GMAT or GMAT focused HELP Students like me to Decide .

Question

About me :
Sorry for the trouble if experts can kindly take there time out and guide me.

1)Been preparing GMAT from 2020 2)Was preparing CAT a year before this . 3) Sep 2021 took my official GMAT and scored 540 q-42 v-23 IR -3   .

I know there are lot of people who aspire a 700 , but there are major chuck of people like me who aspire a mere 650 and have be gmat repetitors. Even a sec change was a big blow to me who have been preparing for long .

My queries :
 1)I have mastered all the concepts of SC .
 I have completed all easy SC questions with avg accuracy of 80 and avg time spent is 3.5min(I have been preparing only easy q first cause if i can get easy questions mostly correct then only i can get medium questions in exam). when I was planing to master my SC .GMAT focused : sec is removed .BRAVO

2)I have set a target score of 650 and I feel that by December 2023 I might be able to achieve this score .Not sure .

3) What if I am not able to achieve my target score and want to retake by  june- Aug 2024 Just worried will OLd version of GMAT be available this long ?

4)Mocks : though GMAT official mocks will be made available ,I still want to keep writing other private company mocks so that if i reach 640 in GMAT club test/Manhattan i might be more confident in taking a GMAT official mocks .

My major doubt : will other private companies keep their old format of GMAT mock alive or will they be scrapped .IF so till what time will the private companies keep their old mocks available .

Scenario : I fail to get 600+ in Dec 2023 and at that point of time after a couple months of prep like Manhattan/Club test remove there older version of Mocks .I will cry my eyes out .

5) When I am not confident in getting my targeted score by December 2023. Is it better to start my prep for GMAT focused.

eg : prepare basic of IR for next 4 -5 months (Equivalent time that i might spend for master medium level question in SC).
 keep my other preparations the same i.e quants ,Rc ,CR

Test companies will roll out new GMAT mocks so I can test my expertise ,and by mid 2024 I can take my official GMAT focus .

But the biggest challenge is mastering IR which I have never touched all these years ,and Throw out my SC prep and starting out fresh.

Kindly guide me , if i should take GMAT or GMAT focused .

Thanks a zillion in advance and Sorry for the trouble .

bb   Archit3110   RonTargetTestPrep 
 KarishmaB

carcass   vv65   AjiteshArun   MartyTargetTestPrep   souvik101990   ScottTargetTestPrep

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

suganyamahendran

I think you can be confident that you can prepare for either version.

Since both tests will be offered through the beginning of 2024, test prep companies will most likely keep prep materials for both tests available.

So, the question for you is simply which test better matches your skills and timeframe.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi suganyamahendran,

You ask a number of rather broad questions (regarding how various companies MIGHT respond to the upcoming changes to the Official GMAT). Since the new version of the Test is not currently expected to happen until 2024, it's highly likely that all of the companies that work in this business will keep their current practice materials (books, courses, practice tests, etc.) available for purchase - meaning that you probably have nothing to worry about in that regard.

In addition, there is plenty of time between now and December, so as long as you are following a proper Study Plan and honing the necessary Quant and Verbal skills, you CAN train to score at a higher level. Thankfully, to earn a 650, you do NOT need to correctly answer any of the really hard or really weird questions on the Official GMAT, but you do have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum on everything else.

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:

1) How long have you studied so far? 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)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). Before you can include attachments with your posts/PMs though, you need to have at least 5 posts in the forums (right now, you have just 2 posts). If you would rather not go through those extra posting steps at this point, then you can feel free to email me directly (at [email protected]).

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

bb · Answer

Hi. 1. Have you watched the Video we have done yesterday with GMAT Ninja, MGMAT Stacey, and Maria from ApplicantLab? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2Oz9XvKcoM I recommend it as it should answer most of your questions. 2. The GMAT Focus removes content from the GMAT, so if you are scoring well on the Standard/Classic GMAT (whatever we want to call it), you should be just fine taking the new GMAT Focus. The only caveat is the Integrated Reasoning - it is more important now, and that is the ONLY reason I would not take the new GMAT Focus - if Addition of the IR is going to be WORSE than the removal of SC. You should revisit this topic for many of your other questions: https://gmatclub.com/forum/major-change ... 08213.html Thanks, BB

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Unfortunately, the info available seems to suggest the current GMAT will not be available that long.

"The current version of the GMAT™ exam will continue to be available until early next year to facilitate your in-progress preparation and applications for business school." - MBA website

vv65 · Answer

Sympathies for the difficult decisions Suganya. Here are some comments and suggestions. One thing to remember is that a lot of what we're saying is speculation. For example, the GMAC hasn't yet stated that SC will be dropped (though that does seem a safe inference). The systematic approach for SC is good. Hope you realise that SC prep is not complete yet: easy SC questions in 3 minutes with an accuracy of 80% may not get you to 650, not unless your Quant goes up to 50-51 . https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/gmat ... alculator/ That's the nature of the GMAT. Most of us can never be sure

As of now, the GMAC does not plan to keep the current GMAT till Jun-Aug 2024. Private companies will surely keep the mocks for the current GMAT as long as the current GMAT is being administered

You haven't talked about levels of mastery for CR, RC, DS, PS. Also, the ability to do questions isn't enough to achieve the score target: time management and exam temperament are as important. Suggestion 1, if SC is your weak area and you are already much more comfortable with other question types: Work systematically and take the current exam by Dec-2023/early 2024. If you don't achieve the target score, prepare for GMAT Focus after that attempt. Suggestion 2, in case you have been focusing mainly on SC and have not worked much on other question types: Drop SC. Plan for the GMAT Focus only. If the new section is like the current IR, the major challenge will not be from any extra content to learn. IR is more of a mental challenge -- one needs to stay calm and focused and to manage time well. Posted from my mobile device

suganyamahendran · Answer

is there a way I can determine which skill suits me ?? I feel both SC and IR are equally challenging.

I have been preparing SC for this long and just now I have understood all the basics.

I have little bit of understanding IR when it comes to charts , again this is something I need to invest time and worried how long will I take to master .

Kindly guide me ,this really puts a lot of stress on me

KarishmaB · Answer

We don't know what the exact timelines are going to be - GMAT Focus Edition is expected to be released later this year and the current GMAT is expected to continue till early 2024. 
I assume that GMAT test prep companies will continue to cater to both versions till the current version is available to be taken.

As per your last GMAT score and your prep thereafter, I would suggest you to stick to the current version of GMAT and start paying serious attention to IR too. GMAT Focus will have a Data Insight section (I am guessing similar to DI of CAT) which is not surprising since DI is extremely relevant in a B-school curriculum. 
Hence, time spent in IR will certainly help you during GMAT as well as afterwards.

Rest, continue your preparation as it is. Between SC vs DI, since you have already invested a bunch of time on SC, it makes sense to stick to it. In any case, we don't know many details of GMAT Focus so I will not rely on taking that. No point worrying about what happens if you are unable to get your target score by Dec this year. As long as you are preparing for IR too, you should be able to handle Data Insights without much trouble, if need be. We will need to wait for all the details to come in.

Bottom line - Prep for the current GMAT whole heartedly and invest substantial time in IR too. Get your target score in the current GMAT. If you are unable to do so by the end of this year, we can review the situation again.

P. S. - Start reading high quality publications regularly (an hour a day) if you don't already do so.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

So, the good news is that many of the skills you need for IR, you will gain while learning both quant and verbal. So, once you have gone through those two sections, you'll then want to begin practicing IR to get used to the question types. With that in mind, at one point do you feel you will be done with your quant and verbal preparation?

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