I've been studying for the GMAT for about 2 1/2 months around the clock. I was scheduled to take the test today (June 30th) but after taking my first practice test on Sunday I was devastated by the results. I received a 290 which is awful! I was really surprised and I was really caught off guard with the math section. I notice that I have a lot of trouble in that section. I have a hard time understanding the questions, and then doing the question in two min. is tough. The verbal part I did a little better but again. I have to read the question twice to really understand it.

I took another practice test yesterday and got a 310, which is a small improvement, but again I am having the same problems. I rescheduled my test for this Thursday, why so soon? I have already submitted my application and had my interview with the only school I have applied for. The only thing they are missing is my GMAT and this Friday is the deadline. Is there anything I can do from now until Thursday that could help boost my score 190 points? I have a strong GPA, work experience, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. I just need something that is decedent. Please help I need to boost my confidence and have some sort of hope. I feel like it’s the SAT’s all over again and I had the same problem then.

My action plan was to take another practice test today and continue to memorize the items that I should know going into the test. On Wednesday I plan on maybe looking over my flashcards and giving myself some time to rest.

Well, you're in a pretty tough spot - 190 points in two days would be a remarkable improvement. That said, there are a few areas where you might be able to cram successfully:

1. Learn your math definitions cold - things like even/odd (test: is zero even, odd, or neither?), positive/negative (test: is zero positive, negative, or neither?), prime (test: is 1 prime?), integer, divisible, multiple, factor, etc. come up ALL the time.

2. Brush up on number properties, such as odd x odd = odd, but odd x even = even. These also come up all the time and can save you if you don't know how/don't have time to do the calculations.

3. Brush up on your basic geometry - triangles and circles, primarily.

4. Make sure you really understand the thought process in data sufficiency, particularly ones that ask yes/no questions. Understand what each answer choice means.

5. If you haven't already done so, look at the main GMAT grammatical rules. The handful of main grammatical errors come up on virtually every sentence correction problem.

In addition, know when to cut your losses in the math section. It's perfectly okay to skip a few questions that you know you won't get right, even if you spend 10 minutes on them. This can really boost your score by providing you with time on the rest of the section. You can get quite a few questions wrong and still get a 500 - so don't stress out over the harder questions and go for the low-hanging fruit.

I hope this helps, and good luck!