Post 9 week Manhattan GMAT self study

Question

Hi,

I purchased all the Manhattan GMAT books and have finished the 9 week syllabus that MGMAT lays out. Is there any advice how what I should do now? I have 6 weeks before the test. I was planning on just doing practice problems and test but if someone has a better approach, please share.

KyleWiddison · Answer

Your approach now is to do content specific work and timed sets of GMAT problems. Did you take the 3 MGMAT CATs during your study? If so, you can generate assessment reports from those exams to find your areas of weakness. Study those areas of weakness in depth while at the same time working on timed sets. You should take an additional CAT after a week or two to evaluate your progress and find new areas of weakness.

Let me know if you have trouble finding those reports or if you have additional questions on the process...

KW

Let me know if you have trouble finding those reports or if you have additional questions on the process...

KW

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi davidqlam90,

Have you taken any practice CATs yet? If you have, then how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Taking FULL-LENGTH CATs (with the Essay and IR sections) at regular intervals is an essential part of the study process. You should plan to take 1 FULL CAT each week and set aside the proper amount of time to review your results. You can download 2 CATs for free from www.mba.com.

1) What is your exact Test Date?
2) What is your goal score?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

davidqlam90 · Answer

I am going to take the 3rd practice exam this weekend.

1) What is your exact Test Date? May 14
2) What is your goal score? >700
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School? Want to start B School in 08/2017

Once, I take the 3rd exam and know my weaknesses, is there a list somewhere that groups the OG questions into topics? i.e. If I am weak with number properties, is there a list that show what questions in the OG are related to number properties?

Also, I've noticed my problem is timing. The nerves really hit me when I see the clock. Is the best way to deal with that is to just practice frequently?

Thank you for your prompt responses!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi davidqlam90,

With a May 14th Test Date, you actually have over 8 weeks of study time remaining.

As to your questions and other issues, I'll need to know how you performed on your CATs (the prior 2 that you've taken and the next one you plan to take). Based on those results, you might need more than just some OG questions to work on.

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

davidqlam90 · Answer

EmpowerGMAT, I got a 550 on my first MGMAT CAT and a 500 on my second one.

Any suggestions...for the second one...I over thought many of the questions and did not do well with timing. I even had 1 question on the quant and 1 on the verbal that I didn't answer due to timing.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi davidqlam90,

A 550 and a 500 aren't as different as you might think they are. When you took your CATs:

1) What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on each?
2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
3) Did you take them at home?
4) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
5) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?

On this last CAT:
1) How many questions did you get wrong because of a silly/little mistake?
2) How many questions did you have to rush through at the end of each section?

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

davidqlam90 · Answer

1) What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on each?
CAT 1: Q40, V27
CAT 2: Q35, V24
2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
CAT 1: Y
CAT 2: N
3) Did you take them at home?
No
4) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
No
5) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
No

On this last CAT:
1) How many questions did you get wrong because of a silly/little mistake?
Haven't analyzed yet
2) How many questions did you have to rush through at the end of each section?
Haven't analyzed yet, but I know I had to rush on several on the quant.

KyleWiddison · Answer

It is very common to have the 2nd CAT be lower than the first for exactly the reason you stated - timing. On the first CAT there are many problems you don't know how to solve so you guess and move on quickly. By the 2nd CAT, you have exposure to more of the content areas, so you try to solve more of the problems fully, but you are still pretty raw so you are slow in most areas and aren't able to hit the question timing benchmarks. It's a natural progression to see that second test be lower and it's also a reminder that you need to practice and place a focus on the timing of the test and you work towards test day.

Were you able to generate an assessment report to view your areas of weakness?

KW

Were you able to generate an assessment report to view your areas of weakness?

KW

davidqlam90 · Answer

I have. Not surprisingly, my weakest area is Sentence Correction. I have not been able to look at a sentence and automatically decode what a potential problem could be.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi davidqlam90,

To hit your goal score, you're going to have to make some BIG improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections of the Test. While you've self-identified SC as a 'weak area', your Verbal Scaled Scores show that you likely need to improve in ALL 3 major Verbal areas (SC, RC and CR). Many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach tend to get 'stuck' at a particular scoring level - it's possible that this has happened to you. While you still have plenty of time to study and improve, the self-analysis that I mentioned earlier is ESSENTIAL after you take each CAT. You need to define WHY you're getting questions wrong so that you can 'fix' those issues. You'll also likely need to invest in some new, non-book GMAT resources to help you build your skills.

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

KyleWiddison · Answer

What is your current process on SC? Sentence correction can be a bit overwhelming with so much happening at once but a good process can help you see the error more quickly.

KW

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