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kuja
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 07 Jul 2018, 17:11
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Hi everyone,

I just came out of the 2nd mock, and the Quan. results utterly surprised me.

Not only did I get more questions correct compared to the 1st (8 vs. 12), but I also had no more than 2 wrongs in a row - a significant improvement vs. getting 6 wrongs in a row in the 1st mock. Please see below the profiles of the 1st vs. 2nd mock comparison.

Yet here I am, a measly Q44 - 5 points drop from the 1st mock. How could that be? :shocked

On a side note, I noticed the GMAT Official Prep loaded MUCH slower today compared to the 1st mock, and every time I answered a question, a blue pop-up box "evaluating question" would come up and stick around for 5 - 10 seconds - Could this have an effect on CAT?

1st Mock Quan (Q49):


2nd Mock Quan (Q44):
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 08 Jul 2018, 09:59
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kuja
Hi everyone,

I just came out of the 2nd mock, and the Quan. results utterly surprised me.

Not only did I get more questions correct compared to the 1st (8 vs. 12), but I also had no more than 2 wrongs in a row - a significant improvement vs. getting 6 wrongs in a row in the 1st mock. Please see below the profiles of the 1st vs. 2nd mock comparison.

Yet here I am, a measly Q44 - 5 points drop from the 1st mock. How could that be? :shocked

On a side note, I noticed the GMAT Official Prep loaded MUCH slower today compared to the 1st mock, and every time I answered a question, a blue pop-up box "evaluating question" would come up and stick around for 5 - 10 seconds - Could this have an effect on CAT?
Show more
It's hard to say just how well the new platform works, but trying to use the number of correct answers to predict what the score will be is just not possible on adaptive exams such as the GMAT (and the GMATPrep practice tests). We have no idea about the characteristics of the questions you received in the tests you took, so there is really no way to tell. For example, if you got generally simpler questions in the second test, you'd have to get many more questions correct (than you got on your first test) in order to achieve the same level of performance.

I suggest that you take this score as representative. Even if something is off with the scoring on the new platform, you probably won't get to know any time soon. Just keep working, and take more tests.
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 09 Jul 2018, 18:07
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AjiteshArun
kuja
Hi everyone,

I just came out of the 2nd mock, and the Quan. results utterly surprised me.

Not only did I get more questions correct compared to the 1st (8 vs. 12), but I also had no more than 2 wrongs in a row - a significant improvement vs. getting 6 wrongs in a row in the 1st mock. Please see below the profiles of the 1st vs. 2nd mock comparison.

Yet here I am, a measly Q44 - 5 points drop from the 1st mock. How could that be? :shocked

On a side note, I noticed the GMAT Official Prep loaded MUCH slower today compared to the 1st mock, and every time I answered a question, a blue pop-up box "evaluating question" would come up and stick around for 5 - 10 seconds - Could this have an effect on CAT?
It's hard to say just how well the new platform works, but trying to use the number of correct answers to predict what the score will be is just not possible on adaptive exams such as the GMAT (and the GMATPrep practice tests). We have no idea about the characteristics of the questions you received in the tests you took, so there is really no way to tell. For example, if you got generally simpler questions in the second test, you'd have to get many more questions correct (than you got on your first test) in order to achieve the same level of performance.

I suggest that you take this score as representative. Even if something is off with the scoring on the new platform, you probably won't get to know any time soon. Just keep working, and take more tests.
Show more

Thanks for the feedback.

I must add that I used different approaches for the 2 mocks. The 1st mock I spend more efforts to get the 1st half right, and then leave the 2nd half to chances a bit. The 2nd mock I had a more even pacing throughout and try to "spread out" the errors, which by consensus should be the better approach.

Now that I think about it, I was a lot more fresh going into 1st mock than the 2nd so no doubt that can have an impact. I will for sure rest few days before doing another practice set and most definitely before the actual exam.
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 09 Jul 2018, 19:13
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kuja
Hi everyone,

I just came out of the 2nd mock, and the Quan. results utterly surprised me.

Not only did I get more questions correct compared to the 1st (8 vs. 12), but I also had no more than 2 wrongs in a row - a significant improvement vs. getting 6 wrongs in a row in the 1st mock. Please see below the profiles of the 1st vs. 2nd mock comparison.

Yet here I am, a measly Q44 - 5 points drop from the 1st mock. How could that be? :shocked

On a side note, I noticed the GMAT Official Prep loaded MUCH slower today compared to the 1st mock, and every time I answered a question, a blue pop-up box "evaluating question" would come up and stick around for 5 - 10 seconds - Could this have an effect on CAT?
It's hard to say just how well the new platform works, but trying to use the number of correct answers to predict what the score will be is just not possible on adaptive exams such as the GMAT (and the GMATPrep practice tests). We have no idea about the characteristics of the questions you received in the tests you took, so there is really no way to tell. For example, if you got generally simpler questions in the second test, you'd have to get many more questions correct (than you got on your first test) in order to achieve the same level of performance.

I suggest that you take this score as representative. Even if something is off with the scoring on the new platform, you probably won't get to know any time soon. Just keep working, and take more tests.

Thanks for the feedback.

I must add that I used different approaches for the 2 mocks. The 1st mock I spend more efforts to get the 1st half right, and then leave the 2nd half to chances a bit. The 2nd mock I had a more even pacing throughout and try to "spread out" the errors, which by consensus should be the better approach.

Now that I think about it, I was a lot more fresh going into 1st mock than the 2nd so no doubt that can have an impact. I will for sure rest few days before doing another practice set and most definitely before the actual exam.
Show more

You should see the post by Bunuel [1]. Might explain why the first practice test you took was much better than the second.

[1] https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-so ... 46146.html

I also just took a practice test with the new browser version about an hour ago and scored Q50, also with 12 incorrect answers. Here's what mine looked like:
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Q50.PNG [ 26.62 KiB | Viewed 2181 times ]

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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 10 Jul 2018, 08:34
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kuja
AjiteshArun
It's hard to say just how well the new platform works, but trying to use the number of correct answers to predict what the score will be is just not possible on adaptive exams such as the GMAT (and the GMATPrep practice tests). We have no idea about the characteristics of the questions you received in the tests you took, so there is really no way to tell. For example, if you got generally simpler questions in the second test, you'd have to get many more questions correct (than you got on your first test) in order to achieve the same level of performance.

I suggest that you take this score as representative. Even if something is off with the scoring on the new platform, you probably won't get to know any time soon. Just keep working, and take more tests.

Thanks for the feedback.

I must add that I used different approaches for the 2 mocks. The 1st mock I spend more efforts to get the 1st half right, and then leave the 2nd half to chances a bit. The 2nd mock I had a more even pacing throughout and try to "spread out" the errors, which by consensus should be the better approach.

Now that I think about it, I was a lot more fresh going into 1st mock than the 2nd so no doubt that can have an impact. I will for sure rest few days before doing another practice set and most definitely before the actual exam.

You should see the post by Bunuel [1]. Might explain why the first practice test you took was much better than the second.

[1] https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-so ... 46146.html

I also just took a practice test with the new browser version about an hour ago and scored Q50, also with 12 incorrect answers. Here's what mine looked like:
Show more

Thanks a lot for sharing the post and your test profile!

I noticed that you have only few incorrect in the 1st half (just like my first mock). It's almost as if for every question you get wrong above that threshold, you can expect 2 points drop and the damage is not reversible. :shocked

It's settled then, I shall refer back to my initial strategy and carry on. :thumbup:
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 20 Jul 2018, 10:51
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Hi kuja,

You ask a great question; however, outside of GMAC, no one truly knows the mechanics of the GMAC algorithm.

My advice is to spend your time on the things you can control. One thing you can control is your GMAT skills. If you get to a place where you can dominate GMAT quant, the mechanics of the GMAT scoring algorithm won’t matter because you will have the skills you need to get an amazing GMAT quant score.

With that said, when is your GMAT? What is your GMAT score goal?

If you have any further questions, please reach out.

Good luck!
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 21 Jul 2018, 08:13
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kuja

Thanks a lot for sharing the post and your test profile!

I noticed that you have only few incorrect in the 1st half (just like my first mock). It's almost as if for every question you get wrong above that threshold, you can expect 2 points drop and the damage is not reversible. :shocked

It's settled then, I shall refer back to my initial strategy and carry on. :thumbup:
Show more

No Problem! and if it helps, I just took another one. Missed just 6 questions and still got Q50. I was a bit shocked at not getting 51 with just 6 incorrect but I guess since the test is adaptive, it doesn't matter.
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Q50 - 6 incorrect.png
Q50 - 6 incorrect.png [ 195.73 KiB | Viewed 1998 times ]

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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 21 Jul 2018, 19:34
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ScottTargetTestPrep
Hi kuja,

You ask a great question; however, outside of GMAC, no one truly knows the mechanics of the GMAC algorithm.

My advice is to spend your time on the things you can control. One thing you can control is your GMAT skills. If you get to a place where you can dominate GMAT quant, the mechanics of the GMAT scoring algorithm won’t matter because you will have the skills you need to get an amazing GMAT quant score.

With that said, when is your GMAT? What is your GMAT score goal?

If you have any further questions, please reach out.

Good luck!
Show more

Sorry for the late reply, but I did my first exam today! Please see my post just now - https://gmatclub.com/forum/1st-exam-670 ... 71213.html
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 21 Jul 2018, 19:35
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TippingPoint93
kuja

Thanks a lot for sharing the post and your test profile!

I noticed that you have only few incorrect in the 1st half (just like my first mock). It's almost as if for every question you get wrong above that threshold, you can expect 2 points drop and the damage is not reversible. :shocked

It's settled then, I shall refer back to my initial strategy and carry on. :thumbup:

No Problem! and if it helps, I just took another one. Missed just 6 questions and still got Q50. I was a bit shocked at not getting 51 with just 6 incorrect but I guess since the test is adaptive, it doesn't matter.
Show more

Thanks for sharing! It seems you can score Q50 quite easily and effortlessly, for how long have you been in this game?
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 21 Jul 2018, 20:10
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kuja

Thanks a lot for sharing the post and your test profile!

I noticed that you have only few incorrect in the 1st half (just like my first mock). It's almost as if for every question you get wrong above that threshold, you can expect 2 points drop and the damage is not reversible. :shocked

It's settled then, I shall refer back to my initial strategy and carry on. :thumbup:

No Problem! and if it helps, I just took another one. Missed just 6 questions and still got Q50. I was a bit shocked at not getting 51 with just 6 incorrect but I guess since the test is adaptive, it doesn't matter.

Thanks for sharing! It seems you can score Q50 quite easily and effortlessly, for how long have you been in this game?
Show more

Haha not easily. But I studied (summarized the 9 MGMAT guides) back in January in about 2 weeks and didn't touch or think about the GMAT again until May, which was when I start consistently studying. I put all of my time in May and June into Quant. Started with OG for Quant review (300 problems) and took a practice and scored Q46 in May. I then did Jeff Sackman's 1,000 challenge questions and MGMAT Advanced Quant guide, and both practice tests I've taken since then have been Q50. I'm now trying to push my Verbal score from 34 to 45+ (hopefully) ha. And congrats on your first exam -- it's never a bad decision to get your feet wet.
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 24 Jul 2018, 17:29
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No Problem! and if it helps, I just took another one. Missed just 6 questions and still got Q50. I was a bit shocked at not getting 51 with just 6 incorrect but I guess since the test is adaptive, it doesn't matter.

Thanks for sharing! It seems you can score Q50 quite easily and effortlessly, for how long have you been in this game?

Haha not easily. But I studied (summarized the 9 MGMAT guides) back in January in about 2 weeks and didn't touch or think about the GMAT again until May, which was when I start consistently studying. I put all of my time in May and June into Quant. Started with OG for Quant review (300 problems) and took a practice and scored Q46 in May. I then did Jeff Sackman's 1,000 challenge questions and MGMAT Advanced Quant guide, and both practice tests I've taken since then have been Q50. I'm now trying to push my Verbal score from 34 to 45+ (hopefully) ha. And congrats on your first exam -- it's never a bad decision to get your feet wet.
Show more

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely start the doing the MPrep Adv. Prep after taking a break this week, and hopefully that will get me to Q50 too. I am bit surprised how volatile my Quant. performance is, since 44 to 49 is a pretty wide range. I originally expect that to happen for Verbal but it turned out to be pretty stable (34 to 36).

What are you doing now for Verbal if you don't mind sharing? SC is by far my worst section, and I always get more incorrect there than CR and RC combined.
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 24 Jul 2018, 18:07
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No Problem! and if it helps, I just took another one. Missed just 6 questions and still got Q50. I was a bit shocked at not getting 51 with just 6 incorrect but I guess since the test is adaptive, it doesn't matter.

Thanks for sharing! It seems you can score Q50 quite easily and effortlessly, for how long have you been in this game?

Haha not easily. But I studied (summarized the 9 MGMAT guides) back in January in about 2 weeks and didn't touch or think about the GMAT again until May, which was when I start consistently studying. I put all of my time in May and June into Quant. Started with OG for Quant review (300 problems) and took a practice and scored Q46 in May. I then did Jeff Sackman's 1,000 challenge questions and MGMAT Advanced Quant guide, and both practice tests I've taken since then have been Q50. I'm now trying to push my Verbal score from 34 to 45+ (hopefully) ha. And congrats on your first exam -- it's never a bad decision to get your feet wet.

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely start the doing the MPrep Adv. Prep after taking a break this week, and hopefully that will get me to Q50 too. I am bit surprised how volatile my Quant. performance is, since 44 to 49 is a pretty wide range. I originally expect that to happen for Verbal but it turned out to be pretty stable (34 to 36).

What are you doing now for Verbal if you don't mind sharing? SC is by far my worst section, and I always get more incorrect there than CR and RC combined.
Show more

Personally, I felt Jeff Sackman's Sets were more useful because it has more questions, and it's divided into sections -- I was able to drill into Sections I was wasn't the best at (geometry). The questions also felt more logic driven with subtle tricks, similar to that of the OG, than just being plain "difficult" and time-consuming -- I still haven't been able to score above Q43 on Manhattan CATs, my score never improved. MGMAT Advanced Quant guide was also useful as well; it just didn't have enough practice problems, IMO.

For Verbal, I considered taking a class but I'm a native speaker so I'm going to try self-studying first. MGMAT SC guide is phenomenal, but I did not find its CR guide to be useful (I read through the whole thing twice). I got PowerScore CR Bible, and so far, I think it's much better than MGMAT -- it breaks down all types of CR questions and gives you strategies to tackle each one of them. I bought Kaplan 800 and the Kaplan Verbal workbook to gain access to the Kaplan CATs, so I'll try those workbooks first and see how it goes. My worst section by far is RC, I spend way too much time on the passages and then end up having to guess at the end. I'm happy to hear any tips you have as well. I need all the help I can get :-)
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2nd Mock (660 Q44 V36) - Not understanding CAT algorithm 25 Jul 2018, 18:00
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Personally, I felt Jeff Sackman's Sets were more useful because it has more questions, and it's divided into sections -- I was able to drill into Sections I was wasn't the best at (geometry). The questions also felt more logic driven with subtle tricks, similar to that of the OG, than just being plain "difficult" and time-consuming -- I still haven't been able to score above Q43 on Manhattan CATs, my score never improved. MGMAT Advanced Quant guide was also useful as well; it just didn't have enough practice problems, IMO.

For Verbal, I considered taking a class but I'm a native speaker so I'm going to try self-studying first. MGMAT SC guide is phenomenal, but I did not find its CR guide to be useful (I read through the whole thing twice). I got PowerScore CR Bible, and so far, I think it's much better than MGMAT -- it breaks down all types of CR questions and gives you strategies to tackle each one of them. I bought Kaplan 800 and the Kaplan Verbal workbook to gain access to the Kaplan CATs, so I'll try those workbooks first and see how it goes. My worst section by far is RC, I spend way too much time on the passages and then end up having to guess at the end. I'm happy to hear any tips you have as well. I need all the help I can get :-)
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Considering that I am a novice, I am not sure if I am in any position to provide any sort of tips ;). I think I am stronger in RC and CR mainly because they don't require strong grasp of foundation knowledge to progress, whereas in SC, PS, DS, if you happen to forget anything you are dead in the water. However, I did find the MPrep guides useful as well - The passage map technique did help me cut down time considerably, have you tried that and see how it goes?

Also, keep in mind that RC is probably the most restrictive in terms of the questions they can ask you - It's always 1) Main idea/tone, 2) What's the function of this point in relation to XYZ, 3) Inference - What's the author most likely agree/disagree with, which of the below examples fit what was described in XYZ. If you thought about these while making the passage map, you can nail down all the questions pretty rapidly. I usually spent 3 - 4 minutes doing the map and then take 30s to answer each question, so RC is absolutely a time-saver for me.
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