This series of emails and PMs focuses on situations that many Test Takers face during their studies. The names of the original posters have been changed to protect their identities.<\/p>\n
The Value of Jotting Down Patterns as You See Them<\/strong> What is the most efficient way to deal with DS questions like this one:<\/p>\n If z is a positive integer and y = 6.038(10^z), what is the value of z?<\/p>\n (1) 6500 < y < 65,000 Ene<\/p>\n Hi Ene,<\/p>\n On DS questions (and to be fair, on ALL GMAT questions), I'm always curious about WHY the numbers\/words are what they are. GMAT questions are written by humans to test other humans, so there's likely to be a pattern\/formula\/rule that is \"built in\" to the question (and there's usually more than one).<\/p>\n Here, I'm curious about the 6.038; THAT'S a really specific number. WHY did the author choose THAT number???? As such, it\u2019s often quite useful to jot down any patterns that you recognize before you get to the rest of what the prompt has to offer\u2026.<\/p>\n Before going to the Facts, I'm going to make some quick notes about the info that we're given:<\/p>\n If Z = 1, then Y = 60.38 Having these basic notes \u2018sketched-out\u2019 should make dealing with the rest of the question remarkably easier (think about which of those values fits each of the ranges in the two Facts). I\u2019ll bet that it would take you just a few seconds to finish this question off now.<\/p>\n \u201cAverage\u201d Students CAN Score 700+<\/strong> I Just started back up with the GMAT after taking a break due to other commitments. My question is -- Can anyone who works hard and practices a lot get a 700+? Or is it only the intelligent\/genius types who notch those numbers? I\u2019m a pretty average student. Is 700+ a long-shot for average people like me?<\/p>\n Enie<\/p>\n Hi Enie,<\/p>\n 700+ is the 90th percentile, which means 90% of Test Takers score below that level. While intelligence certainly factors in, the GMAT is NOT an IQ test, so you don't have to be \"a genius\" to score at a high level on that Test.<\/p>\n While \"content knowledge\" is the basis for approaching most exams, that knowledge is usually not enough (on its own) to guarantee success. Here are some of the other factors: flexible thinking (knowing more than 1 way to approach a question), pattern matching, organizational skills, note-taking ability, focus and clarity of thought, pacing, proper handling of physical and psychological stresses, endurance, keeping silly mistakes to a minimum, etc. It takes a lot of effort to build up those skills.<\/p>\n Since the GMAT is a standardized Test, you can absolutely train to score at a high level. It's important to note that you won\u2019t necessarily need to score 700+ to get into a top Business School. The application process is 6 or 7 pieces (sometimes there's an interview as part of the process) and the GMAT is just 1 of those pieces. A strong overall application will do more for you than just a high GMAT score will.<\/p>\n The Most Realistic Practice CATs<\/strong> Oh<\/p>\n Hi Oh,<\/p>\n The GMATPrep CATs are populated with questions that were once Official GMAT questions, so you're not going to find a more realistic practice CAT. Those CATs contain a limited number of questions though, so the \"available pool\" isn't as large as the one you\u2019ll face on the real GMAT; other than that, the CAT is arguably the most valid indicator of your performance. That result is still based on how realistically YOU chose to take this CAT \u2013 if you skipped sections, paused the CAT, retook the Exam, etc., then the result becomes far less realistic (and likely \u2018inflated\u2019). There are also a variety of non-GMAC CATs that provide reasonably accurate score assessments when used properly.<\/p>\n GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, This series of emails and PMs focuses on situations that many Test Takers face during their studies. The names of the original posters have been changed to protect their identities.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-uncategorized","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31058"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31120,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31058\/revisions\/31120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDear Rich,<\/p>\n
\n(2) 10^4 < y < 10^5<\/p>\n
\nIf Z = 2, then Y = 603.8
\nIf Z = 3, then Y = 6038
\nIf Z = 4, then Y = 60,380
\nIf Z = 5, then Y = 603,800<\/p>\n
\nHi Rich,<\/p>\n
\nRich,
\nI took the GMAT Prep test today and scored 690 (Q44 \/ V40). I'm pretty happy with this score since it's above the median and average for the program I'm applying to. Would you all say that the GMAT Preptest is the most indicative of the actual test and scoring algorithm compared to other practice tests?<\/p>\n
\nRich<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"