Help Please!

[ReenaMo]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading through what feels like hundreds of posts and finding myself getting increasingly apprehensive about the test. So I figured I could turn to the GMAT community for some much needed help!

I'm aiming to score a 700. I just completed a PR course (which I didn't find helpful at all) where my score would substantially bounce back and forth (I'm talking 100 pts btwn tests) from the six practice tests I took (between 480 to 600). I'm not sure what's causing the major fluctuations after each test, but even with my highest score, I was still 100 pts off from my goal by the end of the course. Also, I've heard that the PR tests are easier than the actual test - very discouraging!

I'm currently aiming to take the test in early November, however, based on my performance, haven't felt confident enough to schedule the date. Should I take the MGMAT course before I schedule or wait til I take the test and see if it's necessary?

I know my biggest problems are (i) timing..I just don't know how to go faster and finish! and (ii) nerves...TERRIBLE test anxiety. Since the course ended, I've basically been going through the OG 11 and the Kaplan 800. What can I do to improve timing? Any suggestions for the type of schedule I should follow? (I even went part time with my job to allow for more study time.)

Oh and the QA on the Diagnostic in the OG11 seems to be way more difficult than the other problem sets. Is that normal??

Yikes, sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for your help!

[aim-wsc]

Oh and the QA on the Diagnostic in the OG11 seems to be way more difficult than the other problem sets. Is that normal??

Yes it is normal.
But dont panic, there are ways to improve by practising more in timed conditions.

Kaplan 800 has harder questions which might discourage your studies. I hope you've read the preface of that book.

OG 11 is best & also you should use PR book (if you have any)

[MTlookingforMHA]

Here are some suggestions:

When completing OG questions, time yourself. Force yourself to complete the problems within the time frame that is going to allow to complete each question on the actual GMAT. If you are going over your time limit on certain question types, it might be wise to review the fundamentals of that question type.


When it comes to the CATS, I think this is going to be the best option for you to work through your timing issue. I remember taking my first couple of CATs, timing was always an issue. After completing additional CATs and studying the fundamentals of each question type, I was able to improve the time I completed each question.

I will be taking the GMAT on Monday(August 25th), I am hoping for a 600 this time around. It wasn't until August when I realized my weaknesses, it was too late for me to fully fix all of them. So my suggestion is find out what is slowing your down. If its a core concept, study it until its easy for you to complete. Also complete full CATs on a regular basis between now and November, this hopefully will help you work you timing issue out.

[Stacey Koprince]

Hi, ReenaMo

First, I agree that the diagnostic questions in OG11 are on the hard side in general. They also aren't very representative overall in terms of the things most commonly tested on the exam. I usually tell my students to skip that diagnostic.

Also, you mentioned test anxiety. Take a look at this article and see if any of these stress management techniques might work for you.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/stress-management-t4167.html

You mention that your biggest problem is timing and I suspect that is what led to the wide swings in your scores - timing is the most common cause of wide swings.

Go back and look at some of those tests. On the ones on which you had lower scores, did you have strings of wrong answers (lots of wrong ones in a row) anywhere? Did you run out of time towards the end of the section and have to guess on a lot of questions? Did you leave any blank because you completely ran out of time?

The worst thing to do is have a string of questions wrong in a row. Any one question wrong anywhere won't prevent you from getting your desired 700 - even if it's the first question in the section or the easiest question they give you anywhere on the test. What may prevent you from getting to 700 is a long string of wrong answers in a row. The most likely place for this to happen is at the end, especially since you mentioned that you have trouble letting go and moving on.

Let me give you some data that will hopefully help to motivate you to move on when you just aren't getting a question.
- the penalty for any questions left blank at the end is 3 percentile points per question.
- the penalty for 5 or more questions wrong in a row at the end is typically between 2 and 2.5 percentile points per question. (Note that just one or two wrong at the end won't hurt you that much - the penalty isn't as high. the penalty snowballs if you have a string of wrong ones in a row.)
- you will have something like 10 experimental questions per section and those questions are not tied to your scoring level - so you will get some that are much too hard for you. If you don't let them go, you'll run out of time on questions that actually count - and you're more likely to be able to do those questions that actually count than the experimental question that's much too hard for you.
- most people guess on 5-7 questions per section. Ideally, you make educated guesses, not random ones at the end when you're running out of time. An educated guess is just a fancy way of saying that you eliminate some wrong answers before you guess (to improve your odds of guessing correctly). The other major advantage to making an educated guess is that you choose when to do it! So you choose, selectively, to do it on the hardest questions (rather than on some easy and some hard questions in a row at the end), and you spread out those guesses so that they don't all come in a row.

You asked whether you should take another course before you take the test. I'm pretty agnostic as to the issue of taking a course vs. studying on your own - plenty of people do well on their own - so it just depends on what you think would be best for you. If you think you might want to take a course, attend any free events offered by any company in which you're interested. Ideally, try to attend something taught by the person who would be your teacher. After the session, go up to him/her, explain your situation, and see what s/he has to say. Ask yourself whether you think the teacher understands your situation and can help you to reach your goal. If so, consider taking the teacher's class; if not, don't.

[ReenaMo]

Wow - thanks for all the great responses - I really appreciate it! And Stacy, your info about the test was invaluable. My timing has definitely improved and I think I'm evening out in the low 600s as I become more comfortable with the test. I still need the 700. I also think I've spent so much time on improving my Math score that my Verbal score is lacking. Anyway, thanks again!