510 for first CAT - room for significant improvement?

[melissa2303]

I took a CAT (excluding IR and essay) without being fully prepared, purely to evaluate the current level I was on. I scored 510 and was terrible on my timing for quants - i didnt answer 8 quants questions. I wasn't too hard on myself afterwards as it was very first attempt at a CAT and I hadn't gone through all my GMAT prep material at that stage. Further, I think my timing will improve with practice. My question is: I am taking the official GMAT on 30 Sept 2013, what are your thoughts how much that score can improve?

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

If you check other stories in this forum, you will find stories of significant increases. 510 is a pretty solid baseline score, and I'm sure you'll get better and better.
Once you start preparing, you can take another practice test (in a couple of weeks perhaps), and this will help you gauge your progress.

In the meantime, you might consider signing up for BTG's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day you will 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

With regard to your timing issues on the quant section, I suggest that you use a Milestone Chart to keep you on track. This is covered in our free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Cheers,
Brent

[melissa2303]

Dear Brent,

Thank you so much for the response and suggestions. Much appreciated.

Melissa

[[email protected]]

Hi melissa2303,

As you practice more and more, you are likely to improve (from a content and pacing standpoint). With approximately 2 months to go, you can make a lot of progress. For your next CAT, you should plan on taking the ENTIRE test (including essay and IR). You need to deal with the "endurance" aspect of the exam and skipping any of the sections leads to unrealistic and oftentimes "inflated" results.

What materials are you currently using in your studies?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich