Question about preparedness

[nosfuerato]

Hello all - I have been reading this forum for a few weeks now and I apologize in advance but I'm going ask some questions that have been asked before but my situation is a little bit different.

I am taking the GMAT on May 10th. I have a particular school in mind and it is really the only option for me because of work schedule, location, etc. Their miminum required score is 570 and I have a good undergrad GPA and sufficient work experience where a 570 would get me in. So, unlikely many who are trying for really high scores to get into top-notch biz schools, I've got pretty conservative goals.

I took the two GMAT practice tests from MBA.com this weekend and scored a 640 on both and had about 20 mins to spare in each section. I've heard these tests are pretty indictive of the actual GMAT so I'm wondering how much studying I should really do. I would expect my actual GMAT score to be lower than 640 due to nervousness, etc but would I lose more than 70 pts? Also, I would certainly take the full time allowed on the real thing so maybe that would raise me a few pts.

Sure I'd like to make a 700 just to say that I did but I really don't need to score that high and I don't want to study more than I have to.

Any thoughts and comments are welcome, thanks!!

[mayonnai5e]

I'm not sure what you are asking for or searching for. Can you please clarify what it is you want our opinion on?

[nosfuerato]

Sorry about, now that I read back through my post, I see that it's not clear as to my question. It really comes down to this - based on the information I've provided above as to my practice scores, is it likely that I will make at least a 570 on the real GMAT or should I prepare more. I understand that this is a difficult question to answer so I'm looking for folks' comments based on their experience.

Thanks!

[Prasanna]

No one can give you a definite answer to your question. As you had observed GMAT prep test is the best available indicator of the actual score. Having said that experts have noted that GMAT prep test has a deviation range of about 30-40 points.

[Stacey Koprince]

GMATPrep is the best indicator, yes, but I am concerned about one thing in your description. You had lots of time left over on your practice tests but you say you'd take full time on the real thing.

Doing anything very differently on the real thing (compared to what you did on practice tests) gives you large potential for disaster. That doesn't mean you should finish very quickly either - rather, you should practice actually using the full time.

For your situation in particular, if you get BEHIND on time, it can really kill your score. That could actually result in a drop of more than 70 points. And if you're suddenly trying to use "full" time on the real test but don't have a good feel for what that means, you increase the chances that you go too far in the other direction, get behind, and tank your score.

You might be fine - but you might not. Try to practice in the same way you plan to take the real test.

[Stuart@KaplanGMAT]

One more note - if you didn't spend full time on the essay section of the practice tests, your test day experience may be very different from your practice.

Something a lot of people overlook about the AWA is that it takes up an hour of your focus at the start of the test. While that extra hour doesn't usually have a big impact on quant, it can have a HUGE impact on verbal.

If you don't do the AWA while you practice, you're an hour fresher than you would be on test day. You need to prepare for a 4 hour exam, not a 2h30 minute exam.

So, if you didn't do the essays in your practice tests, make sure you're stamina-ready for your actual GMAT.

[II]

One more note - if you didn't spend full time on the essay section of the practice tests, your test day experience may be very different from your practice.

Something a lot of people overlook about the AWA is that it takes up an hour of your focus at the start of the test. While that extra hour doesn't usually have a big impact on quant, it can have a HUGE impact on verbal.

If you don't do the AWA while you practice, you're an hour fresher than you would be on test day. You need to prepare for a 4 hour exam, not a 2h30 minute exam.

So, if you didn't do the essays in your practice tests, make sure you're stamina-ready for your actual GMAT.

This is a VERY good and (in my opinion) an EXTREMELY important point. The GMAT also tests stamina and concentration/focus ... you can compare the GMAT to a Marathon or a Triathlon, where the Swimming part of a triathlon can be compared to the AWA, the Cycling can be compared to the Quant, and the final Running section of the triathlon can be compared to the final portion of the GMAT, which is the Verbal section.
In a nutshell when doing practice CATs, do the whole thing in one go, including the AWA, as if you were in the real test.

Good luck

[nosfuerato]

Thanks for the info, especially about the AWA. That's a really applicable point to me because on all my practices, I haven't done the AWA at all. Mainly because the school I'm applying to doesn't look at them at all (they say that they don't even read them) but I had intended to complete them on test day, just in case

Thanks again! Also, I just took the free Princeton review CAT and scored a 570, yuck . My verbal really dropped from my too GMATPrep tests.