Preparation Last 15 days

Question

Hello All,

I want to practice individual Quant and Verbal sections of the GMAT in order to really focus on time management.

My GMAT Prep tests have been good so far:

GMAT Prep1: 730
GMAT Prep2: 750
GMAT Prep3: 710
GMAT Prep4: 760

Can you please suggest any resources which have GMAT like questions. I feel the GMAT like questions bit is very critical as some test prep companies use harder questions that don't benefit time management skills.

Cheers

GMATPill · Answer

Perhaps you may be interested in the GMAT Pill Practice Test: www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/practice-test/ Questions are very similar to actual past GMAT questions and should be good for practice. Students generally report scores within +-30 points of what they get on the actual test.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi desertwarrior,

If you took these practice CATs in a realistic and test-like fashion, then you appear to be in position to score at a high level on the Official GMAT. As such, I have to ask when you plan to take the Official GMAT? I'd also like to know a bit more about how you've taken these CATs:

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

desertwarrior · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for asking these relevant questions:

1) All tests were taken at home
2) All were taken with AWA and IR sections
3) No tests were paused or sections skipped
4) Except for the last one all were not taken at the same time as the Official GMAT

I'm even trying to come up with test strategies to help me stay as focused as possible

Also I plan to take the official test on 4th of August. Just to add, I have found GMAT club CATs to be a great resource for these last days of preparation.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi desertwarrior,

I don't see any big 'red flags' in how you've taken your CATs, so we should assume that those score results are representative of what you're capable of. As such, you should proceed as you see fit (since it seems to have worked for you so far). Since your Official GMAT is in about 2 weeks, you shouldn't try to 'cram' too much work into that timeframe. As a general rule, you should plan to take 1 FULL-LENGTH CAT per week (with the last CAT about a week before your Official GMAT) and spend the bulk of your time on continued study and review.

1) What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on each of these CATs?

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

desertwarrior · Answer

Hi Rich,

This is the breakdown:

Quant Verbal Score
50 39 730
50 41 750
48 38 710
50 42 760

Thank you for your advice. I will try to take it easy these two weeks. I have two GMAT Prep tests left and these are the ones I'm planning to take.

Just to add, Empower GMAT looks sleek with a good UI. Had I known about the score booster a week or two before, I would have bought it.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi desertwarrior,

Your Scaled Scores are just about what I expected them to be, which means that you don't have any significant 'weak spots' in either the Quant or Verbal sections. At higher and higher score levels, the GMAT becomes more and more 'sensitive' to little mistakes. By extension, and as hard as it might be to believe, there isn't that much of a difference in performance between a 700 and a 750. Just a few little mistakes made (or not made) can shift your score dramatically. This is all meant to say that your 'precision' is what will likely make the biggest difference in your final score now, so making sure that you take proper notes, do work on the pad, etc. will be essential to maximizing your score.

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

desertwarrior · Answer

Thanks Rich, awesome advice. I will pay extra attention to that.

Cheers

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