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Manhattan GMAT CATs - Query

by convolutedsignal » Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:42 am
Hi -

I took GMAT on July 1, and scored 660 (Q49, V31), AWA 6.0. My GMATPrep scores were 730(Q50, V40) and 740 (Q50, V40). I intend to retake the test soon, as I feel my fair score would be 720-740.

During my re-preps, my scores:

Free MGMAT: 710 (Q48, V 39)
MGMAT CAT 1: 700 (Q47, V38)

Section Accuracy Avg Corr Avg Incorr
Problem Solving 64% 670 740
Data Sufficiency 47% 710 720
Sentence Correction 53% 700 740
Critical Reasoning 54% 740 730
Reading Comprehension 67% 620 680

Based on the above data, prima facie, my RC and PS scores are below average, and I have realized that I need to hone RC skills as if improved, RCs will positively impact my scores. Can you please suggest a detailed study plan? I intend to retake the by mid-August.

Regards,
C
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by Stacey Koprince » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:35 am
Can you also tell me your timing data for those sections? (avg time spent on ones you got right vs. avg time spent on ones you got wrong)

Go look at the list of questions from your MGMAT CAT tests - the list shows the time spent per question. Scan down to the bottom and take a look. Are your times lower towards the end (meaning you were having to rush a bit)? Did you have more strings of questions wrong towards the end?

Also, from your official test score, your quant stayed about where it had been, but your verbal dropped. Can you give us some more data about what happened on test day? How was your timing? Nerves? Stamina? etc.

When you took practice tests, did you take them under full normal conditions (all at once, including the essays)?

Can you remember anything at all that felt different to you on the verbal portion of the real exam vs. your practice tests? Please share that too - even things that you don't think would have made a difference to your score.
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by convolutedsignal » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:19 pm
Can you also tell me your timing data for those sections? (avg time spent on ones you got right vs. avg time spent on ones you got wrong)

I have attached the generated assesment reports - though the time spent per question is not necessarily lower towards the end, I have observed that in QA, most of my errors are in the Q15-25 range, while in VA,most errors in the last 10-15 questions.

Go look at the list of questions from your MGMAT CAT tests - the list shows the time spent per question. Scan down to the bottom and take a look. Are your times lower towards the end (meaning you were having to rush a bit)? Did you have more strings of questions wrong towards the end?
Yes, most of the questions towards the end in VA were incorrect; I do feel that I spend extra time on the first half and then struggle to get through the second half in VA. Also, I have observed that in each VA set, I get a batch of 6-7 questions wrong - which can either be towards the end or the middle of the section. Why is this a concentrated set and not widely spaced questions? I fail to understand.

Also, from your official test score, your quant stayed about where it had been, but your verbal dropped. Can you give us some more data about what happened on test day? How was your timing? Nerves? Stamina? etc.

The breakup of my first 10 questions was as follows - SC(easy), SC(moderate), CR(easy-moderate), CR(Boldface), RC(management/business - lengthy) - 4 questions and then SC, CR.

I struggled with the Boldfaced CR as well as with the RC -and that was the case with all other RCs as well. After Q20, I realized that I was seriously lagging and then panicked - managed to complete the section maybe 10 seconds before time .. entire last RC - on biology - I read in haste .. I feel most of my errors were in the 1st 10 and last 15 questions.

Throughout AWA, I remained calm (scored 6.0), in QA, I felt some questions were quite tough(not lengthy), and did spend a lot of time on some questions - overall, I did not come out happy after taking QA, but after VA, I knew I had done badly. My heart beat during the last 30 minutes or so in the verba lsection would have been >100 - and I could feel my heart pounding.

When you took practice tests, did you take them under full normal conditions (all at once, including the essays)?

Yes, under test conditions

Can you remember anything at all that felt different to you on the verbal portion of the real exam vs. your practice tests? Please share that too - even things that you don't think would have made a difference to your score.

I felt that MGMAT Verbal is really helpful and is indicative of the of the real test questions. However, QA seems to be a bit tougher that actual GMAT.


All in all, I feel I need to work harder in RC, SC and somewhat DS - but what strategy should I follow ? I believe during my study days, I did make a log of incorrect questions, but never spend time understanding why they were wrong/correct.

Please suggest a plan !

Thanks for all the help :)
Attachments
CatQVerbalProbList.xls
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AssessmentSummary_1.xls
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AssessmentSummary_2.xls
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by Stacey Koprince » Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:47 am
Okay, yes, you did have some timing problems with the verbal, and I assume the same was true for your official test (especially given what you described).

Here's the problem: when you go way over time on some problems, you're not any more likely to get those problems right (in fact, the longer you spend, the more likely you are to get them wrong!). Then, you're behind on time, so this causes you to get other problems wrong toward the end of the test - it's like you get hit twice.

You need to let that first question go so that you still have a reasonable shot at that second question, later on in the test. If you don't let the first one go, all you've really done is guarantee yourself that you're going to get that later one wrong... and you might not even get the earlier one right.

If you only hung on too long once on the entire test, and it only affected you on one or two questions at the end, that would be no big deal. But, as you saw, that's not how it generally happens. You generally "hang on" to multiple earlier questions and then that hurts you on a whole string of questions at the end. And we haven't even talked about the negative effect that your nerves are having on you at that point because you know you're behind.

Everybody hates those boldfaced CR questions and nearly everyone would need to go over time on those - they can be terribly tricky. But the best test-takers do what they can in a couple of minutes, eliminate whatever answer choices they can eliminate, and then say, "Forget it - not worth more time" and pick something and move on. They don't let themselves get so sucked in that they blow 3 or 4 minutes on the one question, and then also get something wrong at the end due to lack of time!

You mentioned that you tend to make the most errors towards the end in the verbal section, and that you also tend to get a string in a row wrong somewhere in the middle or towards the end. That's not a surprise at all given your pacing patterns. You're rushing. You make more mistakes when you rush. You also make more mistakes when you're nervous / agitated. When the string of wrong answers happens more towards the middle, that's likely when you've noticed that you're way behind. You start to get agitated, you start to speed up... and you make mistakes. When it happens towards the end, it's more likely the case that you weren't SO far behind that you panicked towards the middle. Instead, your timing wasn't too terribly off, so you didn't panic yet... and then, towards the end, it became more apparent that you really were behind... and the same thing happened (nerves and rushing).

It's that string of questions in a row that can really hurt you. And the worst place for that to happen is at the end, because you don't have additional questions after that by which you can try to salvage your score. (It's not great to get a string wrong in the middle, either, but then, at the least, you have some more questions coming so you can try to recover a little bit.)

Okay, so what to do?

Your AWA score is excellent, obviously, so next time go for a 5.0 instead of a 6.0. Really! Try to use less mental energy so that you can save it for the verbal at the end of the test.

You mentioned that you logged your incorrect questions but didn't spend time understanding why you'd made the mistakes you made. Time to start doing that. Some questions to ask yourself:
- why did I get this wrong? very specifically, what mistake(s) did I make?
- why is this choice so tempting - what's the trap here?
- why is this choice wrong even though it's so tempting? (be as specific as possible)
- why did I eliminate the right answer - why did I think it was wrong? Why is it actually right? (again, be as specific as possible)
- how can I remember both pieces of this lesson for future - why the wrong one was tempting but wrong, and why the right one seemed wrong but was right?

If you have someone else with whom to study, that can be very helpful when doing the kind of analysis I've described above. You guys can do the same set of problems separately, then get together to discuss. Otherwise, make use of the forums here to discuss - you can post your analysis and see whether others agree, you can ask others for their opinions as to why something is so tempting even when it's wrong, etc.
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by convolutedsignal » Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:00 pm
Thanks Stacey ! I now feel I can see through my problems.. will now start with a new vision. My original date for GMAT was Aug 18, but taking it on 1st Jul infact was for good, so I have time to retake this season... but taking a week off everything for now :)

I by nature, am impulsive and get agitated easily...so need to cool off for a while :)

Thanks a lot, once again !
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Thanks a lot !!

by convolutedsignal » Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:44 am
Thanks a zillion Stacey - I retook GMAT today and scored 720 (Q50, V38). I took the appointment 4 hours before the exam so that i would have no time to get tensed.

I scored 740 (50, 40), 740 (50, 39) on GMATPreps and 710, 700, 700 on MGMATs (average 47Q, 39V). I had taken a ballpark of 720 as my 'fair score' based on the two score sets.

As advised, I primarily worked on my timing and completed the QA section in 50 minutes. Did feel a bit tensed during VA, but I am satisfied.

Thanks Stacey !
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by Stacey Koprince » Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:04 am
Wow - that's fantastic! Congratulations! Let us know how applications go - good luck!
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by convolutedsignal » Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:32 am
Stacey Koprince wrote:Wow - that's fantastic! Congratulations! Let us know how applications go - good luck!
I have recieved a final admit from Cornell University today - Once again, thanks Stacey !!

Cheers,
C!
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by Stacey Koprince » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:19 pm
Congratulations - I'm really happy for you!
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