MBA Practice CAT Disaster

[Marty's Hero]

Hi all,

I have used the MGMAT study guides and taken a few tests over my few months of study. I am one week away from the real test and took my last MBA practice test. I score a 650.

This follows scores of 680 (MGMAT), 680 (MGMAT) and 700 (MBA.com test).

On the MBA.com tests: i had a raw score of 46 on the first test but a 43 on the last one. The thing i don't understand is the 43 happened when I had 4 FEWER incorrect answers. On the first 13 questions, i only had 2 wrong, compared to 6 on the 700 test.

I only answer 1 more question wrong on the 650 the rest of the way on the math, but scored way way lower.

So, having completely botch this test (and still unsure why the lower math score happened), do you think I should push the test back?

Thanks for any input.

[StaceyKoprince]

Sorry we're just getting to this right now - if I read you correctly, you either took the test yesterday or you'll take it tomorrow. So you've probably already made up your mind - let us know what you decided.

When you have a significant score drop, it is important to figure out what went wrong. The test isn't scored based on the # or percentage correct, so analyzing that doesn't actually help you to figure out what happened. It's perfectly possible to get more wrong and a higher score or vice versa. In addition, the earlier questions are not worth more than the later questions.

Next, all standardized tests have standard deviations - basically it's possible to score in a range and that range is essentially considered to be statistically the "same" score. On the real test, the standard deviation is about 30 points. On our tests, the SD is about 50 points. (No practice test is as precise as the real test.)

So the variation that you saw is well within the normal standard deviation.

What does that mean going forward? You don't mention your goal score, but since you aren't happy with the 650, I assume your goal is closer to 700. You can use the below article to analyze your recent tests and learn more about your strengths and weaknesses. That will help us to determine what to do next.

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

Then come back here and share your analysis (NOT just the raw data!) with us and we'll help you figure out what to do.

I know you've already had to make your decision, but for others in a similar position, generally speaking, you generally lose confidence if your score drops on a practice test one week before, so in that circumstance, it's often a good idea to postpone for a week or two until you figure out what went wrong and take the time to rectify the situation.

[Marty's Hero]

Hey Stacey,

Thank you for the reply. I checked this sight religiously for a few days and then gave up.

I did end up pushing the test back 2 weeks and got a 680. I’d recommend this to other test takers because it allows you to relax and refocus on the areas you think you need to improve.

I scored 44 (66th percentile) on the quant and 39 (87th percentile) on the verbal. I’m still looking for advice but want to first give my feedback on the Manhattan program:

For Verbal - I was very comfortable during the test (even knowing I just botched the Quant bigtime), and I think the manhattan the books are amazing. (how's that for a free advertisement?)

1) For critical reasoning - I do not t-diagram but use a similar method that works better for me. This is incredibly helpful.
2) Sentence correction - I’ve read the first 8 chapters probably 4 times, and I’ve steadily improved over-time.
3) Reading Comp - I use the methodology suggested, but mostly pray that I will read quickly/competently enough on exam day.

With that said, I was very disappointed with my quant score and my overall quant ability on test day. Unlike the Verbal, I have no clue how to study efficiently for the quant section. I’ve taken and passed the 3 levels of the CFA exams (so I think I have some quant ability, even if it is not significant). For the CFA exam, I would read the material 3 times and do a few practice questions. For the GMAT, I have read the guides AND completed a ton of questions in the OG’s but feel that I am lacking something in the quant prep.

I have scored as high as the 79th percentile on math on a MGMAT practice test and have scored as high 46 on the MBA practice test (my first practice test on the site), but I had a number of issues during the test:

1) My timing was terrible. I had to guess on the last two questions and had to guess on some in the 20-30 question range because I could not get through the question. I’m actually surprised I was in the 66th percentile given the struggles during those 75 minutes of hell.

2) I did not recognize what topics being asked. This was the biggest problem and led to me spending tons of times on certain questions, and probably getting the wrong answers.

3) I’m god awful at geometry and probability/stats.

I guess what I’m asking for is help in setting a study plan for the next month to improve my overall score. Here are my main questions/issues:

1) How much should I focus on my verbal technique before the next test in 1 month? I think I know the method to solving the CR and RC q’s, but think I should try to read a few chapters here and there to stay fresh on the SC questions.

2) Is it possible to improve my quant score from the 66th percentile in a month? How should I study? I’ve read the books, and I’ve reviewed achieved classes from my Manhattan course. I’ve also done a ton of questions. Call me crazy, but I'm think it may be a sign that I’m not going to improve in this area! But I have had a few solid sessions under real testing conditions. I just cannot consistently get a score in the 75-80th range.

3) I’m decent at answering quant questions when I’ve just finished reading a section. But when I try to put everything together in a test environment I seem struggle more often than not.

What do you think? I really want to improve that quant score. Is is possible? How would you try to prepare more efficiently?

Thanks again for your feedback. I really appreciate all of your thoughts.

[StaceyKoprince]

* * *
Coming back to the beginning after finishing my post because I just saw that you did take our course. 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. Send an email (right now!) to studentservices@manhattangmat.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment.
* * *

Nice job on that first test - a 680 is great. (I know you want more, but I also want to acknowledge that really good score. :)

Verbal is already nearing 90th percentile. Goal #1 should be to maintain that score. Goal #2 (lower in priority) is to pick up another point or two there if possible.

Quant will be the main focus, obviously. You mention some timing struggles and I'm pretty sure from the way you wrote about them that you're first big problem with timing is mindset. It sounds like you're still trying to get everything right or thinking that you should be able to get through the test without guessing. You are going to have to guess and you are going to get stuff wrong, no matter how much you study - that's just the way the test works.

Read this: http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/

Next, read this and start doing what it says:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

FYI: it typically takes people about 4-6 weeks to fix timing problems.

For quant, it sounds like you feel you mostly learned what I'll call the "raw" material but you didn't necessarily learn how to translate that into GMAT-format questions (which are weird and written in ways designed to hide what the question tests). You also specifically mention being fine with something right after you study it, but struggling during a testing or "random question mix" situation.

So, definitely, you need to spend some time learning to recognize what's sitting in front of you in GMAT-speak. Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

And this: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... t-problems

That's how you study in order to learn to recognize similar stuff in future. From now on, whenever you're doing problem sets, the sets have to consist of mixed random questions. Otherwise, you know what you're getting before you get it, and that's never goign to happen on the real test.

Given that you struggled with both timing and recognition, I'd say yes, you do have a good change to improve your quant score with the right kind of work. It may take longer than 4 weeks - maybe closer to 6. (Or longer - it depends on how much you want to improve your quant score!) If you're looking to get closer to 80th percentile, say, then I'd plan for 4-6 weeks; longer if you want to go higher.

I’m god awful at geometry and probability/stats.

Excellent! :) Geometry and probability are infrequently tested. We all have weaknesses; it's better if your weakness is something that doesn't get tested a lot.

Stats is a bit more frequent - average / mean is tested a lot. Are you bad at that, or do you struggle with some of the weirder (less frequently tested) stats things like median or standard deviation?

Go sign up for that PEA so you can really dig into this with an instructor! (And also start reading / using those articles I linked above.)