GMAT Tips, looking to improve to 700 range

[pmiklius]

Hello,

I have been studying for almost 2 months now and plan another month of dedicated study before taking the GMAT in early June

When I first started it was like starting over as I hadn't done math since early college days (about 4 years)

I started with the foundations and then started attempting actual problems.

I first did the Kaplan Premier book, then the Official Guide 12 Quant book. I took practice tests throughout the process and my scores have consistenly gone up.
Kaplan 1 - CD test but my computer won't work with the CD
Kaplan 2 - 580 (Q36, V36)
Kaplan 3 - 660 (Q41, V43)
GMAT Prep 1 - 620 (Can't locate breakdown)
Kaplan 4 - 590 (Q35, V36)
Kaplan 5 - 590 (Q36, V32)
Kaplan 6 - 590 (Q38 V30)
MGMAT 1 -600 (Q43, V31)
Princeton Review Free - 620 (Can't locate breakdown)
GMAT Prep 2 - 660 (Q42, V38)
MGMAT 2 - 660 (Q45, V35)

I feel as if my Quant score is steadily increasing and on my last CAT test, the MGMAT 2nd test upon review the only Quant questions I missed were in the 700-800 range. I recently breezed through the MGMAT Foundation books just as a refresher on core concepts (and I am waiting on the strategy guides).

Previously I did all the Quant problems in the OG 12 Quant review and got 86% right. I have recently reviewed and redid all the questions I had previously gotten wrong.

Any advice on how to proceed? I plan on completing all the strategy guides for MGMAT and then completing the OG 12 Verbal review.Once these are completed I plan on diving into the OG 12 and compelting each problem multiple times (until I can fully understand why the problem is correct). While doing this I plan to take CAT tests peridocally just to somewhat measure improvement and keeping the pacing strategies I currently have (as I have only run out of time once in the CAT's I have taken). I can see my Quant score slowly increasing and I have gotten my highest score of 45 today. I feel fairly confident I can increase this as I notice mistakes on some of the problems. I may have dove into the CAT's a little too early but I like to measure how my studying is going. I figure if I focus more on the tougher math problems while increase my verbal score (provided this will increase with strategy guides and more practice) I should see the scores I am looking for

Any advice on how to proceed studying or any thoughts on my plans for prep?

Any advice would help

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, I'm sorry it has taken us a while to get to you - we've been short-staffed.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the number of CATs you've already taken. Stop taking so many - they're not helping anywhere near as much as you think. :)

Practice CATs 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.

So I'm most interested in how you're studying and how much you're learning from / analyzing these problems. You don't learn much from the act of just *doing* the problem, actually.

Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

Are you asking yourself these kinds of questions when reviewing? If not, you're not learning what you could be learning from them.

Also, you mention that your timing is fine because you finish on time. I talk to people every day with anything from mild to severe timing problems... and many of them finish the test on time too.

Use this article to determine whether you do have timing problems (in my experience 98% of us do):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

And use this to fix any timing problems:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Okay, in terms of developing your study plan from here, take a look at this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

I figure if I focus more on the tougher math problems

You need to focus on the "already in your range" and even some lower level problems too.

First, you can't afford to make careless or other mistakes on lower level problems - do that too many times, and you won't even see the tougher problems. Next, as your score lifts, it's not enough to be able to answer tougher problems correctly. You also have to get faster at the things you already know how to do.

In a nutshell, a problem that was at the higher end of your range 2 months ago has now become a problem that's at the lower end of your range. You have to be able to answer lower level (for you) problems in the normal timeframe or faster, because obviously the tougher (for you) problems aren't going to be done in less than the normal timeframe.

So don't neglect those "in my range right now" problems. :)

If you'd like, you can share your test analysis and your study plan ideas here and we'll tell you whether we think you're on the right track. Just note that we do need to have the test analysis (strengths and weaknesses) data as well as goal score, etc, in order to advise you on whether we think your study plan will be effective.

[pmiklius]

I know I know, It was a mistake on my part to take so many practice tests. I studied for about a month from the Kaplan premier book and online content and thought I was ready to start practicing CAT's. I took about 6 or 7 in a month. Since I have found through forums this is not a good idea and usually only take about 1 to 2 per month. This has helped as I have seen my scores increase in Quant by focusing only on studying and not CATs.

As for practicing problems, each time I take a CAT or do a round of practice problems I take just as long or longer to review the problems I had just finished whether right or wrong. If it was right i wanted to ensure that I had solved it quickly and the most efficient way. If it was wrong I figure out why I was wrong and why I may have made those steps to come to a wrong answer (ie, guessing, unsure of equation, calculation mistakte, etc.). Then I ensure I know how to sovle it correctly.

For timiing, the only good thing that came out of all those CAts was I improved my timing. The first couple I ended up having to guess on problems I knew i could get right. Now I am to the point (on my last few CATs) where I am comfortable with my pace and know when to make an educated guess because I've spent a lot of time already on the problem.

My plan moving forward : I know i still need some improvement in Quant and verbal to reach my goal of over a 700.

I have not pladced too much time strictly into Verbal, all I have done is read the foundation of GMAT verbal book. I am currently waiting on the strategy guides and they should be here any day. I currenly have completed the OG12 Verbal book for Sentence correction (68% right) and Critical reasoning (92%) right. which was suprising because I usually miss several CR questions on CAT exams and did not think this was a strong area for me. I have not yet completed the Reading Comp part but this is my strongest verbal area. The problem with verbal is i have a hard time identifying patterns and similarities between problems for both SC and CR, it makes it harder when I review problems to identify why I keep making the same mistake? Any suggestions....

For Quant, I continue to practice problems and plan on reading the strategy guides to ensure I figure out the most efficient ways to answer problems.

I do keep an error log of problems I have missed but find it more helpful for Quant then Verbal.

Once I have finished the 8 Strategy guides I plan on completing the whole OG12 Book. From this point I will see where I am and how much improvement i still need to make before I take the exam.

[StaceyKoprince]

I know I know, It was a mistake on my part to take so many practice tests.

Good, lesson learned. :)

Your review process sounds great. And timing is improving too. Good.

When you make a mistake, you have to figure out exactly why you made that mistake. This is especially important for verbal, where you've typically made at least two mistakes to get to the wrong answer: you picked the wrong one AND you eliminate the right one.

Why was the wrong one so tempting? What made it look good? What was your actual error in thinking that?

Why did the right answer look wrong? And what was the error there?

Was there something that you just didn't know - some rule you need to learn? Or did you know the material but you weren't aware that it was being tested - they managed to distract you somehow? Or did you fall into trap? Answer B sounded better than C (even though B was wrong)? Why did it sound better? Which specific part? Why did C sound worse? Which part? What's actually going on with that specific part? Etc.

Once you figure out WHY you made a mistake or why something was wrong vs. right, then you can figure out what you need to do in order to learn what you need to learn or to avoid making that mistake again in future.

The list of questions from the how to analyze article will help, too. It sounds like you find it easier to analyze the quant Qs, but it will come too on the verbal Qs with practice. Just keep asking yourself Why? and How do I know that?

[pmiklius]

So I am updating my progress for the GMAT.

After reading the replies and focusing in our certain materials (mostly verbal) I feel like I have made sifnificant progress and have booked my exam for June 23rd. I was feeling very confident until today when I took another practice exam.

My test scores of practice exams since my last post, I have taken three practice tests in the last month and a half
MGMAT (4) - 700 (Q47 V38)
GMAT Prep Newest edition Test 1 - 680 (Q46, V38)
MGMAT (5) Today - 660 (Q43, V37)

I feel as if I have made progress since last post and my Quant score hit a Q47 and I felt I was improving areas that were weak. I also improved my verbal which was holding my scores down to a V38 and I feel as if I am making good progress on Verbal

Today I took another test and my quant dropped to a 43. And I'm not sure exactly happened....

For both my MGMAT 4 and GMAT prep test I was doing very well and then missed 4 or 5 our of the last 6 to 7 question which brought my score back down. I thgouth if I could improve my stamina a bit I could hit 720 or so on my next test.

Today taking the test I felt the quant was going well but tough, then I got several questions that shook me (very hard), this is where my score dropped. I was doing well and my percentile was around 99 then I missed 7 questions in a row and this ruined my test. On my other previous tests I thought I had struggled on math but ended up doing well. For the GMAt prep test I thought the math was easier but they were better at "tricking" you with trap answers. I felt as if I was on a pace to get around a 49 but as I mentioned I missed 5 fo the last 7 and the majority of them were questions I knew I just missed one minor detail or read the question wrong
On my verbal I missed a lot of reading comprehension which is not typical of my performance. Usually I get only a coupel CR and RC wrong and more SC.

I know it is only one test but it shook my confidence a little as I felt I was on a good pace to peak and maximize my score by my GMAT test, now I feel is if I'm going backwards. I only want to take one more test before my exam (the gmat prep #2). I am aiming for a 720 but would be satisfied with a 700.

As I have finished the strategy guides (besides geometry) I plan to read the geometry guide, then read the advanced quant guide. Once I have completed these I plan on focusing on GMAT OG13 problems which I have saved until now. I thought I had a pretty good idea of my weaknesses in quant which I hope to focus in on but today made me think other wise.

For verbal I plan on doing the OG problems and focusing on my weak question types. Which I am still weak in SC compared to CR and RC

I think by the time I finish all the OG and the two strategy guides I should be a week or so from my test day. From there I will review questions I had gotten wrong and continue to review my weak areas.

Any thoughts on this strategy and if this is the best use of my 3 to 4 weeks left until my test?

[StaceyKoprince]

Be glad that this happened on a practice test. Now you can figure out what to do to preven it from happening on the real thing!

So, you were doing well and hit the 99th percentile. First of all, did you take extra time on the questions to get to that point? If so, that's a problem - better to have a lower, but steadier, score, than to "peak and drop."

Remember: where you end is what you get. So if you drop by the end of the section, all that good work earlier doesn't matter. And the strategy to try to lift your score as high as possible early in the section doesn't work either, because that usually takes extra time, which means you drop... and then where you end is what you get. Smooth out that line - steady performance throughout.

Okay, so there you are around 99, and you get some impossible questions. Of course you do - you're at 99th! :)

The problem is when you try to get those right too, spend too much time, then start panicking because you know you blew some time and you still didn't figure it out, and then you have to speed up to make up that time, but now you're getting easier questions (because you've just gotten 2-3 wrong), so if you speed up and your brain is in panic mode, you're going to make mistakes on things that you did know how to do...

Is that what happened?

Here's what you do next time. If you get tossed a crazy question, think to yourself, Sweet! I must be doing really well to get such an impossible one! That's awesome!! Okay, what am I going to guess on this one? And moving on...

Next, you talk about missing a higher proportion of questions at the end of the section. Are you sure that that's only stamina and that there are NO timing issues at all going on? If there are some timing issues, we've got to deal with those, too. What are your average times for the last 7-10 questions compared to the entire section? Especially for the incorrect ones?

Re: your test date, you may still be okay - you don't need to make any decisions right now. Progress isn't linear - don't expect a straight progression right to the peak. Obviously some things are going wrong with stamina and likely with timing. Possibly there are also some holes in content - you'll have to figure that out through a test review.

This experience gives you an opportunity to shore up the weaknesses - that is, to learn how to get better. Embrace it!

Have you analyzed this test yet using the article that I gave to you in one of my earlier posts? If not, do so. Then review that time management article if there are any timing issues going on (and I don't know anyone who has perfect timing, except for *some* teachers / experts - but not even all of us!).

Finally, in terms of study strategy, there are two big modes: getting better and reviewing. Getting better / working on weaknesses is what you do until your practice scores are in the scoring range that you want. Then, you need at least 1 solid week (up to 2 weeks) JUST to review - you're no longer actually trying to fix weaknesses at that point.

You're not at your goal score yet, so keep up your study and analysis to get better (to help, use the resources in the "studying and struggling" article that I linked in an older post above), but when you do get into your goal range, make sure you give yourself time for review, even if that means postponing your test a week or two.

Save these two articles for then (note: you can compress what they say into 7-10 days if needed).
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... game-plan/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-review/

And of course feel free to check in here. :)

[pmiklius]

To Update

I took 2 weeks to only focus on concepts and OG problems and I was feeling more confident heading into the practice exam I took this past saturday. I took the full exam (as I do every exam) with essay and IR.

I ended up with a 680 (Q47, V36)

During Quant I felt I was doing well and was almost perfect with timing, I figured out that during previous exams I was taking to long on problems I did not know and I would waste time instead of guessing (although it was only an extra 20 seconds I felt it added up). This test as soon as I realized I would not be able to get an answer within a couple of minutes I would strategically guess. I never felt any fatigue at all during this test.

For verbal I felt it was easier then the previous tests I had taken and timing was good for verbal as well.

When the score came up I felt this was about right for the verbal as I did not notice to many hard questions along the way. There is one issue that keeps coming up on most of the exams I take, for some reason I seem to miss a string of questions in a row in both Quant and Verbal.

For this test I missed the last 4 Quant questions, even during the 8 minute break I realized I missed those questions. I know how to do them I just make a mistake on them. I feel that I was on pace to get a 48 possibly even a 49 until missing these 4 questions. As it has happened on multiple occasions I identified it as a weakness but am not sure how to solve it? I know a couple of times it was due to timing but other times I had plenty of time and still missed the last 3, 4, or even 5 questions.

For Verbal I miss a string of questions (usually in the beginning portion of the seciton which I find odd, but also sometimes at the end of sections). I don't know whether this is due to fatigue or if something is happening when I switch from Quant to Verbal. I missed 6 in a row and still reached a 36 (previous test i missed 5 in a row at the end and got a 38). I know I am capable of reaching my goal of a 700 but need to fix this issue before.

I am hoping to solve this issue of missing multiple questions in a row before my GMAT attempt on the 23rd.

[StaceyKoprince]

I figured out that during previous exams I was taking to long on problems I did not know and I would waste time instead of guessing

Good, that's really important. Most people do this, but not everyone is able to recognize it and then break the bad habit. :)

For those last 4 quant questions that you missed - did you use normal time on them? Or were you having to rush (even a little bit) at that point? How much time did you spend on each? Fatigue coupled with even some rushing at the end can cause careless mistakes.

You mentioned that sometimes it has happened but was NOT due to timing problems. Are you 100% sure? Answering something in 1.5m instead of 2 can be a timing problem - if you really should have taken 2m.

There are likely also be some mental fatigue issues going on. You may have to be extra careful of your work at the end, checking your work and making sure that you do have a full 2m per question so that you do have time to check, etc.

And don't forget about what you do on your breaks - eating and drinking brain energy food (complex carbs, protein, a little fat) and doing a little physical stretching or even exercise to pump up your energy. During the test itself, you can also stretch your legs, roll your ankles around, rotate your shoulders, roll your neck, etc. You just can't stand up or stretch your arms out (for more than a second).

For verbal, when it happens at the beginning, that's more likely to be a "mental switch" issue - you're taking a little time to switch your brain from quant to verbal. Again, check the per-question timing and make sure you're not messing that up somehow.

Unfortunately, we can't do a couple of questions on the break to get our minds switched over - we can't look at any study materials on the breaks. You can, though, go out into the break room, close your eyes, and repeat a little mantra to yourself that has to do with some verbal test question. It might be the "4 steps" for CR, it might be a few grammar rules you're trying to remember, or whatever - just something that takes a minute or two to repeat to yourself and that will help you start thinking about verbal.

Again, make sure you're having brain food on the break and during this break you may also want to add some glucose (sugar). Go for real, pure sugar, none of the fake stuff. Could be in the form of an energy drink, fresh fruit juice, whatever you like (and can ingest quickly). (We don't do glucose for the whole test because sugar makes us spike and crash - but you can do it before the last section because you won't crash before the test is over.)

But again go look at the timing data and make sure that's not contributing. Little issues that make you rush just a bit coupled with mental fatigue can equal big problems during the test.

I never felt any fatigue at all during this test.

I believe that you didn't feel physical fatigue. But mental fatigue is quite different and you were feeling it or you wouldn't have had strings of wrong answers at the ends of the sections. :)

This is what mental fatigue feels like:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... you-crazy/

Look through that and ask yourself: how can I reduce the number of decisions that I need to make during the test? What's really necessary and what really isn't? :)

[pmiklius]

Thanks Stacey,

That mental fatigue does sound a lot like what I have been experiencing at the end of the quant sections of all my pratice tests whether or not I had timing issues. I found it even harder to concentrate if I was on pace with timing because I could feel my self relaxing with 3 questions left and 6 minutes left feeling I had "enough" time to finish properly.

For verbal I think it is a mental switch, I usually find myself missing a string of questions in the first 10 questions.

For my first break I drank the coke outside which I felt really helped being out of the quiet study room I usually take the test in. It kind of cleared my mind.

The good news is I took one final practice test this past weekend and told myself if I didn't hit my target goal of at least 700 I would post pone my date (which means I have to keep studying). I went to a library where I take all my tests but this time I took some energy (a coke and energy drink with some chocolate) where usually I just drink water. During the test the essays and IR went fine. Quant was going well and I was pacing myself pretty well (fell behind 2 minutes but managed to make it up with hard questions where I gave an educated guess). At the end of the quant section I felt a little mental fatigue (after reading this post I realized that what it was) but felt pretty sure I tested well.

After Quant i again left the room and drank the energy drink. I think it really helped to leave the physical room and separate myself from the test for a couple of minutes. During the break I told myself only 41 more questions and then I'm finished with my last practice test ever.... So focus on each and every question.

During the first 10 or so questions of Verbal I felt myslef having trouble concentrating and thought here comes a string of misses but I took extra time on these first 5 or 6 (as I usually end with an extra 5 to 6 minutes in verbal) and buckled down. By question 10 I was back focusing and sharp. I finished verbal and even saw 3 bold face questions so I knew I was doing at least pretty well.

The good news is I scored a 720 (Q47 V42) which is my target goal. Also for verbal I didn't miss more then 2 questions in a row for the entire section. I feel the break and energy I drank really helped me focus.

The bad news is I still missed 3 of the last 4 for quant. After reviewing the test I had an even 2 minutes for each of the 4 questions but still failed to get these correct. What was different this time around was I did not find any careless or panic mistakes in the problems. The 3 problems I got wrong were in my weak areas which made it even harder to concentrate as I was unsure of some of the answers (and 1 was just a educated guess).

All in all it was a good practice test to head into the real GMAT with. It showed me that I can achieve the 720 I want but my verbal was the second highest its ever been on a practice test meaning I shouldn't assume that since I got the 720 I can replicate it easily. I hope to buckle down on my weak concepts during this week and head into the test center fully rested.

Any advice for the last couple of preparation days would be appreciated

Thanks again for the help

[StaceyKoprince]

Great, that's all good news. Even the errors that you had at the end - you just happened to get a few questions in a row that were in your areas of weakness. Nothing you can do about that - sometimes we get a little unlucky. But you were still able to get your target score despite that.

Last few days = general review, all major strategies (how to solve different kinds of problems, pacing strategies, guessing strategies). The closer you get, the less you do (just like an athlete - you rest before the Big Game). The night before, go to the movies or do something else that will occupy your mind.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[pmiklius]

Stacey,

So I had my test this past Saturday and I am somewhat happy to say I got a 690 (Q47 V37). I am actually pretty pleased with the score but am thinking of a retake. Any advice on this subject? Rigth aftter I got the score I thought that's a good first score but I should retake and put a couple more months of effort into the GMAT and get a higher score but after taking the weekend and reading some blogs I have found several people say the difference between a 690 and 710 is not that big of a difference and not really a deal breaker at all. Any thoughts? I am looking for a school that will allow me to focus more on hospitality business like restaurants, resorts, and hotels (as this is my experience so far) and have thoguht it may be better time spent contact schools and writing essays about my goals and ambitions rather then attempting GMAT again.

For the actual test, here is a breakdown, and why I think I may be able to do better.

First off I am happy with the score I received. It was pretty much in line with the last 4 practice tests I took. The reason I think I may retake is I have scored a lot higher on verbal on a couple of practice tests and a little more polishing and I feel I could get a higher verbal score.

Test Center - I had some difficulty finding the center and then even more difficulty getting into the building as it was part of a complex and the doors were locked on weekends. Luckily i was an hour early I knew I had plenty of time to get in. I eventually got in the doors. After that the center was great the staff was friendly and very helpful (I even took an extra restroom break during Verbal and the lady was running fast then I was to get me checked out) I could not have asked for a better test center to attempt the GMAT.

Essay - Fairly comfortable, as I don't have my score yet but I feel I did fairly well. I was good on time and did not get to hard of a subject. Finished up with about 2 minutes left.

IR - This was a little bit of a worry for me before the test as I did not put too much time into IR until the last 2 weeks. But during the test I actually felt very comfortable during the test and the questions seemed right in line with the GMAT prep questions.

Quant - I started off horribly..... That's all I can say, I got two relatively simply questions at the beginning but could not think fo a way to answer them. It must of been nerves but by the fourth question I was feeling better. I felt quant was going alright for the first 15 questions when I looked at the clock. I was 10 minutes ahead of pace and then I began to realized the questions were still really simple, nothing complex yet. I quickly realized I was rushing and begin to take more time on quetions and really think through them and finally around question 25 I started to see some more difficult quetions. I ended with a Q47 which is right in line with all my practice tests.

Verbal - I feel I could have done better here. I received a V42 on my last practice test and only received a V37 on the real thing. But after thinking through it a V37 was only 1 point below my average Verbal score. I do feel SC hurt me during the test. I felt really confident in CR and RC but SC I was unsure. I never really mastered SC. I was good enough to get through the easy and medium questions but as soon as I hit the upper level I always came down to two choices and this happened quite a bit on the actual test.

Overall it was a good score and right in line with my practice tests. I am really tempted to take a week off and then start the process again. Any thoughts on a retake would be appreciated. When thinking about a retake I always feel since a 690 is so close to my target score of 700 my time might better be served in the essay and application process.

[StaceyKoprince]

Congratulations - that's a great score!

If you took our course or one of our Guided Self-Study packages, then you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment (if you haven't done it already). This is a phone call with an instructor to figure out what went wrong and come up with a plan to re-take the test. If this applies to you, please send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment.

In terms of whether to take it again, first, you can discuss that during the PEA. You should also, though, talk to some admissions consultants, since our area of expertise is really the GMAT, not the admissions process itself. You can post in the Ask An Admissions Consultant folder on our forum. Many consultants also offer a short free consultation, so you may want to take advantage of that.

Statistically, it's true that there is no difference between a 690 and a 710. Both candidates are basically the same. Now, if two candidates apply who are identical in every way but one has a 690 and the other a 710, okay fine, they'll probably take the person with a 710. But that's not really what's going to happen - at that point, they'll be looking at other things such as work experience, recommendations, leadership potential, etc.

So glad you got to the test center early! That would've been really stressful if you'd only had a few minutes.

Your quant experience is interesting and I hope lots of your fellow students read this. You did exactly the right thing in slowing down, but the real thing I want to point out is: you can get off to a bad start and yet still recover! It's not the case that the test "locks you in" to some scoring range after the first 5 or 10 questions. Okay, yes, if you get the first 10 questions wrong, you're not going to get all the way up to the 99th percentile, but you get my point. :)

So, see everyone, pmiklius is another data point showing that you really can recover from a slow start.

Go talk to some admissions consultants and sign up for a PEA if applicable. If not, here are some things to do:
- decide where you want to apply or might want to apply and look up their stats on GMAT scores; how far off are you compared to the median score, the "middle range" of scores, etc?
- look at other stats (GPA, work experience, etc) and try to gauge how you fit in; are these areas strengths or weaknesses for you?

Also, give yourself a couple of extra points if you're coming from an under-represented work area (eg, a non-profit), geographic region, college major, etc. If you're coming from an overrepresented area (i-banker from NY?), etc, then subtract a few points.

That should give you an idea of whether you're "in the mix" or whether it might actually be important to take the test again.