Need Help for improvement :20 days to GO

[niitsm]

Dear Manhattan instructors

First I would like to thank all especially Stacey & Ron for their wonderful insight into the exams.

I have been studying mainly using Manhattan material from last few months.

I have gone thorough all the books 0-9 & have been practicing using OG 12 .

Attempted 1st CAT exam today and got following score .
Was not able to finish the quant on time , so just rushed with the questions from Quest No 25.

Verbal I was able to finish on time but didn't get enough time for taking much notes on CR.

CAT1 Scoree

Quant 37 [44%] Verbal 34 [69% ]
Overall Score : 590

Quant Details

PS: 40%
Avg Time Right Ans: 2.11
Avg Time Wrong Ans:2.30
Avg Diff Right:680
Avg Diff Wrong: 720

PS: [600-800] 33% Correct

DS : 57%
Avg Time Right Ans: 2.00
Avg Time Wrong Ans:2.20
Avg Diff Right:650
Avg Diff Wrong: 750

DS: [500-700] 100% correct [700-800] 33% Correct

Quant Topic Wise

Algebra: 50% Right
Avg Time Right Ans: 1.26
Avg Time Wrong Ans:1.35

No Prop was Worst 20%
Avg Time Right Ans: 1.17
Avg Time Wrong Ans:2.48

few questions on Quant was disastrous as it took > 3.5 min

Verbal Details

SC : 67%
Avg Time Right Ans: 53
Avg Time Wrong Ans:2.02
Avg Diff Right:670
Avg Diff Wrong: 730

CR: 57%
Avg Time Right Ans: 2.21
Avg Time Wrong Ans:2.21
Avg Diff Right:680
Avg Diff Wrong: 680

RC: 42%
Avg Time Right Ans: 2.23
Avg Time Wrong Ans:1.34
Avg Diff Right:560
Avg Diff Wrong: 660

I am left with around 20 days for the exam , Can you please suggest what should be my strategy & how often should I take test from now on.

Extremely sorry for posting so much information on the thread your expert insight into this will be of great help.

Thanks again for your support.

[StaceyKoprince]

Don't apologize - the more information, the better!

There's one important piece missing though: what is your goal score? I'm going to assume that it's a lot higher than what you just got on your practice test, or you wouldn't be here asking for help. If that's the case, then you probably are not going to be ready to take the test in 20 days. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's better to acknowledge that now and adjust accordingly.

From what you described, you have fairly severe timing issues - you had to start rushing around Q25 out of 37. That tells me two things: you're going to need at least 4 to 6 weeks to fix these timing problems, and you have the capability to get a much higher quant score if you fix these timing problems. It also sounds like you have timing issues on verbal, even though you were able to finish on time.

First, read this and use it to do a full analysis of your test, then come back here and tell us that analysis (note: not just the data itself, but what you think the data means and what you think you should do about it):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

It's important to do this analysis yourself and not just have someone do it for you. Part of getting better involves developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!

Next, read these two articles on time management and start doing what they say:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

Finally, read the How To Learn section of this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-2/

Follow the links and make sure that you're studying in an effective way!

[niitsm]

Hi! Stacey,
Sorry to bother you during the thanksgiving season but here in Tokyo I have almost no external resources to approach for help and your advice has come in very handy so far.

I postponed my test as suggested from 2nd November to 20th November. In the intervening weeks, I went through your much helpful links on test analysis and did the needful. I've also gave two full length Prep papers.
Scored was 600(Q39,V35) 610 (Q44 V30)
In the real exam I got disappointing marks 570 (Q43 V26)
I desperately need to push it to >650 and planning to retake the exam in 31 days with no holidays to study in between except the weekends, since I exhausted my 30 day official leave already.

During the last 7 days I did not take any exam and was revising my strengths (based on your article Last 14 days) and I went through the Manhattan Books for SC/CR/RC
Let me start with verbal issues

In both practice exams I’ve struggled with Verbal where timing is concerned. I was unable to finish the last 7-8 questions with enough time
1st exam got 17 Wrong
2nd exam got 13 wrong mostly after 28 and in sequence

So I thought I need to work on my timing and have to disperse these wrong questions throughout the exam (which might be the reason for the disaster during the real exam)

During the real exam I rushed with the questions and felt I wasn’t comprehending the questions clearly
I have been practicing CR by taking notes but it takes normally over 2 .30 min per question .so I decided not to take too much notes during the exam for CR

In CR my weak areas are
Assumptions I don’t feel confident OG archer says 80% correct Time 1.51 min MED level
notes taking, :Timing ,

SC: I have been practicing using OG. Before exams I was regularly taking prep SC practice section and Kaplan practice papers and revised my mistakes in OG ( not all )
got 80% correct

OG Archer Results

CR 83% Avg time 2.17
SC 74% Avg Time 1.22
RC 72% AVg time 1.15

This data might be inflated because I have not done all in one go

CR Analysis I need to work on my timing issues so thinking of doing following
Go back to OG questions and do again analysis understand why the wrong choices wrong [one issue is I know most of the answers now] Can you please recommend some new books or its sufficient to go through MGMAT CR Book, however thinking of buying Verbal Book edition2 from GMAC

SC: I was confident but SC was difficult in comparison with the stuff I have been practicing
I think it was the structure of the sentence or may be meaning

RC I need to practice more RC questions OG RC passages I know I have read them many times , SO I can go back to 6 MGMAT CAT exams RC part and re do all questions

I need advice for Practice papers too I have used all 6 papers from MGMAT. I used 4 papers last year and 2 papers this year. For the 4 papers I took last year I have gone through the analysis of wrong and right answers.SO does it make sense that I reset those exams and use them as practice test
In case of prep exams too I have done the analysis so if I use them it will show inflated scores .
This is my second time to take the GMAT and I’m extremely saddened by my 570 score. Please HELP!

[niitsm]

Quant Analysis
On actual GMAT I scored 43 in quant

In practice prep test I scored 39 and 44 in quant.
In practice test I struggled with the time and have to leave questions in the end.

I went through your articles on timing and tried to implement the strategy in the real exam and was able to finish on time.
I had 2 min for the 37th question. (However the score is not so impressive)

I think I still need to work on my timing by practicing strings of questions for 20 min each or give only quant section of the exams in every 3 days to get accustomed to GMAT timing.

3-4 weeks back I used to score pretty bad in Quant < 35 but after doing an analysis of OG 12 (3-4 weeks prior to exam ) of all the wrong answers I am feeling much more comfortable . However I haven't scored pretty well in the exam but I thought the quant section was easy . And I can easily score >45 - 46


I have-realized that I have issues with Data sufficiency. Mainly I am not able to get Yes or NO for each statement within 2 min (especially in inequality).

And another issues seems to be Geometry : Similar triangles and coordinate geometry. In the GMAT exam most of the questions were from coordinate geometry.

Coordinate geometry has improved a lot after going through Ron's Videos on the subject. However I am still not so confident.

OG archer results (OG 12 )

DS 79% correct (level easy ) avg time 1.50
Alg being the lowest 61% rest of the sections DS > 80%
These no's might be inflated as I haven practiced each question setting timer 2 min but not like 15 or 20 mins in one go

PS 76% correct (level Med) avg time 1.27
fractions and decimals 57% / no properties 70%
Rest is > 80%

According to my analysis weak areas are:

Not able to draw tables correctly for percentage DS questions such as

Compensation consist of Maintenance part and Fixed component ......
Slow in calculations and making careless mistakes

Inequality (DS ) and no line questions

Geometry coordinate and similar triangles

Permutation and combination and Probability (weakest)
intend to leave this section as its minority.

Strategy for next 30 days

I do have GMAC quant guide too but I have have gone through that last year not this year.
So I was thinking I should go through both ps and DS from quant guide too. What do you suggest?

Go through wrong questions especially the hard ones from OG

Go back to MGMAT books again for inequality

Please guide me if I am going in a right direction or do I need a different Strategy altogether.

I desperately need to score more on quant to reach >650 as my verbal is not so strong.

And I’m left with only 30 days. Also I have exhausted all the prep tests. I wonder which ones should I use now.

[StaceyKoprince]

Question: you say that you gave full-length "prep papers" - do you mean that you took the old version of the test, when it was still given on paper? The test switched to a computer version (CAT) in 1997 (that is, a very long time ago) and taking the CAT is VERY different from taking a paper test.

So, first, if you have been taking paper practice tests, don't do that any longer - you need to take CAT (computer-based) practice tests.

You mentioned that your two practice scores were 600 and 610, but your goal is a 650 - so, unfortunately, you shouldn't have expected to hit the 650 mark on the real test. Know that for next time - what you're getting on practice CATs taken under 100% official conditions best approximates what you can expect (hope!) to score on the real test.

On your two practice tests, there was quite a difference in your Q and V scores - why do you think they fluctuated so much? That's important to figure out so that we can try to stop the fluctuation.

On the real test, Q was near the higher end of your practice range, but V dropped. Again, do you have any ideas about why both of those things might have happened? In particular, if you were taking a paper practice test, those tests are much less tiring that the real CAT, so you may have been more mentally fatigued than normal by the time you hit V on the real test. Alternatively, if you did anything on the practice tests that would have given you an artificial advantage (skipping the essay, skipping the IR section, taking longer breaks than allowed, etc), then that might also have meant that you were more mentally fatigued than normal by the time you got to V on the real test.

Okay, now I'm getting to the part of your post where you mention rushing on V and feeling you weren't comprehending clearly - so, yes, timing issues and mental fatigue issues can both contribute to a score drop.

Next, you mention that CR was taking too long, so you decided to drop note-taking on ALL CR Qs for the exam. As a general rule, don't completely change or drop an entire strategy right before the real exam. If you want to change something significantly, test that out on a practice exam first to see whether it's a good idea. Alternatively, you may need to work on how you're taking notes and learn to do so more efficiently. Another possibility: perhaps you're only slower on certain CR questions but not all, so perhaps there are some on which you should be guessing more quickly, while you can continue to take normal time on others.

do again analysis understand why the wrong choices wrong [one issue is I know most of the answers now]

That's only the beginning of your analysis. Have you analyzed why the wrong choices are tempting to pick? Why would someone pick each wrong answer - what (faulty) reasoning would they use? For the right answers, why do they look / seem wrong or not so good? Why would someone eliminate the right answers? The traps on verbal are all about thinking that a wrong answer is better than the right answer - how do they get us to fall for that trap?

It's fine to get additional practice problems - though try to stick to OG sources as much as possible. The Verbal Review book is fine; you can also buy additional practice problems within the GMATPrep 2.0 software. Whatever you prefer.

For SC, you mention struggling with structure and timing. Look here:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

Okay, I just got to the part where you said you used the 6 "papers" from MGMAT - so you are actually taking CATs, you're just calling them papers. That's fine.

You can still take both GMATPrep and MGMAT CATs with repeats as long as you follow a few guidelines to minimize the chance of artificially inflating your score via question repeats. First, anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks vaguely familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.

Also, go back to the resources I linked in my first post, particularly the ones about HOW to learn and time management. Let me know how it goes!

[niitsm]

Stacey Thanks for you reply

And sorry for the confusion, by papers I meant PREP Exams and MGMAT CAT exams

CR I have done analysis but I think not to the level which you have mentioned.SO I will go back to OG and redo the analysis of wrong questions.

AND most of the SC questions in the Exam was based on meaning and finding splits wasn't so easy. Now I have to look the SC from meaning perspective and will go through your articles.

above I have given my quant analysis too if you have time please let me know if there is any issue with my approach

Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

If I don't comment on something you wrote, that's because I think it's fine as written / planned. :)

Quant was at the higher end of your practice range, so that's good, but it sounds like you still have timing problems. Finishing on time is a good sign in general, but that doesn't mean you have fixed the problems. (Many people finish on time and still have serious timing problems.)

So, yes, still work to be done there. Don't give quant-only sections of practice exams. There are a limited number of high-quality practice CATs available, so use those only for full-length tests.

You can do a mix of questions yourself chosen from OG or the GMATPrep extra problem sets. You can also use an official product called GMAT Focus (www.gmatfocus.com); this is a mini-section of 24 quant questions but otherwise it's just like the real thing (adaptive, etc). They do charge for this product, but they also provide you with data (such as time per question) and explanations. Note that GMAT Focus will time you but will *not* cut you off the way the real test will, so you have to be responsible for sticking to the overall timing and cutting yourself off.

Remember that a large part of fixing timing problems is learning when to cut yourself off and having the discipline to do so!

In the GMAT exam most of the questions were from coordinate geometry.

But you still didn't have more than about 2 questions on coordinate geo, right? Geo is just not very commonly tested, so I wouldn't place as much emphasis on this area.

Go through wrong questions especially the hard ones from OG

Not just wrong ones and not just hard ones. :) You can learn a lot from the ones you got right and the ones that were not too hard. You can learn, for example, how to answer the Q even more efficiently (saving 15 seconds is very valuable!). You can learn how to make an educated guess on problems of that type in general (and then you can apply that knowledge to harder problems of the same type). Etc.

Re: prep tests, you don't need to take any prep tests for at least a couple of weeks because you know what you need to do - you've got a long list of things to tackle. There's not much point in taking another test until you've made good progress on these various areas we've been discussing. Don't look at any CAT problems during that time and maybe you'll have forgotten many / most of them by the time you do want to take another CAT.

Alternatively, if you really have studied these so exhaustively that you'll recognize them in 2 weeks, then you'll have to move to a different set of tests from a different company.