ExamPal Credits?? How long to review JUST practice tests before exam??

Question

Does anyone know how to get more ExamPal credits without paying for them??

Also how much average time is allotted for SOLELY exam review? I have spent exactly 1 month of studying and will have a week to review. Do you think this is enough time?

Thank you in advance for any help offered!!

DavidTutorexamPAL

AjiteshArun · Answer

You can reach out directly to the ExamPal instructors here. They'll be in a good position to review your progress on their platform and advise you on how to proceed.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nicolecvega,

'Review' is an important part of the overall GMAT training process, but you shouldn't necessarily commit a full week straight to just reviewing your CATs/mocks. Each CAT is a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. This is meant to say that review should be done periodically (and you should review each individual CAT soon after taking it).

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

nicolecvega · Answer

Hi  EMPOWERgmatRichC

I have been studying for exactly 1 month now at a total of 127.5hr (ave of ~31 hrs/week). I bought access to ExamPal and I've liked the program so far. I've taken time going through each lesson - especially for the Quant section. After each lesson, I write down notes and strategies/formulas. I then do 15 questions, go over problems that I missed/struggled with/see there is a faster, easier method as a solution. After this, I'll do 15 more questions, then review the problems I had issues with.

For the QR section, I've been compiling a one-sided sheet of formulas, equations etc and have it all memorized. I have 4 more QR topics to review until I will have covered all of the material.

For AWA, I practice timed essay writing and have it reviewed by ExamPal tutors. My most recent/highest score was a 4.5, but I have already evaluated my writing and know how to improve. After each essay I "re-write" sections that need revisions. I have also made a template/structural outline of key points to include in each paragraph, and I'm pretty confident I can improve my AWA score before my exam.

For the VR section, I have reviewed everything and have been answering ExamPal quizzes and reviewing notes if I am struggling.

IR section still needs review.

I have 12 days until my exam. I have not taken a full length test or any graded CATs yet as I was hoping to cover all the material first. I am hoping to give myself 10 days of taking practice tests under testing conditions, and reviewing missed concepts. My goal score is at least a 700. I hope to apply to International business schools, USC, UCLA, to name a few.

To give a little background info on my education, I graduated went on to dental school for 2 years. I realized it was not for me, so now I am hoping to pursue my MBA. I am used to a rigorous curriculum (24+ credit hours/semester) and am definitely capable of putting in the work if you think it is necessary to reach my goals. This will be my first time taking the GMAT, so any advice/insight is helpful!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Nicole

DavidTutorexamPAL · Answer

Hey  nicolecvega ,

Short answer:
At 12 days before the exam, I think taking a CAT (and learning from it) is a better idea for you than completing the course, especially given what I can see from your current level of preparation. Please be in touch with me via our platform if you'd like info relating directly to your progress, as I don't want to share your info here.

More general answer, also for other students:
Once you've finished going over the material (including reviewing, learning from mistakes etc.) then you should certainly take a CAT.
Note that this CAT should not be treated only as a 'measuring device', which is to say an assessment of your current score level, but rather as a 'general rehearsal' for the exam. In particular, the CAT is where your timing strategies, stamina, focus, guessing strategies, etc. come together. Things you should ask yourself on the CAT include 'did I have enough time to complete the exam?' 'If not, why? Should I have skipped questions? Should I have guessed sooner? Should I have spread my time out more evenly?' All of these are extremely important questions which are very hard to answer from 'regular practice sessions'. As the CATs do not give you a time breakdown, then you might consider whether you want to write down the time at which you finish each question. (this should only take a second -- just look at the clock and write down the number. You can compensate for time lost by pausing the exam in the last question for a minute if you like)

Additionally, your CAT should serve as a tool for assessing strengths and weaknesses, similarly to what you do in your regular practice sessions: Where did you make small mistakes? Which methods worked better / worse? Was there a specific question type you particularly struggled with / made mistakes on? It can take a full hour, and maybe even more, to do a full analysis of a CAT including going over and debugging problematic questions.

Best of luck,
David

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Nicole,

If you have not taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs under realistic conditions, then we have no idea what your current 'ability level' actually is. As such, you should plan to take a CAT sometime soon (in the next couple of days), so we can try to define how far you might be from your Goal Score. Once you have that result, you should post back here and we can discuss how best to proceed. Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so after just 1 month of study, you should not expect to have mastered any of the concepts yet.

I mentioned this in my prior post, but it bears repeating: each CAT is a 'measuring device', but you also have to realize that the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Your current timeline and plan might be too 'short' at this point, so you might need to consider pushing back your Test Date. There's no harm in taking the GMAT as scheduled, but if you are likely just going to have to take it again later, then you could save some money (and aggravation) by pacing the $50 rescheduling fee and pushing back your Test Date.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

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