Should I Start With The Mock Exams

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Should I Start With The Mock Exams

by gmatrook » Sun Jul 07, 2013 10:38 pm
Ok, here's a silly question but I have been sorta havin sleepless nights about this. I have taken a self-prep package from Princeton Review which has got a lot of drills and some mock tests. After having studied quite seriously for some time, I find that I can consistently answer 80-100% of all the questions in the intermediate drills. But here's the catch. The moment I shift to the advanced drills my strike rate fluctuates from anywhere between 30-100%. So with this kind of a level, should I start going in for the mock exams there or the GMAT Prep ones? I guess you would have to know the standard of the questions in these drills to understand my question completely.
And what if this is as good as it gets (ala Jack Nicholson :-))? What kind of a score can I expect in the GMAT? By the way, I am not looking at a 700+ score, going by my fabulous IQ. However, I want to stretch myself to get a score of around 680-690 if that's at all possible what with GMAT's fabled CAT algorithm et al.
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by [email protected] » Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:25 am
Hi gmatrook,

If you haven't taken a CAT yet, then you should take one to establish your "baseline score"; this also gives you an opportunity to see how you perform under pressure. Prep courses and individual tastes will vary, but you'll figure out within about a month if the course you purchased is a good match for your sensibilities.

The funny thing about your scoring goal (680-690) is that it's essentially the same as 700/710/720. You COULD technically get fewer questions correct and see your score improve (it depends on a variety of factors that I won't go into here). So don't sell yourself short - aim to deliver your best performance on Test Day and you'd be amazed how easy it can be to pick up those missing points.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by gmatrook » Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:18 pm
Hi Rich,
Thanks a lot for your reply. I will definitely go for a CAT ASAP (maybe tomorrow)and get an idea of where I stand. Thanks a lot for your suggestion. The only thing that is deterring me is the fear of an ugly score and the subsequent demotivation. But I guess, there's no other way of going about it!

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jul 09, 2013 6:07 am
I can understand your trepidation around getting a de-motivating score. However, the benefits outweigh the negatives.
If you're interested, I recently wrote an article for BTG about taking a practice test early in your studies: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/05/ ... st-already

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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