Last 20 days to Gmat exam

[tanyatomar]

Hi,
my GMAT exam is in 20 days. i gave GMAT prep this weekend and got 620 in first test and 660 in second test. Last week i gave MGMAT CAT online and got 690. When i solve OG questions or 1000SC or 1000CR or 1000RC questions i am doing fairly well. However my score on GMAT Prep is so bad... Please guide me as to how i should study the remaining 20 days to improve my score... i badly need a 700....

[StaceyKoprince]

If you need a 700 and you got a 620 on your most recent test, then you should be aware that you may not be ready in 20 days - you may need to postpone. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's better to be prepared so that you can make a good decision when the time comes.

You got a 690 on another test. Why such a big difference in the scores? What was different between the two tests? Did you take both tests under 100% official conditions, including the essays, length of breaks, etc? If you skipped the essays, for example, that could lead to an artificially inflated score on the multiple choice (because it's easier not to have to write essays for an hour first).

Do you have timing problems? Most people do, at least a little bit. People with more significant timing problems will often experience large swings in scores. If timing is a significant factor, then you will need to fix that problem before taking the real test, and significant timing problems often take 4-6 weeks to correct.

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

You can use this article to come up with other ideas why your score might have dropped on that last test:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

If you'd like us to help you with what to do, please use the below article to analyze your most recent MGMAT test and then share the results with us:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Finally, here are two articles on what to do during the final 2 weeks before the real test:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... game-plan/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... game-plan/

[tanyatomar]

Hi Stacey,
thanks for ur reply.. :)
i gave both the exams under official conditions....
i MGMAT CAT where i scored 690, i had more number of questions wrong than in GMATPrep CAT. but still my score was less on GMAT Prep.. everyone says MGMAT is tougher than GMATPrep, but my scores say different story...

Also i finished both maths and english sections on GMATPrep exam 15-17 minutes earlier.. so i am thinking that the low scores shud be because i ws giving exams at my home n do not have proper sitting... basically after 30 question (50 minutes approx) i loose concentration and want to finish test fast ... and this tendency is more at the end of english section :( :( after sitting for that long...

i am planning to give more tests on weekends and improve my sitting....

but i have lost faith in score given by different CATs apart from real GMAT.. i think the algorithm used is different....

Tanya

[StaceyKoprince]

The percentage of correct questions is not tied directly to the score - on either test, you can get more wrong but get a higher score and vice versa. What matters is the difficulty level of the questions and the patterns as you move through the test section.

For instance, I could do amazingly well for the first 27 questions in quant (and be up at 99th percentile) and then get the last 10 questions wrong (because, say, I ran out of time), and my score would tank. My score isn't an average across all 37 questions. My score is the level that I'm at when the test finishes - and 10 Qs wrong in a row at the end will pull me well down below the 99th percentile.

That's an extreme case obviously, but I'm just trying to illustrate the point that you can't assess the scores based on the # correct or percentage correct - that's not how the test works.

The 15-17 min early finish is a really big deal. That means that you very likely missed some questions that you probably did know how to do, but you made careless mistakes because you were rushing (and fatigued). Then, that would lead to you being offered lower-level questions, which you'd of course be more likely to get right - except you'd still have some careless mistakes even on those, because again you're rushing and tired. So it's actually not surprising at all that you might have gotten more right in the end but had a lower score.

The mental fatigue is a real problem for everyone. Read this: http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... you-crazy/

i am planning to give more tests on weekends and improve my sitting....

That's not really how you improve - not efficiently. CAT exams are really good for (a) figuring out where you're scoring right now, (b) practicing stamina (which is an issue in your case, yes), and (c) analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. The actual act of just taking the exam, though, is an incredibly inefficient way to improve - it'll take you forever. It's what you do with the test results between tests that helps you to improve.

but i have lost faith in score given by different CATs apart from real GMAT.. i think the algorithm used is different....

It is absolutely the case that all practice tests use a different algorithm from GMATPrep - that's because the specific GMATPrep algorithm has never been publicly disclosed. And, in fact, there seem to be some differences even between GMATPrep and the real test (eg, experimental questions), though we don't know for sure because the real test algorithm has also never been disclosed.

We do know the algorithmic theory on which the test is based, though, and that's what companies have used to re-engineer the algorithm. These practice tests mimic the real test but, no, they are not exactly like the real thing. Just be aware that your feeling about the # correct leading to the different scores is actually not evidence that the algorithms are so different that there's a problem. The tests seem to be performing correctly in the situation you described (given the info that you told me).