So, I took my fourth CAT today using the PowerPrep software. I scored a 600. I should have been at least kind of happy with this score - especially given my previous performance - but I was disappointed. My score was mostly pulled up by my verbal performance. The test breakdown is as follows:
Quantitative - 36 (51st percentile)
Verbal - 37 (82nd percentile)
Total - 600 (71st percentile)
I thought that I was doing okay on the quantitative part, but at the end of the test found that majority of the questions that I felt confident about were experimental questions. Out of a total of 28 questions that counted towards my score I got 12 wrong. That, my friend, is pretty damn bad. Of these 12, about two-thirds were number properties. In fact, I would say that a little more than half of the questions were number properties, and I got just about half of them right. The other questions were...once again...STUPID MISTAKES. I have to figure out a way to stop making these dumb errors. These are valuable points I am losing NOT because I do not know the concepts but as a result of sheer lack of adequate concentration and focus. The other issue was timing. I ran out of time around question 33. When I say I ran out of time, I don't mean that I had a few seconds left. I mean that I had about 3:30 left for the last four questions. On the last question, I had about 17 seconds left, so I didn't even bother trying, though I knew that I could solve it if I had at least a minute and a half. Another TERRIBLE thing that took place... I got SIX questions wrong in a row. That, I am sure, brought down my score quite a bit. It is one thing to go up in difficulty a bit and then get a few wrong, then bounce back up and get a few wrong. It is another thing to get so many questions wrong in a row, which takes a lot more effort to get back up. Anyway, better luck next time. I can't really say yet what steps I need to take in order to improve [comments are welcome].
Verbal went much better. Of the 30 that counted towards my score, I got 8 wrong. Of these: 3 were in sentence correction (though when rereading two of these after the test, I saw the right answer at once, so I am sure fatigue was a factor); 2 were in critical reasoning; and 3 were in reading comprehension (all three were committed on the same passage - THE SCIENCE PASSAGE!!!). There was a total of four reading comprehension passages: one science passage (I got just two questions right on this passage); two social science passages; and one business passage, which were all a breeze. The rest were about equally split between CR and SC. I don't really have any new strategies for the verbal section except that I need to improve my stamina - fatigue affected by performance on the CR and SC questions. My timing on this section is fine, as I finished with about a minute and a half to spare.
AWA - the stupid PowerPrep software "ate" my essays. The first essay - analysis of an argument - was pretty standard, given that I write pretty well and my vocabulary is pretty strong. The second essay, however - analysis of an issue - I KILLED. I wanted to print out both, but once I finished and hit PROCEED, I was prompted with an error message, and had to quit and restart my computer.
My next CAT is in two weeks. I will once again use the PowerPrep software, and take the second test. I'll probably take each twice and then move on to GMATPrep. I hope to score around 630, and that extra 30 better consist of quant!!!
Quantitative - 36 (51st percentile)
Verbal - 37 (82nd percentile)
Total - 600 (71st percentile)
I thought that I was doing okay on the quantitative part, but at the end of the test found that majority of the questions that I felt confident about were experimental questions. Out of a total of 28 questions that counted towards my score I got 12 wrong. That, my friend, is pretty damn bad. Of these 12, about two-thirds were number properties. In fact, I would say that a little more than half of the questions were number properties, and I got just about half of them right. The other questions were...once again...STUPID MISTAKES. I have to figure out a way to stop making these dumb errors. These are valuable points I am losing NOT because I do not know the concepts but as a result of sheer lack of adequate concentration and focus. The other issue was timing. I ran out of time around question 33. When I say I ran out of time, I don't mean that I had a few seconds left. I mean that I had about 3:30 left for the last four questions. On the last question, I had about 17 seconds left, so I didn't even bother trying, though I knew that I could solve it if I had at least a minute and a half. Another TERRIBLE thing that took place... I got SIX questions wrong in a row. That, I am sure, brought down my score quite a bit. It is one thing to go up in difficulty a bit and then get a few wrong, then bounce back up and get a few wrong. It is another thing to get so many questions wrong in a row, which takes a lot more effort to get back up. Anyway, better luck next time. I can't really say yet what steps I need to take in order to improve [comments are welcome].
Verbal went much better. Of the 30 that counted towards my score, I got 8 wrong. Of these: 3 were in sentence correction (though when rereading two of these after the test, I saw the right answer at once, so I am sure fatigue was a factor); 2 were in critical reasoning; and 3 were in reading comprehension (all three were committed on the same passage - THE SCIENCE PASSAGE!!!). There was a total of four reading comprehension passages: one science passage (I got just two questions right on this passage); two social science passages; and one business passage, which were all a breeze. The rest were about equally split between CR and SC. I don't really have any new strategies for the verbal section except that I need to improve my stamina - fatigue affected by performance on the CR and SC questions. My timing on this section is fine, as I finished with about a minute and a half to spare.
AWA - the stupid PowerPrep software "ate" my essays. The first essay - analysis of an argument - was pretty standard, given that I write pretty well and my vocabulary is pretty strong. The second essay, however - analysis of an issue - I KILLED. I wanted to print out both, but once I finished and hit PROCEED, I was prompted with an error message, and had to quit and restart my computer.
My next CAT is in two weeks. I will once again use the PowerPrep software, and take the second test. I'll probably take each twice and then move on to GMATPrep. I hope to score around 630, and that extra 30 better consist of quant!!!
