First CAT 580 (Q37 V32) after 2 weeks, strange combination?

[VossDominik]

Hi.

After studying for 2 weeks I finally decided to have my first MGMAT CAT today. And all I can say is that it left me quite confused. Furthermore I don't know if I should feel good or bad about that score.

After all I've read about the GMAT so far, I always thought the Verbal score will be significantly lower than the Quant score. As you can see, it wasn't (V32=64%, Q37=44%).

Even more confusing: until now I strongly focused on Quant preparation and thought that my quant skills were more or less decent. And here comes the kicker: I am not at all a native speaker.

Originally my target was around a = 700, now I decreased it to 650+.

My real GMAT will take place on 23rd May, so I have another 15-16 days left for preparation, which may not seem very much, but at least it is the only thing I am currently concetrationg on. No job, no lectures, no commitments but GMAT.

So how would you interprete these figures above? How would you adjust your further studies according to the given information, I may summarize:

• First CAT: 580 (V32=64%, Q37=44%)


• Target: 650++


• 16 days left


• 5 CATs and 2 GMAT Prep CATs left


• Material available: OG12 (main+quant+verbal review), complete set of Manhattan GMAT books, Kaplan 800


• Going to skip AWA and IR completely as they are not being factored in by the schools I want to go to.

One further question:
in this topic og12-to-og13-problem-number-conversion-t20580.html it says: You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post. As I do study with the OG 12th it would be very important for me to be able to get these files.

Thank you very much! Dankeschön!

[StaceyKoprince]

I just got to your sentence stating that you're not a native speaker. You could've fooled me - your writing is perfect. :)

Okay, there was one minor error - but it's one that a native speaker would make too. My point is that your command of the language is great.

My real GMAT will take place on 23rd May, so I have another 15-16 days left for preparation,

You're right - it's not much. It's probably not enough time to jump to 650. You should think right now about whether you would prefer to postpone your test date to give yourself a better shot at hitting 650 or whether you would prefer to accept a lower score. You don't have to decide anything today; you can see how things go for the next week to 10 days. But think about how you're going to make that decision, in case it becomes necessary.

Going to skip AWA and IR completely as they are not being factored in by the schools I want to go to.

Bad idea. I know you don't care about those two scores, but you should care about the fact that you have to do the essay and IR sections first. You can't bomb them completely - the schools will notice if you get the lowest scores. So you will have to devote *some* brain energy to these sections. The less prepared you are to do an "okay" job, the more brain energy you'll use - and the more your Q and V scores will drop as a result.

Which leads me to this suspicion: did you skip essay and IR on that practice test?

Your scores are probably artificially inflated (most people experience this when skipping essay and IR). As a result, you are even further from the 650 that you're trying to get... reinforcing the idea that you're probably going to need more time.

Okay, what to start doing. At this point, I would study both quant and verbal - quant because it's lower (more room for improvement) and verbal because it's your stronger area (easier to improve your strengths).

I'd like to get some more detailed data on your strengths and weaknesses in order to advise you more carefully, though. 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. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (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!)

Also, read these two articles:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

And then this one:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

Finally, I have just sent an email to tech support to find out why you can't access those files. I'm not sure what the problem is, but we'll figure it out! In the meantime, if you'd like, send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com and ask them to email the files to you.

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, again. re: the files, our tech team is still troubleshooting, but they were able to download the files while not logged in at all - that is, as a free public user just browsing the forums. So you can also try logging out of your account and then downloading. :)

[VossDominik]

Hello Stacey,

thanks a lot for your answer and your compliments about my English ;-).

Probably I underestimated the amount of work behind good scores. That's why I made one more or less fatal mistake: I scheduled my GMAT so late that due to the deadline of my favorite school it's impossible do postpone or retake it. The official report is to be handed in by June 15th. So this is my one and only shot - at least this year. Of course it's possible to wait another year and spend the gap year working etc. But either way I am going to do the GMAT on May 23rd.

I very much appreciate your honesty about my chances of scoring in the targeted range. Please don't missunderstand this, but I hope I can prove you wrong here ;-)

About AWA and IR: I am literally going to skip this part and leave the forms completely empty. The admission offices I send my applications to definitely do not take AWA and/or IR into account. I have their own confirmation about that.

Tomorrow I will do my next CAT and see if I can improve a little. I will then, as suggested, analyse it carfully and read the above-named articles.

Thanks
Dom

EDIT:
About the files: it worked! I logged out and I could download them. Thanks!

[StaceyKoprince]

I very much appreciate your honesty about my chances of scoring in the targeted range. Please don't missunderstand this, but I hope I can prove you wrong here ;-)

I hope you prove me wrong too! (Note that I didn't say it couldn't be done... just that most people would need more time. :)

So I'd just take it for what it is: I'm going to gamble a bit and hope I can make it happen this year but, if not, I'm happy to postpone until next year. No big deal. If you've told friends/family that you're applying and you're worried about what they'll think, use my standard line when discussing something with someone who really doesn't need to know my life details: oh, I realized it's a better career move to wait until next year.

About AWA and IR: I am literally going to skip this part and leave the forms completely empty.

Again, bad idea. GMAC (the organization that owns the GMAT) reserves the right to cancel test scores for any "irregularities" and one category for a possible irregularity is skipping a section. That doesn't mean that they *will* cancel your scores if you skip a section, but they reserve the right to do so. I've got that straight from my contact at GMAC.

So put something in.

Next, you've got the schools' confirmation that they don't use essay and IR... but have they confirmed that they're okay with you getting the lowest score in each section / basically not doing the sections? I know some admissions officers have said that they will mentally discount the overall GMAT score if they can see that someone skipped / blew off the essay and/or IR - because you had a mental stamina advantage that others did not.

If the schools have actually confirmed that they're fine with you getting a 0 (essay) and 1 (IR), then great - just put something basic in for the essay and answer the IR Qs randomly so that GMAC doesn't cancel your scores. If the schools haven't actually confirmed this, talk to them.

Good luck!