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Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:35 am
by Chriz
I have set up my testing schedule in an excel spreadsheet for date tracking. I plan to start June 17th and take two tests a week, one on Monday and one on Thursday. This should perfectly allow me to complete tests 40-69, with an extra week of cushion in case something goes wrong, by October's test date. The question I have is what is the best order to take them in? I originally planned on taking them in order so that my last month or so would be the most recent tests but I have read that that might not give me enough time to properly review them since they are most important because they are more likely to be similar to October's test. I am not sure of any other good way to do it since I want to take the newer ones closer to my test date and I am not big on the idea of re-taking them if it is not necessary. Should I maybe consider throwing in a few of the 60's earlier but saving the 4 or 5 most recent for the last couple weeks? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:40 am
by objection_your_honor
I think the only thing that's important about a PT schedule is getting a good spread of recent tests. That way they're not crammed towards the last couple weeks of prep.
Check out
DD's schedule in the 2nd post of the June 2013 thread. Ignore the first quoted block ("Armed schedule").
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:47 am
by Chriz
objection_your_honor wrote:I think the only thing that's important about a PT schedule is getting a good spread of recent tests. That way they're not crammed towards the last couple weeks of prep.
Check out
DD's schedule in the 2nd post of the June 2013 thread. Ignore the first quoted block ("Armed schedule").
I am not a huge fan of that schedule it seems very all over the place. Maybe I should do 2 60's each month with the 4 most recent once a week in the last month. It is so hard to decide.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:54 am
by totoro
Don't stress this too much. I think what you suggested earlier is good (do 2 60's each month and the 4 most recent in the last month).
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:27 pm
by itachiuchiha
I will say do 30-50 first, in that order.
Then do 10-29 (if you have time), I would do this section by section, not really full blown PT
Then do 51-60
Then do 1-9 if you have time
Then do 61-current
all pt from 1-30 are optional, you can use those pt questions for drilling if you want
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:16 pm
by Pneumonia
If you look at the June 2013 thread you'll see that a lot of us who saved the tests from the 60's for the last one or two weeks regret it. The games aren't as standardized and RC is more difficult. This is not to say that if you're 170+ on 40-59 that you'll not still be 170+ in the 60's, but I think the 60's are harder and it's better to expose yourself to them sooner rather than later.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:41 pm
by Daily_Double
Chriz wrote:objection_your_honor wrote:I think the only thing that's important about a PT schedule is getting a good spread of recent tests. That way they're not crammed towards the last couple weeks of prep.
Check out
DD's schedule in the 2nd post of the June 2013 thread. Ignore the first quoted block ("Armed schedule").
I am not a huge fan of that schedule it seems very all over the place. Maybe I should do 2 60's each month with the 4 most recent once a week in the last month. It is so hard to decide.
If I could go back in time and redo that schedule, I probably would change the order, but the idea would still be the same. I made that schedule so that we could finish the most recent tests early, review them, then repeat them the month before the actual test. I'd probably change the order to half of the 50s, all of the sixties, all of the forties, half of the 50s, then redoing old PTs from the sixties and fifties. I guess that's basically what I've done so far, except that I didn't really plan the order very specifically, I just knew I wanted to get the sixties out of the way, so I just filled in the other days with random PTs.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:49 pm
by Chriz
I am thinking about sprinkling the 60s in more heavily and retaking near the exam date. It would allow me exposure early but also allows me to be in the right mindset right before the test with the added bonus that re-taking a test might result in a better score giving me more confidence right before the test.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:31 pm
by nyjets2090
Cambridge has a package where you get PT's 39-68 and they use the earlier Qs for drilling. I Highly recommend it. A bit expensive ($110 to print it at a UPS store), but worth it.
You really don't need more than 25 PTs for 3 months of studying.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:17 pm
by Chriz
I have all the tests pretty much. I have the LG packets from Cambridge as well. I use the old tests as a way of sort of drilling everything which I know sounds dumb.
Re: Which order to take tests in?
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:41 pm
by sublime
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