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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Am I following the right direction ? 08 Aug 2015, 14:43
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Hi Kreol,

This last post of information is SIGNIFICANT as it describes a lot of things that you should NOT have done in the last week before your GMAT. Based on what you've described, you did about 900 practice questions during that last week AND took a CAT the day BEFORE your Official GMAT. That VOLUME of work, in such a short period of time, AND right before your Official GMAT, almost certainly contributed to some type of 'burn out.' However you choose to study going forward, you should NOT do any of this again.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Am I following the right direction ? 08 Aug 2015, 15:32
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Hi EMPOWER,

What you say makes sense. I didnt feel myself tired however ...
Could you please say a few words about the plan then ? If those materials are ok, then how should I schedule it so that to avoid "burning out" but at the same time cover enough topics to break through 750 ? Maybe it does not matter, but I dont clearly understand how to approach verbal stuff.
In other words, I dont understand how to improve and whether I need to read smth or just practice ? Every text I read appears 100% clearly. Things like "the conclusion follows the premise" or "read carefully" are very obvious. At the same time my score is low. Quant is much simplier : if you know the formula/ concept - you will crack the question. But verbal ....
Am I doing smth wrong ?

Thank you
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Am I following the right direction ? 08 Oct 2015, 13:49
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Let me update the thread with my recent experience.
From the 8th of August till the 10th of September I practiced a lot but emphasized more on official questions (gmatprep). I actually studied ONLY them. I also purchased MGMAT exams and tried them too.
In addition I started an Error Log for each type of question (PS,DS,CR,SC,RC) I wrote the question itself and wrote a small note indicating what I did wrong and what I should take out of it. Subsequently, I separated my weakest areas (Number properties, Geometry, Probability) and redone the questions again.
My scores were :
MGMAT CAT 1 Q46V34 660
MGMAT CAT 2 Q42V31 590
MGMAT CAT 3 Q43V36 650
MGMAT CAT 4 Q41V31 590
I didn`t care much about the quant part in MGMAT.

Here, on the 10th of Sept I took my second official GMAT after comprehesive studying :

GMAT Q48V34 670

I was really dissapointed and chose to boost my verbal with E-GMAT. I finished the course with about 80% accuracy in SC (only hard questions) and about 70% in RC and CR (again, hard questions only)
Then I took a couple of mocks :
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT1 Q31
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT2 Q35
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT3 Q22 (!)
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT4 Q50
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT5 Q49
GMAT CLUB QUANT CAT6 Q44
Finally, a couple of days before my today exam (GMAT #3) I took MGMAT again and was really impressed with my verbal score :
MGMAT CAT 1 Q43V39 (!) 680
MGMAT CAT 1 Q39V38 (!) 640
I also achieved 90% accuracy in GMATprep SC
Again, I didn`t really study much for quant.

My today exam :
GMAT #3
Q50V27 650
I immidiately canceled. Still shocked. The question in my head keeps asking "What the f*ck just happened ?"
Guys, I really do not know what to do and what to think. My previous failure with V22 happened again after 4 months of preparation !
I slept enough (unlike on previous exams),
I took all CATs under fully realistic conditions,
I was not nervous (unlike on previous exams).
I have proved that I CAN score 90 precentile in Verbal.
So what migh be the problem ?
The only reason I see is that questions in E-GMAT are COMPLETELY non-representative of those on official exam. I do not want to blame them for that, but what should I do ?

Please advise me on the situation.

Thank you
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Am I following the right direction ? 09 Oct 2015, 15:54
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I also received an Enhanced report. The results are completely opposite to that of E-gmat. Especially SC in which I normally score 85-90%.
Attachments

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verbal.png [ 44.17 KiB | Viewed 1932 times ]

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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 10:33
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Since the last post have been doing GMATprep only. Tried to completely forgot about E-GMAT`s format
Averaged the following scores in verbal :
SC ~90%
CR ~90%
RC ~80-85%

Today purchased Exam Pack1 and did the 1st exam. The quant was quite tough. Even toughter than the real thing. Scored Q47 -really bad.
Verbal tough too. Worse than the original Gmat prep. Especially in CR and SC. However scored V40 and got 10 min free time (several overlaps did exist in CR, however I did not remember the answers)
Overall : 710
SC 76% right
CR 63%
RC 84%

On Monday will write the second exam and on Tuesday - the real one.Will keep you informed. Will be happy to hear any suggestions.
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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 11:34
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Hi Kreol,

There is nothing to be gained by taking a CAT the day before your GMAT (and you're far more likely to tire yourself out before Test Day than if you just do some light review).

This weekend, you shouldn't try to 'cram' in too much. Since your focus has been on the Verbal section for the last couple of months, you should review those concepts (grammar rules, CR 'logic patterns', etc.) and do a bit of additional practice - redoing older questions that you've gotten wrong, etc. (but nothing too difficult).

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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 12:06
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
Hi Kreol,

There is nothing to be gained by taking a CAT the day before your GMAT (and you're far more likely to tire yourself out before Test Day than if you just do some light review).

This weekend, you shouldn't try to 'cram' in too much. Since your focus has been on the Verbal section for the last couple of months, you should review those concepts (grammar rules, CR 'logic patterns', etc.) and do a bit of additional practice - redoing older questions that you've gotten wrong, etc. (but nothing too difficult).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Thanks for fast response, EMPOWER !

I actually wanted to ask you about the recent trend of very low verbal scores on the real exam. I have seen an increased number of topics on this (you have just replied to one of them) and other forums in which test takers mention that they
had high verbal score but received a disproportionally low one on the real exam ( like V40-45 --> V20-25). I am among these people and I personally think that maybe GMAC is in the process of
updating its questions or this trend is somehow related to the experimental questions ? Since you have an extensive experience in gmat, maybe you could share you thoughts ?

p.s Please note that this happens for verbal section only !

Thanks
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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 12:35
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Hi Kreol,

You ask an important question, although the answer will vary somewhat from Test Taker to Test Taker, and each answer is a combination of a lot of detailed 'pieces.' Without going into every little detail, here are the major issues:

1) The realism with which each Test Taker works through his/her CATs. Test Day is a specific 'event', made up of specific details that you CAN define... so you SHOULD be able to prepare for them. Most Test Takers don't consider the details (much less properly train to deal with those details), thus they are not properly prepared for Test Day.

2) There are a number of lower-quality products on the market that a certain number of Test Takers use; that lack of quality/realism impacts practice scores and gives a false sense of readiness.

3) The Verbal section of the GMAT is just as predictable and pattern-based as the Quant section is, although any Test Takers find it easier to deal with Quant patterns than Verbal patterns. For example, the process that you go through to calculate 1+2 is the same general process that you go through to calculate 123+456 (it's just a little more work to do the second calculation and the digits are different). In that same way, the logic behind 'X causes Y' in a CR prompt is the same as the logic behind 'A causes B.' You just might have to do a little more work to sort through the details because the words are different.

This is all meant to say that you CAN train to score at a higher level in ALL areas of the GMAT, but a certain responsibility falls on the Test Taker to train in the proper way.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 16:26
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Hi Kreol,

You ask an important question, although the answer will vary somewhat from Test Taker to Test Taker, and each answer is a combination of a lot of detailed 'pieces.' Without going into every little detail, here are the major issues:

1) The realism with which each Test Taker works through his/her CATs. Test Day is a specific 'event', made up of specific details that you CAN define... so you SHOULD be able to prepare for them. Most Test Takers don't consider the details (much less properly train to deal with those details), thus they are not properly prepared for Test Day.

2) There are a number of lower-quality products on the market that a certain number of Test Takers use; that lack of quality/realism impacts practice scores and gives a false sense of readiness.

3) The Verbal section of the GMAT is just as predictable and pattern-based as the Quant section is, although any Test Takers find it easier to deal with Quant patterns than Verbal patterns. For example, the process that you go through to calculate 1+2 is the same general process that you go through to calculate 123+456 (it's just a little more work to do the second calculation and the digits are different). In that same way, the logic behind 'X causes Y' in a CR prompt is the same as the logic behind 'A causes B.' You just might have to do a little more work to sort through the details because the words are different.

This is all meant to say that you CAN train to score at a higher level in ALL areas of the GMAT, but a certain responsibility falls on the Test Taker to train in the proper way.

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

Really comprehensive answer, thank you. But logically a question arises: (for 1) and 2) ) why then the quant performance remains almost the same and why (for 3rd statement ) the official mock scores are still high ?
If one is not able to cope with verbal (can not recognize verbal patterns) then his scores would be low on the mock would not they ? And if one gets nervous on the real exam then the quant part should suffer too.
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Am I following the right direction ? 23 Oct 2015, 16:46
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Hi Kreol,

You ask some good follow-up questions. In both cases, the primary issue often comes down to fatigue and endurance skills. The Verbal section is the final 75 minutes of a 4-hour Exam. Since you're not going to start the Verbal section until almost 3 full hours have gone by, almost everyone is tired by that point (and tired brains make bad decision - including missing details, not taking notes, randomly guessing when the correct answer is just one or two more 'steps' away, etc.). That issue can be compounded by the little 'details' that most Test Takers don't account for during their studies.

How long does it take you to get the Testing Center on Test Day and enter the waiting area? 30 minutes? 45 minutes? An hour or more? Well, then you've just added another 30-60+ minutes to the day's activities BEFORE you start the Exam. Energy must be spent and all of that nervous energy (that you would focus into your CAT work) could be 'wasted' before the GMAT even begins. In this way, you'll be further 'depleted' by the time you start the Verbal section. Most Test Takers do not experience ANY of that when they take their practice CATs, so they're not prepared for it when it occurs on Test Day.

Since Quant questions are generally less 'wordy' than Verbal questions, it's often easier/faster to assess the concepts that are being tested in Quant questions than in Verbal questions (and again, you're likely more 'alert' and have more energy when the Quant section starts). So big Quant 'drops' are less likely to happen.

To reiterate, you CAN train for all of these details during your studies, but it takes a high commitment to the task.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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Am I following the right direction ? 26 Oct 2015, 05:25
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Despite EMPOWERs advice, I eventually took the last Gmatprep exam today since I feel like I need to get used to the gmat format.
Scored 720 Q50V38
In verbal got 2 mistakes less than in the previous exam but the overall percentile is 6% less because of the sequence.
Morally preparing myself for a disaster tomorrow as it took place before...
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Am I following the right direction ? 27 Oct 2015, 06:27
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Scored 660 (Q50V30)....
My history :
GMATprep1 690
GMATprep 2 700
GMAT 1 560 (Q48V26)
GMAT 2 670 (Q48V34)
GMAT 3 650 (Q50V27)
GMATprep 3 710 Q47V40
GMATprep 4 720 Q50V38
GMAT 4 660 (Q50V30)

I am done with GMAT. Dear experts, is it worth applying to top schools (sloan, princeton ?) or better not to waste money ? If yes, then which score to report : that with higher overall score or with higher quant ? I am aiming at Masters in Finance.
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Am I following the right direction ? 28 Oct 2015, 11:37
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Hi Kreol,

First off, a 660/Q50 is still a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. You're ultimately asking Admissions questions though, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

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Hi Kreol,

First off, a 660/Q50 is still a strong score (it's right around the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. You're ultimately asking Admissions questions though, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

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

Thanks for reply. So you think that it is better to report 660 with higher quant, rather then 670 ?
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Am I following the right direction ? 28 Oct 2015, 22:08
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Hi Kreol,

THAT is a question that is better answered by an Admissions Expert. Many Business School Programs tend to put a greater emphasis on the Quant Scaled Score though, so it would not surprise me if an Admissions Expert advised that you submit the 660/Q50.

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