Question regarding my scores on MGMAT tests

[gayatri.ganpaa]

Hi- I took test 5 of MGMAT today. I scored Q-51 and V-39, scored a total of 730. My scores on the previous tests were:

CAT1 - 640 Q-47 V-31
CAT2 - 700 Q-46 V-40
CAT3 - 580 Q-43 V-27 (Horrible!!)
CAT4 - 690 Q-45 V-39
CAT5 - 730 Q-51 V-39

I am actually surprised by my Quant score- 51 on my CAT5. I felt Math was easier than the previous tests. Also, I noticed that I got fewer 700-800 questions this time compared to my previous tests. Usually I get around 20-25 700-800 questions, but this time I got only 14 700-800 questions. Ofcourse because of more 600-700 questions I got fewer wrongs, but I still cannot comprehend how my my score went up to 51!

Can you please explain if the quant score is inaccurate? Also, during my test the website was clocking several times. Sometimes, I had to re-login and resume my test. It wasn;t sue to my internet connection, there was some problem with the website.

Another question about my test. I am nervous to make an appointment for the real test, I promised myself that if I get a 700+ I will get a date for my real test, but I still do not feel confident. Can you tell me if I can expect a 700 with my score pattern? My weaker points in Math are Absolute Values, Inequalities and Geometry and DS in these areas is the worse! In Verbal, I am average in SC and CR, but weak in RC.

Thanks for your input.

[StaceyKoprince]

There's one possible thing that could've happened with the scoring algorithm that would've caused your score to inflate: if you used up all the 700+ questions in the database (the test isn't allowed to repeat questions until you take test 7).

Take a look at your problem list from the test. Were the 700+ questions all towards the beginning, and then you got ONLY 600-700 questions from some certain point on even though you were getting a lot right? If so, then you may have "exhausted" the pool of 700+ questions (this doesn't happen a lot unless the person's consistently scoring 48+, and you weren't, so I'm not sure whether this happened to you).

On to your next question: whether your score really is in the 700 range. I have to ask you some questions first:
1) Did you take all practice tests under full official conditions? (30m each for two essays, 8m break, 75m quant, 8m break, 75m verbal, NO use of the pause button, nothing to eat or drink during the test, etc) If not, how did you deviate from official conditions?
2) What do you think happened in verbal on that 3rd test?

If you took the tests under official conditions (including the essays!) and if there's some reasonable explanation for test 3 (you know what happened and how to prevent it from happening again), then yes, you're in the 700 range and you should consider booking your test.

If you didn't take the tests under official conditions, let me know how you deviated and I'll tell you how much I think that would have affected your score. Also, if you don't know why your score dropped on test 3, you really need to figure that out before you take the official test so that you can make sure you stamp out whatever behaviors caused that drop. Use this article to help you figure out what went wrong:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/26/my-score-dropped-figuring-out-what-went-wrong

[gayatri.ganpaa]

Stacey- Thanks for your reply.

600-700 questions were from the beginning to the end of the problem list. But the last 8 questions were all 600-700, and I just got onw wrong in the last 8 questions.
This test pattern seems off compared to pattern of the other tests. In the four previous tests usually if I get a 700-800 wrong, it will continue to pose 700-800 until I got more than 2-3 questions wrong in a row. But in this case, it seemed to swich between 700-800 and 600-700 questions little too soon.

For the questions you posed:

1) Yes I did take all the tests in official test conditions, no breaks between tests. May be at the most 10 min. of break. I did not eat or drink during the Verbal and Math sections, though I was drinking tea to stimulate my energy during the AWA section. However, In Test 4, I paused in Verbal for about 2-3 min. when I had 5 min left, because I was panicking and I did not want to end up with a score as in test 3. In test 5 too I paused for about a min, because I was reading the same line again and again as I panicked that I will run out of time. I did that to calm myself down, but that was when I had 3 min left and 3 questions to answer.

2) What do you think happened in verbal on that 3rd test?
I feel that I Verbal is tough for me to complete on time. I usually end up with less time for the last 7-8 questions, however hard I try. RC's and some CR's take a lot of time sometimes. Some SC's too, I just don't give up if I am confused. However, in test 3, apart from the usual bad time management in Verbal, I got lot of RC's and CR's initially(first 20+ questions) which made me get tired easily, and I was not able to pay attention to the SC's later on. In addition, I picked a lot of wrong/silly choices on SC. One other factor that could have caused is little overconfidence. I scored 700 in test 2, so I thought I could do good on test 3 and relaxed a bit.

So, based on this do you still see think that I can crack a 700? Also, will private classes from MGMAT help me to gain some tips and strategies and improve my score?If so, how many hours of training do you suggest? I really wish I had signed up for the classes! Oh well.. I read all Manhattan books more than twice. I feel that if I get some training, I would feel much stronger to get 700+. At this point, I feel practice and review doesn't seem to boost my score, as I have not been improving a lot. I feel confident of a 650+ score, but I really want to feel confident of 700+ score before I take my real test.

Thanks for your input Stacey.

[StaceyKoprince]

However, In Test 4, I paused in Verbal for about 2-3 min. when I had 5 min left, because I was panicking and I did not want to end up with a score as in test 3. In test 5 too I paused for about a min, because I was reading the same line again and again as I panicked that I will run out of time. I did that to calm myself down, but that was when I had 3 min left and 3 questions to answer.

Do not EVER use the pause button again. It doesn't exist. You panicked on two different tests and you didn't give yourself the opportunity to figure out how to work through that panic anyway during a practice situation. What's going to happen on the real test when you panic and can't hit the pause button? You have to find a way to calm yourself down while still following the official test rules - because that's how it's going to be on test day.

I just don't give up if I am confused

You need to train yourself to give up sometimes. It doesn't matter how good you get - the test can ALWAYS just give you something harder. This test is not just testing you on whether you know the material and can answer the questions. It's also testing you on whether you can set priorities and manage your time appropriately (as any good businessperson should know how to do!). Think about your average workday - sometimes there are things you have to leave till tomorrow or next week, right? Sometimes there are things you have to give to somebody else or say you can't do.

Same thing on this test. Sometimes you just have to say, "Yeah, that's not going to happen right now" and you need to move on BEFORE you have lost time on that question.

We'll assume that your current scoring range is in the high 600s (CATs 4 and 5 were possibly slightly inflated by using the pause button, and CAT 5 was also inflated because it seems you ran out of hard quant questions at the end). (The pattern before that was likely fine, by the way - it isn't always the case that you have to get multiple 700s wrong before dropping to 600. Just depends upon performance on that test.)

It looks like you have a good shot to break 650, as you said, but you'd probably want to do a bit more work to be more confident of a 700+ score. You don't mention a particular deadline by which you need to take the test, so I will assume you don't have any pressing dates. If you wanted to get extra help, then a class or tutor may be very valuable for you to push that last bit. A class has the benefit of being less expensive and more comprehensive overall, but less efficient; tutoring has the benefit of being tailored specifically to your needs, but it is much more expensive. The most important thing is to make sure you find a teacher (whether for a class or tutoring) who works for you: someone from whom you think you can learn easily and well.

If you choose a class, try to see the teacher in action before you decide. Most companies (mine included) offer various free classes, so you can see how the teacher teaches before you actually sign up.

If you work with a tutor, you should have access to a bio or other information that will let you know the tutor's experience before you officially agree to the tutoring (in other words, you should be able to check the person out and decline to work with that tutor if you don't want to for any reason).

You should have an email or phone conversation with the tutor before you officially meet for a paid tutoring session, and the tutor should ask you some questions about your strengths and weaknesses and / or give you some kind of work to do before the first meeting (for example, an MGMAT tutor might ask you to take an MGMAT test, if you haven't already, so that s/he can review your results before the session).

Also, if you work with a teacher / tutor, ask him/her to help figure out what went wrong on test 3 and how you can avoid having that happen again - that's the biggest problem sticking out right now, because what you described (a lot of early CR and RC) is something that's not within your control, and you don't want to just sit around and wait for that to happen again. There may have been other things going on as well - things that are within your control. (The article I linked last time may also help you to figure that out.)

[gayatri.ganpaa]

Thanks for your reply Stacey!

One follow up question- I strongly believe that if I improve my verbal score to stay constantly at 40, I will be able to crack a 700. I am very confident about Math. So my question is that will 3 weeks of tutoring/preparation be able to put me where I want to be?

Also, can you suggest MGMAT private tutors for Verbal help? Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

If we assume that your verbal score is mid-to-high 30s (on the last two tests, you used the pause button on the verbal sections, so we can't assume that you are definitely high-30s), then it's possible for you to get that up to a consistent 40 in 3 weeks, but it may also take more time than that. It really depends upon the specific issues that you'll need to work on, and you'd need a tutor to figure that out and set up the plan - I don't have enough data.

I don't know where you're located and I also don't know what your schedule is (in terms of when you could meet) or the schedules of all of our various tutors (we have more than 50 teachers now I think!). All of our tutors are fully trained on both quant and verbal (we have to be in order to keep our jobs!), but the office is also aware of some people who have a special focus in quant or verbal (above and beyond the already-high expectations we have). If you tell them that you want someone who is especially good at verbal, they'll find the right person for you.

Also, you always have the right to refuse any assigned tutor (this should be true at any company). You should have the opportunity to read the person's bio and have a short conversation via email or phone before you officially pay a lot of money for any kind of tutoring package. (Though be aware that, if you do decline to work with an assigned tutor, it will take additional time to find another one.)