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Just took my first practice test. Now what?

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Just took my first practice test. Now what?

by mattmartinUT » Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:56 pm
Hello all,

I've just started the preparation for my GMAT which I'll be taking in January of 2015. This week has been all about getting my materials prepared and trying to get a sense of what my strengths and weaknesses are. As part of this process, I took one of the official practices tests using the GMATPrep software (supposedly the most realistic simulation of the actual GMAT [real but retired GMAT questions]). Needless to say, I performed much better than I expected, and because of that, I am not really certain about how to proceed from here. Here is my score breakdown:

Total Score: 650 (78th percentile)
Quant Score: 42 (57th percentile)
Verbal Score: 38 (84th percentile)

Integrated Reasoning Score: 7 (81st percentile)

So I'm definitely really happy with this as a baseline, as I was expecting something in the low 600s or high 500s. But I am aiming for a 730 and feel like working myself up these next 80 points will be quite the challenge.

Has anybody had a similar experience with their first practice test? Is this fluky, or is this score one that I can consider my true baseline?

I am very open to advice from anyone about how to tackle the next 11 weeks to get to a 730! Good luck to all other test takers!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:38 pm
Hi mattmartinUT,

650 is an excellent baseline score, so achieving your 730 target score in the next 11 weeks is a reasonable goal.

As far as advice on tackling the next 11 weeks goes, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide). Over 40,000 Beat The GMAT students have already done so.

Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent
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by [email protected] » Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:41 am
Hi mattmartinUT,

A 650 is a rather strong first performance (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550). With a Test Date in January, you've given yourself enough time to study, which is good.

Since you're curious about this first score, I'm going to suggest a few questions to think about and a couple of steps that you can take to truly evaluate this performance:

1) Did you take this CAT in a "test-like" fashion? Did you include the Essay? Did you take the CAT in one sitting? Did you do anything that would be considered unrealistic during the exam (such as listen to music, eat/drink, etc.)?

2) You should review this CAT in its entirety. How many questions did you get correct because you knew how to get the correct answer and how often was it because you took a good guess (or just got really lucky)?

3) To figure out how to pick up the next 80+ points, how many of the questions could you have gotten correct, but you made a silly/minor mistake?

Before you commit to any particular Study Plan or GMAT Product, you should put in a little time to sample (and take advantage of) all the free resources offered by the various GMAT companies (practice questions, Trial Accounts, etc.). In that way, you can get a real "feel" for each of the products/Courses and then choose one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

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by BestGMATEliza » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:44 am
First of all congrats on your baseline score! Its a great place to start! You are correct, that improving gets more difficult the more higher the score goes up as you will face increasingly difficult problems, but it can definitely be done! I think your next step should be assessing your weakness. Look at your CATs and try to figure out what types and topics you are having trouble with the most and work to address them through a course or comprehensive strategy guides.

You will also need to work on practicing with the most difficult types of questions as you will see them often since you are aiming for a 700+, kaplan 8-- and MGMAT advanced quant are both good sources for that.

In the final few weeks of study, you will also need to work on building up your mental stamina by taking a lot of full length practice tests (including IR and AWA).

Hope this helps and good luck!
Eliza Chute
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by mattmartinUT » Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:11 am
Thank you for all of your responses. The feedback is much appreciated.

Brent,

I signed up for the 60-day plan just to get a sense of what it entailed, and was curious what your thoughts are about condensing GMAT preparation down into 2 months. I have heard that 3 months is right about the optimal amount if you have the time (which I do). What are your thoughts?

Also open to other thoughts as well.

Part of the reason for this also is that I am doing the majority of my studying at night due to my two children (1 year old and 3 year old), and my wife who is studying for the MCAT. I can certainly stick to the 60-days if you feel that is advisable, but if you don't think that is necessary, do you have suggestions about how to stretch the 60-day to a 90-day (more or less)?

Thanks again!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:11 am
mattmartinUT wrote:Thank you for all of your responses. The feedback is much appreciated.

Brent,

I signed up for the 60-day plan just to get a sense of what it entailed, and was curious what your thoughts are about condensing GMAT preparation down into 2 months. I have heard that 3 months is right about the optimal amount if you have the time (which I do). What are your thoughts?

Also open to other thoughts as well.

Part of the reason for this also is that I am doing the majority of my studying at night due to my two children (1 year old and 3 year old), and my wife who is studying for the MCAT. I can certainly stick to the 60-days if you feel that is advisable, but if you don't think that is necessary, do you have suggestions about how to stretch the 60-day to a 90-day (more or less)?

Thanks again!
Hi mattmartinUT,

I have a feeling that most students don't complete the 60-day study guide in 60 days. I'm sure there are all sorts of reasons for this (sickness, travel, fatigue, work, etc.). The important thing is that the Guide covers everything you need to prepare for the GMAT. Taking 90 days to complete the learning activities in the Guide would allow you to take your time.

Cheers,
Brent
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