How many practice tests should I consider

[email protected] wrote:Hi utkalnayak,

There's no "magic number" of CATs that you should take during your studies. As a general rule, it's a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH CAT every 1-2 weeks, so that you can assess your abilities and define (and work to fix) your weaknesses. Taking lots of CATs does NOT make you a better Test Taker though - a CAT is just a "measuring device" - IF taken correctly, it will give you a reasonable measure of your abilities and point out your weak spots. Some Test Takers end up taking too many CATs (as a substitute for doing the necessary studying) and the end results on Test Day are often problematic.

When is your Official Test Date?

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

Thank you Rich, that helps. I am taking test on Feb 7, which is exactly 15 days from now. I have been studying for about couple months and getting a good hang of how to get most of the questions right. The only issue I got to fine tune at this point of time is time management. Hence my game plan is to increase the number of tests so I can adjust myself to time. Also I have to go to work everyday, so pretty much all I get is 3-4 hours in the late evening. Weekends are better where I can spend about 8-10 hours. Any recommendation on my game plan ?

Hi Utkal,

1. You have taken only 2 tests so far. You should take atleast a few more - maybe one this long Republic Day weekend and another one next weekend. Don't stuff your schedule with too many tests. They will help you fine-tune but only if you are able to get the questions right in the first place. So focus instead of sharpening your saw - when the time comes, you will realise tree-cutting "strategy" and "stamina" is not that awful!

2. You haven't said what you scored on the test and how much you hope to improve by. I really don't know if 15 weeks are sufficient (660 -> 700 yes) or insufficient (540 -> 700 not happening). So that is something you might want to consider.

3. Also did you analyse your GMATPrep tests? What do they say? How did you do on Quant? What questions in Verbal got you stuck? If you had to do it again, how would you do it differently? Have you been able to implement the learnings in the questions? What about RC? How are you solving the passage? ........ as you see the list is long

I had written about how to take GMATPrep tests sometime ago: https://gmat.crackverbal.com/how-to-take ... ice-tests/

Hope this helps!

Arun

Hi Uktal,

You've received some good thoughts on how many CAT exams you should take. But since exam day is coming up, I thought I'd provide some general tips on how you should be using your time.

One week before the exam, you should:
-cover the last of new topics and concepts. Start reviewing what you have already learned with practice questions and simulation tests.
-Alternate between taking sim tests and reviewing strategy. Be sure to simulate actual test conditions as much as possible. Take another full-length test to get accustomed to timing.
-Focus on good sleep and exercise habits. If you don't already have a solid sleep routine, begin one as soon as possible so that you are well rested for the test. Light exercise may help with nerves as well.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Jessica

I'd actually recommend you take 4 CATs, since you're sort of in "cram" phase with a major emphasis on the GMATPreps. In fact, I would plant to take the GMATPrep 1, GMATPrep 2, GMATPrep 3, and GMATPrep 4, with the last CAT 2 days before your exam date. Be sure to THOROUGHLY review all of them. BUT I definitely agree you should have benchmarks in front of you each time. The "true value" of a CAT lies in:

1) the information it provides about WHAT type of questions you get wrong and WHY you get them wrong (to be extracted by you in an Error Log completed after each CAT)

2) the ability to manage all the questions within the given time. how confident are you in your ability to STAY ON BENCHMARK...even if that means 'walking away' from a challenging question? Check the benchmarks I recommend below.

Besides the CATs, you should be doing PACING DRILLS. Every single day. I think they are extremely underutilized in GMAT prep. Why should full-length CATs be the only time we work on pacing? They don't have to be long. For example, doing 5 SC problems in 10 minutes counts! But if you don't put intermittent pacing pressure on yourself as your practice, how are you supposed to deal with that timer on test day?

Hope this gives you some food for thought!

I would definitely recommend taking more practice tests to both improve your pacing and build your mental endurance, so that you aren't exhausted by the verbal section. To make the best of your practice test they should be done under as close to test like conditions as possible. This means, it should be a computer adaptive test, not on paper. Also, do the IR and AWA sections and take only the allotted 8 minute breaks.

Good luck!

Hi utkalnayak,

If you mean the free GMAT Prep test you may know that these example of the official test are insufficient to make a good and effective preparation.
Moreover, in these test the score you get is higher than the one that you can get on the official test , the difference can be up to 100 points above your actual score .

These are free trial test so you can see the structure and content of the GMAT test but We consider that this is insufficient for your preparation.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Also, if you're considering CATs outside the GMATPrep, there's a pretty solid rundown over at GMATClub: https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-cat- ... 77460.html