Should one take a CAT before starting to study for the GMAT?

[ZadiaH581]

Hello everyone,

So to start it off, I have been looking into the GMAT for a while now. I tried taking a practice test online couple of times, but after the first few questions I would give up and leave the test as it seemed just so hard. I felt like I would not get anywhere with it. Till today I have not taken a full practice GMAT test or a CAT, because I am afraid to see how bad I did. Therefore, I decided to study a lot and then take a practice test/CAT. Many people, however, recommend taking one at the very beginning to see where you stand. I on the other hand know that I stink in the quant section and that I need much more to study before I take a practice test. I just don't want to get disappointed at myself and ultimately lose confidence and motivation.

Any recommendations as far as how I should proceed? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Z.H

[StaceyKoprince]

We do recommend that people taking our course take a CAT in the first week. But I will admit that you don't want to take it *completely* cold or you'll have no idea what you're doing.

You need to know what Data Sufficiency is, because it's bizarre - nobody knows what to do with DS the first time they see it.
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... ncy-works/

It's also a good idea to have tried some of the other types of problems (especially SC) first, just so you know how everything works.

If you literally remember nothing about math (not even how to add fractions), then review the very basics for a week or two (at the level of our Foundations of Math book, for example - but not more advanced than that!).

But, then, yes, I really do want you to take a test. The goal is not to see your score, actually. The goal is two-fold:
(1) Understand your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can set up a study plan, and
(2) Get some experience taking a test under testing conditions, because it is hard and you want to get your brain used to having to do this

I do not care what your starting score is. I care what your starting data is because that's going to help you prioritize your studies going forward.

(Okay, it's not totally true that I don't care what your starting score is. That does also help you see how far you have to go to your goal, so it helps you to set a realistic study timeframe. Someone who scores 450 and tells me they want a 700 in 5 weeks... well, that happens occasionally, but it's rare.

Also, note two important things:
(1) If you're taking the test right, it will ALWAYS feel really hard, no matter how much you study. The whole point of an adaptive test is that it gets harder as you get better. So if you keep abandoning practice tests because they feel too hard, then you will never take this test.

In fact, that mindset is telling me that you need to do some reading, because you are approaching the GMAT too much like an academic test in school (where the goal was to get everything right and, if you studied enough, the test would feel easier).

Read these:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

Then tell me why I asked you to read them.

(2) You can skip the essay and IR sections on your first practice test. Let's just get the data on your Q and V strengths and weaknesses so that you can move forward from there.

And, actually, I have a number 3. I'm worried that you may be stressing yourself out too much about this test.
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/

Okay, go take that test. When you're done:

First, read these two articles:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning (yes, this one is a repeat)
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

Think about how what you've been doing does and doesn't match up with that and how you may need to change your approach accordingly.

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MPrep CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. 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. Your analysis should include a discussion of your buckets - you'll understand what that means when you read the last article. 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!)