Taking GMAT in 1.5 weeks and just took OG diagnostic test

Question

After being fed up at work I made a snap decision to apply to b-school about a week ago. That didn't leave me much time to meet Round 1 deadlines and I'm scrambling to prepare for the GMAT which I plan to take in the middle of next week. I just got around to taking the OG (11th Ed.) Diagnostic Test today and I feel decent about my scores but am concerned about the time it took me to finish the quant section (155 min for 48 questions = 3.23 min/question) even though the instructions said not to time yourself. Any comments on my scores and/or situation welcome -- is this a bad idea in general for me to cram in the GMAT? I'm planning to take a few practice exams over the next week including the GMAT Club tests and hope to score high enough to get in reasonable range for the top schools. Thanks.

Problem Solving: 23/24 (Excellent on the OG scale)
Data Sufficiency: 19/24 (Excellent)

Reading Comprehension: 14/17 (Above Average)
Critical Reasoning: 14/17 (Excellent)
Sentence Correction: 18/18 (Excellent)

Problem Solving: 23/24 (Excellent on the OG scale) 
Data Sufficiency: 19/24 (Excellent)

Reading Comprehension: 14/17 (Above Average) 
Critical Reasoning: 14/17 (Excellent) 
Sentence Correction: 18/18 (Excellent)

bb · Answer

I know you just took the test over the weekend, so hate to say this, but it would really be much better if you could take GMATPrep (Download GMATPrep) - it is a free test by GMAC that can evaluate your current position the best.

(The OG test is not as good since it is not timed and not adaptive). However, your scores look good - you may be at a good level already. If you can take a GMATPrep and post your score, would be happy to get you all the answers

iheartiheartmath · Answer

Yup, I'm planning to take a practice exam on GMAT Prep either today (Monday) or tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that I get a reasonable score, otherwise I may scrap the whole b-school plan altogether and just look for another job.

bb · Answer

By the way, fully support your decision about bschool! Go for it, but carefully

Not considering R2?

iheartiheartmath · Answer

I am but I want to apply to a couple upper-middle tier schools for Round 1. My results from those schools will guide my decision to apply during Round 2 -- if I get into those schools then I will try for top tier in Round 2, if not then I will either forget about it or apply for a lower tier school and then try to find another job so I will have options come Fall 2010.

bb · Answer

Interesting strategy. Just fyi - Your deposit for R1 will be due before you will find out R2 results. The dates are specifically arrange so that you would not have an advantage any-difference-between-applying-in-r1-vs-r2-81651.html.

iheartiheartmath · Answer

BB--thanks for the advice, I think I've pretty much decided that I'm going to hold off for an extra few weeks and apply Round 2 everywhere instead. BTW, I took the first GMATPrep practice exam today and came up with the following scores, any feedback or critiques are welcome:

Overall Score: 760 
Quant: 48 (got 24/37 right but also missed 7 out of last 8 because I ran out of time and had to click random answers) 
Verbal: 47 (38/41 right)

Breakdown: 
Problem Solving -- 14/20 right, which includes the 3 wrong in the last group that I guessed on 
Data Sufficiency -- 10/17 right, which includes the 4 wrong in the last group that I guessed on

Reading Comprehension -- 12/13 right 
Critical Reasoning -- 12/12 right 
Sentence Correction -- 14/16 right

Looks like my biggest weakness right now is just working through the math problems quickly. Any tips on how to improve my speed?

bb · Answer

Go take the GMAT

iheartiheartmath · Answer

I'm somewhat skeptical that I could've missed so many quant questions and still gotten such a high score, so while I'm happy with the result I'm not entirely comfortable with it. I would at least like to get to the point where I am able to finish the entire quant section without guessing and not have to rely on a high verbal score to make up the difference.

bb · Answer

It's pretty accurate. The number of questions answered correctly is not correlated to the GMAT score nit rather the number of hard questions answered correctly.

There is no harm in waiting. Get the math up. You have 48 - I hope you realize that 51 is the max, so your "low" quant score is not that terrible. Not much to improve.

Posted from my mobile device

bhanushalinikhil · Answer

Great going mate. You are at a great level, really. Without any preparation, you have managed to score what others only dream of. I second bb here. You should just go for it. Just make sure you don't leave any questions unanswered and the rest will automatically follow. Best of luck for whatever you decide to do.

PHDGMAT2009 · Answer

So what happened? Did you actually take it? What was the final score?

tan888 · Answer

Go for it! 760 on the practice test without studying for months. You're a natural. Let us know what the outcome is.

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Taking GMAT in 1.5 weeks and just took OG diagnostic test

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