GMAT Prep Test - 1

marepally · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:22 am Post subject: GMAT Prep Test - 1

Hi,
Today, I took the GMAT Prep Test - 1, and scored 660(45Q, 35V).

Analysis:

Quant Section:
This Section was pretty easy. Though I did not practice any quant material, I think I did a good job on the Quant Section. With some practice I will definitely cross the 50 point mark.

Few observations that I made were:
1. I did not read the DS Questions properly and made some careless errors.

2. I have to go through the basics. There were two questions on median and standard deviation that I guessed as I didn’t know the formulas.

3. I could not complete the entire section in time. I did not answer 2 questions.

Lessons Learnt:
Should immediately start practicing the Quant Material

Areas to Concentrate on: DS

Verbal Section:

The first question was a bold faced CR. I was a little worried, but I remembered a question which Eric posted on the beat the GMAT forum, went on the same lines to answer the question(I got it correct, Thanks Eric!), and then just moved to the second one.

Questions in the verbal section were okay, and I could attempt most of the questions and was also confident of what I was answering. There were about one third questions that were difficult, and I was not sure about the answers, I did POE and got most of them incorrect.

Lessons Learnt: I need to stick to my basics, and practice a lot of questions to improve my strategy. I believe practicing more problems will help me to answer questions more confidently. Only key here is practice, practice and more practice.

Areas to concentrate on: CR and RC.

I could finish the verbal section with two minutes left on the clock.

Questions I have after the test:

1. Does the GMAT Prep Test really reflect the questions that we see on the REAL GMAT?

2. In Verbal Section, I was not sure about the answer for 1/3 of the questions. I did POE and guessed the answers. Is this how others feel and do when they write the exam?

3. I have 2 months of time. I have decided to give the exam in mid August. How much score should I be targeting?

Please answer my questions

Thanks in advance.
Srikanth

beatthegmat · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject:

Hi marepally:

Thanks very much for this great breakdown of your GMATPrep 1! You are clearly taking a methodical approach to your practice tests--I think that you will find that this kind of analysis will help you a lot in improving your score over the course of your studies. I encourage you to posting these kinds of messages on this forum!

With regards to your questions:

1. GMATPrep is fairly representitive of the actual GMAT because it features real (but retired) GMAT questions. GMATPrep is known to be the most accurate predictor of GMAT performance.

2. Don't worry that you had to guess for much of the verbal section on this practice exam. I was doing the same thing when I took my first practice GMAT. In time, after you have reviewed OG carefully and have done many more subsequent GMAT exams, verbal prowess will come naturally to you and you won't be guessing as much.

3. I can't comment on how much of a score increase you should be targetting. All I can say is aim high--with rigorous practice and study, I'm confident that you could achieve a very high score.

Best of luck!

marepally · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:04 pm Post subject:

Thanks for answering my questions Eric!. I will definetly post the analysis of my Tests on this forum.

beatthegmat · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:09 pm Post subject:

Thanks, marepally! Your analysis is certainly a best practice when it comes to GMAT preparation--I encourage more people on this forum to follow your lead.

I look forward to analyzing more of your practice tests on this forum. Best of luck!