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Feedback on MGMAT CATs and some thoughts

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Feedback on MGMAT CATs and some thoughts

by toufeeq » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:08 am
I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the MGMAT CATs.

I've taken 3 MGMAT tests till now and my scores are:
MGMAT 1 - 590
MGMAT 2 - 630
MGMAT 3 - 680

Over the next 11 days I'm planning to take the other three MGMATs and a couple of GMATPrep CATs. My last GMATPrep score was a 710 and that has given me confidence that I can get a 700+ with some dedicated final week preparation.

The problem for me on the MGMATs are the 700-800 questions in the Verbal Section. A lot of the 700-800 questions of MGMAT CATs are 50:50 hit-or-miss ones and I seem to be "miss"ing a lot than hitting. Also I feel that in OG and GMATPrep, the answer choices are rarely 50-50 "hit-miss" ones. Am I right in making this assumption ?

Now my GMAT test date is Aug 29 and I'm wondering if I should be developing a strategy to "hit" these 700-800 questions or am I better off without developing one and just review where I've gone wrong ?
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by mayonnai5e » Mon Aug 18, 2008 12:05 pm
I have a few things I'd like to say. First, I strongly advise against doing 3 or more cats in a period of 10 days. I say this because taking a cat, reviewing your errors, creating lessons learned, studying the lessons, and incorporating them into your thinking processes will take days for just 1 cat not to mention 3 or more. In all honesty, I think the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cat will be for naught because you will gain very little from them and will have used up precious time. I think you could do 2 more cats max and preferably the GMATPrep cats.

Secondly, it's very hard to make such an assumption about hit/miss on 700-800 questions since you'll have no way to verify it. In any case, I can conjecture that the cat is designed so that at some point, you will get the next question wrong. Then the next question you will get correct followed by another wrong one. This may appear to be a 50/50 hit/miss but is really the nature of the cat algorithm as it is trying to determine your plateau. If you've understood what I just explained then you should also understand that you can't really create a strategy to overcome this - at best you can guess intelligently.

The last few days, in my opinion, are best spent looking over your mistakes, your lessons, your errors and consolidating what you've learned. Doing so will reinforce what you've learned and give you more confidence going into the exam.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-blog-erro ... t4899.html
550 =\ ...560 =\... 650 =) ...570 =( ...540 =*( ...680 =P ... 670 =T ...=T... 650 =T ...700 =) ..690 =) ...710 =D ...GMAT 720 DING!! ;D

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by toufeeq » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:00 pm
Thanks mayonnai5e.

I am putting in 10 hours of preparation time daily for the next 10 days so I do have time on my side. As you said 1 or 2 more MGMAT CATs with 2 GMATPreps might be the right amount of CAT practice test.

I'm also using the practice CATs as training for the 3-4 hour exam so I can build stamina and also keep my timing in check. I have seen that regular CATs help with timing (esp with Verbal).

Coming to the 700-800's I think you are right. Most of these 700-800 ones are going to be hit-or-miss and the only thing that one can hope for is that one has built up the necessary skillset to get them right.

Also what do you think is the best prep material for the final 2-3 days ? I was thinking of going with OG and redoing the hard problems. Anything else ? I wont be doing any CATs during these days.
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by mayonnai5e » Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:51 am
If you want to redo the hard problems in OG, do them the last week preceding not the last 2 or 3 days preceding the exam. The last 2 or 3 days should be spent lightly reviewing, relaxing, getting extra sleep and doing things that will ensure your mind is clear for the real deal.

I spent the last few days going over my lessons learned and reviewing old errors and questions - I covered no new material nor did I work any problems. But that was me - you may find that doing light, untimed practice sets will help you focus, but I do not recommend doing large, timed practice sets as that tends to put more stress on you. It may even bring your confidence levels down if you find your hit rate is not as good as you'd hope, which means you'll go into the GMAT with that hanging in your mind....
https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-blog-erro ... t4899.html
550 =\ ...560 =\... 650 =) ...570 =( ...540 =*( ...680 =P ... 670 =T ...=T... 650 =T ...700 =) ..690 =) ...710 =D ...GMAT 720 DING!! ;D

Learn more about me
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