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GMAT experts, help me understand my situation

by mkmgmat » Sat Sep 21, 2013 4:58 pm
Background:
- Been in high tech industry for over 10 years and never been a fan of standardized tests. I scored a mere 1590 in GRE back in year 2000.
- I spent almost a year (with small breaks) self studying using MGMAT material and scored a mere 580 on the official GMAT test in May 2013.
- I could not cross 610 in MGMAT CATs
- My GMATPrep Exam 1 score a week before the official test was around 650. Didn't have time for the second one.

Frustrated with my performance and with other priorities in line I took the entire Summer off from GMAT and now I am getting back to it. I have registered for a test on Dec 14, 2013 and I plan to follow a 3 month study plan by EmpowerGMAT.

To establish a benchmark, I took GMATPrep Exam 1 this afternoon and scored a 710. I did review my old hand made flashcards for about an hour before the test but that was it between May 4, 2013 and today.

Upon reviewing I realized that I got 15 incorrect in Quant and 9 incorrect in Verbal but still managed raw scores of 48 and 39 respectively. I did read through https://www.beatthegmat.com/confused-hig ... 69591.html and I understand that number of incorrects may not affect the total score.

What I am not able to get my head around is how did I manage a score of 710? Since I was not prepared I most certainly guessed through a lot of Quant questions that seemed difficult and it didn't feel like I was doing well on the Verbal either. 580 with almost a year of preparation and 710 after a complete break of more than 4 months!!

How do I know I am ready? I guess only if I can repeatedly score equally high in subsequent CATs between now and test date?
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by [email protected] » Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:42 pm
Hi mkmgmat,

There are a number of factors in your recent performance that you should note:

1) You seem to have been relatively calm about how you were taking this CAT. Many of the best Test Takers I've worked with have had that same character trait. You also didn't seem to have a problem guessing on a problem that was too difficult (and then moving past it) - this is another aspect of the "high scorer" that's worth learning to repeat.

2) Take a look at the questions that you got CORRECT. HOW did you get them correct? What did you do? What can you repeat again later?

3) How was your pacing? On which questions were you spending your time? It's a subtle skill, but learning how to spend the right amount of time on the questions that matter can greatly increase your chances at a high score.

If you have any specific questions, then feel free to contact me directly.

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Rich
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by johnperregaux » Sun Sep 22, 2013 6:39 pm
Totally troll. Come in with over 700 CAT , haha nice job.

Youll ace it
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by mkmgmat » Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:28 pm
[email protected] wrote: 1) You seem to have been relatively calm about how you were taking this CAT. Many of the best Test Takers I've worked with have had that same character trait. You also didn't seem to have a problem guessing on a problem that was too difficult (and then moving past it) - this is another aspect of the "high scorer" that's worth learning to repeat.
Thanks for the reply Rich. I guess I was very calm because I was simply looking to establish a benchmark and I had nothing to lose, so to speak. Also, I did not attempt AWA or IR during this CAT and so that must have taken the edge off. I hope I am able to keep such calm during the real test. I wasn't this calm during my last test in May 2013. IR section screwed my mind and then I must have panicked after seeing a couple of real difficult questions in quant; wasted time trying to solve them and then was tight on time towards the end guessing through almost 5 questions in the end.
2) Take a look at the questions that you got CORRECT. HOW did you get them correct? What did you do? What can you repeat again later?
I have not reviewed my answers yet but will do sometime this week and let you know.
3) How was your pacing? On which questions were you spending your time? It's a subtle skill, but learning how to spend the right amount of time on the questions that matter can greatly increase your chances at a high score.
Pacing was near-perfect. During this CAT I finished quant with 30 seconds to spare and finished verbal with about 4 minutes to spare. I have been following MGMAT suggested benchmarks https://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/keeping-pace.cfm
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by mkmgmat » Sun Dec 08, 2013 12:18 pm
I need more help from the community. With one week away from second attempt at GMAT I seem to be in a position similar to last time; i.e my score seems to be gradually decreasing with preparation.

9/21 : GMATPrep Exam 1: 710 (Q48, V39)

10/6 : MGMAT CAT 1: 690 (Q44, V39)

10/13 : GMATPill CAT:610 (Q33, V40)

10/23 : MGMAT CAT 2: 680 (Q44, V37)
11/3 : MGMAT CAT 3: 680 (Q46, V36)
11/17 : MGMAT CAT 4: 650 (Q40, V38)
11/24 : MGMAT CAT 5: 660 (Q45, V35)

12/7 : GMATPrep Exam 2: 620 (Q46, V29)

Analyzing scores from my recent test on 12/7 I found that RC was the weakest link this time. I got a long and hard passage within first 10 questions and I got all 4 questions on that passage incorrect. I also got a CR question before the passage wrong giving me a streak of 5 incorrect among the first 12-14 questions. I am guessing that had a lot to do with my V29. Also, I got a a few CR and SC questions among the last 10 incorrect.

I have less than a week before test day (12/14) and I am planning to spend most time on RC and SC while keeping other parts (PS, DS, CR) of the tests warm by practicing a few questions everyday.

I also need to spend some time on IR. I plan to take Friday off from work but I am not planning to take any more practice tests before the test day.

Thoughts?
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by [email protected] » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:13 pm
Hi mkmgmat,

I think that your plan for the next 5 days is a good one. Try not to do too much or "burn out" before your Test. Some review of your earlier practice might be helpful as you can use it as a gauge to revisit some old material and see how far you've come. Your scores are all within range of one another, so you should keep in mind that the little details matter and that silly mistakes tend to be the things that hurt scores. Bring your best efforts to the test and you'll be fine.

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by mkmgmat » Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:35 pm
[email protected] wrote:Your scores are all within range of one another, so you should keep in mind that the little details matter and that silly mistakes tend to be the things that hurt scores.
Thanks for you feedback Rich.
I don't see how the last score of 620 is within the range of others. More importantly I cannot explain the decrease in scores from 710 to 620 with almost 3 months of preparation in between.
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