I just Beat The GMAT!

qwerty

qwerty

Hi Sino,

I wanted to say "Congratulations". That is a wonderful business school. I wish you all the best in your studies and in your future.

If you do not mind, I just had a couple of questions for you in relation to the GMAT:

1. Did you find the Official Guide questions to be in line with what you saw on the GMAT? I have been reading a lot on here about how the OG questions are much easier than the actual GMAT. Since the OG is official retired questions, I was a bit surprised to hear this.

2. Which practice CATs were most helpful? I find the MGMAT CATs to be quite difficult, and my performance on those is less than stellar. However, when I time myself on blocks of questions from the OG, I usually do quite well. So, I am a little confused. Would you recommend using the MGMAT CATs solely for practice? Also, would the GMAT Prep be a better indicator?

3. Did you ever have instances where you would "freeze up" during the practice tests and or questions? This is happening to me quite often, and I am concerned I will not get the opportunity to shine on this blasted exam.

4. Last question...did you get a lot of combinatorics/probability/word translations questions on your official exam?

Thanks so much for your help.

Sincerely,
A

Thanks A,

1. I think the OG questions were much more realistic, as were the GMATprep practice tests. The test prep companies have material which may actually be more difficult, but isn't quite in line with what you'll see on the test.

2. The GMATprep was the best indicator for me. The CATs of the test prep companies are difficult, and hence good to train and stretch your abilities, but take the scores with a grain of salt. The best analogy I can think of is running "broken 4's" in track. Whereas a 400 meter sprint is one complete, all-out lap around the track--already a grueling challenge on its own--broken 4's require you to sprint 300 meters, break for 10 seconds, then sprint the final 100 meters (a "broken" 400 meters). After 10 seconds the lactic acid has flooded your exhausted muscles, and the final stretch is agonizing- much worse than the real race. Test prep CATs are your broken 4's. Push yourself knowing that you will do better on the real thing.

3. I did freeze up a bit on some practice tests, ironically (to me) on the AWA section. This may sound simplistic, but my best advice is "just do something" (keep it simple, take a quick best shot and move on--you'll get the next one).

4. Easy- no. =)

Hope that helps; feel free to ask more questions if you'd like to.

Good luck!

Matt

Hi Matt,

Thanks so much. I find this reassuring. I almost thought the OG questions were easier, hence I should worry more. I am taking the MGMAT CATs (which I mentioned earlier), and those are really quite hard. I ended up getting scores that were worse than my last try on the GMAT. During my last try on the official GMAT, I feel I barely tried. I was ill, going through a difficult time in my life, and just fed up. I feel much more prepared.

My test is in one month - November 29th. I suppose I am concerned because it seems as if I review the material over and over, but do not seem to recall it when completing a problem. I do reasonably well on the Verbal portion, but feel I could do better.

I plan to take several additional tests from here to Nov. 29th. I am hoping this helps me with speed.

Would you recommend that I focus on practice tests and the OG exclusively? This is what I planned to do...so that I can recall material while using practice guides. I have the OG 12 AND the OG 11. I plan to work through both of those. Almost done with OG 12.

Any other suggestions? Any advice on how to avoid jumping off the ledge...?

Thanks,
Angie