GMAT Strategy

Took my First GMAT PREP CAT today , Around 2 months into my study (1.5 months of serious study).

Results: Total Score 630 (Q43, V34) ..

Not devastated but quite close ..

Here is the prep material that i have used :

* MGMAT strategy books (fifth edition)
* Kaplan premier (only used it for question practice (verbal), had bought it for the CAT's that come free)
* OG12 (PS) and OG13 (PS,DS plus all verbal questions)
* Kaplan 800 (did all the quant and SC questions on it)
* MGMAT Advanced quant (still going through it)

My take on my performance :

As this was my first CAT i started off EXTREMELY NERVOUS and took quite a bit of time with the first three questions ( later found out that i got all three wrong). As the nerves settled, i did start to do well and answered the next 5-6 questions in less than 1.5 minutes per question. I did have a problem with STATISTICS (knew it before going in for the test) and got 2 stat questions WRONG (out of three). I finished with 3-4 minutes to spare and got only 2 wrong of the last 10 questions. Despite having taken abnormally long with the first three questions (probably 3-4 minutes per question) i was never RUSHED for time on any of the questions that followed..I got a total of 11 questions wrong including the first 3.

I wasn't as nervous starting the Verbal (as i consider myself better at it then quant) but FATIGUE took over around the 5th question, and i found myself at a less than optimal concentration level. I was never short on time but after half of the exam i couldnt figure out whether i was getting answer RIGHT OR WRONG ....

Anyways now to the main point : What should be my prep strategy from now on in ??

I am clueless, do i revise the materials that i have already covered? Take Math quizzes? Take More CAT's (I have MGMAT, Kaplan at my disposal).. I need help re-drawing my study plan.

Background: I am aiming for 700+, and want to apply next year by round 1 (october-november) so have plenty of time at my disposal (although i want to take the test by the middle of febuary (plenty of time to retake, and also take College level quant and stat classes to boost my application) .

I need a 70-100 Point improvement !! [/u]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I have taken a couple of days off from GMAT (have been studying 3-4 hours a day for the last month in addition to working 9 - 3 every day). After my break i will start my round two of studying (as you said) and will again take a CAT (MGMAT) to review my progress after about a month. Since i know what the GMAT is (and what it tests, having studying a lot of material and taken a mock test) i will be concentrating on areas where i know i am weak (statistics for example in quant) and will be spending a lot of time going over BASICS especially in Number properties (Remainders, equalities etc - Real basic stuff).

I agree with you regarding timing. I was completely baffled during Verbal and halfway through the section i thought i would not be able to answer all the questions in time. I then spend less than 2 minutes on each of the RC passages (Even the long one) and as a result couldnt fully understand the passage (nor draw a rough outline on my scratch paper). I realized at the end that i had finished the verbal section with quite a lot of time to spare. I could have easily given myself more than a minute more the read each passage.

I have analysed my performance in quant, and verbal. For quant i attribute 4 wrong answers to STUPIDITY/Nervousness/shell shock ... I solved all four of these in less then a minute each after the test and got all of them correct, whereas in the test i was stumped and couldn't figure out what was asked in the question stem (those happened to be the first three of the questions so i guess getting three in a row wrong right at the start lowered my score).

Overall i think i have become "smarter" after taking the CAT (and am glad that it was the official thing to start off things) and now have realized not to underestimate the GMAT. I have mixed emotions regarding my score, on one side i am glad that i have gone well over the 600 hump while on the other - I have another 100 points or so to make up..

Vomhorizon -

I actually want to comment on your tagline "when you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe then you will be successful."

I agree with this in all things, including GMAT studying, the one exception is the test itself. On the actual GMAT test you almost have to follow the old advice "if you love something set it free."

Here is the thing. The more you want the score the more nervous you will be on the actual test. As Brian Galvin here at Veritas always says - "It is not THE GMAT as in THE Olympics - after all you can take the GMAT again in 31 days, it is just A GMAT test and so you should approach it as an opportunity to do well and be finished and have your score, but not like the Olympics that come only every 4 years."

In other words you want to get your score on the test and if that is today then great if not then you can do it again. This helps to keep the nerves down a bit.

Here are some articles that I have written about nerves and how to avoid those on test day.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/06/ ... n-the-gmat

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... n-the-gmat

Here are two articles by the aforementioned Brian Galvin

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... ay-anxiety

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... ay-anxiety

As to fatigue that you experienced on the verbal portion of your practice test, here are three thoughts.

1) Sugary snack!! You need a sugary snack at each break. This is the only thing that will allow you to quickly recover that part of your brain that makes the tough decisions. You can expect results about 15 minutes after you have the snack. I would make that a solid snack not a liquid. Too much liquid can leave you running to the restroom! A sip or two of water or another drink combined with a candy bar or some other sugar.

2) Strong techniques and habits can help you save energy. It sounds like the Quant was rough for you and that can sap you no the verbal. Strong techniques in the quant section can help you make it to the verbal section intact.

3) Strong techniques and habits can save you when you are out of energy. So lets say that despite 1 and 2 above you are still tired in the verbal section. That is when you techniques can really save you. If you know exactly what to look for on verbal questions and can narrow your focus then you can get questions right regardless. For example, I practice doing critical reasoning even with the television on so that I can practice using my techniques even when my concentration is not perfect. With great techniques I think that verbal can go well even if you are tired.

Oh and just remember if the next practice test you take is not the Official GMATPrep, your score might not be an accurate reflection of your improvement. You mentioned taking Manhattan test next, those are tough and do tend to underscore. The Veritas test often underscores as well - so do not be frustrated with any non-official test score. Only the GMATPrep can be used for the purpose of seeing where your score is.

Oh and just remember if the next practice test you take is not the Official GMATPrep, your score might not be an accurate reflection of your improvement. You mentioned taking Manhattan test next, those are tough and do tend to underscore. The Veritas test often underscores as well - so do not be frustrated with any non-official test score. Only the GMATPrep can be used for the purpose of seeing where your score is.

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed reply. I surely will follow your suggestions. I do not want to take the second GMATPREP in December, but want to take the MGMAT tests so that i can review my performance (not for the raw score aspect, but for the detailed explanations and performance analysis). Will be buying a few VP books to get access to their CAT's which i will start taking in January.

I just re-took the GMAT PREP (practice exam 1) and scored a 720 (Q 45, V44). Although i may have gotten some repeat questions the second time around, i DID NOT particularly remember any in the quant section (that i had gotten the last time around) as it has been well over a month, and i did not look at the solutions or review the test the last time i took it (by mistake i forgot that I could not review my mistakes once i shut down the software). In verbal there may have been one passage that may have been repeated but i did not review that passage or the associated questions after i took the the test the last time around. At most i think 3-4 questions were repeated in the Verbal section, and none of the answers were known to me before hand (because i did not review last month). Do you recomend retaking gMAT PREP TESTS MORE than once ? This was my second attempt. I am saving the second Gmat prep test so that i can take it with around 10 days to go before my GMAT exam, so will now be moving to MGMAT and Veritas Prep CAT's.

P.s - I too the test on a different computer, and software than the last test therefore did not need to reset the software.

I DO recommend taking the GMATPrep tests more than once. Even with a question or two repeated the GMATPrep is your better way to go. You will see official questions (which is good) use the same interface (which is good) and get a score that is at least indicative (if not completely predictive) of test day (which is good).

When you move to the unofficial tests - including our Veritas tests - please remember that these are for practice only and not for prediction. You may be back at a 630 or something. But do not let this fool you. The Manhattan tests score tough and the Veritas tests can either under or over score (usually under) depending on how good you are at topics like probabilities, which are somewhat over sampled on the Veritas test.

I would say that as long as some time has passed since your second attempt it can be worth it even to take the GMATPrep tests a third time each.

Anyway, congrats on a very good practice test score. Keep it up!

David@VeritasPrep wrote:I DO recommend taking the GMATPrep tests more than once. Even with a question or two repeated the GMATPrep is your better way to go. You will see official questions (which is good) use the same interface (which is good) and get a score that is at least indicative (if not completely predictive) of test day (which is good).

When you move to the unofficial tests - including our Veritas tests - please remember that these are for practice only and not for prediction. You may be back at a 630 or something. But do not let this fool you. The Manhattan tests score tough and the Veritas tests can either under or over score (usually under) depending on how good you are at topics like probabilities, which are somewhat over sampled on the Veritas test.

I would say that as long as some time has passed since your second attempt it can be worth it even to take the GMATPrep tests a third time each.

Anyway, congrats on a very good practice test score. Keep it up!

I am aiming for a early - mid February test day, and am targeting a score that is greater than 700. So far i have only taken the Gmat Prep CAT I on two occassions (In mid november and today). I wanted to take 2-3 CAT's over the holidays as i had some free time and a clear head (no work). If i perform consistently good in those 2-3 CAT's i may start my IR prep & Essay prep and re-schedule my test (for an earlier date). Would it be better for me to take the GMAT Practice test II rather and see if my score is consistent with what i have scored today and then schedule my test ? Or would you recomend leaving the Gmat Prep II for a later day.

I intend to use the MGMAT and VP CAT's mainly for practice, and evaluation of performance (on individual questions) as well as for getting "TEST PRACTICE" to better adjust timing strategies. I do realize that the raw scores on these tests are not as reflective as the GMAT Prep to the actual performance, so i wont be too concerned on the scores but will focus on the in depth reviews of answers that these tests provide.

I am in a pickle at the moment as to whether to take the Second (and last ) GMAT PREP CAT in the next few days or go ahead with the other CAT's and save it for later.

I can only tell you what I would personally want to do.

I would want take the second official test (taking it for the first time) and see where I am today. With one test that is already at your goal score, if the second test is in that range as well then it would seem wise to schedule much earlier than February. That is quite some time from now...

If you score lower than this recent test it will be good for you to know as well. You will see what you need to work on and if you are not able to schedule the test yet you will have a plan going forward.

Normally a person would want to save that fresh GMATPrep test until closer to their proposed test date. But you have a chance to get in there and see if you can make this happen and be done sooner rather than later!

Anyway that is my opinion.

David@VeritasPrep wrote:I can only tell you what I would personally want to do.

I would want take the second official test (taking it for the first time) and see where I am today. With one test that is already at your goal score, if the second test is in that range as well then it would seem wise to schedule much earlier than February. That is quite some time from now...

If you score lower than this recent test it will be good for you to know as well. You will see what you need to work on and if you are not able to schedule the test yet you will have a plan going forward.

Normally a person would want to save that fresh GMATPrep test until closer to their proposed test date. But you have a chance to get in there and see if you can make this happen and be done sooner rather than later!

Anyway that is my opinion.

Thanks for the reply. I value your opinions and have benefited a lot from your articles. I will take the Second CAT and ascertain whether i should reschedule my test...In the worst case scenario, i can again take the CAT after 20-25 days of more targeted prep and the overlap should be minimal.

I sat down and took the Second GMAT PREP Practice CAT. Total Score : 700, Q47 : V 39. I zoned out on a one of the Big RC passages around question 10, and spent too much time reading and comprehending it, as a result was playing "catch - up" in the second half of the verbal section. That probably accounted for some points being lost (I scored V44 in the first CAT). I think now, i can take more CAT's to develop an overall strategy for the test, and get conditioned to manage time.

Are you going to schedule your test date?

David@VeritasPrep wrote:Are you going to schedule your test date?

I havent spent a single minute on IR or the essay in my prep. So my next area of concentration will be towards IR, and then the essay ( have been quite strong with essays and arguments all my life so not concerned about that). I'll give myself a week with the OG and MGMAT IR books before i decide on how much time i need to devote on these areas. I will also need to polish up areas of concern in Quant ( Geometry & Probability )and Verbal( Timing, RC - Strategic reading and note taking).. I am fairly confident that i will now take my test sometime in January then in February ( perhaps a full month before my target gmat date). Need to firm up my quant through practice and review (will use the CAT's for practice) so that i maintain the 47 that i scored today, and look to score in the 42 - 44 range in verbal (have a pretty good idea of what i need to improve in order to get there)... I'll give myself a week to ten days before i schedule the test, so that i can have around 20 days of final study before the test (as it is i cannot take time off to take the test before the 15th of january)..