Unsure about Manhattan CR section in MGMAT CAT Test

Question

Hi,

I am in the final leg of my preparations for GMAT test that I have scheduled on 26 Oct 2016, but there is one thing that is constantly bothering me.
How close is Manhattan CR section to that of Real GMAT test?

I have prepared from Manhattan Series, OG guide as well as material provided by a preparation center in which I am enrolled in.
As far as Official verbal guide and material by preparation center is concerned, I am constantly scoring a good score in CR section in a timed scenario as well but when it comes to the CAT by Manhattan my CR score drops significantly.

I feel the CR questions provided in the MGMAT CATs are of very high difficulty and might not reciprocate the actual GMAT scenario.

I took 4 CAT test where my Quant score is in the the range of 42-44
My RC score and SC score too are constantly in the range of 60-70% correct answers

But CR score varies considerably and limit my score in 620-640 range.

Now I have a couple of Questions
1. Is it actually true that MGMAT CR questions are on the higher side of the difficulty spectrum? How close are they to the real GMAT CR section?
2. What should I do to improve my CR score? I have exhausted MGMAT CR questions as well as OG guide CR questions. What more study materials should I refer?
3. What strategy should I adopt to cross 670 Mark.

I am in a really confused state of mind right now

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sah_tan,

From this post, it sounds like you've been focused on using a specific sub-set of practice materials and practice CATs. The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2).

1) Have you taken any of the Official CATs?
2) How have you scored on those CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?

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

sah_tan · Answer

Hi Rich,
Thanks for your prompt response. Yes you are right. I have not taken any Official CAT till now. I can take a official CAT and compare that with MGMAT score. It will also give an idea about the difficulty level of CR questions.

Also, I tried 35 questions in the handbook given by Carcass (cannot post link-new-critical-reasoning-question-bank-by-carcass-165570) at GMAT Club in a strict timed environment and able to achieve more than 60% accuracy.

I understand that CR is not my arena but MGMAT completely demolished my confidence by just 10% correctness in CAT for CR.

I'll take a couple of Official CAT Test and post my finding back.

Thanks for help

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sah_tan,

You really just need to take one of the GMAC CATs with the goal of making it as realistic an experience as possible (so take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take the CAT away from your home, at the same time of day as your Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that result, you should post back here. We can discuss the scores and how best to proceed from here.

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

sah_tan · Answer

Yes Sir, Ill do that... will post the result by cominh sunday (Planning to Take on Sunday)

sah_tan · Answer

Hi Rich,

Indeed your advice worked. I took the GMAT Prep test today and found it under my control. I performed well in CR section(75-80% accuracy) and other sections as well but I did make some silly mistakes in SC part(60-70). My verbal score is V32 and I need to raise it to atleast 36-37 to match with my consistent 44 Q score to get the desired 670 mark.

I think ill go on and buy the 4 test series and will be able to complete them before 26 Oct (My Test Date).

I also think that the areas that i need to focus on are:

Time Mgmt (I got so involved in solving some of quant question I lost track of time)
SC (The hard and tricky questions) (Will be highly obliged if you can redirect me to the relevant material)
CR (Normal practice routine)
Quant and RC (Normal practice Routine)

Thanks. Would love to hear your inputs.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sah_tan,

To start, since your Official GMAT is in a little over two weeks, you do NOT need to take 4 more CATs - and doing so would likely not be beneficial. You should plan to take 2 more CATS though in the time that you have. It's important to remember that a CAT is really just 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.

In addition, you seem focused on improving your Verbal score - which is fine - but you could also pick up the missing points that you're looking for in the Quant section, so you might consider working on your Quant skills as well. In that way, you could make some small improvements in BOTH sections and still hit your score goal. However you choose to proceed though, you really should focus on Tactics. Working through lots of additional practice questions in the same ways as before will probably not help you to improve in the way that you think it will.
 
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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