CAT 2 (Quant increased, Verbal Decreased)

[jars_a2005]

I just took my second CAT Practice Test with Manhattan GMAT.

In my diagnostic, I got a 610, 33 Quant (39%-ile) and 40 Verbal (91%-ile). After about 3 weeks of studying (MGMAT self-prep course), I took the second CAT and got 620, 42 Quant (66%-ile), 33 Verbal (69%-ile). I am aiming to get above a 700, and really pleased I was able to improve my Quant score. But I am really puzzled about my Verbal score. Is it common for verbal scores to drop that low on the second practice exam, considering the studying and preparation in between? I finished the Verbal part of the second CAT with 10 minutes to spare and it was the same case for the 1st CAT. ANy advise on this one? If I combine my Quant from CAT 2 and Verbal from CAT 1, I have approx a 680 which is closer to my goal. But the net score of 620/10 point increase after 3 weeks is making me really nervous and question if I can break 700. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

It's not unusual for scores to stay the same or drop a little on test 2, but that was a pretty big drop. What other differences were there?

Did you do essay + IR on both tests? Did you stick to the official break lengths (2 breaks of 8 minutes each)? Skipping essay and/or IR or taking longer breaks than allowed can lead to an artificially inflated score on Q and V. Were you especially tired for the 2nd test - taking it later in the day, busy time, stressed out, anything that could have caused mental fatigue to "get to you" during the 2nd test?

You had timing problems - you finished both sections 10 minutes early. Yes, finishing really early does actually indicate a problem. :) It indicates that you may not be systematic enough, and that can lead to careless mistakes. Habits that lead to careless mistakes also lead to score fluctuations - because you never know how many careless mistakes you're going to happen to make on any one day.

Use this to analyze your test results:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

In particular, try to figure out what the *differences* were for V on the two tests - and try to figure out WHY those differences exist.

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

[jars_a2005]

Thanks for the response Stacey.

To answer the first part of your response, I took both essays and IR on both tests. From what I recall, I took the 1st Test around 8:00 pm. I got off work around 5:00pm, went home, had a meal, rested a bit, then took the test. Whereas for the second test, I worked from home that morning, finished work at noon and started the test right after. It was also a Friday and a nice day out, so I may have just wanted to get the test over with by the time I started the verbal section. I remember being more nervous for the first test and more relaxed/complacent for the second test.

Having score a 91%-ile on the 1st test and a really low Quantitative score, I spent a lot of the time in between the two practice tests reviewing Quant and focusing on that, but don't think I ignored the Verbal at all, I did all the readings/problems assigned etc.

Reviewing both tests' verbal sections and what I got wrong/right, it looks like I started out the same on both tests, answering a lot of 600-700 and 700-800 questions (more of the 700-800 questions correctly on the 1st test and a lot of right 600-700 questions but a lot of wrong 700-800 questions as well). Towards the middle of the test (questions 27-30), I got 4 straight wrong answers on 2 700-800 and 2 600-700 questions, and after that I was alternating between 2 correct answers and 2 wrong answers straight whereas on test 1 I only got 1 wrong answer on the last 10 or so questions. In terms of average time for questions I got right and questions I got wrong, I answered questions in the second test much faster by around 10-20 seconds per question. By reviewing the each question, I also caught a lot of careless mistakes that I should have answered correctly if I read each question more carefully. More than anything, i feel like perhaps I was more complacent than I should have been. Below is the raw data for my verbal. I will be taking my 3rd Practice Test this weekend so I hope I'm able to bring my Verbal score up to at least around the same as the 1st test.

Test 1
Time Time Right Wrong
Right wrong Q Diff Q diff
Sentence Correction 60% 1:23 1:20 720 720
Critical Reasoning 71% 1:35 1:42 710 750
Reading Comprehension 58% 1:44 1:26 710 690

Test 2

Sentence Correction 53% 1:17 1:15 630 690
Critical Reasoning 64% 1:22 1:48 660 690
Reading Comprehension 42% 1:03 1:39 630 710

[jars_a2005]

I finished taking my third practice test over the weekend and got the below results:

Quant 42 66 %
Verbal 36 81 %
Total 640 80%

Compared to my previous results, this sort of the middle of the road I feel. My Quant improvement from the 1st test is still visible (39%-ile to 66%-ile) but there was no change from Test 2. The difference I did notice was I felt much more relaxed and less time-constrained than the first 2 tests. In CAT 2, there were moments when I was lagging behind and had to guess a few in the middle and towards the end. On CAT 3, on the other hand, I was consistent with the time and made it til the end with a few seconds to spare. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing? I had more time to answer questions but why didn't I get a higher score? Or did I get the timing down pat, all I have to do now is brush up on content?

As for the Verbal, the roller coaster continues. I had a 91%-ile in CAT 1, dropped to 69%-ile, and went up to 81%-ile. Whereas in the CAT 2 where I had a lot of time left and made some careless mistakes, in CAT 3 I felt like I was too careful and spent too much time on questions, especially in the beginning that I rushed towards the end. I want to bring this back to the 91%-ile level that I got in CAT 1 or even higher as I know I am stronger in Verbal than Quant and need an excellent Verbal score to offset an average Quant score. Am I too concerned with the Prep strategy than answering the question correctly and using my own intuition/stock knowledge?

I finished the entire Guided Self-Study course and I have about 3 weeks or so until my exam on September 17. What do you advise I should do now that the self-study program is over? How will I best prepare? I am aiming to get to a 700 or above and I believe I still can considering if I combine my highest Quant (42) and Verbal (40) in the 3 CAT tests, I would be at around a 680. What do I need to do to maximize my score and is it remotely feasible to get my ideal score given the time left?

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing? I had more time to answer questions but why didn't I get a higher score? Or did I get the timing down pat, all I have to do now is brush up on content?

It's a good thing. :) There are just so many moving parts that it can take a while for it to show up in your overall score, that's all. You're making progress on the timing and you do also need to work on the content. As you do get better on the content, be prepared for the timing to continue to be a struggle - you're going to start getting a harder mix of questions, and it's really hard to maintain your good time habits as the problems get harder and harder.

So you did figure out multiple reasons why your score dropped on verbal on the 2nd CAT - those all make sense, all would contribute to the score drop, and all are things that can be remedied. And the 3rd CAT did pick back up (though not yet to the overall level of your 1st.)

Am I too concerned with the Prep strategy than answering the question correctly and using my own intuition/stock knowledge?

Possibly. When you're scoring really well from the start in some area, it's even more important than usual to distinguish between your strengths and weaknesses. If you're already really good at certain things, you don't need to switch to our way of doing them - your methods are already working for you.

There will be some areas, though, where you do want to improve, and so those are the areas to tackle with our strategies (or some new strategies, whatever they are).

Have you used your two private 1/2 hour phone sessions yet? If you still have one left, sign up for one now and indicate that you want to do what we call a Post-Course Assessment (basically, a meeting focused on putting a plan together after you're done with the initial syllabus). Make sure that you have a recent practice MGMAT CAT done under official test conditions because your teacher will want to look at that before advising you. (I know you do already; this is written for the benefit of anyone else reading this.)

Then, if you'd like, you can come back here and tell us what advice you received and ask what we think (or ask questions about the advice, etc).

Re: timeframe, we do have to assume that your score range right now is around 640, even though you have scored higher in each section on separate tests. You're looking for a 700+, and 3 weeks is not a lot of time for a 60-point jump. My guess is that you'll probably need to give yourself some more time. But, first, go sign up for that 30-minute session so you can get some detailed advice before you decide.

Oh, I just realized - you might not have any sessions left. If not, then use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!) And then I'll tell you what I think. :)