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First practice test without studying 420. Target 650. Help?

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First practice test without studying 420. Target 650. Help?

by RodRod » Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:40 am
Hello everyone,

I have taken my first practice test (the one from kaplan premier 2015) and ended up within the range of 400-440. I haven't studied for the test before so this was the first experience at all.
I am planning to go through the Gmat by the first week of April and to allocate 120 hours until test day. I am targeting 650 and plan to study through Kaplan premier and OG15.

Two questions:

Is 400-440 my baseline or when people mention "baseline" they mean the first CAT they do after some prior study hours?
Is it possible to go from this first score to 650 with 120 study hours or lot of help will be needed?

Thanks in advance and best regards.

PS: I am a 30 years old person graduated in economics and not english native.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Sat Feb 28, 2015 7:37 am
Is 400-440 my baseline or when people mention "baseline" they mean the first CAT they do after some prior study hours?
For the most part, yes. (Though I have had students who wanted to boost their baseline scores and so did a bit of work on fundamentals before taking that first practice test. There's no reason to do this.)
Is it possible to go from this first score to 650 with 120 study hours or lot of help will be needed?
Of course it's possible, but you shouldn't get too hung up on the number of total hours you devote to studying. The more important thing is to make sure you're getting value from the time you spend. Don't simply do a lot of questions. As you work, jot down the most important strategic nuggets you discover. Could you have done some question more quickly by picking numbers? Could you have back-solved? Etc. And make sure that you incorporate CAT's into your regimen. Every time you take one, dissect it thoroughly, and again, jot down the most important takeaways that can be applied to future questions. Review that sheet of takeaways nightly until you've absorbed them. Wash/rinse/repeat. The goal is to hit or exceed your target on multiple practice tests before you sit for the real thing.
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by dabral » Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:44 am
@RodRod

I wouldn't give too much credence to the initial diagnostic. In my opinion, it is best to first get some sense of the different question types on the GMAT and then only dive in to a full length test. Otherwise, you will just bomb the test. Imagine having to deal with data sufficiency questions without ever having seen them, it is tough and I don't think taking diagnostic tests cold is of much value.

I would recommend you to dive in to the content across all areas and get a good grasp of what the GMAT is about. For example you may want to do a lot of easy problems from the Official Guide on all question types, say the first 50 questions of each section which are the easiest of the lot. Then take one of the Official GMATPrep tests, it will still be a shocker but would give you a better baseline.

Cheers,
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:11 am
I typically advise students to become somewhat familiar with Data Sufficiency (DS) questions (e.g., watch all of the free DS strategy videos at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency) and then take their first practice test. All of the other questions (while potentially difficult) are relatively easy to understand what's asked.

As far as your practice test results go, don't be disheartened; you won't be the first person to get a 420 score and then crush the GMAT after more studying. If you check BTG's "I Just Beat the GMAT" forum, you'll find several such stories.

So where do we go from here?

I suggest a systematic (even methodical) approach, in which you take the time to master each topic/concept (e.g., percents, ratios, assumption questions in critical reasoning, comparison questions in sentence correction, etc).

So, for each topic/concept, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

You should also use an Error Log (aka Improvement Chart) while completing questions from the Official Guide (OG). You can find a free downloadable Improvement Chart here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log. This will help you identify and strengthen your weak areas.

I also suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site, since they often model the steps you should be taking when answering questions.

In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Finally, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by [email protected] » Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:19 am
Hi RodRod,

I think that you need to come up with a better overall plan.

Given the general timeline you've described, you've given yourself just 5 weeks to completely learn about the GMAT, practice (and master enough of the material) and improve 200+ points. That's a rather difficult task, even if you're going at it 'full-time.'

The general idea that you have to spend 120+ hours is 'relatively true' - the actual advice is 10-15 hours per week for 3 months. At some point, someone decided that as long as 120 hours was invested, then THAT was what mattered....and that is the wrong approach to take with this Test.

Now, the good part is that there is no harm in trying it. You can absolutely go forward with it and take the GMAT as planned. If everything works out, then great. If it doesn't, then you can just keep studying (and put together a more realistic timeline). Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once, so there's no harm in doing so.

Is there a reason why you're trying to go through this process so quickly?
When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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