GMAT Strategy

Hi Guys,

My test day is due in next 10 days(31st May) and I am still struggling with the timing. I have taken 4 mock tests so far - 1 GMAT Prep and 3 MGMAT CAT and I was not able to finish any one of them with a second to spare. I had to rush through all of these tests for last 8-10 questions, particularly in Quant.

I would like to score anything above 700 and I feel that I am capable to do so provided I complete the test.

1) Considering above factors in mind, should I postpone my GMAT or Should I go ahead and take the test just to get an experience of what it feels like ?

2)Would I be better taking GMAT before IR pops in? I tried some sample questions in IR and I do not think that I will be any good at them and that's the reason why I booked my test date on 31st May.

3) Would taking the GMAT make any sense when I know that I am not even able to complete the tests which proves that I am not ready yet?

My Scores - Update

gmat prep1 - 620
mgmat cat1 - 540
mgmat cat2 - 690
mgmat cat3 - 650
gmat prep1 - 690

Guys,

Can you please post your views on the above thread. I am running out of time. If I have to reschedule the test, I have to do it next 2 days.

~ soaringAlone

With a target score of anything above 700 you need to reschedule. With the pattern changing in a few days and taking the test now for an experience is a waste. Whether you are capable of taking it within June 5 depends on your weak/strong areas, but a 100 point improvement in two weeks is very difficult to achieve. It takes a minimum of two to three months. Post more info about your quant/verbal split and other members/experts will help you out. There is no use knowing that you cannot reach your target score. Do not waste an attempt.

Thanks much Sam and Brent.

Here are my scores breakup for abetter picture.

gmat prep1 - 620 don't remember, I have got this overwritten because I took gmatprep1 again today.
mgmat cat1 - 540 Q31,V34 ( left many questions blank)
mgmat cat2 - 690 Q45,V38
mgmat cat3 - 650 Q45,V34
gmat prep1 - 690 Q47,V38

As you can see there is a jump from 540 to 650+, that is because the test in which I scored 540 I had left many questions blank and from then onwards I forced myself to complete the tests anyhow.
So, even though my scores have gone up to 650+, I still struggle with timing and I have not been able to complete any of the manhattan CATs with time to spare. I had to guess blindly from 10-15 questions on both CAT2 and CAT3.

gmat prep1 is the only test(took today) in which I finished exactly on time with a nice attempt on all the questions but I can't guarantee this as my current potential because I did get quite a few repeat and familiar questions from OG.

I am leaning towards rescheduling but at the same time I am scared about the format change. If nothing else IR would need 100 hours of study which means 1 month of effort (30*3 hours). In that case, even If I extend my exam I would have to extend that by 3 months or so, in order to achieve my desired score while studying parallely for IR.

On other hand what are the chances that I make an attempt now and get lucky to get 700+. Is there any chance of getting 700+ considering my present scores(posted above) or is that just a wishful thinking ?

Should I take gmatprep2 and then decide ? I did not take gmat prep2 yet because I wanted to keep atleast on real test for my last assesment before actual GMAT. In case I take gmat prep2 now and I decide to reschedule the exam date, I would not have any real tests left to assess me.


~soaringAlone

It would be better to decide your rescheduling after GMATPrep2. Unless you have taken all the practice tests with strict official conditions as in with AWA and 8 min breaks and they are not a repeat, your scores are inflated. So choose your best time and be in your test when you take your GMATPrep2. Score a 700+, then you can make your call. If you find math comfortable compared to verbal provided you get around 38+ in GMATPrep2 verbal, you might make the best out of quant in 10 days and achieve your 700.

Do not worry about IR. All we know about AWA is bschools get a copy of your essays and your application essays will be flagged if they are so polished and flawless, while you have a very low score in AWA. We don't know for a fact that it is used for so and so purpose by every bschool, so the advantages of IR are

it will be interesting to solve rather than write a boring essay
you still don't how it will be looked upon by bschools or how much importance will be given to it
your overall quant/verbal scores are unaffected by this

Moreover you don't need a month of preparation time for IR alone. It will hardly take few days to know how it works after all we will see similar type of problems with graphs and tables and you just need some problems to understand the traps set by GMAT as usual.

sam2304 wrote:. So choose your best time and be in your test when you take your GMATPrep2. Score a 700+, then you can make your call. If you find math comfortable compared to verbal provided you get around 38+ in GMATPrep2 verbal, you might make the best out of quant in 10 days and achieve your 700.

Hi Sam,

I took gmatprep2 as you suggested, strictly under official conditions. I took gmatprep2 at midnight. Though, I was drained out already because I had taken gmatprep1 during the day time, I thought I would take gmatprep2 for two reasons

1) I wanted to see where do I stand before I reschedule.
2) I wanted to simulate worst possible D day.

So, here is the score

660 Q47,V34

Now, if we see all my scores together, its quite evident that getting a 700+ is not possible atleast with my current level of preparation. Atleast, I have a clear answer now that I would have to reschedule if 700+ is what I want.

Now the question is how to improve verbal from mid 30s to mid 40s ? and ofcourse I would have to inprove quant as well from 45-47 to 51.

gmat prep1 - 620 don't remember, I have got this overwritten because I took gmatprep1 again today.
mgmat cat1 - 540 Q31,V34 ( left many questions blank)
mgmat cat2 - 690 Q45,V38
mgmat cat3 - 650 Q45,V34
gmat prep1 - 690 Q47,V38
gmat prep2 - 660 Q47,V34

Use the tests to identify your weak sections then weak topics and improve them one by one. Say am totally weak in CR, I make mistakes in most tested concepts like strengthen, weaken. So work on those two topics first, get strong in them. You should make a considerable progress before you attempt another mock test. Use powerscore CR or MGMAT CR both are good for CR. Powerscore is good for beginners who don't know anything about CR, useful for people who can't even find the question type. For RC, MGMAT RC is good. Also you can check out Ron's videos. CR and RC are easy to improve if you follow the right strategy. Finding the right strategy that suits you depends on you. Some find taking notes comfortable, some just breeze through the RCs and take no notes at all. Same is the case with CR. So try different strategies and find the one with which you get maximum accuracy and then improve the timing with the practice.

SC is different, you need to learn the concepts and apply them in practice. Use MGMAT SC, learn all the concepts and apply it in OG problems. Make sure you understand why each right answer is right and wrong answers are wrong. Try to find all the errors in each wrong answer choices. It will take more time to improve if you are a non native speaker.

MGMAT guides and Advanced MGMAT guide for math is suffice for maximum performance in quant.

If you are looking for 700+ then you should score around 47 to 50 in quant and 41 to 35 correspondingly in verbal. So maximize your best either quant or verbal and improve the score of other such that you get your desired target score. To maximize both (Q51 and V mid 40s), you need a lot of time.