GMAT Strategy

Received a PM asking me to reply.

First, you asked a question in your PM about resetting your practice tests. Once you've taken 6 tests, you will see (on future tests) questions you've seen before even if you create a new account, so don't bother to do that.

You can still take both GMATPrep and MGMAT CATs with repeats as long as you follow a few guidelines to minimize the chance of artificially inflating your score via question repeats. First, anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks vaguely familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.

Okay, so the first five tests were taken with essays - and I will assume generally under official conditions? 8-minute breaks? No use of the pause button? Etc? If you did NOT take them under official conditions, let me know.

Assuming you did, you were scoring in the 660-670 range with quant around 45-46 and verbal around 34-36. On your actual test, quant was 48 (nice!) but verbal dropped significantly, to 24 (33rd percentile). If you can keep the same quant score, you're looking at a verbal score in the high 30s, possibly 40 (80th to 90th percentile). In other words, your verbal percentile ranking would actually have to be the same as or higher than your quant percentile ranking. That's most likely a tough jump to make in a month.

It might be possible, though. It depends on WHY your score dropped to 24 on the real test. If we can figure out why, then we can figure out what to do about it, and we can estimate how long that will take. For example, if you tell me that you had major timing problems and had to guess on the last 10 questions in the section, then that means your ability level is higher than the 24 score, but you have to fix your timing issues. That *might* be doable in a month (though I'd really prefer 6 weeks).

Read the below article and do the analysis described for your verbal section. Be as detailed and thorough as you can. Then come back here and share your analysis with us.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/26 ... went-wrong

In terms of helping you with RC and CR, I really need some more specific data about your strengths and weaknesses. It isn't possible to master everything about those two entire question types in one month. Do the analysis described in this article on your 5th MGMAT practice exam (you can analyze just the verbal, or both V and Q if you want):

https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

Again, come back here and tell us your analysis. Then we'll help you figure out how to interpret the info and what to do about it!