Last two weeks before taking the GMAT

Question

Hey guys,

I just got out of High school in Brazil and plan to apply for the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Because I do not live in Europe,the university accepts the GMAT as a entrance test. For my application to be considered I need to score at least 650. I have been studying for a few weeks now and achieved considerable progress. My first score on the GMATPrep Software (Test 1) was a mere 500, while now I have managed to score a 680 (43Q/40V) on the second test. Keep in mind that I only completed each test 1 time. I plan to take the GMAT in a couple of weeks and I was wondering on what to focus now. Should I redo the oficial guide or take as many practice tests as possible? Do you think a score over 700 is still possible for me ?

Thank you,

Lukas

AjiteshArun · Answer

Wow. That's a lot of improvement for a "few" weeks!

Most people take fewer full length tests as they get closer to the exam, but I would recommend that you take  at least  2 more tests (the 2 tests in the Exam Pack 1). To me a lot of this is going to come down to how long you've been studying. If it's 3-4 weeks, I'd urge you to take more tests and practice more, because you'd be less likely to have gained consistency by now. And I don't think you need to redo the OG. Go through it again if you want, but also think about picking up the Question Pack 1 or try doing some questions from the other OGs for practice.

You're quite close to 700, and your verbal score is already very good. Are you making a lot of silly mistakes in quant (or running out of time)? That could be what you need to work on to get past 700.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hey Lukas,

That is a lot of improvement from your first mock CAT. I can see that still there is a scope of improvement in the Quants section. You certainly can gain some points.
You should focus on going through the fundamentals in Quants part and take 2 more mock CATs.
You can get the CATs from mba.com.
Also, I would recommend you to opt for the Question Pack1 for additional practice.

Regarding redoing the questions, a better way would be to redo all the questions that you have marked incorrectly and note down any additional lesson that you learnt. This will ensure you do not make the same mistake again.

Let us know how you scored in the next mock CAT.
All the best!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Lukas,

Before I can offer any advice, I'd like to know a bit more about your studies so far and how you took your CATs:

1) What practice materials have you used so far?

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?

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

lukastarnow · Answer

I have primarily used the 12th Edition of the GMAT oficial guide and the Manhattan guide for sentence correction. No, I did not take the whole CATs. I skipped the AWA and the IR sections. Since I just got out of High School I am pretty comfortable talking longer tests, so I figured doing these section in the CATs would not help me very much. I took one test at home and the other one I took in a Hotel during a trip with my family. Both tests were taken in the afternoon, while I plan to schedule my GMAT for the morning as I usually tend to do better in the morning and last I tried to follow the GMATs rules while taking the CATs. The only thing that might have influenced my score was that during the second test I did not have any kind of board or paper for the quant section and so I had to calculate everything in my head.

Thank you,

Lukas

lukastarnow · Answer

I did some silly mistakes during the quant part, but they can be solved by focusing more. I'll definitely pick up the question pack 1.

Thank you,

Lukas

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Lukas,

With a 680 on your second CAT, you likely have the skills to score 650+ on the Official GMAT. However, since you have NOT taken either CAT in a realistic fashion, you ended up taking a shorter Test and those score results are likely 'inflated,' so we don't actually know what your current ability level is yet. As such, sometime soon - you should plan to take a FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections) in as realistic and test-like a way as possible (take it at the same time of day as your Official Test, take it away from your home, take notes, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can talk through what you should focus on for the next few weeks.

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

Try to get the Exam Pack 1 as well. That'll give you 2 excellent full length practice tests. Simulating realistic conditions is also a good idea, even if you're comfortable taking long tests.

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