MGMAT Progression Help

Question

Ok so I'm in the full swing of things regarding the GMAT and am looking for some advice for the final 2-3 months of studying. I began preparations probably in early March and was 100% overwhelmed with the material so i signed up for a Manhattan class. Score progression with dates and breakouts below:

CAT 1 (37Q, 33V) 580 April 12th
CAT 2 (42Q, 31V) 590 May 4th
CAT 3 (40Q, 39V) 650 May 25th

I'm targeting a 720 so still lots of work left to do. I notice in quant i get completely overwhelmed with complex algebra questions. I still have a few weeks of class left but really looking for advice on what materials you guys would suggest.

Thanks

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

To help provide the best possible advice, I have a few questions for you:

1) When is the date of your GMAT?
2) Since you started your prep in March, how many hours have you studied?
3) Are the practice test scores from MGMAT tests or Official MBA.com practice tests?
4) Are you looking for a quant only GMAT prep resource to use for the next few months of studying?

hffballer · Answer

1.) No target date set, waiting until i'm in or close to the 700's on a MGMAT test. Probably set a test date for end of July and mid August. It will help me mentally to know i have another one scheduled.

2.) I'm putting in at least 1.5 hours per day, usually 2 during the week and then 3 hour class on saturday with 2 additional hours of studying and then 4-6 on Sunday.

3.) MGMAT tests. Want to get through 4 or 5 before "wasting" official practice tests.

4.) No i think there are definitely areas in verbal i need to improve but Quant is my new focus.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hffballer,

Since there are 6 Official GMAC CATs available, you wouldn't be 'wasting one' as long as you took it in a realistic fashion (meaning you take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, away from your home, at the same time of day that you plan to take the Official GMAT, etc.). Since you've been studying for at least 2 months now, it would be a good idea to take one of those CATs so that we can get a sense of your current skills, strengths and weaknesses (it would also help to know whether that V39 is your new Verbal 'level' or if it's an outlier). Once you have that new score, you should report back here and we can talk through the results and how you might adjust your study plan going forward.

All things being equal, your scores are improving, so it would make sense to continue studying as you have been and finish up your class.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi hffballer,

Based on what you described, I think you can improve your score to a 700+. I like your idea of waiting to take your actual test until you have evidence from your MBA.com practice test scores that supports your ability to cross the 700 threshold.

Regarding your practice test scores, don't worry too much about them; you have more knowledge, skills, strategies, and techniques yet to develop. As you get stronger, you’ll see a rise in your practice test scores. For the next few months, I would recommend that you focus first on mastering the material. Here’s a helpful article, which covers the essential phases of a sound GMAT prep plan:

https://blog.targettestprep.com/3-critic ... mat-score/

Try to adapt this general strategy to your personalized study plan.

Whatever prep resource you select, ensure that it allows you to do focused practice of one topic at a time: e.g, subject-verb agreement or good reasoning practices for verbal; number properties or rate problems for quant. After doing each problem set, analyze exactly why you got each question wrong and fix any weak points. You’ll want to strive for mastery…

Once you have mastered all the major and lesser topics, begin taking practice exams to uncover what else you may need to study. Unless you have already exhausted them, take practice exams from MBA.com; those exams provide the most accurate exam experience and use the most accurate scoring algorithm.

You can start with two free exams:

https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/pre ... tware.aspx

After that, you can purchase exam pack 1 and 2:

https://www.mba.com/us/store/store-catal ... ack-1.aspx
https://www.mba.com/us/store/store-catal ... ack-2.aspx

When taking your practice exams, try to replicate the test day experience as much as possible. Take your exam in a quiet location, preferably at the same time and day that you will take the scheduled exam. For example, if your GMAT is scheduled for 11 am on a Saturday morning, take your practice exams at 11 am on Saturdays so that by the time your test rolls around, you will be mentally prepared for an exam given then.

In addition, here’s another good article I wrote that I think will help:

https://blog.targettestprep.com/how-to-s ... -the-gmat/

Finally, here are a few interesting GMAT quant questions with which you can practice:

https://gmat.targettestprep.com/gmat-quant-examples

https://gmat.targettestprep.com/differe ... s-examples

Let me know if you need more personalized help.

Best,

Scott

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