Done with OG 12 - Need some input

[faraz_jeddah]

So I have been preparing for the GMAT for the past several months and decided to follow the advice of starting with OG 12 as a primary guide. I downloaded the Gmat Prepnow improvement chart and took my time in completing all the questions.

Results

Quant:

PS : 223/230
DS : 162/174

Weakness in quant has to be equations / equalities but I am improving and getting a better understanding of an approach to these problems (largely due to BTG forums - thanks!).

Verbal:

RC : 114/140 (81.4%)
SC : 119/140 (85.0%)
CR : 102/124 (82.3%)

RC was my biggest fear but I do feel that I have improved the most on it as time has passed.
In SC I made some really silly mistakes. I would like to mention I went through the MGMAT SC book but I believe one reading is just not enough. A second reading is scheduled.
In CR I have not used any supplement ex: powerscore, aristotle etc. and relied on common sense.

I gave my GMAT prep test about 1.5 months ago and achieved a 640.
I have not prepared for AWA and IR.

My goal is 690+

I feel that OG 12 quant questions werent very challenging especially because of the lack of probability and counting questions. Also, when I attempt some questions posted on the forums I find that my accuracy isnt great.

I would appreciate any advice on what my next steps should be?
- Should I get more sources for CR and SC?
- Should I buy official gmac gmat supplement for quant? Are the questions harder?
- When should I give my next Gmatprep mock exam?

Any input will be welcomed.

[[email protected]]

Hi Faraz_jeddah,

At this point in your studies, and since you've done so much book-study, I think it would be a good idea to see how you perform on another practice CAT. Plan to take the entire CAT (including Essay and IR) and let's see how you do. Those scores/results will provide some vital data in terms of what you should be doing next (and if there's any issues that need to be addressed).

Post your updated Scores once it's complete and I'll be happy to offer my opinion (and I'm sure others will too).

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

[David@VeritasPrep]

The add on pack to the GMATPrep Test is worth buying at $25. It is not just Quant but is verbal and IR as well. The older option was just Quant don't buy that one!

You can organize those questions into sets and choose the difficulties for those questions. There are about 400 questions in that pack.

As Rich said, it might be a good time to give another practice test. You can save the GMATPrep tests that you have left for later and take the new Veritas GMAT Test that is based on item response theory and has been delivering some very accurate scores in relation to GMATPrep and actual GMAT results.

Here is a link to the test https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/free-gm ... tice-test/

Good luck!

[faraz_jeddah]

Just to update.

I have given two CATs.

Official Gmatprep CAT - 710 (Q50, V35)
Veritas prep - 700 (Q49, V 37)

My thoughts - the GMATprep CAT score might have been a bit biased as I have seen a few questions repeated on the forums and hence answering them was pretty straight forward. What I do worry about is that in both the CATs the number of incorrect questions is alarming.

Gmat prep
Q - 30/37
V - 28/41

Veritas prep
Q - 23/37
V - 25/41

I would love to hear from the experts or experienced people on the forum if these scores are a good gauge of my skills and what should be my next steps. (other than thoroughly reviewing the Cats)

I still have 4 Veritas Prep CATs and 1 Gmatprep Cat left.

[David@VeritasPrep]

That is not an alarming number of questions wrong!

As has been stated many times by experts on GMAT scoring, 25 questions right on the Quant section will get you up to a 50. A 49 is more likely. Of course those who score 45 also get about 25 questions right and the difference is in the difficulty of the questions.

I can tell you that the Veritas Test that you have taken is state of the art and the results on that test have been corresponding very closely with people's scores on the GMATPrep and more importantly with their scores on the actual GMAT.

After analyzing both tests to see what types of errors you have made, you can focus your studies and work on improving those areas that are lacking and then take the next of your 5 Veritas Prep CATs. I would like to see you get fewer verbal questions wrong. Please let me know which area of verbal appears to be your weakness and I can offer you some guidance.

Take these scores seriously. You are on the right track!

David

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Don't concern yourself with the number of questions answered incorrectly/correctly. The computer adaptive nature of the test ensures that most people will incorrectly answer many questions. What really matters is the level of difficulty of the questions you answer correctly/incorrectly.

To illustrate this, I'll share an experiment I performed.

When I was writing the article Taking the GMATPrep Practice Tests Multiple Times (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/03/ ... iple-times), I took GMATPrep Practice Test #1 four times, and each time I answered every second question correctly (I did this for the quant section only)

Given that I correctly answered exactly half of the questions each time, you'd expect my quant scores to be roughly the same for all 4 tests.

My 4 scaled scores were: 19, 23, 26 and 42

This represents a percentile range from approximately 8th percentile to the 63rd percentile.

So, don't worry about how many questions you answered correctly. It has nothing to do with your score.

Aside: If you're interested, we have a free video explaining the GMAT scoring algorithm: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1251

Cheers,
Brent

[faraz_jeddah]

That is not an alarming number of questions wrong!

As has been stated many times by experts on GMAT scoring, 25 questions right on the Quant section will get you up to a 50. A 49 is more likely. Of course those who score 45 also get about 25 questions right and the difference is in the difficulty of the questions.

I can tell you that the Veritas Test that you have taken is state of the art and the results on that test have been corresponding very closely with people's scores on the GMATPrep and more importantly with their scores on the actual GMAT.

After analyzing both tests to see what types of errors you have made, you can focus your studies and work on improving those areas that are lacking and then take the next of your 5 Veritas Prep CATs. I would like to see you get fewer verbal questions wrong. Please let me know which area of verbal appears to be your weakness and I can offer you some guidance.

Take these scores seriously. You are on the right track!

David

Thanks for the motivation David. I have already started to enjoy the veritas prep questions as some of them were tricky. I will pm you with one area of particular concern that I would like to have your guidance on.

Cheers.

[faraz_jeddah]

Don't concern yourself with the number of questions answered incorrectly/correctly. The computer adaptive nature of the test ensures that most people will incorrectly answer many questions. What really matters is the level of difficulty of the questions you answer correctly/incorrectly.

Thanks Brent. I was aware of the fact you pointed out. But I dont know if its a sub conscious mindset that discourages me when I see 10+ answers incorrect, especially after putting in a lot of time and effort.. I guess I ll have to accept and move on. Your words are indeed calming. Thanks again.

[faraz_jeddah]

That is not an alarming number of questions wrong!

As has been stated many times by experts on GMAT scoring, 25 questions right on the Quant section will get you up to a 50. A 49 is more likely. Of course those who score 45 also get about 25 questions right and the difference is in the difficulty of the questions.

I can tell you that the Veritas Test that you have taken is state of the art and the results on that test have been corresponding very closely with people's scores on the GMATPrep and more importantly with their scores on the actual GMAT.

After analyzing both tests to see what types of errors you have made, you can focus your studies and work on improving those areas that are lacking and then take the next of your 5 Veritas Prep CATs. I would like to see you get fewer verbal questions wrong. Please let me know which area of verbal appears to be your weakness and I can offer you some guidance.

Take these scores seriously. You are on the right track!

David

Hi David. I tried PMing you but I dont think you received it.

[faraz_jeddah]

So heres my update.

I am attaching my test logs that I have taken. As you can notice I took a week off after I went down to 680, which was quite disheartening. But, I seem to be back on track.

Can experts weigh in with their opinions on what my next step should be? I plan to take the 2nd Gmatprep CAT next week.

I am still a bit shaky on approaching CR. How can I improve that score? What can I do differently? I have used the Powerscore as the only source. I also want to give the gmat in the next 20 days. I have not scheduled it because seats are always open where I live. Should I stick to this timeline?

Sorry if this is a lot of information to absorb in one message but I think I have expressed most of the relevant facts to give you the best picture of the situation I am currently in.