Which Official GMAT edition to go for?

Question

Hi all,

I have the 12th edition of the Official GMAT guide which I used to prepare for GMAT when I took it the first time in Oct and now I'm planning on retaking it.Should I go for a newer edition if the content is different or the 12th one would suffice? Furthermore,I'm completely confused as to how to restart the prep and where to start from.Any advice?

Best,
Aimba123

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

The OG13/GMAT2015 edition replaced about 25% of the practice questions from the OG12 with new material. The next version of that book (the GMAT2016, which is set to come out in June of this year) supposedly replaces about 25% of the OG13 with new material. This is all meant to say that the latest version of the book includes a bunch of questions that you have not practiced with yet, so you might find it useful to purchase.

Since you've taken the GMAT already, there are some broader issues though:

1) How did you score on your original GMAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
2) How long did you study for that first attempt?
3) What resources did you use before?
4) What is your goal score?

The GMAT is a predictable, standardized Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. If you're looking to improve on your prior scores though, you'll likely have to change how you study (including investing in some new resources besides the OG).

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

Aimba123 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the reply.Considering all that you've mentioned,I'll definitely get the newest one in June and meanwhile I'll dig deep into the learning bit from the Manhattan series.
As far as the score on my first attempt at GMAT is concerned,I got a 560 i.e.Q41 and V27 => Q49 and V46(in percentile).What concerns me now is that in my previous practice tests I got a lower quant score with higher percentile and vice versa in verbal (e.g in the GMAT prep test which I took at the beginning of my prep I got a 590 i.e.Q41 and V31=> Q54 and V59(in percentile).I did most of my prep from the Manhattan series (for all the sections except for SC) .I used Kaplan and online material shared by e-GMAT for SC.
I studied for around 3-4 months but since I work I could only take out a 5-8 hours per week sporadically and took 10 days off to practice tests in the last leg which I retrospect was a bad idea.
Lastly,my goal score is 700+ since I'm planning on aiming for Duke,Cornell,HBS(Tier 1),UT Austin,Rice (Tier 2) and UW and BU(Tier 3) for 2016.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

To go from 560 to 700+ will take some considerable work, but it is doable. From your post, you seem to understand some of the 'shortcomings' in your prior studies, so you'll have to make some adjustments to how you study this time around. Percentiles can sometimes be misleading from a statistical standpoint since they're dependent on how you score relative to other Test Takers. The Scaled Scores are more relevant since they measure how you perform relative to the Test.

From what you described, much of your work was 'book-study', which can often limit Test Takers. With this next round of studies, you'll likely need to invest in some new computer-based resources and a GMAT Course of some type (either Instructor-Led or Guided Self-Study).

Have you scheduled your next GMAT yet?

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

namip · Answer

I would suggest you go for OG 2016 that is coming out in a couple of months. There are soft copies of the OG 13 floating online btw.

Aimba123 · Answer

I haven't registered for it yet , but plan on doing so in a couple of months so that I can evaluate how much time I need to regain the momentum and deeply identify the shortcomings and work on them.
Would you suggest taking a diagnostic again and figuring out from there onwards and hitting the manhattan series(specific section wise) right away since I wont be able to get hold of the hard copy before June(I am kind of finicky about using hard copy than soft copy) or you'd suggest I should go about it differently?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

From your prior posts, it's not clear when you took your last GMAT (or FULL-LENGTH CAT). If it's been awhile, then taking a new FULL-LENGTH CAT would probably be a good idea. I mentioned in a prior post how "book-heavy" study plans tend to limit Test Takers, so since you're planning to start a new "book-heavy" study plan, I think that you'll have problems hitting your score goals. Since you don't have an official Test Date yet, there's no harm in doing things the way that you're planned. To score 700+ plus though, you'll likely have to plan differently.

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

Aimba123 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Last time I took a full length CAT was a week after I took the GMAT which was end of November means it's been a while.I'll start off with a diagnostic this weekend and a verbal course from there onwards .However, my inclination towards 'book-heavy' study is because even right before I sat for the actual GMAT I could not figure out what my shortcomings were in the Quant section.I would get a few wrong questions but nothing I won't be able to solve.Time constraint is one think I struggled with on the GMAT in my first attempt which I guess will come with practice tests and timing when solving questions. How long do you think i should study for before I take the exam?

Best,
Aimba123

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

The time that you'll need to study will depend on a number of factors. Your upcoming practice CAT score will give us an idea of what you're retained from your prior studies and what you still need to work on. With the right practice materials, you might only need 2 months of additional study time. Unfortunately, with a 700+ score goal and a book-heavy plan, there's no way to know exactly how long all of this is going to take. It's likely that you developed some 'bad habits' during your first round of studies (which books will probably NOT get you out of), so beyond learning new tactics (and practicing them), you also have to get out of your bad habits (and into new 'good habits').

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

Aimba123 · Answer

And I am back!
Feel extremely guilty and disappointed in myself for having pushed this but got swamped with work.
BUT managed to take a test from GMATPEP and guess what...scored a 690 (Q47 V38)! I had made some not so short notes during my prep last time I was taking the GMAT and only skimmed through those and basic DS methods as I had completely forgotten all I had studied. I think this time around I was not panicking and that made quite a difference.I was conscious of that and blindly guessed the question which caused me any fractional panic. However,I noticed,even though I had reinstalled gmatprep,I got a lot of old questions I had seen before (but didn't remember the answers to) .Does that mean reinstalling gmatprep with the same email id doesn't help in terms of getting new questions?

This attempt has definitely re-motivated me and I just need to make sure I study one-two hours daily and practice a lot of questions while timing them.

AjiteshArun · Answer

You do want to see as many questions as you can from the pool of questions in the GMATPrep, but you are still getting questions from the  same  pool. Installing the GMATPrep software again (with the same or a different email ID) isn't going to add any new questions to the practice tests.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

Retaking a CAT that you've already used is NOT a realistic way to measure your skills. Even if you didn't quite remember the answers to the questions, seeing material that you've already faced changes a variety of factors that impact your performance. As such, this score result is likely 'inflated.' To better assess your current skills, you really should take a *new* FULL-LENGTH CAT (including the Essay and IR sections), under test-like conditions. Once you have THAT set of scores, you should report back here and we talk through how best to plan out your studies.

The 'pool' of questions that comes with ANY CAT is limited, so this issue will impact ANY CAT that you've previously used. For this next phase of your studies, you MUST use a new set of CATs.

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

Aimba123 · Answer

Hey!Thanks for the replies.I'm not sure if I'm getting it right though..I didn't retake the same CAT.I reinstalled GMATprep..got a bunch of new questions and a few repeats which like you all mentioned is a possibility as the pool of questions is still the same. And this only the first time i've done this as in reinstalled gmatprep which I was assuming would help in getting some new questions if I had only taken the 2 tests from gmatprep last time I was preparing.i'll take another CAT tomorrow from resources online to get a more realistic picture.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Aimba123,

An adaptive CAT draws its questions from a limited pool of prompts. Re-installing the GMAC software did NOT change that pool of questions, so by retaking the CAT (or re-installing the software and then retaking the CAT) you've faced an unrealistic experience, so your CAT result is also likely unrealistic. IF your goal is to assess your skills in a realistic way (via a score result), then each CAT you take must be a *new* CAT that you have not used before.

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

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