Hey guys,

I'm taking the GMAT tomorrow for the first time and over the past few days did a series of the Official Practice tests (I did 1,6,5, and then 4). I had done a few Kaplan ones prior to that, but didn't know how accurate those were.

I'm kind of nervous for tomorrow because my scores are kind of all over the place. Here's what I got for the official practice tests:

1. 710, Q47 V41 (I think I got a few extra lucky math guesses because this is far higher than I'd ever scored in math
2. 680, Q45 V39
3. 660, Q42 V40
4. 710, Q41 V46 (this is the highest I've ever scored on verbal!

(also, I've been only doing the Q and V sections of the exam, skipping IR and AWA - I'm mentioning this in case it matters, but I don't think it does, as my order is Q, V, IR, AWA and will be on test day... I've done IR a couple times with Kaplan and my last score was 7 - probs a bit inflated bc I got lucky but also not horrible)

I have absolutely no idea what to expect in terms of a score prediction. Can anyone speak to how strong of predictors these tests are of actual score on test day?

Thanks in advance= for any input!

Best,
Justine

Hi Justine,

A CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score, but the more your CAT-taking process deviates from what you will face when you take the Official GMAT, the greater the possibility that your CAT results might become 'inflated.'

If you took each of these practice CATs just once, then your Verbal skills are clearly incredibly strong, so I suspect that you'll perform at a similarly high level on the Official GMAT. The 'swings' in your Quant Scaled Scores could be due to a number of different factors though - so predicting how you might perform in that section is a bit more difficult.

Since your GMAT is tomorrow, you shouldn't be doing any studying at this point. You would be best served by trying to get some extra rest, so that you can go into Test Day calm, clear-headed and ready to work. After you've taken your Exam, you should post back here (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results.

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

Thanks for the quick response! I just got back from the testing centre and am super happy with my first pass at the GMAT!

I got 700 - Q41, V45 (and IR5).

Thank god for verbal, eh? So yeah, not the best quant score, but I'm super happy that I broke 700. Good to have that score in the bag! However, I'd love to improve my quant score to make my overall score a bit more balanced... How much you say can someone with mediocre math skills improve within a couple weeks? I need to check the available dates, but I don't want to wait too long before writing the GMAT a second time.

Also, if I'm unable to write a second sitting of the GMAT and had to use the 700 Q41 V45 score that I got today, would that be so bad? Is this an okay score? Or is the low quant too much of an issue? For context, I've just graduated from Western University's Ivey Business School in Canada (strong Canadian business school) and am primarily targeting CEMS/International Business programs at European business schools, such as WU in Vienna, ESADE in Barcelona, and Bocconi in Milan. I've also looked into HEC, St. Gallen, and INSEAD, but I'm more interested in the first three schools I mentioned.

Thanks again for the advice!

Best,
Justine

Hi Justine,

First off, your 700/Q41 is an outstanding Score, and while the Q41 might be seen as a 'red flag' at certain Programs, if you have a strong Overall profile, then that Score could be enough to get you into the Schools that you are interested in. That's ultimately an Admissions question though, so you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

One of the great aspects of the Quant section is that it's NOT a 'math test'; it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. This ultimately means that you do NOT need to have amazing math skills to score higher. That having been said, you do have to be able to work through essential Algebra and Arithmetic without making little mistakes and you have to know a variety of different Formulas and math rules to pick up many of those Quant points.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your timeline:

1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
4) What specific application deadlines are you facing?
5) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

1) I've been "studying" for the gmat intermittently over the past couple months but, in reality, have only started intensely studying this past month. I studied somewhere between 30-40 hours a week but I don't think that I was very efficient in my studying, as I was really beginning to burn out.

2) I have the Kaplan practice bank and the accompanying practice tests, and I used this mostly at the beginning. I realized pretty quickly that I didn't really need to dedicate a whole lot of time to Verbal, and so switched my focus to quant. I tried going through the questions in the quant section of the forum, and did that for a time, but eventually figured I needed a study plan that was a bit more structured. For the past month or so I've had a subscription to Target Test Prep. The program is awesome and has helped my quant skills significantly... in the sections I completed. My main problem with my studying strategy was that I was just hammering quant all day and ultimately burning myself out.

3) I took about 3 Kaplan mocks, but don't remember the dates. I'd say one was in the beginning of september, one in the beginning of october, and one about a week ago. I think those scores were 630 (Q37 V39), 660 (Q41 V40), and 640 (Q38, V40). My official GMAT practice tests were the following dates:

1. 710, Q47 V41 - Oct 24th
2. 680, Q45 V39 - Oct 24th (morning)
3. 660, Q42 V40 - Oct 24th (evening)
4. 710, Q41 V46 - Oct 25th

I know these are all super close together, but I was cramming/panicking, haha.

4) I'm in a bit of a tough situation. The application deadine for WU, my #1 school, is January 8th, but I only find out if I get accepted in the end of March. This means that I'd likely be applying for other competitive schools in the later rounds, so submitting applications in February/March.

5) I think I can do about 15-20 hours a week. If I really put my mind to it, maybe a bit more.

Best,
Justine

Hi Justine,

To start, a CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Regardless of how you choose to study going forward, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

You still have plenty of time before your initial application deadline, so you have the flexibility to continue studying however you choose. You have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have been able to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would have run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid going forward). 15 - 20 hours a week would be fine, but if you are going to try to study a lot more than that, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

Based on everything that we have discussed so far, I think that your overall math knowledge is fine, but to consistently score at a higher level, your focus now should be on the Tactics, patterns and little 'secrets' of the Quant section. With the proper focus on developing those Quant skills - and assuming that your Verbal skills stay as strong as they have been on your various Tests - you could potentially retest in a month and score in the mid-700s or higher.

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. 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 purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you. As I mentioned in my first post, you might be fine applying with this 700/Q41 - but if you think that you need a higher Score (or an Admissions Expert suggests that you need a higher Score), then there is a Study Plan that I can recommend that you follow for the next month.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Hi Justine!

700 is a great score! Congrats!! I'm not sure if you have made any decisions, but if you decide to retake the GMAT and need any advice, feel free to reach out.
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Hahaha, I’m already taking TTP! I emailed you guys my score If you read through some of my replies in this thread, you’ll see that I really like your program, I just maybe wasn’t using it super efficiently and so I unfortunately didn’t get through it in time for my exam...

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I purchased the ESR! I’ll shoot you a message tomorrow. I’d absolutely love any advice on how best to analyze it for the more productive takeaways.

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