Need direction - Please help

[hempraveen]

Hi MGMAT,

I scored 550 on my first practice CAT in September '10. Joined online MGMAT class, finished OG12/V2/Q2.

MGMAT CAT 1 620 (Q44 V31) Oct '10
MGMAT CAT 2 630 (Q44 V32) Nov '10
MGMAT CAT 3 660 (Q42 V38) Dec '10
GMAT Prep 1 710 (Q49 V38) Jan 9 '11
MGMAT CAT 4 680 (Q48 V34) Jan 16, '11

My exam is on Jan 31. I am taking 10 days off from work. I need help on how to best utilize these days. I am looking for a 710+ score. Is it realistic?

My weaknesses:
Quant - Number Properties, Inequalities, Rates & Work.

Verbal - SC, RC, CR (in that order)

Should I go through all the OG12 Q's (especially those I got wrong previously) or should I practice questions from other sources such as BeatTheGMAT Practice problems (I already have membership), Grockit etc.,?

How can I practice and study Verbal to score higher? Should I do more of Quant as well? I am completely lost. Please help.

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Did you take those last two practice tests under 100% official conditions, including the essays? If so, you're in the right range to hit 700+ and you'll want to follow the "last 2 weeks" articles that I've linked below. If not, your score might be inflated, depending upon how and how much you deviated from official conditions.

Did you do anything like skip the essays on the GMATPrep test and then take then on the MGMAT test (where you had a drop on the verbal)? If so, then that indicates that skipping the essays may have caused a bit of score inflation for you (as it does for many people, though not everyone).

During the last 10 days or so, the primary focus is on review of what you already know (including, of course, things with which you're having trouble) in order to solidify your current scoring level - to make sure that you can execute properly on the real test. People typically do not, in the last 10 days, master many new things that will boost scores a great deal.

If you really deviated from official conditions such that your score might be seriously inflated, I'd recommend taking another practice test under 100% official conditions ASAP. If your score drops a lot, then you may have to think about whether to reschedule the exam.

If you think your practice scores are accurate, then use these two articles to help you plan your last 10 days:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -game-plan
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -to-review

Do you have any timing issues on either section of the test? (Note: you can finish a section on time and yet still have timing issues.) You can use this article to analyze your most recent MGMAT test and see where you're having the biggest problems:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... -part1.cfm

If you'd like, you can share your analysis from that article here and we'll help you figure out what to do.

In general, this is what you want to do for content areas:
- analyze recent practice problems using this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

During that analysis, do whatever needs to be done to progress. That might mean going back to your strategy guides, searching for things or asking for advice on the forums, making flash cards, and so on. Once you feel you've made progress on at least several areas, test yourself by doing a problem set.

Because your test is soon, all problem sets from now on should be mixed and random - mixed in the "PS and DS" or "SC and CR and RC" sense, and random in that you're picking questions at random, not from specific categories. The real test gives you topics randomly, so you want to practice that way, too. (Note to others reading this: if you're earlier in your study, you don't need to do random sets yet.)

Here are some additional articles that can help with the problem analysis, one for each type of problem:

SC: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/GMATprep-SC.cfm
CR: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/CR-assumption.cfm
RC: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... estion.cfm
PS: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm
DS: http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

[hempraveen]

@Stacey, I just want to thank you so much for your help. Sorry that I couldn't reply earlier. I went through all the articles. They did help me a lot.

I gave my exam yesterday and got a score of 670 (Q47, V35). Not what I thought I would see. My break for Quant went 10min and the system rebooted in the middle of Verbal section. Nonetheless, I wasn't surprised. I do have some weak areas that I need to work on. Also, I did not get a chance to go through OG12 questions that I have gotten wrong previously. Have to get strong in SC & RC sections.

Do you have any advice for re-takers? I am planning to listen to Ron's videos and go through the tutorials. I would like to break the 700 barrier. Your help would be much appreciated.

[StaceyKoprince]

I know it's not the score you wanted, but a 670 is still a really good score - so congratulations on making it that far.

You said you took our class, above, so you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment. 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. Please send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com right now and request the Post-Exam Assessment - that's the best thing you can do!

If you want to discuss anything else (including the advice you receive during your PEA), please let us know. :)

[hempraveen]

I know it's not the score you wanted, but a 670 is still a really good score - so congratulations on making it that far.

You said you took our class, above, so you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment. 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. Please send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com right now and request the Post-Exam Assessment - that's the best thing you can do!

If you want to discuss anything else (including the advice you receive during your PEA), please let us know. :)

I sent the PEA yesterday and am waiting for the feedback. I have already started prepping up for the retake. :-)

I would have been very happy if my verbal touched 40 atleast.

[drew.eng]

Hi Stacey,

I scored an official score of 500 (Q38, V21) on my second attempt, a score lower than Hempraveen's, but I have similar questions about formulating a study plan that will raise my verbal score before I re-take the exam. I read the MGMAT SC book two times, the MGMAT RC three times, and MGMAT CR three times. How would you advise me to study in way that is focused on both verbal and quant? I completed all of the OG 12 SC and CR questions, in which my percentage of correct questions were 69% and 59%.

[hempraveen]

Hi Stacey,

I scored an official score of 500 (Q38, V21) on my second attempt, a score lower than Hempraveen's, but I have similar questions about formulating a study plan that will raise my verbal score before I re-take the exam. I read the MGMAT SC book two times, the MGMAT RC three times, and MGMAT CR three times. How would you advise me to study in way that is focused on both verbal and quant? I completed all of the OG 12 SC and CR questions, in which my percentage of correct questions were 69% and 59%.

@drew, Make sure to go through the articles that are listed in this post by Stacey. It is quite possible to increase your score. I got to 670 from 550. The grave mistake I did was not going through the OG12 questions that I got wrong and reviewing why I made the mistakes. I feel it is good to get as many wrong as possible in OG12. That way, you will be forced to review those questions and that will make you remember them longer.

Do not move to another problem, until you understand why you got it wrong in the first place. The result would be that you'll end up doing hundreds of problems wasting your time, not really learning anything.

My 2c.

[drew.eng]

Thanks for your feedback. =)

[StaceyKoprince]

seconded - thanks, hempraveen, for helping a fellow student!

Drew, hempraveen is right - if you ask me the same general questions, you'll probably get a very similar post to the one above, so just go ahead and start there yourself. If you want to discuss issues that are specific to your case, start a new post of your own (I like to keep advice for one person in that person's own thread so that I can keep the details straight). You can link to this thread and say that you've already read and begun to work with the advice that I gave hempraveen above / before, and then you can add your own test analyses and that sort of thing.