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MGMAT instructors - need your feedback

by hk_4u » Sat Jan 09, 2010 10:59 pm
Hi

I posted this query on the Gmat strategy sub forum .
https://www.beatthegmat.com/need-help-wi ... 50210.html

It would be great if some instructor could have a look and respond

I have a GMAT score of 680 Q 48 V 35 AWA 5.5 (Oct 2008). I am aiming a score of 720+ .With this intention, I started my preparation again around September last year . I have taken 3 Tests in last 40 days.

1 Gmatprep1 - 700 Q -49 V - 35 ( 11 Q Wrong in each section)

2 MGMAT1 - 660 Q - 47 V - 33 (17 Q wrong in Quant, 20 Q wrong in Verbal)

3 MGMAT2 - 750 Q - 48 V - 45 (14 Q wrong in Quant, 11 Q wrong in Verbal )

I am happy with my progress so far. I feel I have really improved in all sections of the test and I am on my way to my target score.

However I am worried for the following reasons:-

1 - I am not sure how good an indicator MGMAT tests are. From my experience, I know that people who score 720+ usually don't get more that 7-8 questions wrong and that too spread evenly.I have asked people who scored 750+ in their Gmatprep and they said that on average, they got only 4-5 question wrong (in each section).
I know instructors/moderators/forum users will talk about a standand algorithm which GMAT uses or standard deviation attached to GMAT and MGMAT tests. And I agree with them too.
But I had planned to book my test date once I am able to score 720+ in a couple of practice test just to ensure that I am not bounded by time( considering my other commitments) and be sure of the score range I may land up in . Some how I get a feeling that I need to get the number of mistakes in each section down to 7-8 to be confident of 720+ score.


2 - I have performed badly in RC in both the MGMAT tests

MGMAT 1 - 9 Q wrong out of 15

MGMAT 2 - 7 Q wrong out of 12.

I must admit I have not really stressed on RC as much as I have stressed on other sections of the test. But, saying that I really feel confident in RC . I follow the simple method of reading the passage with an intention to know the main idea and gist of each paragraph. Further I make sure I don't spend too much time in details, instead I am able to make a map to identify a particular detail asked in the Question.

Although my accuracy rate in OG RC has been around 80 %,somehow I am not able to replicate the same in MGMAT RC.

How do you rate MGMAT RC when compared with RC in Gmat prep or the RC in GMAT

It seems pretty strange ,back in 2008 , I struggled to get to a score of 700 in all 8-10 tests I gave. Today I have 2 prep scores over 700 but still my confidence is not that great.

In short , Help me in
1 - Identifying where I really stand in terms of my target score.
2 - improve my RC .

I need to take GMAT by January end ,so I have just 25 days to improve.
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by mgmat-caitlin » Tue Jan 12, 2010 7:34 am
Hi there,

It sounds like the detailed answer you're looking for would be best served by Private Messaging one of our instructors on the forum with a link to your post and asking them to answer it. We have two instructors: Stacey Koprince (whose username is Stacey Koprince) and Ron Purewal (whose username is lunarpower). Just send them a link to your post, and they should be able to answer it within a week.

This is a busy season, so you might have to wait a while before you hear back from them, but they will answer you!

As for your question about getting a certain number of questions right or wrong, that's not what matters on the GMAT. Because the tests are computer adaptive, the number of questions you got right or wrong does not affect your score as much as the difficulty level of the question you got right or wrong. The GMAT starts by asking you a mid-level question, then, if you get it right, asks you a much harder question, or if you get it wrong asks you a much easier question. This means that even people who score in the 99th percentile get a lot of questions wrong, but the difference is that the questions they're getting wrong are at a very high level of difficulty.

Best of luck with the rest of your studying!
Caitlin Clay
Student Services, Manhattan GMAT
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by hk_4u » Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:27 pm
seems both Stacey and Ron are quite busy ! ...no reply yet ... I'm waiting to hear from them
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by hk_4u » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:50 am
Hi Stacey

I know your reply is just round the corner.

I was advised to take gmatprep to know where I really stand. And I gave gmatprep 2 last weekend and scored 650 (Q 48,V - 31). I gave the test in full test conditions and wrote the essays too.

Some observations
1 - I actually felt tensed during the test. 10 questions into the Quant section, I was feeling like quitting the exam . Got string of 6 questions wrong in quant (Q14 - Q19). In total , got 12 questions wrong , most of them to careless mistakes

2 - Got 13 questions wrong in Verbal. Started with a string of 4 wrong questions. 8 questions wrong in the first 12.

I am feeling a little frustrated now. As I have mentioned in my earlier post, I am targeting a score of 720+ and I had planned to book a test date once I score in that range in 2-3 tests. I have no idea how to go about it now .

A few more questions

1 - I really feel I had an off day and this is not my true caliber. However, how to avoid such a situation on the test day ?

2 - I have taken both the gmatprep tests now . Any idea, how often GMAC updates its question bank ? I intend to download the software again and install it fresh.

3 - I still have 4 MGMAT tests and OG11 and OG verbal guide to study. Till now, I have studied with OG10 and OG12.
I intend to takes these tests in next 2-3 weeks and go for the final exam. What do you make of it ?

I am preparing for almost 3 months now, although the total number of study hours is not that much because of my work commitments. I dread a burn out situation now and would want to get my target score ASAP and get over the exam.

Please help!
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by lunarpower » Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:44 am
hi - some thoughts, in no particular order.

--

first, what do you mean by "not that many hours"?

this statement needs some context. there are some posters here, for instance, who think that three hours a day, every single day, is "not that many hours"; this is wrong.

i'm mainly asking because you're talking about the burnout factor. do you have an incredibly stressful job, with extremely long hours? or some other source of extreme stress in your life? if not, then 3 months of "not that many hours" seems a bit low to bring on the symptoms of burnout.

--

* on the math section, you'll find that there isn't much correlation between the number of questions wrong and the score (until you get way up toward the top of the scale). i've seen gmat prep results that had 48-49 on the quant section but still 10+ questions wrong.

* the verbal section is less "adaptive" (although it still is adaptive), so that section will feature a greater correlation. on that section, your thoughts about the # of questions correct are probably better grounded.

nevertheless:
i am positive that the principal reason for your lower score, this time around, is that you're starting to worry too much about # correct/incorrect, percentages, scores, etc. WHILE you are taking the test.

WHILE you are taking the test, YOU SHOULD NOT BE THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS AT ALL.

there is exactly one thing you should be thinking about while you take the test: the question that's sitting in front of you.

if you track other statistics while you're taking the test, you're hurting yourself in two ways: (a) you're "multitasking" and therefore distracting yourself from the task at hand, and (b) you're adding HUGELY to the stress factor. this test is stressful enough as it is; the last thing you should do is add to the stress by tracking test statistics as you go.

--
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by lunarpower » Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:44 am
how are you studying?

you stated that you've taken something like twelve or thirteen practice tests. that is WAY too many practice tests for a timeline as short as the one you've described - indicating that you're probably just DOING problem after problem after problem, and not spending anywhere near enough time REVIEWING those problems.

remember, you only benefit from problems if you can find takeaways that you can apply to future problems.
if all you do is just go back and see why you got that particular problem incorrect - without trying to generalize some type of lesson for future problems - then you are deriving zero benefit from the problem.
see here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/need-tips-fr ... tml#107595

you should also apply the same approach (finding takeaways) to problems from the OG's, too.
it should take you at least a couple of months to get through the OG (and another couple of months to get through the OG supplements) if you are reviewing the problems enough. (remember that you should also get takeaways from problems that you get CORRECT - not just the ones that you miss.)
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by lunarpower » Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:46 am
oh, and this:
Although my accuracy rate in OG RC has been around 80 %,somehow I am not able to replicate the same in MGMAT RC.
the OG is the gold standard. if you are getting 80% of the OG reading comp problems correct, you should be fine.

the mgmat tests are good, but they do have occasional RC passages on which the questions are not quite as "robotic" / "literal-minded" as those on the official materials.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by hk_4u » Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:03 am
Hi Ron

Thanks for taking time out .
first, what do you mean by "not that many hours"?
I am studying around 15-20 hrs per week. Thought that is fewer than 25-30 hrs top performers here say they study.
the verbal section is less "adaptive" (although it still is adaptive), so that section will feature a greater correlation. on that section, your thoughts about the # of questions correct are probably better grounded.

RIGHT - I know that a score of 35+ in Verbal in Gmatprep means fewer than 10 questions wrong . And it is not true for MGMAT tests( I scored 45 in my last test with 11 Q wrong) .This is what is bothering me .


nevertheless:
i am positive that the principal reason for your lower score, this time around, is that you're starting to worry too much about # correct/incorrect, percentages, scores, etc. WHILE you are taking the test.

WHILE you are taking the test, YOU SHOULD NOT BE THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS AT ALL.
BINGO - I took time to realize this but yeah , you are right . Too much emphasis on issues other than the question in hand led to my downfall . But during the test, when you get tough questions back to back which you are not sure of,you cannot help but think - there goes your 750 :(

Keeping all this in mind , I gave gmatprep test -1 today ( downloaded the latest executable and installed it fresh) and scored 740 Q 50 - 8 wrong , V 41 - 7 wrong) . I saw only 2-3 repeat questions per section ,so kind of happy with my performance.
you stated that you've taken something like twelve or thirteen practice tests
.

You misunderstood me :)
This is what I wrote in regards to my last attempt at GMAT
It seems pretty strange ,back in 2008 , I struggled to get to a score of 700 in all 8-10 tests I gave. Today I have 2 prep scores over 700 but still my confidence is not that great.
I have now taken 5 tests over a period of 2 months.I am pretty much following your takeaway approach. Read something similar in Stacey's articles

Now my problem :

My verbal score is inconsistent. It ranges from 31-45 ( data from 5 tests).Usually I flounder in RC( at times get 2-3 consecutive questions wrong) and put pressure on myself ,in the process get SC/CR questions wrong too .

What will you advice ?
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by lunarpower » Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:24 am
hi - mostly sounds good. a couple of things.
hk_4u wrote:BINGO - I took time to realize this but yeah , you are right . Too much emphasis on issues other than the question in hand led to my downfall . But during the test, when you get tough questions back to back which you are not sure of,you cannot help but think - there goes your 750 :(
make sure that you don't have unrealistic expectations.

this is a test on which you WILL - not "could", but "will" - miss MANY questions. you're not trying to get them all right; that would be about as productive as trying to catch all the fish that swim past you in some river. like the fish - if it fights too hard, let it go.

a large part of increasing your success, at this point, is just going to consist of making the realization that it's ok to get problems wrong.
you can't let yourself get shaken up, especially by just 2 questions. ("back to back" is just two questions. two questions is not a big deal.)
you stated that you've taken something like twelve or thirteen practice tests
.

You misunderstood me :)
This is what I wrote in regards to my last attempt at GMAT
It seems pretty strange ,back in 2008 , I struggled to get to a score of 700 in all 8-10 tests I gave. Today I have 2 prep scores over 700 but still my confidence is not that great.
I have now taken 5 tests over a period of 2 months.I am pretty much following your takeaway approach. Read something similar in Stacey's articles
ok. i was just adding together the 8-10 tests (from before) and these five.
Now my problem :

My verbal score is inconsistent. It ranges from 31-45 ( data from 5 tests).Usually I flounder in RC( at times get 2-3 consecutive questions wrong) and put pressure on myself ,in the process get SC/CR questions wrong too .

What will you advice ?
you should realize where your weaknesses lie, and act accordingly.

IF THE TEST IS NOT THAT CLOSE YET:
you should study the weaknesses (i.e., RC) more intensely. make sure that you practice on as many OFFICIAL materials as possible.

IF THE TEST IS CLOSE:
plan your timing according to your strengths and weaknesses.
you should plan to spend correspondingly LESS time on your weaknesses, so that you have MORE time available for the strong points.

also, remember - IT IS OK TO THROW AWAY A FEW PROBLEMS.
do not go into the test thinking, "i'm going to try to get all of the problems correct". if you think that, the stress is going to destroy you the moment you think you've missed a problem (even if you didn't actually miss the problem!).
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by beatthegmat » Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:45 am
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by lunarpower » Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:21 am
whoa, heh, i just answered the post without even looking at the folder name.
nice catch.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
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Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

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