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Senior Manager
Joined: 09 May 2012
Affiliations: UWC
Posts: 314
Given Kudos: 100
Location: Canada
Schools: Rotman '15 (A) Schulich '15 (M)
GMAT 1: 620 Q42 V33
GMAT 2: 680 Q44 V38
GPA: 3.43
WE:Engineering (Entertainment and Sports)
Took my first practice CAT 670 Q45 V36
[#permalink]
12 Jun 2012, 01:59
12 Jun 2012, 01:59
1
Kudos
I took my first practice CAT today MGMAT CAT 1 and got a 670. Q45 V36. I'm not necessarily disappointed but was just surprised the QV breakdown. I've put in about two months of study so far and I did do the MGMAT CAT a year ago with no study to see where I stand and got a 570 Q36 V33. So at least now I know that the study has improved my score.
I found the quant section tough and tricky and I had some serious timing issues. I thought I bombed it and would not make more than 36-38 in Quant. Basically I had to guess/work extremely fast on the last 7-8 questions and I got quite a few of those wrong. I believe that my verbal is stronger than my quant and was expecting at least a 39-40. I had absolutely no issues with timing in the verbal section (had 10 mins for the last question). But now that I've reviewed the verbal section I can see I made many careless mistakes especially in those MGMAT tricky CR q's.
Things for me to do:
1. Improve pacing on quant. (I feel if I kept timing I would not have had to guess on those last 6-7 questions that really got my quant score down)
2. Improve on accuracy in Verbal (just too many silly errors especially on CR)
3 Really need to practice more IR; got just 5/12 q's correct.
4. Need to do a CAT with the essay as well; this one was just IR+Q+V
Any tips, insight etc would be appreciated at this point fellas.
Cheers!
I found the quant section tough and tricky and I had some serious timing issues. I thought I bombed it and would not make more than 36-38 in Quant. Basically I had to guess/work extremely fast on the last 7-8 questions and I got quite a few of those wrong. I believe that my verbal is stronger than my quant and was expecting at least a 39-40. I had absolutely no issues with timing in the verbal section (had 10 mins for the last question). But now that I've reviewed the verbal section I can see I made many careless mistakes especially in those MGMAT tricky CR q's.
Things for me to do:
1. Improve pacing on quant. (I feel if I kept timing I would not have had to guess on those last 6-7 questions that really got my quant score down)
2. Improve on accuracy in Verbal (just too many silly errors especially on CR)
3 Really need to practice more IR; got just 5/12 q's correct.
4. Need to do a CAT with the essay as well; this one was just IR+Q+V
Any tips, insight etc would be appreciated at this point fellas.
Cheers!
Senior Manager
Joined: 09 May 2012
Affiliations: UWC
Posts: 314
Given Kudos: 100
Location: Canada
Schools: Rotman '15 (A) Schulich '15 (M)
GMAT 1: 620 Q42 V33
GMAT 2: 680 Q44 V38
GPA: 3.43
WE:Engineering (Entertainment and Sports)
Re: Took my first practice CAT 670 Q45 V36
[#permalink]
12 Jun 2012, 05:21
12 Jun 2012, 05:21
Just wondering, what is the best approach in analysing my test to make it a useful learning experience?
I figure:
1. Redo the problems I got wrong?
2. Redo the problems that took too long?
What else should I be doing?
I figure:
1. Redo the problems I got wrong?
2. Redo the problems that took too long?
What else should I be doing?
Re: Took my first practice CAT 670 Q45 V36
[#permalink]
12 Jun 2012, 11:43
12 Jun 2012, 11:43
1
Kudos
First, congratulations on the improvement! A 100-point increase, by any measure, is quite impressive. And thank you for the informative post, as it helps us better respond to your questions.
For starters, I think that you lost the opportunity to fully benefit from a practice test when you skipped the AWA. You need to mimic the test as closely as possible to the real thing. Otherwise, you leave yourself vulnerable during the actual test.
For quant, you identify timing as the culprit. But why was your timing off? You scored quite well on math, but did you refuse to let go of a problem sometimes? I suspect that you're fine in math, but your pacing might need to improve (as you already suggested).
For verbal, a score of 36 with approximately ten minutes to go on the last problem suggests that you're a bit trigger happy and fall for traps. Keep reviewing whatever verbal guidebooks that you have. Read them over and over. And during the test, pace yourself more deliberately. I also suspect that part of reason for the "silly mistakes" is fatigue. Once test takers get to the verbal section, they begin to break down and get sloppy. It's something that many people underestimate. That's why taking a FULL practice test is vital. Also consider eating small snacks during the breaks. Here's a linkon that topic.
As for question review, read the explanation for any problem that you struggled with. Reattempt the question later in the day or the next day. For OG, I'm a bit more strict. Fully read every OG explanation (after attempting the question). It helps to reinforce the concepts, build confidence, and make you more aware of the test makers' logic and traps. And, of course, keep an error log.
For starters, I think that you lost the opportunity to fully benefit from a practice test when you skipped the AWA. You need to mimic the test as closely as possible to the real thing. Otherwise, you leave yourself vulnerable during the actual test.
For quant, you identify timing as the culprit. But why was your timing off? You scored quite well on math, but did you refuse to let go of a problem sometimes? I suspect that you're fine in math, but your pacing might need to improve (as you already suggested).
For verbal, a score of 36 with approximately ten minutes to go on the last problem suggests that you're a bit trigger happy and fall for traps. Keep reviewing whatever verbal guidebooks that you have. Read them over and over. And during the test, pace yourself more deliberately. I also suspect that part of reason for the "silly mistakes" is fatigue. Once test takers get to the verbal section, they begin to break down and get sloppy. It's something that many people underestimate. That's why taking a FULL practice test is vital. Also consider eating small snacks during the breaks. Here's a linkon that topic.
As for question review, read the explanation for any problem that you struggled with. Reattempt the question later in the day or the next day. For OG, I'm a bit more strict. Fully read every OG explanation (after attempting the question). It helps to reinforce the concepts, build confidence, and make you more aware of the test makers' logic and traps. And, of course, keep an error log.
. I'm looking at this first test as a rough indication of where I stand performance and stamina wise. My next test hopefully next week will be the whole shebang AWA, IR Quant and Verbal. 
)
