Exhausted All 6 GMAT Preps, Now dont know how to gauge my performance.

Question

Hi Experts,

I had two unsuccessful GMAT attempts in 2016 ( 1: Q38, V38 ( Total : 630 ) (2: Q 46, V30 ( Total 620 ) and now I have exhausted all my GMAT Preps so i don't have any valuable indicator of progress. Please suggest practice tests that i can take once per week to analyze my weak areas .

Thanks,
Harsh

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Harsh,

Considering the 'swings' in the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your two Official GMATs, at this point you might want to take your practice CATs LESS frequently than once a week. It's important to remember that taking lots of CATs will NOT make you a better Test Taker. A CAT is really 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. To raise your scores, you have to put in the necessary practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not.

Before we discuss how best for you to improve, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each attempt at the GMAT?
2) What study materials did you use for each attempt?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to retake the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

devbond · Answer

Hi Rich,

I gave 1.5 months before each actual exam and in all my GMAT Preps I scored between 680-750. The ones in which is scored >720 had repeated questions.

Q38 V38
In both my actual exams, my struggle was with time. In the exam where i scored Q 38 , i lost track of time and spent 40 minutes in questions 11-20 ( 4 mins each ) and that left me with less than one minute each for remaining 17 questions( 90 % wrong) and that led to serial mistakes that cost me heavily .

Q46 V30
The same scenario repeated partially in Quant in my second test wherein I had only 8 minutes for last 8 questions. In the verbal section on my second test I encountered a really tough RC as my 9th question and while trying to really understand the RC I ended up spending 15 minutes on 1 RC passage and that cost me heavily as I had less than 10 minutes for last 12 questions( 90 % wrong)( 1 short RC included) .

In both my tests I failed executing my time strategy miserably.

I am targeting 700+ score.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Harsh,

Based on what you've described, you will likely need at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study to hit your score goal. Before we can discuss how best for you to proceed with your studies, I'll need answers to the prior questions that I asked.

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

KarishmaB · Answer

Hey Harsh, We have 7 adaptive tests on offer here: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/free-g ... tice-test/ Our practice tests are built on a platform that employs Item Response Theory (IRT), the same system underlying the real GMAT. Unlike more basic approaches that simply count correct and incorrect responses and then generate a score, IRT recognizes that no two GMAT questions are exactly the same. What question you receive at any given point on a test will be dictated by how well you have performed up to that point, and how you answer that question will impact your ability estimate and help determine which question you see next. The system also takes “content balancing” into account, ensuring that you see a mix of question types that are representative of what you will see on the real GMAT, all while gathering as much information about your ability level as possible.

devbond · Answer

Hi Rich,

My answers to the questions are inline.

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each attempt at the GMAT?1.5 months
2) What study materials did you use for each attempt? MGMAT- For CR, Magoosh for Quant
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?- 680-750

Goals:
4) What is your goal score? 700 +
5) When are you planning to retake the GMAT? In one month
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School? Not this year as I can't
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to? Will decide once I have a good score.

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

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Harsh,

Considering your goal score, and the inconsistent nature of your two Official GMAT Scores, you will likely need at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study to get to that level. As such, you might want to consider pushing back your Test Date.

Since your practice CAT scores were considerably higher than your Official Scores, I have a few questions about how you took your CATs:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) 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.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

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