bkw wrote:Is it a huge disadvantage to exclude AWA part from the practice CAT tests? I guess it is safer to do complete tests if I am planning to take the real test in the end of February(about 20-25 days from now).
How do you use to practice CATs?
And the mba.com gmatprep program, is AWA section included in its two CATs?
GMATPrep tests do include an AWA section.
Here are three reasons that you SHOULD do the AWA section on all practice tests:
1) Stamina. The real test takes about
4 hours of actual time, including breaks. This means you will do at least one RC passage after you've passed the 3.5-hour mark. If you have never practiced under those conditions, you will not be able to suddenly keep your focus for that long on test day. Nothing on test day should be your "first time" if you can help it.
2) Realism. One student told me that she had never practiced the essays, and on test day she got flustered by them and couldn't finish, and then as a result took that negative feeling into the Quant section with her. She believed that being confused by the AWA section hurt her overall score. Note: She got a 5.5 on the AWA! So obviously it wasn't that hard to do without practicing -- but again, nothing on test day should be your "first time" if you can help it, lest the whole thing be uncomfortable for you after all this practice.
3) They're not meaningless. Because the scores aren't scaled, over 10% of students get 6s, and over 80% of students get higher than a 3. This means that if you haven't practiced them and don't know if they're any good or not, and you score a 3 on test day, this number will stand out on your application, and you never want to stand out in a bad way, even if it's in a small way.
Now, here are two reasons not to:
1) The score doesn't really matter -- it just doesn't.
2) Taking full-length practice tests is the most important part of your preparation, and if you can't find a 4-hour block of time to do it in, you need to do it anyway, even if it means splitting it up into two 75-minute blocks of time (one for each section). Don't let the AWA section deter you from that!
Conclusions:
* Definitely do them more than once before test day.
* Make sure you are confident about the AWA section, whatever that takes.
* In the final few weeks before the test, really try to only practice full, 4-hour, AWA-included practice tests.
In the beginning of your prep, however, if you want to skip the AWA section for convenience, you may.
