GMAT issue 3 weeks test!

Hi prepgmat95,

I actually would love to see how you perform on an MBA.com practice exam. Would you be able to take one ASAP and report back with your score breakdown? Also, when taking it do not pause the exam. Let's see how things go when you actually mimic test day conditions.

Hi prepgmat95,

Test Day is a rather specific event - and to properly assess how you might score on the Official GMAT, you need to take your CATs/mocks in a realistic fashion that 'matches up' with how you will take the Official GMAT. From what you describe, you have not been doing that (so we cannot assume that any results that come from pausing a CAT or retaking a CAT that you have previously taken are accurate). As such, I highly recommend that you take a NEW Official GMAT CAT sometime soon (perhaps this weekend) - and make sure to take it in the same way that you will take the Official GMAT (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, if you will be at a Test Facility, then wear a face mask, etc.). Once you have that Score, you should post back here (or you can PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

Going forward, you will need a NEW set of CATs/mocks to work with. While the most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC, retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills - since you will likely see some 'repeat' questions that you have already faced. Unfortunately, seeing even a couple of repeats can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all appear to be better than they actually are). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you correctly take the CAT in a realistic fashion that matches the parameters that you will face when you take the Official GMAT) - so you can use any NEW CATs from any of those sources next.

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

First off, it is very clear that verbal is the weaker of the two. A Q46 is high enough to get a 700, and if you pull off that Q50--well, you're in the very elite quant section.

I'll be blunt about this. If you score a Q46 you need a V40 to get a 700. If you score a Q50 you need a V36. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's asking a lot of you, and the added pressure doesn't help. I'm not saying don't take it, I say take it as a really official practice test but plan for that retake in August.

The key to verbal study is how you review. For RC and CR, there's one reason why the right answers are right. Your ability to explain that--and why the wrong answers are wrong (but tempting)--as specifically and simply as possible is a great indicator of verbal improvement. For SC, using, as often as you can, the standard rules of structure and meaning that the GMAT tests to explain why answers are incorrect will let you know you're improving.

A lot of times you can get a right answer in verbal cause it 'sounds' or 'kinda feels' correct. That's great... but you can't improve 'sounds.' If you don't learn why what 'sounds' right 'is' right, you'll struggle to deal with questions where 'sound' and 'feeling' fall short.

There is a whole host of verbal material in our "Free GMAT Prep Hour" series at the MPrep Youtube Channel. That might be a good place to start.

Hello everyone, thank you all for your answers.
I have some feedback here, I think I will need to plan for the retake in August as suggested, but I still want to do my best for the upcoming test.
So I took an official practice test and scored 670: V32 and Q49
V32: the main improvement was in RC, I took notes / draw a map while reading the passage, I've also spent a bit more time than usual in RC (and consequently had to guess the final questions of the test) and I've also noticed that I struggle the most with Main Point questions (systematically wrong), how can I improve in this type of question? However, I'm still very weak at SC, most of my mistakes are SC ... I've noticed that when doing SC questions/practice, I don't usually understand why I get the right answers right. Any advice on that?
Few mistakes on CR, but didn't see a pattern there, and Quant: Almost all wrong answers were DS questions. I also tend to doubt my answers, especially those that come naturally to me, and I "hallucinate" another right answer (while the first one was actually right ...). Don't know how to deal with that.
Thanks for youe feedback!

Hi prepgmat95,

Assuming that you took this recent CAT under realistic testing conditions, then this 670 is a good sign (and you're remarkably close to a 700 right now). From what you describe, your biggest opportunity to pick up points is in SC (and since that's typically the highest frequency question type in the Verbal section, you could potentially pick up a LOT of points overall if you can improve in this one area). If you are frequently using your "ear" to answer SCs (re: you think in terms of "how would I say it..."), then THAT is part of your problem with SCs. SCs are 'technical' in nature (similar to how Geometry questions require knowledge of formulas), so you need to know the grammar/idiom rules really well (and be able to spot when they apply) to score higher in this category.

1) What study materials have you used (and are you currently using) for SC practice?

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

Hello,
I gave my GMAT recently and my quant score dropped as I focused mainly on verbal these last days. My verbal score didn't improve much either.
Could someone here help me analyze the enhanced report?
I am also considering enrolling in an on-demand class for a month (something that can be done in a month, I know some of the famous classes are great but requires 2-3 till 6 months)
As for the materials I used for SC: youtube videos from GMAT companies / OG questions, GMATclub questions
So I need to improve my Quant AND my Verbal, any advice on materials to use?
Thanks

Hi prepgmat95,

While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you have purchased the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you (and you can feel free to PM it directly to me if you don't want to publicly post it).

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