Regarding the Diagnostic test and Preparation

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I took a KAPLAN diagnostic test yesterday and got a score of
690
Quant - 99%ile
Verbal - 36%ile

According to this website
https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/gmat-scores ... means.aspx

Quant - 98%ile => 51
Verbal- 36%ile => 25



When I gave a gmatprep 1 test 2 weeks ago,
I scored
590
Quant - 50
Verbal - 24



You can see that the sectional marks in both the test is almost the same. While, there substantial difference in the overall scores. How is it possible?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding my prep

My examination date is 30th April 2012. And I am planning to join a prep course in Jan, because of a tight schedule I cant manage to start my prep classes before that...


Two weeks ago, I gave my 1st GMATprep(590),
Q(50)- found it quite easy. time management was an issue. Though, I managed to complete the whole section on time. But still felt i could avoid a few silly mistakes if their was some more time. Got a few Data Sufficiency Qs wrong too.

V(24)- I had no clue what was happening in this section. except CR, almost everything else was going above my head. A few ques that I got correct were all guesses and the Qs i thought idid correct were all wrong.



Next 2 weeks
Q- I made myself familiar with DS Qs and practiced them from BTG forums.

V- I bought KAPLAN Verbal Foundation book and went through basic grammar stuff, and practiced CR,SC,RC from OGs.


2 weeks later
I took KAPLAN diagnostic test(690)
Q(99%ile=>51) - I got just 3 Qs wrong (all 3 being DS) just cause of some sillly mistakes in assumptions...

V(36%il3=>25) - this time i was not bored, and was able to analyze SC/CR ques... though RC was still a problem.. after the sec got ovr,i thoought I did pretty well in quant..
but on looking at the score 36%ile broke me....


Now if an Expert could please hepl me with the following Qs

- Looking at my 2 scores, what would be my baseline score as of now...???? And from your experience, Is it possible to reach a 750 from where I am right now...??

- As ou can see I have pathetic verbal scores(36 %ile), a lot below average. Could you please give some tips on how i can mangage to get this to (50+ %ile) before i start my GMAT prep classes in Jan...

- Can you tell me something about the sectional score and the overall score correlation...
Say, if i managed to get 49/50+ in quant, how much should I aim for to make an agg of around 750...

- And about your, Higher Score Guarantee thingy... Is it with respect to the diagnostic test or do we need to give some other test for it or is it on the basis of the other KAPLAN CAT performances after I enroll...????

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by KapTeacherEli » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:29 pm
For your three questions, in order:

1. Yes, you can reach 750! Obviously, there's quite a bit of work to be done, and as with all things, there are no guarantees. But I've personally seen 200+ point increases, so your goal is attainable!

2. Verbal sections of tests seem like they reward linguistic skills, and while that's true, it's not the whole story. Having a systematic strategy for each question type is key to mastering the verbal section. This can be hard. The way you do the problems right now may seem to be "easier" and be very tempting. But forcing yourself to stick to your strategies, getting them down cold, and internalizing those techniques is essential.

3. 750+ requires excellent sectional scores. I can't set specific number goals for you, but I wouldn't expect a 750 with anything less than a 90th percentile verbal score.

4. the HSG is on the basis of the diagnostic you've already taken, unless you've taken an actual test, in which case your highest GMAT score serves as the baseline.

Hope this helps!
Eli Meyer
Kaplan GMAT Teacher
Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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by rijul007 » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:33 am
Thanks a lot for answering my queries.

It has clarified a lot of my doubts

Now, am looking forward to start my prep with Kaplan in Jan. And i hope I will be able to Work Hard enough to Beat the GMAT... :)

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by KapTeacherEli » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:01 pm
Good luck, and don't hesitate to post or PM if any other questions come up between now and then!
Eli Meyer
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by rijul007 » Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:03 am
Hey again,

I just heard that HSG not applicable outside US...
Is it true??
I am from India... so does that mean HSG wont apply to me?

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by KapTeacherEli » Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:48 pm
rijul007 wrote:Hey again,

I just heard that HSG not applicable outside US...
Is it true??
I am from India... so does that mean HSG wont apply to me?
Where did you hear this? To the best of my knowledge, it's not true.

Eli
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by rijul007 » Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:13 pm
I heard about it in a forum..


then I checked out the website https://www.kaptest.com/hsg

*You must be enrolled in a Kaplan full classroom, tutoring, or online course that began on or after August 11, 2003, and attend all required classes or make-up sessions, complete all required tests, and complete all of your required homework as outlined on your student homepage. If you feel that you are not ready to take the exam or are not satisfied with your score on the actual exam, you may repeat the full course for free for classroom and online students, and complete the full classroom course for free plus purchase additional tutoring hours at $75/hour for tutoring students. Your free repeat course must prepare you for a test date within the next 3 months, or the next available test date. If your total score is not higher on the actual exam than your earlier, official test score or your Kaplan diagnostic (if you did not take the actual test before), you may repeat the full program for free or get a full refund. To invoke the Higher Score Guarantee, you must notify Kaplan within 90 days after the date your course access ends. To be eligible for the refund, you must present a copy of your official score report, your diagnostic score results, and your course materials at the time you invoke the guarantee. The Higher Score Guarantee only applies to Kaplan courses taken and completed within the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and France. Courses completed in Puerto Rico do not qualify if they began before June 15, 2006.


Maybe I have interpretted it wrong [never got more than 25 in verbal remember :D]

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by KapTeacherEli » Wed Nov 30, 2011 6:34 pm
Hi Rijul,

Thanks for pointing this out. I'll follow up as soon as I know the details for sure!

Eli
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by rijul007 » Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:02 am
alryt thanks..

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by KapTeacherEli » Fri Dec 02, 2011 7:45 am
HI rijul,

Unfortunately, we don't have the capability to refund enrollment fees for countries outside the countries listed. However, even though the HSG doesn't technically apply, we never leave students out in the cold; in most cases, we're happy to let students repeat online courses even from other countries.

However, many of our courses in countries such as India use Kaplan materials and methods but are run by local companies. If you take an on-site class in India, I honestly have no idea what the refund policies will be.

Hope this helps!
Eli Meyer
Kaplan GMAT Teacher
Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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by rijul007 » Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:16 am
Hey

We do have a local company by the name The Chopras that follows kaplan
I enquired them about this... they said they dont have any such policies..

So not being applicable for HSG is a bummer..

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by rijul007 » Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:35 am
ELi

I wish to get to the 750 milestone so if you could just guide me what kind of course would be suitable for me (Advantage or Advanced)...



----------------------Date----------Q----------V--------OA
Crack-GMAT-----11 Oct 11'-------52---------10------580
GMATprep-1-----18 Oct 11'-------50---------24------590
MGMAT-1--------25 Oct 11'-------44---------28------580
MGMAT-2--------30 Oct 11'-------48---------29------630
Kaplan-----------8 Nov 11'-------99%ile-----36%ile---690---88%ile
Knewton--------15 Nov 11'-------46---------30------630
Veritas----------25 Nov 11'-------49---------33------670


kindly check out record of my practice test performance.. these are based on self preparation..


Looking at my level in Verbal section, do you think it will be viable for me to keep up with the pace in this section in the Advanced course(as they focus on teaching the advanced topics of GMAT)?

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by KapTeacherEli » Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:17 am
Hi Rijul,

You should be fine to do a verbal class. You may not realize it, but the 33 verbal you got on your Veritas prep is a 66th %ile score!

Eli
Eli Meyer
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Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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