GMAT Strategy

Hello ,

Yesterday I took my 1st MGMAT CAT and scored a 490(Q43, V15). I was not very happy with my performance, but at the same time I am not disappointed, since I took the test without learning majority of the content.

Below you can find my detailed analysis of the test data for quant and verbal. Towards the end, I have posted around 10 questions, where I need some SERIOUS HELP, ADVICE and GUIDANCE.Need YOUR SPECIFIC INPUTS to re-orient my study plan and hit 700+. I know it will be tough, but not impossible - I am confident that I will see a 700+ soon.

Before taking the 1st MGMAT CAT:
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1) I did spend around 3-4 weeks reading through the MGMAT study guides : Number Properties,Geometry & Reading Comprehension, excluding the advanced chapters. After this period of study I had some impending personal issues to attend and did not study anything for 10-12days.Then I took my 1st MGMAT CAT on 22/March/2012.

2) My MGMAT went like this:

- First wrote the 2 essays, 9mins break, timed quant, 6mins break and timed verbal. I did not use the pause button at all during the test.

3) Overall Score: 490(Q43, V15), Estimated Percentile Rank: Quant 70%, Verbal 7% and Total 35%.

My detailed analysis of the MGMAT CAT data - QUANT SECTION:
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1) Quant Problem List:

I had two strings of 3 consecutive incorrect questions.

a) Q8-Q10 was Incorrect

For the Q9( PS, 600-700 level, Rates&Work), I did spend too much time, thereby impacting the Q10(DS,300-500 level,Inequalities but rushed it in 1min 15secs). Also until Q7, my estimated percentile was 73%, but at the end of Q10 it dropped significantly to 18%.

Also from my data, I could see that for Q5(PS,600-700 level,Quadratic Equation), I had spent around 4mins,34secs - more than double the normal time, but got it right. This could have negatively impacted my timing sense for the subsequent questions, by making me rush through. Also at Q10 my actual cum.time spent was 23:14mins Vs 20:00mins Target Cum.time. I have already lost more than 3mins when I was nearing Q10 itself.

b) Q13-15 was Incorrect

Here important point to note is that I am not well versed in the DS type of Qs(my main weak area in quant) and also for Q13 it had spent more time(2:36mins). Again here I could see a pattern - the topics were related to Inequalities and Word Problems.

c) Also from Q33, I was really rushing and was spending only around 1min-1.2mins for each question and finally did not have time to attempt Q37(PS,500-600 level, Fractions).

d) Too Slow Qs:

- Had a total of 6Qs where I had spent more than 3mins in quant.
- Total time spent = ~21mins, Incorrect = 2 and Correct = 4.
- All the 6Qs were PS type Qs.

e) Too Fast Qs:

- Had only one too fast(<1min) incorrect question(DS,600-700 level, Overlapping Sets).

2) Quant Assessment Reports:

a) In Quant, DS was only 33% correct( 5 out of 15 Qs). Avg.time right was 1:39mins and Avg. difficulty level for right answers was 610. Avg.time for the wrong answers was 1.55mins. So I think, I did not spend too long to get it wrong. For I need to improve on the content for DS, more than the timing.

b) Analysis by Question Format:

- In PS I am OK, but need to improve on the timing to get it wrong faster, since for 2 600-700 level Qs, I had spent 3:20mins to get it wrong.

c) Analysis by Content Area:

- Word Translations is my biggest weakness as I had only 33% right, but Avg.time for getting it wrong was only 1:57mins. So need to focus on the content.
- Algebra though I have 63% right ( 5 out of 8 Qs) - I have taken more than 4mins, for 2Qs here. Also need to read Inequalities since I had no clue on this.
- Number Properties 63% right, but the Avg.time for the right answers is 2:38mins. Need more practice here, to strengthen this area.
- FDPs 63% right - but too much time spent to get the Qs wrong.Avg.time for wrong answers is 2:41mins.
- Geometry is OK, but need to improve on Triangles.

So overall for Quant its clear that I need to read the Word Translations, Algebra and practice more of NP. More continuous practice on DS is needed here for quant improvement.

My detailed analysis of the MGMAT CAT data - VERBAL SECTION
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1) I don't want to much analyze here, since from the overall score it's clear that I need to read and improve a lot here.

2) I had strings of 3-4 incorrect Qs both in SC,CR and RC as well.

3) Way Too Slow:

- Not many in terms of way too slow for CR( >3mins) and SC(>2mins), infact none.
- For some RC 1st question, I have taken >5mins( 300-500 and 600-700 levels).

4) Overall in terms of % right : SC 27%, CR 50% and RC 42%. It clear that in CR and RC I am struggling beyond 500 level and SC is a complete white wash, no data required to justify it.

Way Forward:
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a) I now feel that I need to invest and prioritize on the SC and CR content first and practice RC questions for speed simultaneously.

b) For Quant - Word Translations and Algebra & Inequalities.

But overall I am NOT CLEAR on how I should further study from next week.

Please give me YOUR ADVICE & GUIDANCE on how I need to repair & re-structure my STUDY PLAN :
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1) Which MGMAT study guide should I start with and please let me know for how long( atleast approx length of time)?

( I study 1-1.5hrs/day on weekday and 4-5hrs/day during the Sat & Sun).

2) What should be sequence of my study guides e.g SC, RC, Word Translations etc - any permutation & combinations to make the study much more effective?

3) How & when should I structure my next MGMAT CATs? I don't want to take the next one, unless I make a good progress in the content in the next 3-4wks. Please let me know?

4) Please suggest a robust study plan that I can apply?

5) Also I felt that I wasted too much in the Geometry guide, taking notes, doing the inaction probs, question bank etc. There were hardly 3-4 Qs from geometry. Now I feel that , if I had read only the few pages of Geometry content from OG12 it would have been sufficient for me.

Like this, I don't want to waste studying all the content from the MGMAT study guides for the areas that will be least tested.

Based on this, are there any MGMAT study guides that I can totally skip and read only the content given in OG12? This will help me to save a lot of time and use it much more effectively on the subjects that will be tested in depth.

6) Also if I look into the MGMAT guides; each study guide is too huge and the content is overwhelming. For e.g. SC has around 300 pages, it looks like it will take me at least 3-4wks to read it end to end.? Is there a better strategy to handle this effectively & read the content in the least possible time? Please let me know.

7) Do you suggest any other short guides or books for any of the study areas? Please, this will be very helpful for me.

8) Please let me know - a split of the content areas that I need to study in detail Vs that I can skip or touch very lightly ( based on what will be tested in depth Vs what will be tested at minimum). This will help to plan my study sessions optimally.

9) Finally, I have fixed my test date on May 23rd. But I am looking at a score of 700+. May be I need some more time, but I am confident that I can hit 700+.

10) What do you think could be a realistic time frame for me to hit 700+? Offcourse I will use the subsequent MGMAT CATs as milestone to see my performance trend. Does June last week looks a realistic target? Please suggest.

Please give me your advice and help. I am eagerly waiting for your feedback, to see how I need to plan my study routine for the next 8-12 weeks.

As always many thanks for all your help.

Best Regards,
Bharath S