MGMAT cats

Question

i know this question as been asked countless times before, but just how difficult is the MGMAT cat quant in comparison to the actual gmat? i don't find the questions in the cats too difficult, but solving each question in 2 minutes is seemingly impossible for me. after i'm done with the cat, i try to solve every problem again and get almost all questions but for 8-9 700-800 level ones. during the test, spending additional time on one question messes the other questions and consequently, the other section.

also, i find the MGMAT cr and rc to be somewhat different from the OG and gmat prep. it's not as clear and as convincing as the official material. the options are just too close to each other. does anyone else feel the nahi

there is a huge variation in my mgmat scores and the gmat prep. so i really don't know where i stand.

MGMAT 1: 680
MGMAT 2: 690
GMAT prep 1 retake(3-4 repeats in verbal. almost no repeats in quant): 760
MGMAT 3: 740
MGMAT 4: 660 (messed up verbal because of a horrible quant performance. totally lost interest while answering)

i took the tests in order listed above and took all of them with the AWA section.
any tips or advice. i have my GMAT on 21st of this month.

mohater · Answer

Many people report MGMAT being more difficult than the real thing.

PS: saying "(messed up verbal because of a horrible quant performance. totally lost interest while answering)" means this could be an outcome for you on the real thing. Text anxiety/fatigue breaks many people on the test who would otherwise perform well.

That being said, you should be on course to break 700 on the real thing. Few notes:

Take advantage of your breaks but remember 8 minutes
Bring snacks to carry you through the test (things you know will settle well in your stomach and will not let hunger/thirst be a problem)

Best of luck

tan · Answer

hey! thanks for the quick reply. i try to replicate the test experience as much as i can. i take 8 minute breaks and do the same things that i would on the final day(eat chocolates

and wash my face). i'm really worried about the quant though. i scored 48 a month ago on gmatprep 1 with many many stupid mistakes. i am not too bad at quant. i score 49+ in kaplan tests and even have an accuracy of about 85% in the 'advanced quant strategy supplement' by manhattan gmat. but when it comes to the MGMAT cats, i totally lose all that.

mohater · Answer

For quant:

Slow down when reading the problem. Often, the question asks you to extrapolate an unknown, but the unknown will also be one of the answer choices. Many people (including myself) will answer the unknown, mark it and move on not realizing he/she read the problem too quickly and could have answered in had it been given another 10 seconds (or less).

Silly mistakes are not always so silly. The question writers put a great deal of effort into making sure the problems can stratify test takers problem using a number of mechanisms (answers someone will "like", X when the problem says extrapolate X by Y, answers that account for common mathematical mistakes, etc.).

tan · Answer

yea. i try to take note of those issues. i've reduced the silly mistakes, but a few do pop up sometimes. i'll try improving while solving the two cats that i have.

another question, is there a point in solving the quant section untimed? i guess that take me around 1.5-2 hrs, but it'll pretty much kill the purpose of a CAT right?

mohater · Answer

If you do it untimed, still track your time on each problem and then average it out. Untimed is OK if the clock can drive you bananas, but you should still track it for prep purposes to figure out where you're getting caught up and why.

That being said, I wouldn't advise it, but it has worked for some people.

That being said, I wouldn't advise it, but it has worked for some people.

tan · Answer

Thanks a lot!! i'll definitely try to strengthen all weaknesses. i'm was trying to score a 730-740 after my gmatprep1 but given my current performances, that seems like a distant dream.

akbism · Answer

Hi Tan, 
Can you share your GMAT experience. My exam is on 24.11.2011 and really looking for an effiecient strategy.

tan · Answer

Hey! i've put up a small debrief here- thanks-all-720-q49-v40-122303.html#p989710 hope it helps.

Turbonash6 · Answer

The one thing I tried to focus, on when taking my last couple of practice tests and final test, was if I came across a quant problem that I didn't know the process to solve or couldn't recall within 15 seconds...I would just guess...If I know the process than I didn't mind spending 1-2 minutes on the problem, but wasting time struggling to find the process will really hurt you later on during the exam....if you know how to solve it solve it, if you can't figure out what process to use in 15 seconds or so...probably won't come to you in a minutes....I definitely found that math on the MGMAT tests harder, the best score I ever got was in the actual test, and that was with about 15-20 minutes left in the quant section.....

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