Hey guys. Long time lurker but this is my first post. I just finished a 3 month study session for the GMAT and took the real thing, but have seen only stagnating results. I took the actual GMAT because I felt my study was waning and I wanted to push hard for my last month and just take the test (not a great idea, however I was very productive during that last period of time).
My main issue is that I feel like I currently have a decent amount of quant content knowledge but yet I still keep seeing stagnating (if not worsening) Quant scores. My CAT scores (and GMAT score) have been as follows:
1-610 (38Q 35V)
2-570 (37Q 31V) <-I was sick during this test
3-CAT 3 I just took Quant after some extra prep and still got a 37 with no verbal score
4-630 (42Q 34V)
5-610 (36Q 37V)
Actual GMAT 620 (37Q 39V)
The irony here is that on my last practice and real Gmat attempts (as I figured from CAT 4 that I was finally making some Quant headway) I shored up some Verbal knowledge (and developed a more systematic approach for questions) and made huge improvements from being around the 75th percentile to the final 88th percentile for the actual test.
The reason this is ironic (to me at least) is that I have spent untold hours just drilling quant materials. Learning rules, reviewing and correcting wrong OG and CAT questions and making them into flashcards etc.
I know that part of my problem has been with timing. With my 42 quant score I noticed I was significantly more willing to guess on hard problems and was ahead on time (by about 30 seconds) for the majority of the test. I was similarly good on timing for my first CAT mainly because I knew very little content so I was willing to guess at almost anything.
On the real GMAT I knew that I was drastically behind towards the end of the test and had to take some bad guesses. I am thinking that part of my issue is that I am now hitting more difficult questions and being stubborn. However, I have a long term goal of breaking 700 and feel as though I am at a tipping point in terms of breaking past the 650 mark with some minor tweaks.
Sorry, long post, but it is frustrating to have spent about 90% of my time on Quant and to (seemingly) have very little to show for it. Any input is appreciated!
My main issue is that I feel like I currently have a decent amount of quant content knowledge but yet I still keep seeing stagnating (if not worsening) Quant scores. My CAT scores (and GMAT score) have been as follows:
1-610 (38Q 35V)
2-570 (37Q 31V) <-I was sick during this test
3-CAT 3 I just took Quant after some extra prep and still got a 37 with no verbal score
4-630 (42Q 34V)
5-610 (36Q 37V)
Actual GMAT 620 (37Q 39V)
The irony here is that on my last practice and real Gmat attempts (as I figured from CAT 4 that I was finally making some Quant headway) I shored up some Verbal knowledge (and developed a more systematic approach for questions) and made huge improvements from being around the 75th percentile to the final 88th percentile for the actual test.
The reason this is ironic (to me at least) is that I have spent untold hours just drilling quant materials. Learning rules, reviewing and correcting wrong OG and CAT questions and making them into flashcards etc.
I know that part of my problem has been with timing. With my 42 quant score I noticed I was significantly more willing to guess on hard problems and was ahead on time (by about 30 seconds) for the majority of the test. I was similarly good on timing for my first CAT mainly because I knew very little content so I was willing to guess at almost anything.
On the real GMAT I knew that I was drastically behind towards the end of the test and had to take some bad guesses. I am thinking that part of my issue is that I am now hitting more difficult questions and being stubborn. However, I have a long term goal of breaking 700 and feel as though I am at a tipping point in terms of breaking past the 650 mark with some minor tweaks.
Sorry, long post, but it is frustrating to have spent about 90% of my time on Quant and to (seemingly) have very little to show for it. Any input is appreciated!
