GMAT Focus Verbal Timing

Question

I was preparing for GMAT Classic for the past 6 months. But with the introduction of GMAT Focus, I am planning to appear for GMAT Focus now. Since I am very weak in SC, I anticipated that GMAT Focus is going to be an advantage for me.

However, now I am faced with a new problem. My timings from GMAT Classic are now off. I was averaging 1 min 30 secs in SC, So, I could give each CR question 2 min 30 secs on an average. 
But with the removal of SC, I am unable to allot those extra 30 secs to CR and so my CR accuracy has come down considerably.

I need inputs regarding how everyone is managing their verbal timing on GMAT Focus. Since the level of difficulty of questions on both GMAT Classic and Focus are similar, I don't see how anyone would adjust to this time shift. Where a certain question was being solved in 2 min 30 secs on an average on GMAT classic, the same question is expected to be solved in 2 mins on GMAT Focus. Does that mean a certain % accuracy on GMAT Focus will produce a higher %ile score than GMAT Classic ? Will I be able to get away with a higher %ile with more mistakes on the GMAT Focus ? Or are people actually solving the questions with the same accuracy in this reduced time ? Or are the GMAT Focus CR questions actually easier than GMAT classic to allow for this 30 sec disadvantage ?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jitmitra2005,

Many GMATers face pacing issues in the Quant section, the Verbal section or both – so you are not alone. However, it's important to remember that pacing problems do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of OTHER problems. Based on the pacing data that you have provided (averaging 1:30 per SC and 2:30 per CR), you are spending too much time on BOTH SC and CR - so whether you stick with the current version of the GMAT or shift to training for the GMAT Focus, you will need to make significant changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) those question types.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, 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? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider doing timed practice sets to adjust your pace. For CR assumption questions, learning the negation technique may be helpful as well. Perhaps change the way you approach certain question types. The ability to "review" up to 3 questions is also an interesting factor to keep in mind.

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm

-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm

jm2k5 · Answer

Thanks for the reply !!

I have been studying for 6 months. I had taken both egmat (4 months) and TTP (2 months) successively. But I was taking them mostly for SC, since that was my weak area. I study on an average 14-18 hours weekly.
I took Official Mocks of GMAT Classic. My first mock was 680 (Q50 V33) and second mock was 700 (Q51 V34). I had taken these mocks in September and October respectively.
My Overall score target is 760+ though I will be happy with a 740 (equivalent score on GMAT Focus).

I have taken 1 cold GMAT Focus mock and scored 335. This one is not very representative because I gave up on the exam midway because I figured I was terribly short on time. After this exam I basically sat down and analyzed what the issue was. Even though GMAT Focus is allowing me more time per question on average, the offsetting factor was the omission of SC. Even though I was getting most of the SCs wrong on GMAT Classic, I was saving a lot of time on it. Also I was extremely frustrated with SC because I was really not seeing any improvement even after dedicatedly spending 6 months on it. So I was really winging SC, getting close to 80% accuracy on easy questions and 50% accuracy on medium and idk about hard because I was not even practicing those.

CR was pretty consistent with 90% on easy, 80% on medium and 60-70% on hard questions. But this accuracy was with a timing of 2 min 30 secs. I am not taking another GMAT Focus mock because I am afraid it will be a waste of a mock if I don't figure out how to address the timing issue first.

I have recently bought the OG bundle for GMAT Focus and am solving it right now in timed manner but my timing is not improving.

And I have not decided on any school yet. Probably ISB and IIMA in India. But depending on my final GMAT score I will decide on applying to 2-3 M7 schools. I will be applying for 2025 admissions session. My plan is to appear for GMAT Focus in December '23 and use the first half of 2024 on profile building.

Score-Quest · Answer

Hi, indeed, the time you saved on SC in GMAT Classic might have helped with CR and RC, but lower accuracy could negate this benefit. Each test taker adapts differently. My advice? Just dive into timed practice head-on. That'll help you get the hang of the new pace. And we'll all learn more about the timing tweaks as more folks share their GMAT Focus experiences.

mcelroytutoring · Answer

Hi  jitmitra2005 ,

Yes, you have hit the nail on the head: the removal of Sentence Correction on the Focus means that we are no longer able to bank extra time for CR and RC by answering the SCs (generally the easiest Verbal question type to answer quickly) in one minute or less.

The same phenomenon holds true for the removal Data Sufficiency (DS) questions from the Quant section: since these questions don't necessarily require exact solutions, they are generally easier to complete in less time than Problem Solving questions—at least for the experienced GMAT test taker.

Now that DS has been moved to the Data Insights section, Quant is 100% PS. Thus, there is no opportunity to accelerate through the Data Sufficiency questions in order to save time for Problem Solving.

Is there a silver lining here?  Yes. The addition of Data Sufficiency questions to the Data Insights section should give you more time for the multi-part, Integrated Reasoning-style questions that make up the remainder of the section.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jitmitra2005,

Since you are interested in some highly-competitive Schools, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to act on that advice, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

I've sent you a PM with some additional notes and questions.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

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