Which test to take to set a baseline for preparation

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arunika: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:40 pm

by arunika » Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:10 am

i have my GMAT scheduled for less than two months from now. I have not yet taken any CAT so far however, i had taken GMAT 2 years back and had secured 610.

I want to know if it makes sense to take the GMATPrep CAT at this stage? I am afraid that by doing this I might waste some of the important practice questions that I should do at a later stage.

Currently I have taken the 60 day Study Guide from beatthegmat and it suggests me to do take the GMATPrep CAT.

Please suggest whether I should take it or not.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:10 am

David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Jun 24, 2014 3:20 am

Yes!

Do take the GMATPrep CAT 1. It is your best baseline test. You can re-take it an a few weeks when you are closer to the exam and you should mostly get different questions so you will not have really "wasted" one of your tests.

If you need more tests than the GMATPrep tests (you can take each of the two free ones twice and you can purchase two more tests) then you can take the FREE Veritas Prep practice test.

I would suggest the GMATPrep for your baseline.

Have fun with it!

Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor

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[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Tue Jun 24, 2014 11:46 am

Hi arunika,

Taking FULL-LENGTH practice CATs is an essential part of the study process. There are a number of aspects to a full GMAT that you cannot experience unless you take practice CATs: endurance, fatigue, the physical and psychological strain of dealing with the GMAT for 4 hours, etc.

You should plan to take a FULL practice CAT as soon as possible and in as realistic a fashion as possible. This will establish a new baseline score and give you a sense of your current strengths and weaknesses. Don't worry about "wasting" a CAT. There are plenty of CATs to be had.

As you continue to study, you should plan on taking 1 CAT every 1-2 weeks. The rest of your time should be spent studying and on review of prior work.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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VivianKerr: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1035; Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 amFollowed by: 365 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 474 times

by VivianKerr » Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:34 pm

I would HIGHLY suggest you take the GMATPrep 1. People sometimes wait so long to "save" the official CATs that they get an inflated idea of what their actual GMAT score is based on some Kaplan or MGMAT exam. Those are necessary to incorporate during your studies, but GMATPrep 1 is a GREAT place to begin. You'll probably re-set it later and re-take, so go ahead and do it now.

When is your Test Date? Target score? I'd work backwards from your Test Date and take one CAT each week -- take the GMATPreps at least 2-3 weeks apart if you have enough time, and definitely buy the GMATprep 3 and 4.

When you do the GMATPrep 1, track all your incorrect answers by concept/s tested, and analyze why you got each question incorrect and how you can make adjustments for similar questions in the future. This Error Log template might help!

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Error Log Template.xlsx: (12.03 KiB) Downloaded 92 times

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