Last Month Strategy

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:32 am

pranaygupta86 wrote:Hey guys

I gave my 1st GMAT Prep test yesterday. The details:

Overall: 770
Quant: 51 (0 incorrect)
Verbal: 42 (5 incorrect - Qs 2,3,9,10,18)

those are pretty incredible scores.

In the verbal section, I got 2 sentence correction and 3 critical reasoning questions wrong. The SC errors were pretty much blunders on my part, but the CR errors were a different story. In all 3 cases, I was able to narrow it down to 2 choices and ended up picking the incorrect one. It was like I was unable to get the line of thought the question wanted me to. What can I do to avoid such mistakes?

this isn't really an answerable question, because it contains no information about the problems themselves -- it basically just says, "on the problems i got wrong, i was guessing between two choices."
so, perhaps unintentionally, you are basically asking about the entire critical reasoning section all at once.

also, this observation does NOT mean that you are guessing badly when you get down to two choices!
most likely, there are at least the same number -- perhaps more -- questions on which you narrowed the choices down to two and then picked the correct one; the difference, of course, is that these problems will all blend into the other correct answers, and you won't see them.

Also, I now have around 30 days till my GMAT appointment. I plan to take around 2 test a week till then and continue practicing questions everyday. I will step up my efforts in the last 7-10 days to revise the concepts I have learned and take test more frequently. Any advice around my plan would be greatly appreciated.

don't study every day -- take one or two days OFF per week. this is actually very, very important.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/confused-how ... tml#366523

also, DO NOT "step up your efforts in the last days"! you should step DOWN your efforts in the last days before your test!
you need to let your brain recover and build neural connections for the big day, in exactly the same way you'd have to rest your body before a big athletic competition.
think how horrible your performance would be in an athletic competition if you trained really hard in the immediately preceding days; the same is true to a surprising extent with regard to your brain and this exam.

Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:17 am

sameerballani wrote:Ron,
You are emphasizing on switching on to verbal than working more on quant. But the point i was trying to make(which was not clear) is that i feel that my level in quant is not of 50. I know i am degrading myself, but i do feel so. So i need to take few more test to be sure that i am probably wrong and i am under-estimating myself.

But there's one more thing i have noticed that i usually finish quant section early, say atleast 10min. This is a very tricky situation. I really want to utilize this in improving my quant score. But the point is that when i am stuck on a question for a longer time, i feel i need to make an educated guess and move on and i do the same. But the questions that i can do,i do them fast and mostly right and end up saving time on them.

And by "similar", I mean that they will be more or less same level and testing the same concepts in whichever they form they want to.

if your quant score is already this high, then your best bet for further improvement is probably the "backup methods" -- check out the FEBRUARY 4 lecture here:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm
the backup methods can solve approximately 50% of *all* PS problems (more at the highest levels!), and a smaller but still significant percentage of DS problems, so they are much more important than a handful of individual math problem categories.

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 am; Thanked: 45 times; Followed by:2 members

by sameerballani » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:53 am

Hi Ron,
Today i took MGMAT-1.
Some details
My score was 640(50Q,30V)

First AWA attempt. Please comment on it. Thanks
https://www.beatthegmat.com/please-rate- ... 84586.html

In quant, i incorrectly attempted 11 question (all 700-800 level) and i was not able to attempt 1 question. I am surprised how i still managed to touch 50. May be most of my wrongs were part of uncounted questions

After analysis: Attempt could have been much better. Easily could have done last question right(if i would have attempted) and few incorrects could have been right. I understand there's lot of difference between timed and untimed(analysis) attempts. Could have reached 51(may b jus by attempting that last question)

In verbal, i got 21 incorrect

, which were evenly distributed across all the types of questions and all the levels.
After Analysis: I strongly need to work on my time management esp on verbal section. I finished it quickly and in quant(i assume it to be the stronger one) i was not able to attempt last one question. I need to maintain calmness. May be i am too nervous, which affects my performance on verbal section.

Please give your comments wherever you feel appropriate.
Thanks

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GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:33 am

sameerballani wrote:Hi Ron,
Today i took MGMAT-1.
Some details
My score was 640(50Q,30V)

First AWA attempt. Please comment on it. Thanks
https://www.beatthegmat.com/please-rate- ... 84586.html

i'm sorry, but i can't review essays on this forum, because of (a) the excessive time investment that would be required and (b) the relative unimportance of the task.
there may be other forum moderators who are willing to comment on them, though -- perhaps you could send some PM's to others.

In quant, i incorrectly attempted 11 question (all 700-800 level) and i was not able to attempt 1 question. I am surprised how i still managed to touch 50. May be most of my wrongs were part of uncounted questions ;) :)

no, this is normal; most people scoring q50 will miss somewhere around that many problems.

After analysis: Attempt could have been much better. Easily could have done last question right(if i would have attempted) and few incorrects could have been right. I understand there's lot of difference between timed and untimed(analysis) attempts. Could have reached 51(may b jus by attempting that last question)

wait, explain the "timed versus untimed" comment -- this was timed, right?
i hope so.

the difference between q50 and q51 is statistically insignificant, and it is completely insignificant for admissions purposes. just pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

In verbal, i got 21 incorrect :( , which were evenly distributed across all the types of questions and all the levels.
After Analysis: I strongly need to work on my time management esp on verbal section. I finished it quickly and in quant(i assume it to be the stronger one) i was not able to attempt last one question. I need to maintain calmness. May be i am too nervous, which affects my performance on verbal section.
Thanks

did you analyze the problems that you missed?
go back and analyze ALL of them, and figure out what you're missing and why.
if you're missing, e.g., lots of small details, then that will tell you something about your excessively quick pace.

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 am; Thanked: 45 times; Followed by:2 members

by sameerballani » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:12 am

Hi Ron,

Yes my last attempts were timed. All the score i say are under the similar test conditions.
Once done with attempt, i do every question again under untimed situation and analyse the whole test. Trying to figure out my mistakes.

I just gave my MGMAT2(with AWA) - 680(q49,v34)

I had few things that i wanted to clarify.

Quant- 36Attempt-9Incorrect(8 of 700-800level + 1 600-700 level DS question)
Is quant in MGMAT CATs comparable to GMAT(level wise). I mentioned that in last attempt i missed one question. In this attempt also i was too lacking.
I was running out of time and i had about 5 more questions to attempt. As a result i just did them very fast, and made two silly mistakes and agian i missed 1 question(which would have been right, if had attempted

).
I really need to work on Time Management in both the sections.
But good point: I consistently maintained >90%ile since q8 and as a result got all(except last one) the questions of 700-800 level since Q8 !!

Verbal- 41 Attempts- 18 Incorrect
Good time management this time as compared to last time. Finished the section timely.

I noticed that in many questions that i marked incorrectly, while attempting them i am left with two options and the correct answer is the one i didn't choose

Also, I have worked on SC the most, but on the contrary my performance on SC is worst

. My worst performance on 700-800 level questions is in SC
I really need to get back to concepts and brush through all of them.

Now, probably i should shift more of my focus on verbal..

Also sometimes i have noticed that my understanding of the question is wrong or i am unable to understand the question. Not sure whether it is because of American English or what.

I had two generic doubt-
1) Which essay is the first one - argument or issue - on GMAT? Is this pattern fixed?
2) The 2 breaks that one gets are of - 8min or 5min ?

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GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:51 am

sameerballani wrote:Hi Ron,

Yes my last attempts were timed. All the score i say are under the similar test conditions.
Once done with attempt, i do every question again under untimed situation and analyse the whole test. Trying to figure out my mistakes.

I just gave my MGMAT2(with AWA) - 680(q49,v34)

I had few things that i wanted to clarify.

Quant- 36Attempt-9Incorrect(8 of 700-800level + 1 600-700 level DS question)
Is quant in MGMAT CATs comparable to GMAT(level wise). I mentioned that in last attempt i missed one question. In this attempt also i was too lacking.
I was running out of time and i had about 5 more questions to attempt. As a result i just did them very fast, and made two silly mistakes and agian i missed 1 question(which would have been right, if had attempted :( ).
I really need to work on Time Management in both the sections.
But good point: I consistently maintained >90%ile since q8 and as a result got all(except last one) the questions of 700-800 level since Q8 !!

you have the right idea in here, buried amid all this stuff about difficulty levels -- but the problem is that it's buried amid a bunch of stuff about difficulty levels.
DO NOT worry about the difficulty levels of problems. the only people who should worry about the difficulty levels are people with low quant scores.

instead, the issue is the other thing that you mentioned -- namely, you need to work on time management. that is the issue.

I noticed that in many questions that i marked incorrectly, while attempting them i am left with two options and the correct answer is the one i didn't choose :(

this is what everybody says, but this is an artificial effect -- obviously you are not going to notice the problems on which you guess correctly from two answer choices, because those problems will disappear into your other correct answers.
try writing down all the problem numbers on which you guess between two choices next time; i strongly suspect that you will get about 50% (maybe more) of them correct.

Also, I have worked on SC the most, but on the contrary my performance on SC is worst :( . My worst performance on 700-800 level questions is in SC

STOP worrying about difficulty levels. just worry about the problems themselves.

QUESTION:
how much weight are you putting on the meaning of the sentence when you solve these problems?

see here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/companies-in ... tml#367679

I really need to get back to concepts and brush through all of them.

Now, probably i should shift more of my focus on verbal..

are you saying that your current focus is not primarily on verbal?
if so, why not? you already have q49 -- this is only two points below the highest possible quant score.

Also sometimes i have noticed that my understanding of the question is wrong or i am unable to understand the question. Not sure whether it is because of American English or what.

it's probably not the language issue -- after all, meaning is generally the easiest element to understand in a foreign language. it's much easier than understanding grammar.
i think you read this post:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/companies-in ... tml#368498

the problem is probably that you are approaching these problems too much like "academic" tasks, and not enough like things that have real-world meanings. this goes especially for SC and CR.

I had two generic doubt-
1) Which essay is the first one - argument or issue - on GMAT? Is this pattern fixed?

i think it's randomized.

2) The 2 breaks that one gets are of - 8min or 5min ?

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 am; Thanked: 45 times; Followed by:2 members

by sameerballani » Sat Jun 18, 2011 11:33 am

hi ron, attempted mgmat-3(with AWA) on friday
scored: 640(q48, v31)

I really don't understand why i get so fluctuating scores.
I am working on verbal, revising all the concepts again and practicing more questions.

I really need to cross the 40 mark in verbal to get a good score.

Did analysis of the exam: The only thing i am able to make out is that i need to work are
1) time management
2) I feel i m stressed out by the time i reach verbal. This affects my concentration level and hence my performance.

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lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Sat Jun 18, 2011 5:56 pm

if your primary difficulties are in SC, the error may well be that you aren't prioritizing properly. remember, SC could potentially test hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of concepts, but just a few major ones are most of what is tested.

can you find these concepts 100% of the time when they are tested?
-- PARALLELISM (YOU MUST FIND THIS FIRST, IF IT'S THERE)
-- PRONOUN ERRORS
-- S-V AGREEMENT
-- MODIFIER PLACEMENT

if you cannot find these concepts 100% of the time (or reasonably close), then you should not pay much (if any) attention to other error types until you can.

to improve your ability on these specific types, try the method suggested in the first 30 minutes of the NOVEMBER 18, 2010, lecture at the following link:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/thursdays-with-ron.cfm

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sameerballani: Legendary Member; Posts: 544; Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:10 am; Thanked: 45 times; Followed by:2 members

by sameerballani » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:35 am

Ron,
I just attempted my GMAT prep 2 and scored some 660 i guess.
I got the raw score of 50 in quant (9 incorrect) and the raw score of 30 in verbal(12 incorrect)
I am yet to analyse the test.

I am really not able to understand why my verbal performance is so fluctuating. I am working on basics of SC again. and practicing more.

Also i m bit confused which is a better indicator of GMAT. I know you say that one should not think about level of questions. But why i am so confused is because.

In mgmat, i have timing issues in quant section. In this i am able to do it timely or little early. I feel the number of incorrects + score is in sync with MGMAT

In verbal, i get much more incorrects on MGMAT(around 17-19)(score around-32) but score is similar to this GMATPREP, in which i got 12 INCORRECTS and a score of 30.

I got around 10days in hand. What would you suggest me. (I need to do some quant also- to maintain touch with it)

I know this is absurd, but still. DO you have any idea about this composition on actual GMAT.
i mean both in quant and in verbal, how many question one does right to get a certain score.

Also, Seeing the current status i sometime feel that i would get somewhere around 33-37 n verbal, so let me work more on quant so that i don't loose score there.

Please help

Thanks

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bblast: Legendary Member; Posts: 1077; Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 1:44 am; Thanked: 118 times; Followed by:33 members; GMAT Score:710

by bblast » Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:18 am

I was in the same boat as u sameer in my last attempt 6 months back. MGMAT verbal scores are quite accurate in overall prediction.(dont see the number of question u got incorrect). I got around 30-32 in all MGMATS and the same in GMATPreps. I actually managed to better the final score( 34 ) with some patch up in the last 10 days and a good test day.

so u can shoot for 35-37 easily, Good Luck !!

Cheers !!

Quant 47-Striving for 50
Verbal 34-Striving for 40

My gmat journey :
https://www.beatthegmat.com/710-bblast-s ... 90735.html
My take on the GMAT RC :
https://www.beatthegmat.com/ways-to-bbla ... 90808.html
How to prepare before your MBA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upz46D7 ... TWBZF14TKW_

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GMAT/MBA Expert

lunarpower: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3380; Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am; Thanked: 2256 times; Followed by:1535 members; GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Fri Jun 24, 2011 3:46 am

sameerballani wrote:I am really not able to understand why my verbal performance is so fluctuating. I am working on basics of SC again. and practicing more.

pardon me if i'm confusing you with some other poster on this thread, but i don't see the fluctuation that you're talking about -- from what i can see, your scores are consistently in the range 30-34.
this is not a wide range at all; in fact, upon taking several tests, you should actually expect this degree of statistical variation -- it's well within the standard deviation of the test.

Also i m bit confused which is a better indicator of GMAT. I know you say that one should not think about level of questions. But why i am so confused is because.

your scores are all very close to each other, so the difference is immaterial. if there were a substantial difference, the question would be worth considering.

I got around 10days in hand. What would you suggest me. (I need to do some quant also- to maintain touch with it)

i would give the same suggestions that i gave above --
https://www.beatthegmat.com/last-month-s ... tml#378369

as i stated there, if you cannot find those basic concepts 100% of the time, DO NOT STUDY ANYTHING ELSE until you can.
those are the concepts that occur with the greatest frequency; you need to be able to identify them.

I know this is absurd, but still. DO you have any idea about this composition on actual GMAT.
i mean both in quant and in verbal, how many question one does right to get a certain score.

there's no correspondence like this -- the test is adaptive!
until you get to the very top of the scoring scales (or the very bottom, although that's clearly not a concern in your case), almost everybody is missing similar numbers of problems.
you could miss 15 quant problems and get a 47 ... or you could miss 15 quant problems and get a 24.

why are you so concerned with this question?
make sure you know the following:
1) you are not going to have any idea how many questions you've gotten right and wrong -- you are going to be doing A LOT of guessing;
2) if you actually had the answers to these questions, you would probably do WORSE on the test, because there would be a whole new layer of added stress that you don't really need.

you should not be thinking about *anything* except for ...
... the problem in front of you
... the timing
this is it.
everything else is a distraction.

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