Diagnostic Test

Question

Hey guys!!

This is my first post here in GmatClub. I joined last year but I retook it a couple of days ago, reading the sticky sections and using the search function too.
Right now I have a question regarding of doing a diagnostic test or not. If the answer of doing a diagnostic test is "yes", what is the best approach to do one? Should I do some 20-30 questions of each section of the OG and then do a test to see my strengths and weaknesses?

I hope this is the approach of doing this.

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi snfuenza,

Your post is not clear on a couple of things, so I'm hoping that you can answer a few questions:

1) Have you taken the Official GMAT yet? If you have, then how did you score?
2) How much study time have you done already?
3) What practice materials do you have?

4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

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

MarkHanna · Answer

Hey Rich, thanks for your reply. Below you can find my answers.

1) No, I haven't taken the Official GMAT.
2) None.
3) I will buy the MGMAT, OG and probably the Kaplan GMAT Premier and The PowerScore GMAT for CR for additional exercises. Also I'm reading "Keys to Great Writing" for grammar (I'm not a native english speaker).
4) 700+
5) December if I do well with my practice tests, if not I hope to be done in March. I'm going to apply for Fall 2017.

Thanks again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi snfuenza,

Since you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to a do a bit of general study before taking this CAT, so that you can familiarize yourself with the content and question types, then that's fine, but you should not wait too long to take that first CAT. It's worth noting that a FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

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

MarkHanna · Answer

Thanks Rich!

Guys, today I finished reviewing the questions both Quant and Verbal, but I don't feel in optimal conditions to do a CAT right now (7pm in Chile). I plan on doing a diagnostic test next Saturday, but I don't know what should I do in between. Should I review my errors on the exercises that I did of the OG this next week? I did 160 questions, splitted evenly. Was it a waste of official questions in order to just do a diagnostic test?

Any guidance will be appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

mstrhz · Answer

Hi,

If your just starting off, definitely try a practice test and see how you do. Make sure you follow a couple of rules first though:

1. The score you get doesn't reflect your potential score.
2. Try to simulate test settings by watching the time. At first, it doesn't have to be strict, just be aware of it. 
3. Don't overdo the tests. Study the theory and maintain a personal balance between test vs. theory.
4. It's more important to diagnose your weak areas than to do a practice test. If you don't find out your weak areas, a lot of time will be wasted.

Oh, and if you have the time, check out my post on a bunch of free resources you can use.

See you around!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi snfuenza,

If you're not going to be able to take that initial CAT until next weekend, then you should continue to study as you see fit (don't try to 'cram' in too much though; reviewing the questions that you've already worked on is a good idea).

Taking FULL-LENGTH CATs at regular intervals is an essential part of the study process - there really is no substitute for this. There are a variety of non-content related 'challenges' (both physical and psychological) that you can really only learn about by taking CATs in a realistic fashion. Beyond providing a basis for comparison, that initial CAT score will help to define your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can adjust your studies accordingly.

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

MarkHanna · Answer

So today I did my first CAT (Kaplan) as a diagnostic test in order to see my strength and weaknesses. My overall score was 530, in terms of percentile I got Quant: below 49% and Verbal: below 22% :shock:

In terms of score (from OG15) I see that I got something like Q40 and V20. Overall this is my score without too much studying (just 1 week of reviewing exercises and my errors). What would be the best approach to improve my score? Focus on getting Q48+ and then targeting on Verbal? or start with verbal to improve my overall score? Thanks in advance!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi snfuenza,

Raising a 530 to a 700+ is going to take some serious work, but you've given yourself enough time to do that work, which is good. So far, there's not enough data to decide whether you should self-study or invest in more of a structured Course of some type. I suggest that you study however you like for the next 2 weeks, then take another FULL-LENGTH CAT (including the Essay and IR sections). Once you have that score result, you should post back here (and that result will help to define how you should study going forward).

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

MarkHanna · Answer

Hey Rich.

The reason you are suggesting me to do another CAT is to see if I do well studying by myself? That could work, but I don't know if two weeks are enough to see an improvement. My verbal is taking my score down and probably affects my quant when I'm trying to understand some problems.

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi snfuenza,

I'm not expecting you to improve in all areas in 2 weeks time (THAT would be unrealistic) and I'm not expecting a huge score increase in that time either. However, you can choose a few subjects to work on, and do your best to improve on your own over the next couple of weeks. Even if your next CAT score stays the same, THAT is important information to have. Almost all Test Takers have to adapt their respective study plans at some point, so it's important to have 'data' coming in at regular intervals that you can use to make those adaptations in the most efficient way possible.

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

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