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Vaidya
Joined: 02 Oct 2016
Last visit: 26 Sep 2020
Posts: 32
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 20
Location: India
Schools: HEC Dec '17 (D) IE (A) INSEAD Jan'23 intake
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
05 Jan 2017, 06:02
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi guys,
Wanted to get some advice from you to supplement my preparation. I have completed my prep to a large extent but there are some areas which require fine tuning. After much procrastination, I have set an exam appointment for the 14th of February. That gives me ~35 days to work on my knowledge gaps. Also, considering that I'm not working, I can dedicate as much time as required. The target is 760 or above with at least a 50 on quant (applying to finance programs)
I took my first MGMAT CAT sometime in October before starting my prep and scored a 600 (Q42,V32).
After that I've taken 3 more more mocks and here are my observations (for some context)
1. Dec 21, 2016 - GMAT Prep Exam 1 - 740 (Q48, V42) :
Quant: Around 14 mistakes. Found most of the questions fairly simple, but spent more than 3~4 mins / question for several DS problems and therefore ran out of time towards the end and guessed the last 3~4 questions.
Verbal: 9 mistakes (5 SC, 2 CR, 2 RC) - Although I believe SC is a strong area for me, took 30~40 seconds more / question longer than expected (I tend to revisit some eliminated options, eventually starting from scratch). There were a 4 or 5 questions which I had encountered while studying. Although I did not remember any of the answers, it only seems natural that my verbal score stands inflated to that extent.
2. January 1, 2017 - MGMAT CAT 2 - 680 (Q43, V39):
Quant: Around 20 mistakes. Compared with the GMATPrep mock, this was a massacre. I remember only 5 or 6 questions being easy. Not surprisingly, I noticed that around 25~30 questions were rated 700-800. Pacing went for a toss. Had 10 minutes remaining after completing the 27th question. Had to guess (incorrectly) on most of the remaining questions.
This mock makes it clear that my quant needs SIGNIFICANT improvement.
Verbal: 15 mistakes (5 each) Again, SC took longer than what I'd budgeted. I was left with 10 minutes to solve the last 7 or 8 questions.
3. January 5, 2017 - GMAT Prep Exam 2 - 750 (Q49, V44)
Quant: 8 mistakes (5 in DS, 3 in PS). Found it fairly easy with the exception of a few DS questions (weakness). I was able to complete the PS questions in good time, and therefore had nearly 25 minutes to answer the last 10 questions.
Verbal: 5 mistakes (SC 3, RC 1, CR 1). Well faced throughout. One previously encountered passage and one CR question (remembered the answer to this one)
Identified problem areas / weaknesses:
Quant:
1. DS questions which involve relationships between specific %s and overall %s (typically in 2x2 matrix and overlapping set question, PS is not a problem in these areas).
2. DS questions with Speed and Work Rates.
3. DS questions with GCD, LCM, prime boxes etc.
(I find the above types of DS questions very intimidating and therefore I'm not entirely sure when I select an answer and therefore have to recheck twice)
Verbal:
1. CR - Which answer logically completes...
2. CR - Resolve the paradox
3. RC - Which of the following is the author most likely to agree with?
4. RC - Science related passages! (My head starts hurting when I see such a passage)
5. SC - Questions which involve comparison of numbers, %s, quantities etc and have options like 'than those of', 'than that of', 'twice that off', 'twice the number of'.
Any suggestions / tips on how to structure my prep, what to focus on, what resources to use etc, are welcome and greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Vaidya
Wanted to get some advice from you to supplement my preparation. I have completed my prep to a large extent but there are some areas which require fine tuning. After much procrastination, I have set an exam appointment for the 14th of February. That gives me ~35 days to work on my knowledge gaps. Also, considering that I'm not working, I can dedicate as much time as required. The target is 760 or above with at least a 50 on quant (applying to finance programs)
I took my first MGMAT CAT sometime in October before starting my prep and scored a 600 (Q42,V32).
After that I've taken 3 more more mocks and here are my observations (for some context)
1. Dec 21, 2016 - GMAT Prep Exam 1 - 740 (Q48, V42) :
Quant: Around 14 mistakes. Found most of the questions fairly simple, but spent more than 3~4 mins / question for several DS problems and therefore ran out of time towards the end and guessed the last 3~4 questions.
Verbal: 9 mistakes (5 SC, 2 CR, 2 RC) - Although I believe SC is a strong area for me, took 30~40 seconds more / question longer than expected (I tend to revisit some eliminated options, eventually starting from scratch). There were a 4 or 5 questions which I had encountered while studying. Although I did not remember any of the answers, it only seems natural that my verbal score stands inflated to that extent.
2. January 1, 2017 - MGMAT CAT 2 - 680 (Q43, V39):
Quant: Around 20 mistakes. Compared with the GMATPrep mock, this was a massacre. I remember only 5 or 6 questions being easy. Not surprisingly, I noticed that around 25~30 questions were rated 700-800. Pacing went for a toss. Had 10 minutes remaining after completing the 27th question. Had to guess (incorrectly) on most of the remaining questions.
This mock makes it clear that my quant needs SIGNIFICANT improvement.
Verbal: 15 mistakes (5 each) Again, SC took longer than what I'd budgeted. I was left with 10 minutes to solve the last 7 or 8 questions.
3. January 5, 2017 - GMAT Prep Exam 2 - 750 (Q49, V44)
Quant: 8 mistakes (5 in DS, 3 in PS). Found it fairly easy with the exception of a few DS questions (weakness). I was able to complete the PS questions in good time, and therefore had nearly 25 minutes to answer the last 10 questions.
Verbal: 5 mistakes (SC 3, RC 1, CR 1). Well faced throughout. One previously encountered passage and one CR question (remembered the answer to this one)
Identified problem areas / weaknesses:
Quant:
1. DS questions which involve relationships between specific %s and overall %s (typically in 2x2 matrix and overlapping set question, PS is not a problem in these areas).
2. DS questions with Speed and Work Rates.
3. DS questions with GCD, LCM, prime boxes etc.
(I find the above types of DS questions very intimidating and therefore I'm not entirely sure when I select an answer and therefore have to recheck twice)
Verbal:
1. CR - Which answer logically completes...
2. CR - Resolve the paradox
3. RC - Which of the following is the author most likely to agree with?
4. RC - Science related passages! (My head starts hurting when I see such a passage)
5. SC - Questions which involve comparison of numbers, %s, quantities etc and have options like 'than those of', 'than that of', 'twice that off', 'twice the number of'.
Any suggestions / tips on how to structure my prep, what to focus on, what resources to use etc, are welcome and greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Vaidya
05 Jan 2017, 10:48
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Vaidya,
Based on these CAT scores, you have strong critical thinking skills and the necessary knowledge to score at a high level. I have a few questions about how you took these CATs though:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Based on these CAT scores, you have strong critical thinking skills and the necessary knowledge to score at a high level. I have a few questions about how you took these CATs though:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Vaidya
Joined: 02 Oct 2016
Last visit: 26 Sep 2020
Posts: 32
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 20
Location: India
Schools: HEC Dec '17 (D) IE (A) INSEAD Jan'23 intake
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
05 Jan 2017, 11:02
Kudos
Bookmarks
EMPOWERgmatRichC
Hi Vaidya,
Based on these CAT scores, you have strong critical thinking skills and the necessary knowledge to score at a high level. I have a few questions about how you took these CATs though:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Based on these CAT scores, you have strong critical thinking skills and the necessary knowledge to score at a high level. I have a few questions about how you took these CATs though:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Hi Rich,
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Not at the same time as the exam. Scheduled the exam for 9 AM. All the mocks have been taken between 1 and 5 PM.
4. No, I've taken them in the same manner that I would the actual exam.
5. All the CATs were different. Although I did not see any familiar questions in the quant section, there were some cases in the verbal section where I'd come across the questions before since I've been practicing on official retired questions.
