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In the final two weeks before your official GMAT, your focus needs to shift. You\u2019re no longer trying to lift your scoring level. Instead, focus on hitting your peak performance on Game Day\u2014like an Olympic athlete who\u2019s trying to peak for the gold-medal match.<\/span><\/p>\n Your current scoring level isn\u2019t just a single value. It\u2019s actually a range of values\u2014and a pretty wide one, probably about 30 to 60 points, depending on your scoring level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On Game Day (the day you take your official test), you could have a great day and hit the top of your range\u2026or you could have a bad day and hit the bottom of your range. So let\u2019s talk about how to hit your peak performance on Game Day! (This post has been updated for the new GMAT.)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At two weeks out from Game Day, your skills are what they are and your scoring range is what it is. These things are not going to change substantially in the last two weeks. But there\u2019s a <\/span>lot<\/span><\/i> you can do to increase your chances of scoring at the top end of your current range on game day.<\/span><\/p>\n Your mantra for the last two weeks:<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m no longer trying to increase my skills. Now, I\u2019m trying to minimize mistakes and maximize performance on the things that I already know how to do.<\/span><\/p>\n You <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> want to hit your trough\u2014your lowest level\u2014on game day. That\u2019s a real risk if you spend the last couple of weeks trying to cram because you\u2019re desperate to add another 100 points before your official test.<\/span><\/p>\n The hard truth: It\u2019s very unlikely to improve by 100+ points in two weeks. If that\u2019s your goal, it\u2019s better to postpone your test date. If you can\u2019t postpone your test, then be realistic and lower your goal score to something more reasonable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re already within the window where you have to pay a lot of money to reschedule, consider keeping this test date as your first \u201cdry run\u201d and then take the official test again in 6 to 8 weeks, after you\u2019ve had a chance to do more to lift your skills.<\/span><\/p>\n Your Game Plan is the decision-making plan you\u2019ll use during your test. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re also going to review your major strategies, the major content areas, your time management plan, and so on\u2014we\u2019ll get to that a bit later.<\/span><\/p>\n Your Game Plan is a dynamic plan. You perfect it a little bit more every day as you gather more data during your review.<\/span><\/p>\n What Does My Gut Say?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n First, make a list of your major strengths and weaknesses. Start with the eight GMAT question types, but also drill down further into specific quant content areas (eg, statistics, ratios, and so on) as well as question sub-types (eg, logic problems, inference problems, and so on).<\/span><\/p>\n What Does The Data Say?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Your gut is often accurate\u2014but it is sometimes wrong, so it\u2019s also important to check your data.<\/span><\/p>\n Take a full-length official practice test under 100% official test conditions (you can find the official practice tests on mba.com<\/a>). After you\u2019re done, take a break (your brain needs a little rest after that ordeal!). Then, log into your account on the Manhattan Prep site and find the practice test analysis tracker; it\u2019s linked wherever we assign you a practice test. (If you aren\u2019t in a study program with us, you can find this tracker in the <\/span>Free GMAT Starter Kit<\/span><\/a> syllabus\u2014which is, as the name implies, completely free. \ud83d\ude42)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First, look at your results globally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How was your <\/span>time management<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n If you are using our <\/span>time management<\/span><\/a> strategies to manage your time in each section, review those strategies. (That article will also help you to answer some of the questions in the above list.)<\/span><\/p>\n How were your mental stamina and nerves?<\/span><\/p>\n Next, analyze the individual problems, but not in the same way you have in the past. Instead, do this:<\/span><\/p>\n Is this a Strength, Medium, or Weakness problem?<\/span><\/p>\n Did I make any careless mistakes?<\/span><\/p>\n As you do new problem sets or work from the Official Guide during your review this week, analyze every problem in the same way as described above.<\/span><\/p>\n And <\/span>that\u2019s it<\/span><\/i> in terms of learning from your practice test or your practice problems. In the last two weeks, you\u2019re no longer trying to lift your score \/ skills to some level you don\u2019t currently possess. Rather, you\u2019re trying to earn every point that you are <\/span>currently, already<\/span><\/i> capable of earning on the test.<\/span><\/p>\n As you develop your game plan, you\u2019ll also start your comprehensive review of all of the main problem types, strategies, and content areas tested on the GMAT, with a concentration on those that are the most frequently tested.<\/span><\/p>\n Math-based content and skills are tested on the Quant and Data Insights (DI) sections. Verbal-based skills are tested on the Verbal and DI sections. As you review these areas, do practice problems from across all eight GMAT problem types so that you get practice in every format.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Do timed sets of random practice problems and then review those problems. For Official Guide problems, use our GMAT Navigator random set generator feature or the Official Guide\u2019s online access. For Manhattan Prep problems, use our Dynamic GMAT Question Set Builder<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n An important note: Don\u2019t reread chapters in your books. Only go back to your books to look up specific things based on a specific need that you identify while reviewing your practice problems.<\/span><\/p>\n The following math-based content areas are frequently tested on the GMAT:<\/span><\/p>\n Do still review the rest of the quant content areas discussed in your books, but give extra attention to things on the \u201cfrequently tested\u201d list.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s also a good idea to choose a few less-frequently-tested areas as your bail-fast categories. You can literally not review these areas at all; just know enough to recognize the problems fast so that you can guess fast and move on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Good candidates for the bail-fast group include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The list is not limited to the above! Basically, you can put anything you hate on your bail list as long as it\u2019s a narrow topic\/skill area or problem sub-type (ie, it won\u2019t show up on 4+ test problems).<\/span><\/p>\n These skills are commonly needed throughout the Quant and DI sections and are taught in our All the Quant<\/em> guide:<\/span><\/p>\n The chapters listed introduce or provide additional instruction on these strategies. You\u2019ll also see the strategies used elsewhere in the book, after they\u2019ve been introduced.<\/span><\/p>\n Verbal-based problems don\u2019t test you on formulas or rules that you have to learn before the test starts. Rather, these problems present you with the necessary facts or scenarios and then test you on your comprehension and analytical reasoning skills.<\/span><\/p>\n These are the most commonly tested verbal-based skills, all of which are covered in our All the Verbal<\/i> book:<\/span><\/p>\n Note: If you’re already in one of our study programs, you have access to all of our books and online resources, including GMAT Navigator and the Dynamic Question Set Builder. If you aren’t in one of our study programs<\/a>, our All the GMAT book set<\/a> also includes those online resources.<\/p>\n One week before your official test, take your very last practice test.<\/span><\/p>\n Right before you start the test, review your game plan, including:<\/span><\/p>\n Ready? Take your practice test. Use your game plan. Good luck!<\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re done, review your test <\/span>solely from the perspective of revising your game plan<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to learn new stuff! Don\u2019t analyze the way you have in the past! Literally just go through the whole game planning process again, asking yourself whether you want to tweak any part of your game plan based on how that test just went.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe you need to add something to your bail-fast list or even move something from your bail list to your Medium list. Go for it!<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe you realize that something you thought was a Strength is actually a Medium or vice-versa. Make a note of that; you\u2019ll use that knowledge on test day to make better decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And think about how to refine the decisions that you made. For example, if a Strength problem is longer\/harder than usual, it might be worth an extra 30 or 45-second investment. But if it\u2019s a longer\/harder Medium problem? That might push the problem towards guess-fast.<\/span><\/p>\n Seriously. Well, okay: You can address any careless mistakes. Use the same process as before (what mistake did I make, why did I make it, what new habit can I implement?).<\/span><\/p>\n Other than that, though, your skills are what they are. Spend this last week practicing the major question types, content areas, and strategies. Do random problem sets, as you did last week, and review afterwards. Let your problem review guide you on what else you may need to review from your notes or books.<\/span><\/p>\n Forgot an exponent rule? Look it up, make a flashcard, do a few Foundations of Math drills to solidify the rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just did your first Critical Reasoning Assumption problem in a month and feeling a little hazy on that sub-type? Review the strategy just for that question sub-type in your book.<\/span><\/p>\nWeek 1: Develop your game plan<\/b><\/h3>\n
What <\/b>not<\/i><\/b> to do<\/b><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s a Game Plan?<\/b><\/h4>\n
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Building Your Game Plan<\/b><\/h4>\n
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Content and Skill Review: Week 1<\/b><\/h3>\n
Math-Based Content Review<\/b><\/h4>\n
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Math-based Strategy Review<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nVerbal-Based Skills Review<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nWeek 2: Test and revise your game plan<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Revise your game plan<\/b><\/h4>\n
Do NOT try to learn new skills or substantially improve existing skills this week!<\/b><\/h4>\n