1st Cat 630 after week 3 of class.

[brentstephens15]

Just wanting to know if my goal of +700 is a realistic goal...I am just now starting week 4 and will have a couple weeks after the entire course for review. I am spending aprox 2 to 3 hours a day and doing all of the homework.

From experience of other students is a 70+ point jump normal?

Thanks

[pratik.munjal]

Seems pretty realistic to me. I envisage that you might easily touch 700 during the last phase of your preparation-but don't get euphoric then-because the test is not as easy as it used to be.

Another suggestion is to give as many tests as possible (now there could be differing opinions about this). But I believe that in the last "lap" of your preparation, most of your practice should be done in a test environment/format.

In summary-700+ seems reasonable. Keep at it. Good luck. :)

[StaceyKoprince]

I agree that 700+ is a reasonable goal (though, obviously, you've got to do the work to get there!).

Also, I'll disagree about the "take as many tests as possible" advice. :)

CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

(Think of professional athletes. They're not trying to learn *during* the big match. They're just using everything they've already learned / practiced to try to win. Then they try to go get better between that match and the next one. Same thing on the GMAT.)

So taking a bunch of CATs is a pretty inefficient way to improve (you can improve some, but it's just a slow way to do it). Plus, there isn't an unlimited supply of good quality CATs... so don't waste them!

[pratik.munjal]

Stacey: How many tests do you suggest that a candidate should take before the actual test?

[StaceyKoprince]

There isn't a one-size fits all answer to that question. For most people, in the range of 2 to 6.

It depends upon:
- your starting score and your goal score (specifically: how far apart are those two?)
- the difficulties that you have while studying
- whether you have significant timing problems that need to be fixed

Most people take 4 to 5, I would say. Note: CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina, and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam is NOT so useful for improving. It's what you do with the test results / between tests that helps you to improve.

Don't bother to take another CAT until you've addressed the major weaknesses that you uncovered during your last CAT. Otherwise, you're just wasting a CAT and your time!

Once you think you've addressed the major weaknesses, then you take a CAT to see whether you really succeeded. And that gives you a new list of weaknesses to go and tackle.