GMAT Strategy

Hi Arcane66,

Since it's been so long since you've been in "GMAT mode", it would make sense for you to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT, so that you can get a sense of your current abilities. You can download 2 for free from www.mba.com. Once you've taken that CAT, you should report back here with your scores.

The current version of the GMAT includes a section called Integrated Reasoning (instead of the second essay that you would have written in 2010) - it's a set of 12 questions (sometimes multi-part) that test your analysis of data (charts and graphs) and your ability to logically connect ideas (multi-source reasoning). You might find this section frustrating in that you have just 30 minutes to complete it.

PhD programs are remarkably competitive, so I agree that a 700+ GMAT score is probably going to be a must. You say that you don't want to spend ANY money on this process, but I think that at some point you're going to have to decide WHICH ideal is more important - getting a high GMAT score that will make you a competitive applicant OR not spending any money. It's not likely that you'll get to do both.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Hi Arcane66,

Your performance on this practice CAT is a good sign. You're clearly a logical thinker (and you've managed to retain many of the concepts from the first time you studied). I have some follow-up questions:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take the CAT in one sitting, under reasonably test-like conditions?
3) When are your applications due for the programs that you're considering?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Hi Arcane66,

You're in a great situation right now; you've performed well and you have plenty of time to continue prepping.

Going forward, here's what I'd recommend:

1) You need to properly prepare for the Essay and IR sections. I'm sure you'll do fine, but you don't want any "surprises" on Test Day, so you have to do some work just so you're comfortable with what's coming. Even if your PhD programs don't care about the Essay and IR scores, they will know (from your score report) if you tanked those sections of the GMAT on purpose. With that level of competition, you don't want any negative association attached to your application.

2) To add on to the prior point, take the ENTIRE CAT from now on. You're not just training for the content, you're training for the endurance.

3) Review each CAT in it's entirety (including the questions that you got correct). You should be looking to fix little mistakes, iron out any inconsistencies and figure out how often you "guessed" correctly (and figure out what you could have done to actually get to the correct answer).

4) You can study using whatever general plan you had put together. Your next CAT should be in 2-3 weeks. That result will provide some important information about how long of a study period you'll really need and any additional resources you should invest in.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich