Opinion on GMAT FOCUS.

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larrybird: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 7:44 am

by larrybird » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:36 am

Hi everyone
I've done two GMAT Focus so far and did´t get any Geometry problems and got both times 50%/50% Data Sufficiency Q's ans PS Q's.
Any one knows if this is all right ? I would expect a couple of Geom problems in the real test and not as many DS problems. Can the experts give me some color on GMAT Focus regarding it`s similarity to real Quant Section ?
I also thought it was quite hard (didn´t get any "piece-of-cake" kind of questions) and Scale Range given as scores are very ample: in the first one i got 37-45 and in the second 41-47. Should I be targeting a mid point of those ranges ?
Responses are very much appreciated.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Quantitative Reasoning | Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:36 am

DanaJ: Site Admin; Posts: 2567; Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:05 amFollowed by: 550 members; Thanked: 712 times; GMAT Score:770

by DanaJ » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:41 am

I suggest trying to search for the keywords GMAT Focus. You'll get a ton of threads:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-focus-o ... t9665.html

https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-focus-a ... 11411.html

https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-focus-o ... 12398.html

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larrybird: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 7:44 am

by larrybird » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:53 am

Thanks DanaJ. I actually checked those posts you mentioned before posting mine, but they didn`t answer my questions.
If anybody has another opinion it would be very much appreciated. Tks.

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Ian Stewart: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2623; Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:17 amFollowed by: 355 members; Location: Montreal; Thanked: 1090 times; GMAT Score:780

Re: Opinion on GMAT FOCUS.

by Ian Stewart » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:32 am

larrybird wrote:Hi everyone
I've done two GMAT Focus so far and did´t get any Geometry problems and got both times 50%/50% Data Sufficiency Q's ans PS Q's.
Any one knows if this is all right ? I would expect a couple of Geom problems in the real test and not as many DS problems. Can the experts give me some color on GMAT Focus regarding it`s similarity to real Quant Section ?
I also thought it was quite hard (didn´t get any "piece-of-cake" kind of questions) and Scale Range given as scores are very ample: in the first one i got 37-45 and in the second 41-47. Should I be targeting a mid point of those ranges ?
Responses are very much appreciated.

On GMATFocus:

-the questions are great -- very much like the current GMAT -- but sometimes the explanations are not very good. That's true of other official materials as well;

-because it's adaptive, you won't normally see many very easy questions; most should be around your level, which is what you want -- master these questions, and you'll be moving up a level;

-the real GMAT is nearly half DS these days (20/17 PS/DS questions on average is the last breakdown I heard), so you'd expect a similar balance on GMATFocus. And because people normally improve more by practicing DS than by practicing PS (because the DS format is unfamiliar when you start your GMAT preparation), I wouldn't complain about seeing a lot of DS on GMATFocus;

-GMATFocus is expensive for what you get. Early in your prep, you'll have many official resources available which are much less expensive and which can provide you with challenging questions. GMATFocus can be a good investment later in preparation, though, if you've exhausted those other sources. And it's a good investment at any time, since you can do each test repeatedly, if you aren't price-sensitive;

-sometimes the content balance in GMATFocus seems different from the real test. That said, I've heard many people say that they've not seen much geometry on recent tests (though there are exceptions);

-the score ranges produced by GMATFocus can sometimes be quite wide. If you've taken more than one test, your current likely score is likely somewhere in the overlap between the ranges provided. I do think GMATFocus scores skew just slightly low as well, so you might add a point or so.

For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com

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cramya: Legendary Member; Posts: 2467; Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:14 pmFollowed by: 11 members; Thanked: 331 times

by cramya » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:42 am

In addition to what Ian has said above:

The reason you may not have encountered many geometry questions is beacuse each gmatfocus test consists of only 24 questions (u can buy a bundle of three or juts one I think) unlike the real quant section of the gmat which contains 37 q's.

I would like to echo that gmatfocus is indeed good practice for the quant section of the gmat.

Good luck!

Regards,
CR

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larrybird: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 7:44 am

by larrybird » Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:47 pm

Thanks Ian and Cramya !!! Very useful posts!

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navalpike: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 103; Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 11:53 am; Thanked: 6 times

by navalpike » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:00 pm

I was thinking of buying a 24 set of questions from GMATFocus next week.
I have read on this forum that once you complet the questions and get out, you cannot access them again. Is this true? If so, then is it possible to copy and paste ((or “printscreen) these questions on to a work doc.?

If I get some questions wrong, I think I would like to go back and look at the questions again and practice them over and over. Is this possible on Gmat Focus?

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larrybird: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 7:44 am

by larrybird » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:08 pm

navalpike, i`ve been able to use reuse the questions many times. Hope this helps.

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navalpike: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 103; Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 11:53 am; Thanked: 6 times

by navalpike » Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:10 pm

Oh, nice. Thanks.

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vomhorizon: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 194; Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:05 pmFollowed by: 8 members; Location: India; Thanked: 26 times; GMAT Score:730

by vomhorizon » Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:16 am

I had purchased the set of 3 Focus tests , and here are my 2 cents.

* Use them merely as sets to get your timing set, and access to some (SOME) fresh questions from the official test maker. I spotted a few questions in the First test that have been published in the OG13, and i am pretty sure the second test contained a few questions that are from the OG 13, or other material released by GMAC (QP1 maybe)....

In the First test i got 10 questions wrong (out of 24) and the diagnosis was 45-50 with 80% probability ... I immediately took the second FOCUS test (won't recommend this though) and got only 4 questions wrong, with the diagnosis showing 47-51 with 80% probability.

* The Topics are not evenly distributed. While i have not yet taken the third and final set, i am yet to receive a SINGLE question on :

1) Triangles
2) Circles
3) Cylinders
4) Absolute Value

The test seems to over sample FDP, Ratios and statistics...I got 2 + 2 questions on Coordinate geometry , while no other question from any other topic of geometry. I Got 2-3 questions on P&C and probability per test.

To be frank, i find the MGMAT CAT's and the analysis they provide far superior to this, and given that the CAT's are FREE with the purchase of a 20 odd dollar book, you can never go wrong. @ 79 $ for a set of three, this is something that can be avoided, unless you are all out of official questions and really want to nail your performance down before booking a slot to write the test.

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." - Eric Thomas

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