Low Practice CAT Scores- Exam next month

[sgraves]

I enrolled in the Manhattan online prep class in July and we finished up in early September. The class was a great way for me to begin my GMAT studies but overall it didn't really resonate with my learning style. In late August I started using Empower GMAT and immediately I felt better about how I approached the GMAT. Hopeful I would see a big jump in CAT scores after learning Empower methods I took a practice CAT after not taking one for about a month. Below are all my scores so far.


MCAT#1 (Taken 7/5/15): 420 Q23 V24
MCAT#2 (Taken 8/5/15): 430 Q19 V30
MBA.Com Prep Software CAT (Taken 9/26/15): 470 Q31 V25

At this point know I have a long way to go but my goal is a 700.

I was aware that the Manhattan CAT's were much harder than the MBA.com CAT's so I expected my score to be an improvement, but I expected more. As of right now my official exam is scheduled for October 23rd.

I don't have a problem pushing back my test date however I was hoping to get at least a 600 score on test day so I could apply for Management Leaders for Tomorrow MBA Prep Program. Considering I have a low undergrad GPA I need atleast 600 to be a "competitive" applicant. A official score is required with the application that is due by Nov 1st.

Besides MLT I don't have any other pressing matters that require me to have the scores to apply.

Any advice on what I should do or how to approach studying in the next month?

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Hi sgraves,

Since you're getting deeper into your studies, it's important to make your CATs as realistic as possible and to do a FULL review of every CAT that you take. The immediate analysis should focus on WHY you got questions wrong (was it because of a silly/little mistake? Was the question too hard? Were you out of time? etc.). Define and fix the 'easiest' issues first and you'll see a substantial increase in your score. In the broader sense, review should also include the bigger issues - how you can improve your overall handling of the Exam (endurance, fatigue, and pacing) and repeating Tactics that helped you get questions correct (so that you move faster through those same concepts when they show up again).

On this last CAT, how many of the questions were 'gettable', but you got them wrong because of a preventable mistake?
How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

[ceilidh.erickson]

The prevailing opinion (mine included) is that Mprep's CATs are a LITTLE bit harder than the real thing, but not drastically. Your score went up 40 points from the Mprep test to the GMATPrep one - that's as much of a difference as anyone could hope for!

If you score is not improving, you should assess:

1. Timing. Are you aware of your timing benchmarks and pacing yourself well? If you're running out of time and not finishing sections, you score will never improve much.

2. Content Knowledge. Have you mastered the topics covered in the books? Not just by reading the books, but also by practicing with OG questions topic-by-topic?

3. Errors. If you're making too many careless mistakes, it won't matter how much you study - your score won't go up. To improve your score, you first have to pinpoint what kinds of mistakes you're making, and think about what you can do to fix them. Here's more on Error Logging: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/