How legit is the gmat club question bank?

Question

Hi everyone,

I am having an accuracy of 60 percent on 600-700 questions on SC/ RC / CR. timed. Also an accuracy of 60-70 percent on DS and PS on 600-700 questions. Timed under 2 minutes.

My question is; how representative are the questions given in the question bank? I only use the questions with a (official?) resource like GMATprep, Official guide, Magoosh etc.

One month ago I scored a Q29 V26 (470) and I need a score of 550. Do you think I will get 550+ score I want with this accuracy and pace?

I am having my second test next friday, so I am really curious.

Jordi

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Jordi,

Many GMATers become too fixated on the 'implied level' of the questions that they're working on - instead of what really matters: defining WHY they're getting questions wrong and becoming more efficient at approaching the overall Exam. It's also worth noting that just because a 3rd party describes a question as "700 level" does not necessarily make it so. In addition, with a Score Goal of 550+, you do NOT need to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird, so focusing on 'tougher' practice questions is not a good use of your time. To properly assess how well your studies are preparing you for the Official GMAT, you have to take realistic, FULL-LENGTH CATs/mocks in a fashion that matches-up with how you will take the Official GMAT (re: take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, in the same section-order, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, if you will be at a Test Facility, then wear a face mask, etc.).

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) When you say that your 'second test' is next Friday, are you referring to a Practice Test or the actual Official GMAT?
2) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used so far?
4) 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)?
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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Jordi,

Are you able to take another official practice exam to see where you are at?

vamshikaithi · Answer

Hi Jordi, Don't just focus on questions. I personally feel that solutions are as important as questions. Because most of your learning comes from analyzing solutions. And I personally did not find the solutions on gmatclub to be very detailed and effective. Look for a resource which can help you with detailed solutions. And a score of 470 suggests that you are still struggling with concepts. So, brush up your concepts and then practice questions. All the best

Jordi12345 · Answer

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies. That's really appreciated.

1) When you say that your 'second test' is next Friday, are you referring to a Practice Test or the actual Official GMAT?  - I did a practice test firstly and my second test next Friday will be an official test.

2) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?  I have been studying for two months now and I studied for 40 hours a week with one day off.

3) What study materials have you used so far?  I use the official guide of 2020, I did a 20 hour quantitative course and a 10 hour verbal course at GMAT Amsterdam and I have been using this platform since the beginning of november.

4) 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)?  I did my mock exam four to five weeks ago. Scored Q29 and V26. Just to see where I standed at that moment. I only created a fundament of mathematics before that understanding geometry, algebra, arithmetic. Really tried to get a ''basis'' before I did that exam. After that I really focused on understanding the concepts etc. I use Gmatclub for the subjects they question on the exam. Per subject on Problem Solving and Data Suffiency I do 5 to 10 questions and when I get it wrong or do not fully understand the concept I check the answers. Then I'll move on. The same with Sentence Correction.

5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?  I am planning to join the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam going to Digital Business and Innovation. A 550 score is a must to apply. My first real chance is the 11th of december and my second chance is 10th of january.

Jordi12345 · Answer

ScottTargetTestPrep  I hope to do a last this this weekend to see where I stand. I am a bit scared to get a lower score than the 550 what may affect my ''certainty'' of getting that 550 on the 11th. What's your advice on that?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Jordi,

If you took your last practice CAT/mock 1 month ago, then it's tough to say what your actual 'ability level' is at this point. Since your Official GMAT is on December 11th, you have enough time to take another 1-2 more practice CATs/mocks - but you should not plan to take any more than that - and I suggest that you take one soon. It's worth noting 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 should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day.

I want to reiterate that to earn a 550, you do NOT need to correctly answer any questions that you think are too hard, weird or complicated - but you have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum on everything else. Once you have your next practice CAT Score, you should post back here and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

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

Jordi12345 · Answer

Hi everyone,  ScottTargetTestPrep ,  EMPOWERgmatRichC

Did my exam today and scored Q29/V25. Even lower than 5 weeks ago. I've reviewed the questions and 90 percent of what I've seen on quants I immediately saw what was wrong. (Not reading the questions good, like 8X times/ clicked accidentally on the wrong answer once) Also for the mistakes I made on Verbal I thought; did I really not see this choice?! I have been using ritalin for the past week and thought that might help me today so I used it while doing the exam. I am gonna give it another try tomorrow as I felt the ritalin wasn't benefitting me and overshadowing my sharpness and made me feel ''more secure than I should be about my answer'' I had this same situation with my math exam in high school lol.

After all, disappointed with the results and it isn't giving me the certainty I need for next Friday. Tomorrow I will do EXAM 4 of Gmat MBA without ritalin. Gonna give that a try. After 5 weeks I should have made progress towards the 550, I would think. Tomorrow I will post my new score.

Does anyone have tips for me for short term prepping to MAXIMALIZE my score (max 1 week?)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Jordi12345,

From what you describe, you have the knowledge to score higher, but your 'processes' (re: your note-taking, organization, etc.) need work. Since you took a CAT today, I think it's likely that you will be a little too tired to perform at your best if you take another CAT tomorrow (so you might consider reviewing today's CAT in more detail and honing your general test-taking skills instead of jumping into another CAT so soon).

Beyond noting WHY you got questions wrong, you should also pay attention to the questions that you found most difficult; since you do NOT need to correctly answer those tougher questions to hit your Score Goal, learning to quickly spot the concepts or structure of those types of questions should help you to better 'dump' them instead of wasting time on them. 
 
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

How did exam 4 go?

Jordi12345 · Answer

Hi  ScottTargetTestPrep

I had a Q43 V26. With Quant I recognised two questions which I knew how to solve. I timed those questions with 2 minutes and moved on. Surely that affected my score buy my quant score is more near my actual expected score after two months of learning.

Verbal didn’t go so well.

Posted from my mobile device

gmatgames · Answer

They are really good for practice. Especially if you are aiming for Q51.

Jordi12345 · Answer

What do you mean? Mock exams in general? Or do you mean the 600-700 questions in the question bank on gmatclub?

I am still practising questions on this forum but only questions from the official guide.

Jordi12345 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Did the real exam and scored a devastating 450. Q29 V23. The lowest score I’ve ever had. I was pretty nervous. Most quant questions weren’t in my favour (strenghts) and more attacked my weaknesses. As if the GMAT really focuses on your weak parts and throw some more of these type of questions.

I have another chance on the 7th of January. This time I want to be more prepared than ever. I will not give up as I know I’ve got the capacity to get the score I want.

TO EVERYBODY ON THE FORUM:
Anybody has tips to attack the gmat this time? Which books for verbal? Which books for quantative? Maybe a good course for 3-4 weeks? I’ve got four weeks till my next chance.

Like to hear from you guys!

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Jordi12345,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function - and ignoring the one result in which you saw some 'repeat' questions - your CAT score results and Official Score show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 450 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. While you are not actually that far from a 550, it appears that you have developed some 'bad habits' that are keeping you from scoring higher - and we'll have to define and fix them (re: replace those bad habits with new 'good habits') before you will be able to hit your Goal Score.

January 7th is less than 4 weeks away and you might need more guide study time than that before you will be able to consistently hit 550+.

1) What are the exact Application Round deadlines (all of them) for the School that you plan to apply to?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Got it. If you need any additional advice, feel free to reach out.

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