Taking a CAT before beginning to study or after reviewing the basics?

Question

What is the recommendation for someone 3 years out of school (age 25) to begin the GMAT studying process. I read one debrief of a high scorer that recommended going over the MGMAT books just to brush up on the lost knowledge (just saw an absolute number function for the first time in 3 years).

Is it advisable to take a CAT for a base level guideline or is it better to just brush up on the basics then take a CAT and work on areas that are weak? I'm thinking the latter because a CAT now will only bring to light mistakes that are due to being away from the material (not remembering / fresh).

Thanks!

BrentGMATPrepNow · Answer

I always encourage students to take a practice test VERY early in their studies (within the first week of preparing). I do this for several reasons: - Students should know, as soon as possible, exactly what they will be preparing for over the coming weeks and months. - The results of this test help students gauge the amount of work required to reach their target score. - These practice tests help build confidence, since scores inevitably improve as the student prepares. In our Study Guide (https://www.gmatprepnow.com/learning-guide/overview), we direct students to take practice test almost immediately. If you're interested, I wrote an article on taking a practice test early in one's studies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/take-practice-test-already Cheers, Brent

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hey jayoxd,

At GMAT Pill, we recommend you take a practice test first to help gauge your general weak areas and allow you a chance to get used to the order in which the different sections appear (first essay, then integrated reasoning, then quant, then verbal).

Here is a customized 2-3 month study plan that can help boost your score: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... study-plan

Use this as a guideline. You don’t have to follow it exactly but the structure of the study plan should be the same structure that you take in your approach. This helps to optimize your retention and learning.

As you study, we recommend that you focus on one particular subsection for multiple consecutive days before moving onto the next. You can see this in our study plan where we recommend 5 days on nothing but SC -- before moving onto CR and then RC.

Here is a sample SC video to help you start your journey: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... ythons.mp4

Best of luck - we are here to help.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jayoxd,

Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a little studying first, so that you can familiarize yourself with the basic content and question types, then that's okay - but you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

As part of the larger study process, taking CATs at regular intervals (1 FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections - every 1-2 weeks or so) is also important. Taking those CATs allows you to track your progress and work on areas that you can ONLY learn about by taking FULL CATs (overall pacing, endurance, how to handle your two 8-minute breaks, etc.).

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Whenever someone new to the GMAT approaches me, I ask him to figure out what the GMAT is about, take a few sample questions from each skill area, and then take a diagnostic test. In my opinion, taking a test without knowing anything about it is meaningless. You would not do this in real life, and would not know if you actually need to improve on certain areas or if the inadequate performance resulted from being completely rusty. If you take the diagnostic exam knowing nothing, you may score 600. And then the next day, your second diagnostic exam results in 650, that means your baseline is 650, not 600.

Don't take 2 exams though. I would say study for a few days to learn the basics, and then take only one diagnostic test.

Don't take 2 exams though. I would say study for a few days to learn the basics, and then take only one diagnostic test.

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Taking a CAT before beginning to study or after reviewing the basics?

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