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Strategy to get 650 (80+ points) by end of Sept.. comments?

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Strategy to get 650 (80+ points) by end of Sept.. comments?

by qamar999 » Tue Aug 10, 2010 1:34 pm
actual score (march): 520
present CAT score (2 weeks ago): 570
target score: 650
appear for actual GMAT test: end of september/beginning of october

i've given the actual test before and i got 520 without even looking at the verbal section. after going through MGMAT's 7 study guides and OG 11th edition (every single question) i got 570 two weeks ago when i did the CAT. i've made out a plan for myself. please let me know what you think bout it.
  • Finished MGMAT study guides with questions *twice*
    Finished OG 11th Edition with all questions *twice*
    GMAT Quantitative Review
    GMAT Verbal Review
    GMAT Quantitative & Verbal Review - Do ALL highlighted* questions AGAIN
    Practice CAT Test 2
    Kaplan GMAT 800
    Do ALL questions from book again - Official Guide 11th Edition, Quantitative & Verbal Review
    Practice test & Revision
    Revising flashcards on and off
* highlighted = questions which i get wrong or have problems with

i plan on taking the last week lightly. so i would just like to know:

a. if my plan is fine?
b. is my target score achievable within the timeframe?

thanks! :)
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by qamar999 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:19 am
anyone please?
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by The Duke » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:31 am
Its definitely possible..... I had a big jump in scoring in my final 5 weeks.

What is your score breakdowns verbal vs quant.

Which are you more confortable with (PS or DS) ... whats your weakness (RC/CR/SC) ... magnitutes would help.
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by qamar999 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:40 am
well at 520, my percentile were V-32% and Q-49%

however, when i did the CAT this time. i scored 570. my raw score for V-24 and Q-19.
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by qamar999 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:30 pm
guys i'd really appreciate it if i can have your input!
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by uwhusky » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:44 pm
Your score may reflect your timing issue with the test. If you cannot answer a question within optimal allotted time, then the answer you come up with, right or wrong, might as well be considered wrong.

If timing is an issue, I recommend grockit.com. I have answered over 900 questions on the site, and I made an effort to keep my average below 1:00 per question.
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by qamar999 » Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:54 pm
uwhusky wrote:Your score may reflect your timing issue with the test. If you cannot answer a question within optimal allotted time, then the answer you come up with, right or wrong, might as well be considered wrong.

If timing is an issue, I recommend grockit.com. I have answered over 900 questions on the site, and I made an effort to keep my average below 1:00 per question.
well, timings never been an issue for me. i did all the ps problems in the official quantitative gmat review book today with a time-frame and i managed quite well.

i have two concerns atm.

1. is my plan good enough? am i missing something?
2. i don't want to overdo and tire myself out as a result right before the actual test.
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:00 am
Received a PM asking me to respond. Sorry I'm only getting back to you now - as you guessed, I'm getting a lot of PMs this time of year! I do respond to every PM I receive, but it might take a while.

You've got about 5 to 6 weeks before you want to take the test. You recently scored a 570 on a practice test. Was this an adaptive test? Did you take that test under official testing conditions? two essays at 30-min each, 8 min break, quant at 75m, 8 min break, verbal at 75m. Did you deviate from official conditions in any way? (Pause the test, take longer breaks than allowed, eat or drink during the test, skip the essays, etc.) If you did deviate, explain exactly how. Deviations can be minor but some deviations are important enough that they could result in an inflated test score - and that's something you need to know right away!

If we say that you did take an adaptive test under official testing conditions and got a 570, then you've got about 80 points to go to hit your target. That is possibly doable in 6 weeks but it is also possibly a bit too ambitious, depending upon your particular issues.

Your study plan talks a lot about the problems you are going to do, and it lists a TON of problems, but I don't see any mention of review and analysis. About 15% of your learning comes while you do problems, and about 85% comes from the extensive review and analysis you do afterwards. I spend anywhere from two to five times as long reviewing a problem as I spent doing that problem in the first place - and I have a lot of experience with exactly how to review. Students will likely take even longer at first while they learn how to review.

Read this article; it will give you an idea of the kinds of things you should be reviewing and analyzing *after* you finish doing a problem. If you aren't doing these things, then you are not learning most of what you could be learning. I would rather see you do 1/3 of the total number of problems but with extensive analysis of each of the problems that you do complete. Quantity is not more important than the quality of your study.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/09 ... ce-problem

These articles demonstrate how to do the above analysis on five different practice problems:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/03/ ... c-question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/01/ ... r-question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/ ... e-question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/01/ ... g-question
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/03/ ... y-question

You mentioned that you went through our 7 study guides; do you have the 2007 (or earlier) versions of the books? Just FYI - we're up to the 4th edition now (2007 is the 2nd edition) and there are 8 books now. I don't think you necessarily need to run out and buy a whole new set of books, but if you are really struggling with certain areas, then you may want to upgrade those particular books.

If you would like to get some more specific advice related to your strengths and weaknesses, then you can take an MGMAT practice test (you can sign up for one for free, if you haven't already), and then use the below article to analyze your results:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

After you've done the analysis, you can come back and post it here, so that we can better help you to figure out how to spend your remaining time. That will also give us a better idea of whether 5-6 weeks may be enough or whether you may need to give yourself some additional time.
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!

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by qamar999 » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:20 am
thanks for your response stacey! appreciate it!
You've got about 5 to 6 weeks before you want to take the test. You recently scored a 570 on a practice test. Was this an adaptive test? Did you take that test under official testing conditions? two essays at 30-min each, 8 min break, quant at 75m, 8 min break, verbal at 75m. Did you deviate from official conditions in any way? (Pause the test, take longer breaks than allowed, eat or drink during the test, skip the essays, etc.) If you did deviate, explain exactly how. Deviations can be minor but some deviations are important enough that they could result in an inflated test score - and that's something you need to know right away!
yes, it was a CAT. took the gmatprep test infact. i took it under official testing conditions by doing 2 essays and taking the allocated breaks. i made sure i do not deviate from official conditions and neither did i pause or skip any of the sections.
Your study plan talks a lot about the problems you are going to do, and it lists a TON of problems, but I don't see any mention of review and analysis. About 15% of your learning comes while you do problems, and about 85% comes from the extensive review and analysis you do afterwards. I spend anywhere from two to five times as long reviewing a problem as I spent doing that problem in the first place - and I have a lot of experience with exactly how to review. Students will likely take even longer at first while they learn how to review.
what i generally do is for example, right now i'm doing the problem solving questions from og 12th edition. questions which seem tough or which i answer incorrectly, i highlight 'em. once i'm done with the section i go back to these questions, i try doing 'em again and whether i get the correct answer or not, i read the explanation and try to justify why each option is right or wrong. i also write alongside these questions what type of error i made. whether it was a careless, technical or conceptual error.
also, i go through all the questions that i got right later to see why exactly a particular option is correct.
i've gone through these and i am applying whatever seems relevant to me.
If you would like to get some more specific advice related to your strengths and weaknesses, then you can take an MGMAT practice test (you can sign up for one for free, if you haven't already), and then use the below article to analyze your results:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

After you've done the analysis, you can come back and post it here, so that we can better help you to figure out how to spend your remaining time. That will also give us a better idea of whether 5-6 weeks may be enough or whether you may need to give yourself some additional time.
i was planning on giving another CAT in 4-5 days time so i guess i'll go ahead and give the MGMAT practice test. unfortunately, i don't think i can push my appointment date ahead (even though i haven't registered yet). i'm planning to give the test by mid-october at the max as i need to apply by the first of november for the business school that i'm primarily looking at.

also, the "acceptable" gmat score over there varies. for example, i got shortlisted for the interview stage with a score of 520 (considering my work experience and relatively high GPA + international applicant status). so even a 600 or a 570 would be safer but i just don't want it to make me lazy in any way.
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:39 pm
questions which seem tough or which i answer incorrectly, i highlight 'em. once i'm done with the section i go back to these questions, i try doing 'em again and whether i get the correct answer or not, i read the explanation and try to justify why each option is right or wrong. i also write alongside these questions what type of error i made. whether it was a careless, technical or conceptual error. also, i go through all the questions that i got right later to see why exactly a particular option is correct.
That's a great start. Add some things to that - the kinds of things described in those articles you went through. Do more with the ones you got right - on verbal, for example, can you explain exactly why each wrong one is wrong? Often that's how you find the right ("best") answer on verbal. Again on verbal, can you explain why someone would make the mistake of picking each wrong answer and why someone would make the mistake of eliminating the right answer? That will help you to avoid traps. Also, these things are easier to figure out on questions that you get right, and that will help you get better at doing this kind of analysis with the ones you get wrong!

You can do something similar with quant. What are the traps? What kinds of mistakes seem to be almost "built in" to the problem? Why do people fall for those traps and how can you spot and avoid them? And so on.

You may also want to take a look at this article; it talks more about how to learn from your own errors.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... our-errors

And thanks for the additional info on your application situation; that's useful to know.
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by qamar999 » Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:12 pm
i did a test this weekend. GMATprep though and i saw an improvement of 40 points. my score was 610. i haven't gotten the time to actually sit down and analyse the test completely but i'll be doing that in 2-3 days time after which i'll post the details for a thorough analysis.
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by qamar999 » Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:17 am
ok guys so here's the detailed review of the CAT i did this weekend. just some quick background information.

actual GMAT score (march): 520
GMATprep CAT #1 (31st July 2010): 570
GMATprep CAT #2 (29th August 2010): 610
target score: 650
appear for actual GMAT test: 12th October 2010 (40 days till test)

i gave the test under examination conditions. same time as i did the practice test last time. infact i was pretty frustrated this time since i did around 20 Q questions but had to scrap it since i was constantly getting calls on my cell & ppl coming over to my place. however, the test which i finally managed to complete had only 2 Q questions which overlapped and i took exactly 2 minutes to answer them each.

GMATprep CAT#1 - 570
Quantitative - Raw: 19/37
Verbal - Raw: 24/41

GMATprep CAT#2 - 610
Quantitative - Raw: 26/37, Scaled: 46
Verbal - Raw: 26/41, Scaled: 28

Quantitative Review

i finished the section with 8-10 minutes to spare. is that good or bad? didn't have any timing issues. didn't feel as though i had to rush. completed all the questions and felt just about satisfied. the DS questions didn't please me much and i wasn't surprised when i saw the breakdown of the score. was anxious to get onto the next section. i had already done around 20+ questions before starting the maths sections since i had alot of disturbances. so i guess i was a bit tired. but i wouldn't think of it as an excuse.

Problem Solving - 14/18
Data Sufficiency - 12/19

got q#14,15 (both PS) and q#20,21 (both DS) wrong consecutively.

Verbal Review

finished the section with 8-10 minutes to spare. no timing issues again. felt good about it. knew i didn't do amazingly well but i had a feeling i did better than before.

Sentence Correction - 11/17
Reading Comprehension - 8/13
Critical Reasoning - 7/11

got q#4,5,6 (SC,SC,RC).. q#11,12 (SC,CR) and q#16,17 (RC,RC) wrong consecutively. got 10 wrong in the first 20 and 5 wrong in the next 21 questions!

Bottomline

i didn't feel as though there were concepts which i seriously need to look into. it was more of a thing here and there. i don't want to change what i'm doing since it's obviously working for me. however i'm done with OG 12th Edition completely.. even redone and reviewed the tougher questions. should i keep switching between OG11, OG12, Quantitative & Verbal Review books or should i pick up Kaplan GMAT 800 and give it a shot too? i personally don't think that's a good idea but i'm open to suggestions. i have 40 days from now for my test day. i'm wary of burning out.
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Sep 27, 2010 12:23 pm
Sorry I'm so late getting back to you. As you may have heard already, I'm only going to be writing articles from now on; I'm not going to be participating on the forums. I'm following up with people one last time, but going forward, please talk to Ron Purewal or Whit Garner, the two primary MGMAT instructors who answer questions here at BTG. Good luck!

I know it's been a few weeks, but I'm still going to reply to your last past. Ideally, you want to aim to finish a section with only 2 or 3 minutes left. 8 to 10 minutes means that you may be leaving some points on the table due to rushing. You also may have a situation in which you get nervous during the real test (as we all do!) and you slow down - and then you slow down too much because you don't really know what it should feel like to use 72/73 minutes.

Take a look again to see if you can find patterns - certain types where you consistently go too quickly, certain places where you could be more systematic with reading or writing out your work or checking your work or whatever. You clearly can't check / be more systematic on every single problem, but you may find certain places where it's worth it to take that time because you're more likely to make careless mistakes, for example.

You may still have more that you need to do with the OG questions, even though you've done them already. Have you been doing the kind of analysis that we discussed before? And, yes, you can also use the other OG books (besides OG12) or questions from other reputable sources (and Kaplan is a reputable source :)). As you said, though, you don't want to burn out, and it's not about doing some huge quantity of questions. Use your results at this point to drive what you need to review, what you need to analyze, what you need to drill or practice. If there are "things here and there," then how are you going to not miss those things next time? What's going to help you to drill or to remember or whatever? Then do those things.
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by qamar999 » Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:33 am
got busted! :( got 530 yet again.

here's the debrief > https://www.beatthegmat.com/4-months-of- ... tml#307976
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by uwhusky » Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:42 am
Hire a tutor if you're serious about taking the test again. Unfortunately I think you're the type that cannot spot your own weaknesses.
Yep.
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