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How difficult is it to score a 500 on the GMAT?

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How difficult is it to score a 500 on the GMAT?

by tsiegel200 » Tue Oct 22, 2013 7:16 am
Hello,

I am a commercial real estate appraiser. I have been doing this work for 10 years now. I am looking into working toward a designation specific to appraisers that requires a 4-year degree. I don't have a 4-year degree. The association that offers the designation currently makes a college equivalency available. The equivalency is to score a 500 or better on the GMAT.

The rub is, that I have to do it by the end of the year. So I have 2 months. How difficult is that going to be and how much time do I need to dedicate to the project. I don't have much time.

Thanks for any input.
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by [email protected] » Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:49 am
Hi tsiegel200,

The national average on the GMAT for any given year tends to be around 540-550, so many people can score 500+ with either a certain degree of "natural ability" or some studying.

If you're curious about your current skill level, then you can download 2 CATs for free from www.mba.com and take one (it'll take about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take the whole exam). If you'd like to do some practice first, then that same download contains a number of practice problems. You can also learn about Data Sufficiency with the Free DS Workshop & Quiz that we offer on the main page of our website (links below).

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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by tsiegel200 » Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:40 am
Thank you for your response Rich. It sounds like I should just take a practice test (CAT?) to see where I am starting from and study accordingly.

I tried to find these CATs on the mba.com site, but didn't know where to go. I hate to further trouble you, but where do I go to download the CATs?

Thanks so much,

Tom Siegel
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by VivianKerr » Wed Oct 23, 2013 4:38 pm
Here's the CATs he's referring to: https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx

A word of warning, if you plan to take one of these 100% cold, expect a mild-to-major freak out. They're among the tougher, most realistic GMAT practice tests, so expect it to be challenging. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the 4 IR question types, the 3 Verbal Q-types, and the 2 Math Q-types beforehand so you at least know what the format will be going in. But I def. suggest you take one of these since it'll give you an accurate idea of where you're at. And make sure you pace yourself carefully within each section -- the GMAT brutalizes your score if you leave questions blank -- answer them all!
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by tsiegel200 » Thu Oct 24, 2013 8:23 am
Thank you Vivian, for the heads up and the link. Both very useful.
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