OG vs free gmat prep exam

Hi RashedVai,

In a prior post (here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/is-it-possib ... 02355.html), you noted how you had gotten to a particular score level. If you are actually 'stuck' at that level, then continuing to work through practice questions - in the same ways as before - is not likely to lead to a big improvement in your Scores.

From a statistical-standpoint, the 700+ Score is approximately the 90th percentile, so clearly most GMATers never score that high on the Official Exam (regardless of how long they study or the number to times they take the Test). By extension, while it's certainly possible that you could hit that type of Score while just working through Official questions, again (statistically speaking) it's not likely to occur. There are study materials that you can invest in that can help you to score higher on the GMAT, but it's worth noting that the Official materials are NOT designed to teach you Tactics, patterns or any of the 'little secrets' to the Exam.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) Is your overall goal score 700 or something else?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Okay here we go:

Studies:

1) I have been studied for 1.5 years.

2) I have completed all the Manhattan books. I have completed magoosh premium packages(video lessons and 600+ practices questions). For Quant I also have read TTP lessons and seen their videos. I have seen your materials also. I used empower Gmat 1 month package. But I haven't finished everything. I liked your Quant part. That was helpful. And finnaly I have watched Thursday with Ron's 150+ recording for both verbal and qunat. I have completed OG and OG supplements couple of times. I also have studied 400+ official gmat Prep problems.

3) I have taken 2 official free test 5/6 times each. And collected an error log contain 200+ questions. Then I did those questions. Now If I take MBA.com free test I find most of the questions common. So my score is inflated. My last few mock results are:

A. November 9, 2018- Veritas 1= 550 (Q33, V21)

B. January 29, 2019- Veritas 2= 600 (q42, v24)

C. April 8, 2019 Veritas 3= 620 (q46, v29)

D. June 24, 2019- Veritas 4= 560 (q41, v26)

E. July 10, 2019 - Official PREP 5 = 540 ( Q 43, V21)

F. July 22, 2019 Official prep 6 = 510 (q43, v19)


Inflated official free 2 exam (letest):

G. June 30,3019-Official Prep1 - 700=(q50, v35)

H. July 3,2019-Official prep2 - 680= (q49, v32)

These last two are inflated because I have taken this two exam couple of times before and I know most of the questions.


Goals:

4) I want a 650 score(verbal 30+)

5) I have planed to take my exam in last week of October 2019. That means I have about 60 days left.

6) fall 2020

7) I will apply to Arizona State University. But I will apply couple of others too. I haven't done my research yet on this issue.


Hope you will show me the proper guidelines. Please.

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Hi RashedVai.

The vibe I get from what you have posted is that you have learned a lot about the GMAT and answered many practice questions but have not completed a key aspect of a successful GMAT preparation process, which is developing skill in arriving at correct answers.
You said above that you read TTP lessons and watched the videos. So, what I'm wondering is what you did to develop skill. How many TTP questions did you answer? What were your hit rates on any TTP chapter tests that you took? What approach do you use when you find that you have missed a quant question?

Similarly, for verbal, what did you do to develop skill in arriving at correct answers to verbal questions? Did you do timed practice? Untimed practice? Did you analyze questions? Did you analyze your errors to see what it was that you needed to see or needed to do differently in order to arrive at correct answers?

Yes, your using the SC questions from GMAT Prep 1 and 2 for practice is a good idea. Most of those questions are high quality, and there is much to be learned from them. At the same time, you have to use the questions effectively. If you just run through them quickly and don't get a lot from the process, you won't see much of a score increase. You have to use the questions in a way such that you will develop, not just knowledge, but skill in arriving at correct answers.

I haven't done any questions from your question Bank. I did all the example videos included in every lesson. There were 800+ examples with in depth video explanation. I did those only. In case of practice I actually preferred and did Official questions only.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi RashedVai,

You've clearly worked through lots of practice questions - but the 'swings' in your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores imply that you are 'winging it' when answering GMAT questions. In simple terms, you're not following a set series of Tactics (or 'steps') when approaching questions - you're just doing what you think is best on a case-by-case basis. In the Verbal section, you're narrowing the answers down to 2 choices and 'guessing' far too often - and you cannot hit 650+ by approaching that section in that way.

You seem to understand that retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills, so we have to ignore all of the results that come from 'retakes.' Going forward, if you want to receive a realistic CAT Score, then you should NOT retake any CAT that you have already used. Assuming that you current 'ability level' is probably in the low-500s, raising that type of Score to the point that you can consistently score 650+ will likely require at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

To hit your Goal Score in the timeframe that you've described, you will have to make some big changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

I am a whole time Gmat student now. So I can study 8/10 hour per day. That means I can study 50+ hour per week.

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Hi RashedVai,

I've sent you a PM with some additional advice and questions.

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