GMAT in one week...Need to improve my scores from 600 - 720+

[annakool1009]

My GMAT is due on the 17th Feb'09. Its a morning 8.30 GMT appointment.

I have been studying on and off for over a year now.
In my last 4 MGMAT tests (second attempt), I got scores ranging 710-730, with 10-20% repeat questions. I had given these 6 tests six-seven months back (with scores ranging 570-660), then due to some reasons, i couldnt continue with my preparation. Now I re-took all the 6 tests in the last 20-25 days
In the GMATprep exam, a couple of days back, I got a 730, with about 20-30% repeats.

Fearing that I would not get a second chance, I want to cross the 700+ barrier and I am worried about my D-day performance because:

1. The 700+ scores that I have got are with repeat questions.

2. In all the MGMAT tests that I scored a 700+ plus, there were hardly any questions in the difficulty range of 700-800. I dont understand why this happened. In today's test, in quant i got only 4 wrong (inter-spaced evenly) and 1 unattempted, yet i didnt see a 700-800 level question).

3. I feel that the GMAT prep verbal, particularly RC is simpler than the actual GMAT. And actual GMAT verbal can get very nasty. My verbal scores have fluctuated like crazy, and i have improved from 25 to 40 ! Nevertheless i am terribly scared about the verbal section on the D-day , based on the feed back in the community.

4. In Verbal most of the incorrect answers are the one when I get stuck between TWO Choices, and the one that I dont choose is the right one !
There is atleast 7-8 such questions in every test. I invariably spend a lot of time on such questions, because i know that the right answer is one of the two. What should be the correct strategy to handle these types ?

5. I have given the tests in proper exam condition: Genuinely written the both the essays, taken timed breaks and to an extent I have even worn shoes, socks and sweater and given all the exams on a table and chair. So I dont know whether there is a scope to improve on the D-day.

Also, I dont have any fresh tests to give. Where can i get a fair idea of my performance on the actual day.
What more should i practise to ensure a higher score ?

Please do share your opinion and strategies.

-Annapurna

[Stacey Koprince]

I received a PM asking me to reply.

So, multiple issues going on here. I agree that your scores are inflated a bit due to seeing repeated questions - the issue is how much? When you saw repeated questions, were you able to immediately remember the correct answer? And if you did immediately remember the correct answer, what did you do? Did you select it and move on right away? If so, then you score is decently inflated, because not only did you get the problem right, but you got it right without spending any time on it - which left you extra time on other questions, time you shouldn't have had.

Or did you still spend the time to redo the problem? That would help to decrease the "inflation." Or did you not even necessarily remember the answer but just knew that the problem looked familiar, and maybe remember something about how to solve it? That would also decrease the inflation.

You can still continue to take GMATPrep and MGMAT CATs as long as you follow a few guidelines to minimize the chance of artificially inflating your score via question repeats. First, anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, use that time to think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time. (But be honest with yourself! )

Also, if you haven't already used it, GMAT Focus is a good way to test yourself on the quant side of things (www.gmatfocus.com). This is an official Diagnostic Test from the makers of the real test - but they only have it for quant so far.

Okay, re: not getting many 700+ questions - as I saw from your PM and your file, this happened on the later tests in the set of 6. Your quant score has been strong right from the start, and the system is not allowed to give you repeated questions within the second set of 6 tests that you're now doing. So after 4 tests, you started to "use up" the pool of very hard quant questions because you were scoring at a high level right from the start there.

On verbal, you are not alone re: narrowing down to two choices and then getting stuck. That's the hard part - choosing between the right answer and the most tempting wrong answer.

Two things:
First, once you get down to two choices, look at each choice ONCE more. Then pick something and move on. Agonizing between the two does not improve your odds on that question, and it reduces your odds on later questions because you don't have enough time. We only need to get about 60% of the questions right anyway, so narrowing it down to 50/50 on a hard problem is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Second, start studying the answers in verbal. Be able to articulate:
- specifically why each wrong answer is wrong
- which wrong answer is the most tempting and why it is so tempting - why does it look right even though it's wrong?
- how to recognize that the tempting wrong answer is still wrong anyway so you can eliminate it
- why someone might be tempted to eliminate the right answer - why does it look wrong even though it's right?

The idea is to train yourself how the write really tempting wrong answers and how they word right answers to make people think the answer is wrong. If you can do that, then you have a much better chance of deciding correctly between the most tempting wrong answer and the right one.

Follow this link for some ideas about tempting wrong answers on RC: https://www.beatthegmat.com/verbal-help- ... 13654.html

And start studying to find more on your own!

[annakool1009]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks a lot for the reply. I have only 4 days left to study/practise, because last 2 days I want to relax, revise my mistakes maths concepts and formulae.
I intend to take 3 full length tests in these next 3 days and want to focus particularly on Verbal.

Can I improve on my Verbal in this short duration ?

[Stacey Koprince]

I do think you can improve on verbal somewhat in that timeframe, but I don't think taking three full-length tests in three days is a very effective way to do it.

If I were trying to learn to play a song on the piano, would I get better by playing it three times in a row without studying my mistakes in between and trying to fix them? Not much. I'd reinforce the things I knew, yes, but I'd also reinforce my mistakes!

I'd take one and then spend the next two days reviewing the problems thoroughly and doing the analysis that we discussed above.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!