's the ideal! For the last stretch, I would focus on review, using your error log to sharpen some of your weaknesses. I would also focus on non-content related things like diet, exercise, rest, mental health, and other ways to take care of yourself to best set yourself up to perform at your highest level. Those things can make a big difference leading up to the exam!
Hi Corey! So I wouldn't get too caught up in the specific details. The important thing is to reflect on the question. Here are some other sample questions: Why did you miss the question? Why was your answer wrong? Why was the correct answer correct? What will you do to avoid this next time around? So long as you're asking yourself questions like these and thinking through your mistake, you'll be doing just fine! The idea is simply to spend time with your wrong answers and evaluating them. There's really no wrong way to do this :) And you might want to check out this post! magoosh.com/gmat/gmat-error-log/
This is a great idea! I'm not sure we have a video like this in the works. For now, a study session should include new concepts (like lesson videos), new practice problems, and a lot of review of old practice problems. With those core activities, you can customize the rest of your sessions to your specific needs :)
Hello Erika, thanks for this video! Could you please show a sample entry of the self-talk you do when you get a problem wrong, and what exactly you write in the ‘What, Why, and How’ cells (Excel) so that it makes sense when you review it after, say 2 weeks? At present, I just log the error from the official solution. Thanks in advance. Much appreciated!
Hi Shail! I prefer to use a detailed error log, like this one: magoosh.com/gmat/gmat-error-log/ It should give you plenty of guidance as far as what to write. But here are some samples: What: I blanked and did not know how to simplify the expression, so I tried plugging in numbers and got a wrong answer. Why: I did not recognize the difference of two squares formula. How: I now know that formula much better and should be able to recognize it in the future. What: I chose an incorrect answer that could be right if read in a certain way. Why: I made too many assumptions and read too much into the answer choices. How: Don't think too much about the choices, and try to think like the test-makers. This isn't philosophy class, so use the most basic logic.
Thanks a lot Erika! We wish you appeared more often on youtube. We missed you!
Thank YOU, Jakhongir! You should be seeing a lot more of me on this channel, so stay tuned. :)
Ok, great! I will ...
Couldn't find the link to the "best GMAT practice test"
Good eye, Hoozan! I just filmed that one yesterday, so we should have it up on the channel in about a week. :)
Here you go!
th-cam.com/video/RLvAGgMvNdI/w-d-xo.html
The most well-rounded tips on deliberate practice!
Hey Erika! Great video! What would be the important things to focus on during the last stretch of your preparations (I.e., after going through concepts multiple times and after solving a few mock tests) to maximise your score? Also, when do we know that we’re ready to take the exam?
Hi Anmol! Thanks for stopping by :) When you are ready to take the exam is a fairly person question, but I would like to say that you are ready when you can consistently hit your target score on practice exams. That's the ideal!
For the last stretch, I would focus on review, using your error log to sharpen some of your weaknesses. I would also focus on non-content related things like diet, exercise, rest, mental health, and other ways to take care of yourself to best set yourself up to perform at your highest level. Those things can make a big difference leading up to the exam!
Extremely helpful! Do you know of a resource that would have a few more examples of the what, why, and how?
Hi Corey! So I wouldn't get too caught up in the specific details. The important thing is to reflect on the question. Here are some other sample questions:
Why did you miss the question?
Why was your answer wrong?
Why was the correct answer correct?
What will you do to avoid this next time around?
So long as you're asking yourself questions like these and thinking through your mistake, you'll be doing just fine! The idea is simply to spend time with your wrong answers and evaluating them. There's really no wrong way to do this :)
And you might want to check out this post!
magoosh.com/gmat/gmat-error-log/
Can you make a video with an "example study session" so we can have a better idea of how you prepared?
This is a great idea! I'm not sure we have a video like this in the works. For now, a study session should include new concepts (like lesson videos), new practice problems, and a lot of review of old practice problems. With those core activities, you can customize the rest of your sessions to your specific needs :)
Hello Erika, thanks for this video!
Could you please show a sample entry of the self-talk you do when you get a problem wrong, and what exactly you write in the ‘What, Why, and How’ cells (Excel) so that it makes sense when you review it after, say 2 weeks? At present, I just log the error from the official solution.
Thanks in advance. Much appreciated!
Hi Shail!
I prefer to use a detailed error log, like this one: magoosh.com/gmat/gmat-error-log/
It should give you plenty of guidance as far as what to write. But here are some samples:
What: I blanked and did not know how to simplify the expression, so I tried plugging in numbers and got a wrong answer.
Why: I did not recognize the difference of two squares formula.
How: I now know that formula much better and should be able to recognize it in the future.
What: I chose an incorrect answer that could be right if read in a certain way.
Why: I made too many assumptions and read too much into the answer choices.
How: Don't think too much about the choices, and try to think like the test-makers. This isn't philosophy class, so use the most basic logic.
@@MagooshGMAT This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your response. Cheers!