My Rough Start (A Tad Long)

It's been two weeks since my last update so I thought I would write a quick note. At this point, I have finished my second pass through the first three MGMAT books. I'm now working on book 4. It is a lot more slow this time through as I am taking the time to be sure of the concepts. It is crazy now, how even advanced questions aren't too difficult. There are still some concepts that I don't grasp completely, but the cost/benefit analysis of getting a couple small parts nailed down (and spending a huge amount of time) vs. moving on puts me in favor of skipping them. I really don't miss many questions anymore. I can solidly answer 600-700 level questions, at least according to the MGMAT Question Banks. That is quite a jump from 6 weeks ago when I was in the 300-500 range. I also get some of the 700-800 questions, though it's a bit hit-or-miss. I am happy with that as Quant has always been my weak area. If I can swing a high 600s or low 700s in Quant level questions while still getting a high/middle 700s in Verbal, my overall score should be quite nice.

Thanks for the update my fellow CPA, glad you are doing well. Did you happen to try the GMAT Club tests yesterday?

Thanks,
Dawgie
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Nice to know that you are doing good. You can do this..and keep updating all of us.

Thanks for the encouragement. It really does get easier the second time through these books. As an example, I had a 'lightbulb' moment this morning with factorials. There was a concept that just suddenly made total sense to me. It was sort of an 'ah ha' type of moment as I literally sat back in my chair and said just that. Good stuff!

What is harder, CPA or GMAT?
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CPA, hands down, is harder. I know that people talk about the GMAT and how hard it is, but it doesn't hold a candle to the CPA, at least in my opinion. The CPA covers a lot more material, involves a huge amount of subjects/concepts, and the whole process seems designed to stress you out. I think the fact that we get our GMAT results as we are sitting at the testing center a huge luxury. Try waiting a couple of months for your results, not knowing if you need to retake the test or move on to one of the other FOUR tests. You know how it is...

Haha I agree, waiting for your results is a lot harder than study for the test (Okay maybe exaggeration but it was an annoying wait).
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whats the reg prep time for cpa?

Depends on individual, just like for GMAT.
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but you cant take it cold can you?

If you want to fail. Nice cat by the way!
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It depends on the person, but study time is up to 18 months for some. Heck, some take even longer but your results start to expire after 18 months. Honestly, the CPA test is usually compared with the Bar, so imagine taking the Bar exam cold. In fact, a recent article I read asked individuals that were both a CPA and lawyer which examination process was more difficult. The CPA barely edged out the Bar. Regardless of which exam is more difficult, the fact that they are around the same level should tell you something.

I'm just about finished with all of the studying at this point. I should be taking the test in about 2 weeks. I took another prep test this morning and scored 700 on the MGMAT (45Q, 40V). This, even though I haven't really studied the verbal too much in the past 3 weeks. I just can't seem to boost that Q score much more. I seem to score between 700 to 730 on the prep tests. I can't say I'm complaining as I was scoring in the 400's back in July. It seems like I'll have a good chance at getting at least a 700, which was my main goal. Anything higher would be awesome but I'm not banking on it.

Vince,

Sounds like you're ready to join the 700 club. I seem to be far from ready to take my test, as I am really trying to make sure that I have the math concepts down. I've been doing verbal problems posted in the verbal forum at work, and seem to do fairly well on the 700 level questions. I figured that verbal wouldn't have been much of a problem, but I think I need to score pretty high to make up for a relatively low quant score. Let us know when you schedule your appointment. Don't worry man, you'll do fine. Like you said, you started in the 400's and now you're scoring over 700 on your prep tests.

Thanks Womiwom,
I have been getting some pretty consistent scores so now I just need to bite the bullet for the exam. I checked last night for testing windows and there are a ton in my area. I could literally take the exam this week if I wanted to. I think I'll work through a few more practice tests to firm up my timing, read over my flashcards a few more times, then take the exam. Good luck on your own studying!

Thanks for the update Vince, are you going to start pushing your verbal score now that your quant seems to be plateauing? If so what is your gameplan.
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are you using error logs to help you out? it does help fixing small errors. at 700 plateau it is pretty much fixing small stuff

I'm not using an error log as I don't think the cost vs benefit will support it. I looked into it when I first started my research and studying, finally deciding that it wasn’t for me. I am not the type that would find it helpful as I am not going to stop after each question, nor after a review, to fill in a log. Really, I know what I'm missing in Quant at this point, and I know that I'm not likely to get much better without a disproportionate investment of time and resources. As for Verbal, I definitely know my weaknesses there too.

As to your question Dawgie, Verbal is exactly what I'm going to work on. I now have a LOT of flashcards from Quant, which I try to go over all the time. Those cards help keep me mentally engaged with the Quant. Also, I just took another practice test and scored exactly the same on Quant again! So yeah, definitely at a plateau with Quant. Time to hit the Verbal again and then move on to the real thing.

Vince,

I haven't made it to that point in my quant, but my verbal is pretty good already. I do SC, CR, and RC problems at work and get most of them right. I'm actually only answering the 700 level questions posted here. I think we're the minority on this forum, as most of the members are math wizzes that struggle with verbal. I highly doubt I'll get a Q50, but I figure if I can get a Q45-47 and a V44-46, that will be good for 700+. I'd suggest doing some of the problems in the verbal forum when you get a chance.

Thanks Womiwom for the advice. I am actually working through the Verbal advanced questions in OG 11 and 12 at the moment. I think it comes down to learning a few of the more obscure and rediculous rules at this point. Oh, and I really need to memorize the idioms. I take them for granted as I'm a native speaker, but they are definitely an area where I make stupid (and I mean STUPID) mistakes. The 700+ questions often involve some weird answer choice that sounds wrong but is grammatically correct. Since I read as much as I do, as well as the editing I often perform for others, I have a good instinct for the Verbal stuff. At least a decent instinct with this level of grammar anyway. I'm no expert, but they aren't asking us to be experts. I think I'm ok with getting somewhere in the 93 - 95% or so for Verbal, and a 73% in Quant (pretty consistent in my last 3 tests). This should put me in the 700+ range. At this point, the score estimator seems to predict a score of 720 - 730, based on my previous tests and my performance under pressure.

One thing I still need to work on is my timing. I have the Quant timing down and have finished right on time. As for Verbal, I still finish between 10 and 20 minutes early. I try to slow down on the practice exams but just seem to breeze through the first part. By the time I hit the harder questions, I've built up a lot of extra time for use later, but then start answering the difficult questions at the correct pace (not using the time built up unfortunately). This means that by the end I still have that extra time I saved from the beginning. I'll just have to keep trying to get a handle on it.