Getting to the next level at 600+ Q questions

Hi Rich, thanks for the answer.

I took another mock two days ago, and got another 640. However, this time my quant score went down from 42 to 38, and my verbal score went up from 35 to 38.

On quant, I answered 19 questions wrong. Almost half of them were because some kind of concentration lapse, I misread something, or some error of that kind; they were not hard questions. The other half were questions I found hard. In this category I am particularly struggling with absolute values, inequalities and number properties.

Thanks!
Andres

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Andres,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 2 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few Scaled Points).

Given what you described about your wrong answers on this CAT, one of your bigger 'issues' is silly/little mistakes and not the 'level' of the questions. The 'fix' for this type of issue is almost always in the note-taking process (you need to consistently take notes on the pad - and NOT do work 'in your head'). If you could make this adjustment, then you could conceivably score a lot higher relatively quickly.

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

Many thanks for the advice, Rich. It is very helpful. I will look into my note-taking process and try improve it, and I will try to find some information about better note-taking procedures. Regarding the questions I do considered as hard, is it a matter of keep practicing or going back to the theory?

Kind regards,
Andrés

Hi Andres,

Until you've 'fixed' the other issues that are costing you points, the "hard" questions aren't really worth your time. That having been said, just because you think a question is 'hard' doesn't necessarily mean that it is - you might just be taking an approach to it that is inefficient or 'math heavy.' This is meant to say that most GMAT questions can be solved in more than one way, so learning Tactics and the common patterns that are tested on the GMAT would likely help you deal with ALL questions (including the 'hard' ones). I would suggest that you search for those prompts in the Forums here (and if you don't find them, then you should post the questions yourself) - the responses that you receive will likely help you to consider all of those questions in a new, easier way.

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

Posted from my mobile device

Hi Supriyaa,

Did you have any follow-up questions on what was discussed in this thread? If you'd prefer, you can feel free to PM or email me directly.

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

Hi Supriyaa,

Feel free to reach out in case you have any questions regarding the discussion in this thread.

(i). GMAC keeps that data pretty locked up tight. But I would estimate that someone scoring a Q46 is going about 75-80% at '600 level questions.'

Keep in mind also, though, that there's a wide gap between a '610' difficulty and a '690' difficulty. A person with a Q46 is probably almost perfect at low 600 level questions.

(ii). There is a lot of diversity in 'this kind of question,' and a lot of reasons someone might miss them. You have to dig deep to figure out why that is.

In general, I say there are five ways to improve a question, so when you miss a question and need to review, really ID which of these five places you could improve based on your mistake in that problem:

1). Concept/Rule/Formula
2). Mechanics
3). Habits
4). Strategy
5). Inference Opportunity

Typically, for people in the 600-700 range, I think number 1 is far less important. In the 500s or below, you probably have some conceptual weaknesses. At the 700+, you have to learn some harder, rarely tested concepts. But in the 600s, it's this other stuff.