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Bunking the First Five Question Myth: GMATPrep Experiments

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by aim-wsc » Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:33 pm
bingo :)
we share same thinking sir. even i am planning to take GMATprep dozen of time just to crack the code :wink: [/i]
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by delfosse » Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:51 am
I never thought it was just the first five. I'd always heard it was more like the first 10 that were more heavily weighted.
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by aim-wsc » Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:25 am
delfosse wrote:I never thought it was just the first five. I'd always heard it was more like the first 10 that were more heavily weighted.
delfosse you might want to check this thread
go and read entire thread.
You will observe difference in my first post and the later after some months-post.
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by beatthegmat » Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:18 am
Awesome experiment! Thanks for sharing the results--I certainly learned something.
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by delfosse » Sun Nov 26, 2006 7:53 am
Thanks for the link to that thread. It was very useful. Although I didn't see an answer from Kevin to your question on the 30/37 issue if those questions were missed at the beginning or end of the test. I have always heard those first questions were weighted more heavily.
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by aim-wsc » Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:27 am
delfosse wrote:Thanks for the link to that thread. It was very useful. Although I didn't see an answer from Kevin to your question on the 30/37 issue if those questions were missed at the beginning or end of the test. I have always heard those first questions were weighted more heavily.
i ll post a detail answer, once i get to home. till then u can read all other posts. Mark's expt pro
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by kidderek » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:49 am
[quote="delfosse"]I never thought it was just the first five. I'd always heard it was more like the first 10 that were more heavily weighted.[/quote]

I don't think it's 10. I doubt anyone gets the first 10 questions all correct. The difficulty level of the questions shoots upward very quickly, peaking at around 4-6.

I think the gmat algorithm adjusts very quickly. That's why yes, the first 5 questions matter significantly, but if you happen to get the first question wrong, but the next 5-6 correct, you're ok, b/c the gmat adjusts very quickly.
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by aim-wsc » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:13 pm
we cant be sure
[listen: GMAC has some quesstions that do not count in the scoring, that matters a lot and makes it extremely difficult to predict the score.
the unscored items comes ramdomly and
thats why you cant be sure.

(look GMAC is grinning reading my post: we just cant crack the goddamn algorithm)
...

i tried it once.
& i will be happy to discuss it with Mark D., i developed a formula for paper-based test hoping that i hav cracked the algo.... :(

no, not that easy dude!. johny fails to crack it, & now knows that there are big-shots out there who also been trying it....without success :lol:
haa haa............

anyway

I ll reach my home on thursday
& will write detailed post.
delfosse thanks for the patience.
Last edited by aim-wsc on Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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by aim-wsc » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:21 pm
I hope you must have read all articles posted by Kevin (ex ManhattanGMAT rep.)
you have not
then heres the ready-reference-links

first 8 question myth
about breaking 750

and there's a incredible marathon series of "HOW gmac FINDS YOUR SCORE"
JUST CHECK ask Manhattan section you ll find all five articles there.

all these articles make you inform about GMAT inside out.
still its in the strategy section.
so even if you know all strategy its of no use if you dont know the answers.

so the bottleline (after reading all the stuff )remains same= ie Eric's strat: practise practise & practise. :D
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by aim-wsc » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:27 pm
sorry i was rambling on.
back to the topic.
delfosse wrote: I didn't see an answer from Kevin to your question on the 30/37 issue if those questions were missed at the beginning or end of the test. I have always heard those first questions were weighted more heavily.
refering to the thread of breaking 700 barrier.
when i raised the question about the initial wrongs vs final wrongs
Kevin said that in coming days i would know all the process of how GMAC works.
so technically as you said, delfosse, he didnt answer, but i actually understood all about GMAC and how GMAT works....
:arrow: thanks to all posts and weekly series of ManhattanGMAT/Kevin. :arrow:


if you are still(after reading Kevin's posts) confused and not sure about the whole thing
then you may refer post #9
aim-wsc wrote: GMAC has some quesstions that do not count in the scoring the matters a lot and makes it extremely difficult to predict the score.
the unscored items comes ramdomly and
thats why you cant be sure.
or just reply back here :)
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by ianstrike » Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:21 pm
The early questions are NOT weighted more heavily. The early questions are more important because they are MORE INFLUENTIAL.

In other words, how you do on the early questions determines the difficulty of the subsequent questions.

Mark's analysis is interesting. However his conclusions are flawed because most people who manage to get the first five wrong wouldn't get 29 out of the next 32 correct.
Last edited by ianstrike on Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by aim-wsc » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:26 pm
the first questions are influencial. No doubt.
but then the unscored items play some role too.

oh bytheway, did i mention that this thread is not for starters.

for beginers the strategy is ofcourse a traditional one. Practise n more practise.

Ian, we are just trying to gauge what GMAC is upto.
the ways How algorithm can be manipulated?////

your esteem suggestions are welcome.
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by beatthegmat » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:22 pm
Great thread, guys!
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by ianstrike » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:29 pm
Mark Dabral wrote:It is in situations like these that one has to disregard the importance of one question, especially if it happens during the first five questions.
To take Mark's point one step further, there's NEVER one question that is worth selling the farm for.
Mark Dabral wrote:In my opinion, it is extremely important to not let stress take over one's frame of mind early in the game. It happens and it can wreak havoc on some of the students. My point was simply that if one is a strong student then he or she will have plenty of opportunity to show their abilities and obtain a high score. There is no sense in getting obsessed with one or two problems here and there.
I encourage my students to try to make sure that they get 7 or so of the first 10 right.

My rationale for giving extra value to the first 10 Qs is that EVERY student makes careless errors.
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