MGMAT - Question Bank Problems

[archu.mohan]

Hello,
This is week 3 of my preparations. I have 11 weeks remaining - so still early on in the game. I am studying both Verbal and Quants on a daily basis, picking one topic each. I study the chapters and then attempt the problem set at the end of the chapters. I have been getting roughly ~ 70-75% right on both Quants/Verbal. For Quants, I have taken two practice tests till date from the MGMAT Online Question Bank (Algebra + FDP) after completing the respective books.

I first completed the FDP question bank and did really bad with the timing and could barely finish 50% of the problems. I took the test a second time around and although untimed, I still only managed to get only 18/25 right (mostly incorrect in the 600-800 range).

Today, I took the Algebra test set (25 questions), untimed. I obviously did bad with the timing for 75% of the problems. Moreover, I got only 16/25 of the questions right (again mostly incorrect in the 600-800 range).

I feel like I do understand the chapters well, but when it comes to these tests, I seem to be performing rather poorly. What am I doing wrong? Or am I expecting too much too early? Should I rather be mastering the content at this point than focus on timing? Is the MGMAT question bank expected to be this tough (compared to the actual test)?

I scored a 470 on the diagnostic test although it certainly wasn't taken under actual test conditions. I was originally planning on completing all the MGMAT books by the end of January, use February to complete all the OG problems twice and then review the MGMAT chapters/problems based on my weaknesses and finally use March to do a number of full length practice tests. (My test has been scheduled for 3/25). Can someone please suggest if I need to tweak my study plan to use my time more effectively? FYI I can and do spend ~3-4 hours everyday. Thanks much!

[StaceyKoprince]

The question banks aren't appropriate to use as a tool towards gauging your test scores - the question banks aren't adaptive.

Further, your focus seems to be how many of them you get right - but that's not really the focus / goal for the GMAT.

Read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

My guess is that you have two issues you'll need to tackle:
(1) learning what this test is really about (see the article I linked above), so that you can take it accordingly
(2) moving up to the 2nd level of learning necessary for this test (the first level is the rules / facts / material that you've been studying)

For #2, read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

You are doing the right thing in general - you're using the books appropriately. But you're going to need to do more work to learn how to apply that material to GMAT-format questions (including timing concerns), and doing a bank of 25 questions in a row (especially limited to just one topic area or question type) is not the best approach.

Instead, you want to start by doing a small number of OG problems (the problem sets are listed at the back of your strategy guides). At first, you might literally do only one. Time yourself the first time and make sure you have an answer by the end, even if you have to guess. Then, before you look at the answer, take as much time as you want to try the problem a second time. That way, you do practice the timing, but you also give yourself a chance to just sit there and see whether you can figure it out.

Then, go back and try to put it all together: what's the best solution for the problem? How could you have known that in the first place, so that you could get it done in (on average) 2 minutes? The best solution might actually be to guess (maybe the question is too hard or will take too long), in which case how should you guess? And so on. (This part is all in the 2nd article that I linked above for you.)

Go take a look at those two articles (and follow the links to the other articles), then come back here and tell me what you think.

Also, if you like, use the below to analyze your MGMAT CAT (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as what you think you should do based on that analysis. Then come back here and tell us; 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:

I was originally planning on completing all the MGMAT books by the end of January, use February to complete all the OG problems twice and then review the MGMAT chapters/problems based on my weaknesses and finally use March to do a number of full length practice tests

No, you don't want to do this. Read the above two articles I linked, and then come back and tell me why an approach that's focused on doing lots and lots of problems and tests is NOT the best way to go. :)