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Help for 2nd GMAT test

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Help for 2nd GMAT test

by maurice9696 » Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:56 pm
Hello guys,

I want to score 650 to get into my preferred masters program. To achieve this aim, I bought the Manhattan Prep books and the Official Guides. I prepared for the test for ten weeks, in which I worked through the complete Manhattan books and did all the available material. The results of my mock tests were:
GMAT1 Q36 V33 580 (before I started learning) 08/11
MREP1 Q42 V31 590 (after I studied the math parts) 11/16
MREP2 Q46 V32 640 11/24
MREP3 Q45 V34 650 12/12
MREP4 Q45 V36 670 (after completing all Manhattan books) 12/9
GMAT2 Q49 V45 760 (I don't know how) 12/14
MREP5 Q44 V38 680 12/28

Yesterday (12/21) I took the exam and felt good while doing it. I finished both sections in time. At the end I scored 580 Q38 V33 and was very disappointed. My question for you guys is how long should I wait before taking the exam again? Did I do something wrong while studying for the exam? Please let me know if you have any advice. The application deadline for my target university is 05/31/2018.

Thanks in advance

Maurice
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by [email protected] » Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:26 am
Hi Maurice,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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by maurice9696 » Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:42 am
Hi Rich,

thanks for your quick response.
To your questions:
1) I did all the CATs in the order Q V IR WA. I only did the Q and V parts on each CAT and skipped IR and WA.
2) Yes I took them all at home.
3) I did them all around 10am while my real test was at 08:30am.
4) No.
5)Not at the MPREP tests. At the second GMAT Prep maybe in the V part.

I hope the answers can clarify my circumstances.

Best regards

Maurice
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by [email protected] » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:04 pm
Hi Maurice,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, taking them at a different time of day (from when you took the Official GMAT), etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

Test Day involves a variety of really specific steps and parameters (including steps before the Test even begins - such as leaving your home, traveling, etc.). Every factor matters, including the psychological ones. When you sit down on Test Day, you KNOW that you're going to be in the Computer Lab for about 4 hours - but if you're just taking individual sections (or taking a CAT without the Essay and IR sections), then you KNOW that you'll be done in 1-2 hours. The attitude and energy that you use during practice will NOT be a match for what you'll need on Test Day, so it's not a proper way to practice. All of the 'differences' involved in how you took your CATs could explain why your Verbal Scaled Score dropped on Test Day. You weren't properly prepared for THAT full day, so your score fluctuated.

Thankfully, those are relatively easy issues to fix - now that you've taken the Official GMAT, you know the EXACT details of what happens on Test Day, so you can better train to mimic those details during your CATs. All that having been said, you'll likely need at least another 1-2 months of consistent, guided study to hit your Goal Score. You have plenty of time before the application deadline that you noted, so you can proceed however you like with your studies. If you'd like to be 'efficient' though, then you will likely need to invest in a more formal, guided Study Plan.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

by maurice9696 » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:21 pm
Hi Rich,

thanks again for your answer.
I will start an Internship in January and might be able to study 10-14 hours per week.

Merry Christmas

Maurice
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by maurice9696 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:49 am
Hi Rich,

I will start an internship in January and work 40 hours per week. So in my opinion I will have between 10 and 15 hours per week to study for the GMAT.


Kind regards

Maurice
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by [email protected] » Mon Dec 25, 2017 9:59 am
maurice9696 wrote:Hi Rich,

I will start an internship in January and work 40 hours per week. So in my opinion I will have between 10 and 15 hours per week to study for the GMAT.

Kind regards

Maurice
Hi Maurice,

While your internship will likely keep you fairly busy, you can still accomplish a lot with 10-15 hours a week of study. You'll likely still need 2 months of consistent, guided study to hit your Score Goal, but the good news is that you don't have to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird to score 650+. This means a higher level of 'precision' in your work is needed (eliminating little mistakes is a MUST) and you'll likely need to focus on learning/practicing some new Tactics in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

Are you planning to continue your studies immediately or are you going to take some 'time off' to get settled into your internship first? You have plenty of time before the application deadline, so either option would likely be fine.

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by maurice9696 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 10:05 am
Hi Rich,

I would like to continue learning immediately. I will return home at 01/03 from my christmas holiday.


Best regards

Maurice
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by [email protected] » Tue Dec 26, 2017 8:37 am
maurice9696 wrote:Hi Rich,

I would like to continue learning immediately. I will return home at 01/03 from my christmas holiday.

Best regards

Maurice
Hi Maurice,

Since you're on holiday, I assume that you mean that you want to restart your studies once you get home. If that's the case, then you should plan to reach out once you get back - you can post here or contact me directly - and we can put together a plan.

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