590 on mgmat 1

[jai.shr5381]

hi,
i took the review test from gmat prep and scored a 690, but today
scored a 590 on the mgmat test ,while certain questions were repeated in english (thx to doing og 12)quant was new and i scored q -48, v-37on gmat prep, however
this test saw a drop of 100 marks,i have done the manhattan gmat books (all) og 12 , but seem to be struggling here .


jai

[StaceyKoprince]

Just to make sure I understand: you saw some repeated questions on the verbal section of your GMATPrep exam, right? That's what it seems like you're saying.

How many were there? How did you handle those Qs? Did you get them all right? Did you answer them more quickly than you would have it they'd been totally new?

What was your quant and verbal breakdown on your MGMAT test? Did you have timing problems? Did you take both tests under 100% official conditions (including essays and length of breaks)?

You can analyze your MGMAT test using the below article, then come back here and share your analysis with us:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Note: share your analysis, not just the data! You need to be able to evaluate yourself. Then I'll tell you whether I agree with your analysis and we'll discuss what to do from there.

[jai.shr5381]

thanks stacey,
for replying, i was expecting your reply as well as these questions from you ,as i had read your earlier posts to queries made by others, after posting my own.

well as per my analysis here is the detailed info:


1)both exams given as per exam conditions with full essays(i never attempt an adaptive test without the essays)
2)the quant questions were new in gmat prep, and i scored q-48.
one english rc was repeated and some sc's , i had a list of 1000
sc's from scoretop and as i had finished 500 or so,and kept an error log,i saw some sentences with recognizable idioms .
3)interestingly i had scored v-37 in gmat prep, and v-34 in mgmat,
so not much of a drop here,no repeats in mgmat verbal,one question was not answered though.

maths was the problem 8 questions were not answered q-38, timing was a problem,i have analysed the maths section and am revising the topics basic and advanced from the 8-mgmat books , as per your test analysis reports and have my strong and weak
sections/questions marked as per the article you have given on Test analysis on beat the gmat
a)questions which i had got wrong while practicing the books in those topics and fundamentals, in addition to questions i got wrong/time deviation in the test and the optimum solution to each prob
b)flash cards- have finished 60 since friday:
c) i took a lot of time on probability and combination although,
i solved one question on the test, i have got a separate question bank for these so will be practising them before the second test.

feedback needed:
Need a question bank of tough maths questions!
how are the advanced math books?
any further suggestions as it is what you do between these tests that should improve your performance

for verbal analysis is still pending and i will post it later
but here is how i prepare
a)i practise sc's everyday, as it is the only section which you can prepare for in verbal and is based on pattern recognition, also a certain section of the idiom list,given in the mgmat sc book.
b)for cr and rc as both are based on reasoning ,
i practise 3 rc's with timing(2 min per q) and cr's 16 q's in 25 min

feedback needed:
can you suggest some tips on attempting tougher rc's(specially
biology one's) and cr's
or improvement in accuracy and speed in these sections.

i have got your timing charts with me from your articles so will keep them in mind

have targeted 700, so was disappointed by the outcome

by the way i am not able to sleep properly ,probably due to nerves, anyway i had taken coffee before the mgmat test.

br//
jai

[StaceyKoprince]

okay, 8 questions left blank will definitely kill your score. Have you read the below article yet? If not, get started! You need to work on timing.

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Let's see. Probability and Combinatorics are not that common; don't spend much time studying them. If you get one you can do, do it. If you get one you can't do, make an educated guess and move on. You'll likely only get one in the entire section.

The Advanced Quant book is great for those who are around the 80th percentile and are trying to push higher. You HAVE to fix the timing problem though - if you don't, then the Advanced Quant book won't do you much good.

You don't mention your goal score, but you did score 690 on the GMATPrep test. It's possible that your timing problem is really the thing that you need to fix (though if you're looking for something substantially higher than 690, then yes, you also need to improve your score). Are you just looking to solidify that score so that you don't see a drop on test day, as you did on that practice test? Or are you looking to go even higher?

[jai.shr5381]

dear stacey,

thanx for your reply

yes,
better to solidify the score first,
am reading your article now!

by the way:-
for verbal got a string of questions wrong in the end.
majority were cr questions (700-800 score range)
last question not attempted.


br//
jai

[jnelson0612]

Hi Jai,
Good to hear!

Unfortunately, there's an extra penalty for missing several in a row and when you miss questions at the end it really hurts your percentile because the percentile you end on becomes your verbal percentile. On the other hand, missing 700-800 scores is not nearly as damaging to your percentile. Be sure to ALWAYS log in an answer for every question, even if you have to just quickly guess. You can work on sticking to the timing benchmarks so that you have time to attempt every question; that will help your score too.

Good luck!

Best wishes,
Jamie Nelson

[jai.shr5381]

hi,

thx for your advice!

got a 700 on mgmat 2,

this time i made it a point to answer all questions,however
maths was really tough q -47, if i am not wrong in observing - mgmat maths is tougher then gmat prep, i was better able to manage my time in verbal v-39 , got a biology rc for my third rc with time variance increasing by a gap of 3 mins ,guessed 3 questions and moved on .

for quant-
am trying tougher questions bank with timed sectional tests.
for verbal -
revising idioms and sentence correction ,so as to give more time to cr and rc questions -improved in cr in this test.


intrestingly my scores in gmat prep1(q-48,v-37) and this test(q-47,v-39) were quite similar.


br //
jai

[jnelson0612]

Good for you! This is great progress!

Yeah, some students believe that our math problems are just a little harder than the actual GMAT problems. If so, that's a good thing as this level of difficulty will prepare you even better for the real GMAT. :-)

[jai.shr5381]

HI,
scored 700 ON MGMAT 3 ,V 40 Q 44 SEEMED TO HAVE IMPROVED
IN CRITICAL REASONING , HAVE REGISTERED FOR THE EXAM ON 1ST SEPT,SO AM PREPARING FOR THE LAST THREE EXAMS AND GMAT PREP 2(HAD SCORED 690 ON GMAT PREP 1)

SEEM TO BE SUFFERING FROM A TIMING PROB IN MATHS THOUGH,
AM PRACTISING TOUGH QUESTIONS, NEED ADVICE REGARDING GUESS WORK IN MATHS.

BR//
JAI

[wellsronald18]

While I understood everything discussed till now. I have a query about the timing spend on quant; my timing no matter whatever attempts I make is not reducing. My avg time spend on quant comes out to be 3 min and 11 seconds, which is very high, if I calculate the section as a whole. Suggest any advice on quant.

[StaceyKoprince]

To both of the last two posters: yes, you need to get some things wrong faster. You're trying to get everything right - but that's not how this test works. You will NEVER get everything right, no matter how good you get, and you will ALWAYS be given questions that will take you way too long if you let them (and you'll probably get them wrong anyway).

Read this article right now!
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Note that the above article contains links to two other articles on educated guessing (one for quant, one for verbal).

[jai.shr5381]

Hi STACEY,

DEVELOPING THE ONE MINUTE TIME SENSE SEEMS TO BE THE RIGHT WAY TO GO, HAVE GOT 700 AGAIN ON MGMAT 4 (V-40,Q-44) SAME SCORE AS IN MGMAT 3,AM CONCENTRATING ON INEQUALITY, DIVISIBILITY AND STATISTICS IN MATHS AS THESE TOPICS SEEM TO BE CAUSING TIME VARIATIONS,ANY ADVICE FOR THE LAST WEEK?

FOR TIMING YOU ARE RIGHT - SOME QUESTIONS YOU DO NEED TO GET WRONG FASTER.

[StaceyKoprince]

For the last week, spend most of your time on a comprehensive review. Don't try to take a few weaknesses and make them a lot better in the last week - if something's a big weakness, just get it wrong faster and use that time elsewhere!

You may want to look at these (what to do during the last 2 weeks):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... game-plan/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-review/

[jai.shr5381]

HI STACEY,
HAVE GIVEN THE GMAT GOT A 660 (Q-49,V-30),I WAS SCORING 44-45 IN MANHATTAN GMAT QUANT SO I HAD CONCENTRATED ON
700-800 Q OF EACH SECTION OF QUANT,SCORED MY HIGHEST IN QUANT, BUT VERBAL DROPPED TO 30, ALTHOUGH I HAD SCORED
40 IN MY LAST TWO MGMAT'S IN VERBAL, I REVISED SC BOOK ON SECOND LAST DAY WITH IDIOMS AND SAW MY MISTAKES IN THE LAST TEST IN VERBAL, THAT WAS ABOUT IT.

NEED ADVICE IS IT WORTHWHILE TO GIVE A SECOND ATTEMPT?
IF YES, HOW SOON, AND HOW DO I PREPARE TO IMPROVE VERBAL.
GAVE FOUR MGMAT TEST'S BUT SCORED ABOVE 35 IN EACH.

JUST SOME OBSERVATIONS
IN VERBAL THE RC'S WERE SMALL IN SIZE BUT WITH DETAILED INFO,
SECONDLY, IT WAS DIFFICULT ATTEMPTING FIRST 10 QUESTIONS AND SEEMED TO HAVE CHOKED ON CR COMPREHENSION AND SENTENCE CORRECTION ACCURACY.

I TRIED MY BEST IN QUANT SCORED 49 BUT IN THE BREAK SEEMED TO BE MENTALLY TIRED.

[jai.shr5381]

JUST A FOLLOW UP ON MY VERBAL SCORES FOR YOUR ANALYSIS:
CR:
/RIGHT/WRONG Avg.RT/AVG.WR TIMES
TOTAL: 56 35 21 0 63% 2:06 2:14
300 - 500 1 1 0 100% 1:27 NA
500 - 600 8 7 1 88% 1:59 2:04
600 - 700 13 10 3 77% 2:03 2:15
700 - 800 34 17 17 50% 2:13 2:15

RC:
TOTAL: 48 26 22 0 54% 2:08 1:56
300-500 1 1 0 100% 0:58 NA
500 - 600 7 7 0 100% 1:36 NA
600 - 700 14 8 6 57% 1:44 1:27
700 - 800 26 10 16 38% 2:56 2:07

SC:

TOTAL:60 42 17 1 70% 1:17 1:23
600 - 700 26 18 7 69% 1:11 1:10
700 - 800 34 24 10 71% 1:21 1:32

AS YOU CAN SEE SC AND CR WERE MY STRONG POINT BUT IN THE ACTUAL TEST I WAS NOT ABLE TO REPLICATE THIS IN CR AND SC, ALSO WHILE RC COMPREHENSION WAS OK INTHE FIRST
AND SECOND RC THE QUESTIONS WERE TOUGHER AND DIFFICULT TO ANSWER , I DID NOT GET THE FEELING THAT I WAS ABLE TO DECIPHER THE QUESTIONS INITIALLY Q 15-20, ALL TYPES