Cues For 700+

[kendogg]

Since the GMAT is a CAT and the questions will become increasingly difficult as you are doing well, what are the cues for doing well? I have read that for Quant, you will see probability and permutation questions. What about for verbal? Longer RC passages, longer SC questions, boldface CR?

I took the GMAT today with that in mind. For Quant, i definately noticed a rapid increase in difficulty early on and throughout but near the end, it felt like the questions got a little easier (maybe because I was missing the difficult questions?)

Verbal was a similar story, but to a more extreme case. The RC passage was definately longer and more difficult, a boldface CR question appeared, and the SC questions were getting longer and some of them completely underlined. Questions 23-25 were about my peak in difficulty and from there to the end the questions got easier and easier, so I knew I was not doing well....

I debated whether I should have submitted my score and ended up doing so in hope that the initial difficult questions I was doing well on would have some contribution to my Verbal score. I ended up wtih a 620 (49Q, 27V) and am very disappointed with my Verbal score.

Is it possible that I was seeing 600-700 level questions and then because I was doing so poorly that I went back down to 450-500 level questions?

[beatthegmat]

The best cue is that the test seems really difficult for you--that the problems are really making you think; this may be one indication that you're on the right track to a top score.

But really, don't pay attention to reading into your test experience. Just take each question one at a time and trust yourself.

[Stacey Koprince]

Your score can definitely fluctuate quite a bit as you move through a section, particularly if you use too much time during the first part and then have to start rushing towards the end. When you rush, you make more mistakes, and as you make mistakes on this test, the questions get easier.

It's important to let some questions go - the test is trying to find your limit (and it will b/c it has thousands of questions from which to choose), so when it does, you have to recognize that and let the question go without spending too much time on it. Otherwise, you either run out of time or are short on time at the end and that causes you to get things wrong that you should have gotten right. It's much more harmful to your score to get lower-level questions wrong (ones you should have gotten right) than higher-level questions (ones the test is essentially expecting you to get wrong, b/c remember it's trying to find your limit).