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Above Average / Excellent - how do I get to 750?

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Above Average / Excellent - how do I get to 750?

by cjb » Fri Oct 31, 2008 3:12 pm
I've just started preparing for GMAT, and done the initial tests. I was high-end above average on sentence correction and reading comprehension, and low-end excellent on the other categories.

My resume may not be the strongest, so I really need a kick-**** GMAT - ideally 750 or above. I've picked up the three official GMAT guides, and will work through them. I also got hold of Kaplan GMAT 800, which I intend to work through cover-to-cover as well. A friend who wants to retake his GMAT seems to be stronger than me in verbal and weaker in quant, so we'll probably start working together.

I haven't got the two official prep tests yet, but I will do one of them within a couple of days of getting it. I'm very concerned about exam technique - I have a habit of making silly mistakes or not reading the question properly, even when I can cope with the material. I've already seen a couple of examples of this even in the preliminary stuff I've already done.

I'm aim to take the test in January, but if I'm still learning and improving, I will put that off. So my questions are:

- will I be able to get enough tough questions to last three months or more?

- how can I focus on technique, and be sure to avoid dumb mistakes?

- I have four books and a study buddy - what else do I need, what have I missed?

Thanks for any advice or suggestions,
James
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by cjb » Sun Nov 02, 2008 8:13 am
Just did the first practice test. Scaled scores were

Q - 49
V - 42

Total 750.

Ideally I'd like to just keep this score :lol:
According to https://www.testmasters.net/gmat/Information/scale.aspx that's 96th percentile verbal and 90th percentile quant - not really what I expected.

Going over the guts of it, I got 27 / 37 in quant, with five wrong in each of Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency, and 35 / 41 in verbal, with one wrong in CR, two wrong in RC, and three wrong in SC.

I'll be ordering the MGMAT book on CR straight away. What else should I look at? I'm following this plan: https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... d-790.html, and I'll take the next two weeks to look at quant before starting on sentence correction. I may even take longer, since my quant percentile is lower than my verbal.

Also, at least two of the mistakes in quant were dumb ones due to not reading the question properly. Anyone got any hints on how to combat that tendancy?
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by VP_Jim » Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:10 am
You're definitely in great shape starting at 750!

I think that, to a certain degree, a couple silly mistakes are unavoidable since there is such time pressure on the quant. That said, a few weeks of practice should improve your speed and comfort, thereby decreasing mistakes. You'll quickly realize that many quant problems follow patterns, and the better you know those patterns the fewer mistakes you'll make.

Another piece of advice: the quant problems in the OG are fantastic, but almost all of them are at the 90th percentile or below level. I definitely think you should do the problems in the OG, but you'll probably want to focus on problems from a different book for most of your study.

Good luck, and come back with more specific questions. You're in an enviable position!
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by praneeth » Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:45 am
VP_Jim wrote:You're definitely in great shape starting at 750!

I think that, to a certain degree, a couple silly mistakes are unavoidable since there is such time pressure on the quant. That said, a few weeks of practice should improve your speed and comfort, thereby decreasing mistakes. You'll quickly realize that many quant problems follow patterns, and the better you know those patterns the fewer mistakes you'll make.

Another piece of advice: the quant problems in the OG are fantastic, but almost all of them are at the 90th percentile or below level. I definitely think you should do the problems in the OG, but you'll probably want to focus on problems from a different book for most of your study.

Good luck, and come back with more specific questions. You're in an enviable position!
Jim,

What book would you suggest for the tougher Quant questions?
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by Toph@GMAT_REBOOT » Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:11 am
I'm not Jim... but I'll toss in my two cents (or five sentences). There are some things I don't love about Kaplan, but Kaplan 800 math problems are solid practice. GMAT Prep questions if you are scoring well are probably the closest thing you'll see to the real exam. Finally, Manhattan GMAT exams math questions tend to be considered tough. Definitely solid practice with good explanations.
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by cjb » Sun Nov 02, 2008 4:04 pm
I know there may have been a lot of luck, but after getting 750 in the first test, I'm going to have to make 770 my target :?

No idea if I'll get there...
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by LSB » Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:41 pm
wow - Impressive indeed as a starting point (or ending point for that matter :-) ). I started at 600 on my first shot.

I agree with everything that has been said. Just one word of wisdom from somebody who is now in the app process with a solid GMAT score. Don't get obsessed with the test. Study for a while and take a couple of more tests. If you are still in this range .. then just go and write the test. 750 and 770 are almost idential to the adcom. There is really no need for going crazy for another 10-20 points. It is just a test afterall

(I'm just saying since some ppl start obsessing after a while ... to a certain extent I did so myself)

Best of luck to you
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by VP_Jim » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:55 am
That's excellent advice - there's really no difference between a 750 and 770, or 730 and 750, or whatever. Breaking 700 is usually all you need to do. If you score a 710 and get rejected, it probably wasn't because of the GMAT score - it was probably some other factor.

As for additional books, any math guide from a reputable GMAT company will do. The OG is just a tad too easy at that level.
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by cjb » Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:48 am
VP_Jim wrote:That's excellent advice - there's really no difference between a 750 and 770, or 730 and 750, or whatever. Breaking 700 is usually all you need to do. If you score a 710 and get rejected, it probably wasn't because of the GMAT score - it was probably some other factor.
I know that the good schools are very competitive, and personally I'd like to go to the London Business School or Judge (Cambridge). I'm 32, my academic record is patchy, and my professional record is okay but not outstanding. Having looked at the middle 80% scores for some top schools, I feel like I could get a score that would give me top 10% status for most of them. I don't think there's anything else terribly wrong with my resume, but I think having something outstanding would help, and the GMAT could be it.

Am I mistaken?
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by VP_Jim » Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:56 am
Obviously, the higher the score the better!

The point made above was just not to get obsessed with the GMAT score.
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by cjb » Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:02 pm
VP_Jim wrote:Obviously, the higher the score the better!

The point made above was just not to get obsessed with the GMAT score.
Okay, well I'll probably take whatever score I get in January, unless I feel like I've massively underperformed.

I guess I should make it a priority to meet an admissions coach and see about working on other aspects of my applications.
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What happened? :(

by cjb » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:32 pm
I wasn't on this forum and wasn't studying for a long while because of some unfortunate personal circumstances. Anyway, I've been back at it for a couple of weeks, and was thinking about doing the GMAT in about two weeks. I just tried a CAT test from the Kaplan CD, and got 690 - this is quite a fall-off from the 750 on my first GMATPrep.

The scores were:
Quant - 31/37, scaled 50
Verbal - 29/41, scaled 38

According to the back of the OG, those scaled scores correspond to the 95th and 84th percentiles respectively.

Personally I felt a bit tired during the verbal, which made RC and SC particularly difficult. Kaplan's analysis shows those as my worst areas.

Do Kaplan CAT and GMATPrep correlate much with each other, or with actual GMAT results? I'm kind of hoping that Kaplan is normally much tougher...
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by beatthegmat » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:33 pm
Anecdotally, I have observed that many members (including myself) thought that Kaplan was a tougher than the actual GMAT. GMAT Prep in my opinion was pretty close to the difficulty level of the actual GMAT.
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by Ian Stewart » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:11 pm
Hope you're well, James. GMATPrep is, by a considerable margin, the most accurate simulation of the real test, and the best score predictor. Prep company tests can be valuable, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the scores they produce, especially if they're very different from your GMATPrep results. I'm not referring to any company in particular, but some company tests have a reputation for producing scores lower than what the real test will give, which is understandable- if you get a very high score on a company test, you'll likely invest less in books and teaching, which is how test prep companies make their money!
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

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by cjb » Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:19 pm
Just did GMATPrep 2, mostly as a calibration against the Kaplan from a few days ago.

Q49 (29/37)
V44 (37/41)

Overall 760

No change in the quant score versus early November, but I won't complain if I get this in the real test. 70 points higher than Kaplan.
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