GMAT Strategy

I'm taking the GMAT in 11 days so getting down to the wire now!

I just started studying using Magoosh 11 days ago, so am halfway through my studying period and hoping for good results.

I've found it interesting to see the different scores I've had on practice CATs...or really an expected progression with a big outlier. Everyone seems to say that the GMATPrep tests are most representative of an expected score and I certainly hope so!

My progression went:

January - took the Manhattan Prep test with no preparation, minimal reading about the format. Score was 720 (Q47, V42)

July 3 - GMATPrep test 1 after a few days studying. Score 740 (Q47, V45). Also IR 8
July 8 - Magoosh test. Score 660 (Q45, V36)
July 11 - GMATPrep test 2. Score 760 (Q47, V48). Also IR 8.

All tests were taken under similar conditions without any pausing, long breaks, or other departures from the real conditions.

The Magoosh verbal score definitely seems like a big outlier and their estimated score ranges (after answering 60% of their quant question bank and 40% of the verbal) also put me lower than all the other tests I've taken (Q42-45 and V35-42 for estimated overall range 640-710 based on their chart). I'm obviously hoping that theirs doesn't prove to be predictive of my actual score.

That being said I do want to say that I've found their math lessons and problems very helpful to my studying...somehow it doesn't seem to be showing up yet in an improvement in my scores but overall I do feel more confident on many of the questions and am hoping that with some luck and a few more days of studying it'll pay off on test day!

islander19 wrote:I'm taking the GMAT in 11 days so getting down to the wire now!

I just started studying using Magoosh 11 days ago, so am halfway through my studying period and hoping for good results.

I've found it interesting to see the different scores I've had on practice CATs...or really an expected progression with a big outlier. Everyone seems to say that the GMATPrep tests are most representative of an expected score and I certainly hope so!

My progression went:

January - took the Manhattan Prep test with no preparation, minimal reading about the format. Score was 720 (Q47, V42)

July 3 - GMATPrep test 1 after a few days studying. Score 740 (Q47, V45). Also IR 8
July 8 - Magoosh test. Score 660 (Q45, V36)
July 11 - GMATPrep test 2. Score 760 (Q47, V48). Also IR 8.

All tests were taken under similar conditions without any pausing, long breaks, or other departures from the real conditions.

The Magoosh verbal score definitely seems like a big outlier and their estimated score ranges (after answering 60% of their quant question bank and 40% of the verbal) also put me lower than all the other tests I've taken (Q42-45 and V35-42 for estimated overall range 640-710 based on their chart). I'm obviously hoping that theirs doesn't prove to be predictive of my actual score.

That being said I do want to say that I've found their math lessons and problems very helpful to my studying...somehow it doesn't seem to be showing up yet in an improvement in my scores but overall I do feel more confident on many of the questions and am hoping that with some luck and a few more days of studying it'll pay off on test day!

It's true that the GMATPrep tests are the best predictive benchmark of how you're likely to perform on test day, so judging by those scores, you're in excellent shape. (Notice that the big difference in the scores between the official and the prep scores is in the verbal portion, which is notoriously difficult to model.) You might want to think about purchasing an Exam Pack or two from mba.com for a little additional practice over the next week and a half.

Thanks all for the input!

It's good to hear some confirmation of what I'm hoping will be the case for the actual exam.

I've ordered the extra practice questions from mba.com and am working through those. Unfortunately I'm very busy from now until test day so my practice time is limited to 30-60 minutes per day - no time to another full practice test.

I'm not feeling worried at all about the verbal - I always finish with 10+ minutes extra time so have realized that I can really relax, read everything twice if I'm not positive, and take my time making sure I'm 100% sure on every response (incidentally, in my last practice test, I was near 100% certain for all but one question. That one I had narrowed down to a 50/50 guess and it was my only wrong answer. Go figure.).

I do however certainly need more practice on the quant so focusing on that to make sure I'm as well prepared as possible to tackle every question (my last practice test I got the first three questions and the last two wrong! Luckily I did very well in the middle).

ceilidh.erickson wrote:In fact, you should spend most of your remaining time just REVIEWING.

Thank you very much for the advice! That certainly makes sense and I have noticed patterns in the question types and topics where I struggle so I'll try to look through everything and focus on ensuring I can deal with everything as quickly and efficiently as possible on test day. Although I'd certainly be happy with a 760 of any breakdown, I'm hoping I can get my Quant score up to at least a 48 or 49 which I do think is achievable with a bit more practice.

Thanks all for the advice and encouragement!

Test is done and it went even better than I hoped.

I came away with a 780 (Q50, V47) along with IR 8. Just hoping for at least 5+ on the AWA in a few weeks but I'm pretty sure I did well there.