Need advice after finishing OG

Question

Hi All,

I have finished basic concepts from Kaplan and problems from OG. For advance practice which books should I consider ? I plan to take gmat in 5-6 weeks from now.

Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi inquizzitive,

Have you taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs yet? If so, then what were your scores (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? Those scores will give us a better idea of your strengths and weaknesses (and what you'll need to work on as you continue to study)?

Also, what is your goal score?

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

inquizzitive · Answer

Hi Rich,

No, I haven't taken any CATs yet. I thought I will start before 15 days of the gmat date. My weaker areas are as follows - 
SC - Majority, CR - Inference & Role Play, RC - Inference
PS - Hard Geometry & Stats questions
DS - Silly mistakes.

Please advise how to proceed from here. Is it advisable to take test date after 5 weeks from now ?

Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi inquizzitive,

Since you haven't taken any FULL CATs yet, we don't really know what ALL of your weaknesses are yet. Waiting until 15 days before Test Day to begin your CATs is a BAD idea. It can sometimes take months to 'fix' the problems that you'll discover after taking your first CAT, so we need to see how you perform (you really should plan to take a CAT soon).

Once you have the scores from that first CAT, you should report back here. Without those numbers, I can't offer much of an opinion on your current Test Date.

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

VeritasPrepBrandon · Answer

Hi inquizzitive,

You are not taking a good approach. It is good that you have done a lot of practice problems, but tests are very different. They are timed and involve strategy. They are also very long and therefore involve endurance. Your immediate task is to begin taking mock exams; only then will you know what weaknesses you have when dealing with a test in a timed environment. Also, the worst weak area that you listed was "DS - Silly mistakes." Answering easier questions wrong on the gmat because of a silly mistake hurts you a lot, much more so than answering more difficult questions correctly helps you. So shore up your silly mistakes "yesterday," because they can't be here tomorrow. Taking your first practice exam 15 days before the real exam is a very bad idea. Start them asap.

I hope this helps!

inquizzitive · Answer

Thanks Rich & Brandon. Will take some tests for next few days and report back

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi inquizzitive,

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you take more than 1 CAT - you should take 1 FULL-LENGTH CAT and make the process of taking it as realistic and 'test-like' as possible (take the FULL CAT, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as your Official GMAT, etc.). We just need the one score result to gauge how well you've studied. Taking multiple Tests over the course of several days is NOT a good use of that time (or those CATs).

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

inquizzitive · Answer

Hi Rich & Brandon,

I finally took one MGMAT practice test and scored 660 (Q48, V32). Yes, you were right. Solving the question in test like environment is completely different. 
My target score is 740. Do you think it's possible to achieve in 5-6 weeks or should I plan for more time ?
Please let me know what approach should I take now

Regards,

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi inquizzitive,

A 660 is a strong first CAT score. To raise this score to 740+ will require some significant work though - you'll have to make improvements to BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

After taking each CAT, you should plan to do a FULL review of the CAT (including ALL the questions, not just the ones you got incorrect). You should be looking to define WHY you got questions correct and incorrect. Did you get questions wrong because of silly/little mistakes? Because the questions were too hard? Because you were low on time? The little mistakes are the things that you have to work on first - physically redo questions and practice good note-taking and organization.

In answer to your question, it's tough to say if 5-6 weeks will be enough time for you to make the necessary adjustments and improve. We need a better understanding of the types of questions that you're getting wrong and WHY you're getting them wrong. You will probably also need to invest in some non-book study resources.

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

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