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21 Jun 2017, 22:05
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New GMAT Strategy for Select Section Order for Pre and Post July 11th Tests
On June 15th, GMAC announced a change to the GMAT test structure, providing test-takers with 2 additional options for the order of Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA sections. The change takes place on July 11th. There are lots of speculations, concerns, and ideas, so I wanted to share my take on it and get the discussion going to get the best approach out there - all input is welcome but please, read the post before posting obvious questions.
Analysis - What Does It Actually Mean?
- GMAC has stated multiple times that changing the order of the sections does not give one an advantage and thus does not change the outcome of the test. If you were destined to get 650, that's what you will get regardless of the order. Their research from 2016 showed that taking the test in a different order has no impact. However, this is also the same people who said that the first 10 questions do not matter on the test - Bunuel proved that's not so
- Does actually mean your score will not change if you take the test backwards? I don't read it that way. If you are good at Math and CR, you will spot the flaw here: average vs. individual. You have to think about how the research was done - they took groups of people and randomly offered to take the test in various order. Then they compared their results across these groups and saw if anyone of them stood out. When averaged across the multitude of test-takers, the overall results of large groups of test takers have not changed. While the average did not change, individual scores could have absolutely gone up or down. Just means for every person whose score gone up, there was another one whose score went down during the research phase.
- By the way did you notice that while the Beta Test involved 4 options for the test, only 3 were rolled out? This is pure speculation and my guess, but I am betting my money that the 4th option (AWA - IR - Verbal - Quant) got pulled because the performance of this order provided test-takers with an advantage, which completely negates the first statement we were told, that changing the sequence of sections has no score impact. You can arrive to the same conclusion or not. However, i think this is accurate and I believe very important clue (more on this later).
- Conclusion - with the right strategy, and some time on our hands, we should be able to simulate the option 4 that was not rolled out and get an extra 10-20 points. See my approach below. However, I also expect a lot of people to get burned by the new section order as really nobody taking the test in the next month should be changing anything - it will do no good.
Strategies.....
What Order is Best?
It is easy - whichever area you need to improve the most should be first (with a caveat below).
I am in the camp that believes taking the Verbal section fresh before getting brainwashed by AWA, IR and Quant is a plus to the Verbal and likely overall score. (not tested yet) My understanding from discussions with the GMAC team is the reason people don't get higher scores taking V or Q first is taking them cold - you sit down and while still not used to the chair, computer, noise of the test center, you get bombarded with tough questions and esp since those first 10 count, your score is lacking. The key here is the warm up. You want to warm your mind up in both practice sessions and also before you get to the test center. "Getting in the zone" before you start the first section is critical to improving your score. Take a 30-min quiz, test, etc - warm like a boxer does before the fight. Don't get punched in the face in the first round. If
If you are taking the test before July 11th...
Some are considering rescheduling to take advantage of the order change to take the test on July 11th or 12th and take advantage of the change. I don't recommend it. Changing things this late in the game has little upside. If you are applying in R1, it is going to be tight waiting extra 3 weeks and having to maintain your stamina, mental shape, and keep taking CAT's while you could be writing essays. Another reason to stay put is you don't have much time to understand how the change in section order impacts your performance on the test - are you getting a higher score or a lower one as the result? (Both Vertias Prep - $49 and MGMAT - $10 have released tests that allow to practice changing the order of your test sections). However, you may have used them up already in your prep..... Unless you are not scoring in your desired range (in which case you should reschedule anyway), I would not recommend postponing your test date.
If you do decide to change it, however, changes are free when you call GMAC call center. Make sure you practice enough with the new section order and book your appointment early as I expect an inflow of some of the pent-up demand and test centers will in generally be busier (more reasons to take it before July 11th).
If you are taking the test after July 11th but before July 31st....
If you are planning to boost your score by changing things up, it's good news - You still have some time to get adjusted to the new order of things and practice warming up and taking the test in a revised order. However, you will not get the benefit of the GMAT Prep software and Exam Packs which still use the old order. While the algorithm that MGMAT and Veritas Prep use may not be the same as that of GMAT prep or Official GMAT, their scores are consistent and if you can spot yourself scoring higher from test to test, this approach will work.
If you are taking the test after Aug 1st....
If you are planning to use the new section order, save your GMAT Prep tests - do not take/waste them until the update coming by July 31st (it may actually happen sooner but as things work with software, it may actually take longer). If you re planning to take your test in the first week of Aug, I would suggest using the Jul11-31 strategy instead. Only if you have enough time to take advantage of the GMAT Prep exams and Exam packs, should you really get into this business of changing things up.
What is your strategy for the GMAT?
21 Jun 2017, 22:32
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Thanks bb. Very helpful post!!
My observations after selecting "Verbal first" in a MGMAT mock recently (Verbal is my weak area):
1) At first, it was hard for me to comprehend the first few questions in Verbal. To make things worse my 5th question was a RC passage. Even though it was a short passage, it took me a lot of time and I got 2 out of 3 wrong. But the comprehension issue got better after 7-8 questions. At the end of Verbal section, I was definitely very exhausted. I ended up with a V37.
2) Even though MGMAT quant is brutal, I made a lot of silly mistakes in the Quant section. I got 3-4 simple questions wrong in Quant just because of the calculation mistakes. This was the first time when I made so many silly mistakes in Quant section. This could possibly be because of the section order. I don't know the real reason.
It's too early for me to conclude which option I'd end up choosing. So my goal is to practice both Quant and Verbal first a few times before the real test and see whichever works best. I definitely liked the "warm up" idea. In fact I was thinking of doing the same before my next mock.
I'll post updates on this thread and request others to do the same!!
My observations after selecting "Verbal first" in a MGMAT mock recently (Verbal is my weak area):
1) At first, it was hard for me to comprehend the first few questions in Verbal. To make things worse my 5th question was a RC passage. Even though it was a short passage, it took me a lot of time and I got 2 out of 3 wrong. But the comprehension issue got better after 7-8 questions. At the end of Verbal section, I was definitely very exhausted. I ended up with a V37.
2) Even though MGMAT quant is brutal, I made a lot of silly mistakes in the Quant section. I got 3-4 simple questions wrong in Quant just because of the calculation mistakes. This was the first time when I made so many silly mistakes in Quant section. This could possibly be because of the section order. I don't know the real reason.
It's too early for me to conclude which option I'd end up choosing. So my goal is to practice both Quant and Verbal first a few times before the real test and see whichever works best. I definitely liked the "warm up" idea. In fact I was thinking of doing the same before my next mock.
I'll post updates on this thread and request others to do the same!!
21 Jun 2017, 22:39
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Thank you for sharing yt770! These are really helpful findings and great feedback for those considering taking in the near future. What is the target date you are thinking for the Test?
