GMAT prep tests (URGENT)

Hi, thankyou so much for your response, it was really helpful.

My latest score (today) was 640, Q45 V33 (Kaplan mock), RC (21%) is my weakest point, CR (67%) SC (69%). What should i do to increase my verbal score in 12 days? In quant i could attempt only 25 questions, i ran out of time ( i dont know if that should give my hope to do better than a Q45?). What should i focus more on Q or V?

Hi aanchals,

A CAT is really 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. In addition, 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 should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day.

While the most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are).

Based on your timeframe and current Test Date, you shouldn't take more than 2 additional CATs. If you're consistently scoring around 630 though, then you will likely need far more than 2 weeks of additional study time before you can get to the point that you are consistently core 720+. By extension, you might want to consider pushing back your Test Date.

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:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what 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?

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

The only trustworthy scores are those from official practice tests.

I agree with Scott above - if you've taken one official test early in your prep (a good idea, so you know what you're preparing for and how much time you might need), you should learn first, test last. You take practice tests mainly to work on pacing strategy, and to determine whether you're scoring well enough to book a real test.

You may be able to retake the free official tests. Retakes become more worthwhile the longer the interval between them (so you forget any questions you saw before) and the more you improve between them (because if you improve, you'll see harder and thus different questions on an adaptive test). Buying additional official tests would be a good idea if you have recently taken the free ones and you need to take more tests soon.

Without knowing your score split on a real practice test, it's impossible to advise where you should focus. But if your split were, for example, Q45/V33, then improving solely at Quant will not get you to a 720, no matter how much improvement you make. You would need to raise the Verbal score. In only two weeks though, there is a serious limit to the improvement you could reasonably expect to make, no matter how effectively you study.

Just how many tests you should take, and when you should take them, is not something anyone can answer without more information about your strengths and weaknesses. If pacing were one of your main issues, you would want to focus more on test-taking practice (after first learning optimal pacing strategy). If content were instead the main issue, you would want to focus more on learning concepts, and less on test-taking. If you can hit your goal score on one official practice test (where your score is not inflated because you know some questions in advance) then there's a fair chance you'll match that score on test day, so it would then be worth taking a shot, given you have limited time. Ordinarily I want my students to be slightly exceeding their target on a couple of diagnostics before taking a real test.

I see your test is tomorrow!! Good luck!! Let us know how things turn out.