Study and Strategy questions relating to the GMAT.
jedy
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780 avg on mock tests. Should I push harder?

by jedy Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:15 pm

Hello.

1st of all thank you for a great forum and guides. SC section is fantastic.

A little background: I have math education, and a phd in math.
I'm russian (english is not native). My q score only once dropped below 50 on mock tests (though I only once made no mistakes whatsoever). My verbal improved greatly. On my last 6 attempts I've got 47,51,47,49,48,45. Before that it was around 30 something.
Afaik my weakest point is SC, though some (rare) RC quetions are ambigous and I might make some mistakes. Another irritating habit - at least one mistake per exam on easier math taks.

So far I've done older and newer GMAT tests 1&2. KAplan test. Mgmat test 1 and test 2.

I've used: GMAt question pack 1. OG 12 and OG 13 (nearly all tasks). MGMAT SC guide (fully). Gmatclub SC guide. GMAT verbal guide (official). Few Kaplan guides.

Could you recomend some additional materials, or should I just get a good sleep and try to get what I can?

I'm a bit concerned about the fact that I've got just now 780 on Mgmat, but I've had 7 errors in Verbal and 4 mistakes in Q part. Is official exam similary forgiving?

Thank you very much.

PS. I know that 700+ is actually enough, but my initial goal was 780+.
StaceyKoprince
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Re: 780 avg on mock tests. Should I push harder?

by StaceyKoprince Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:37 pm

Yes, even at 780, you're answering questions incorrectly. That's how the real test is too.

Did you take these practice tests under 100% official conditions - essay, IR, 8 min break, quant, 8 min break, verbal?

And does "I've done older and newer GMAT tests 1&2" refer to GMATPrep?

If yes, then go take the real test. :) Keep in mind a couple of things:
- Be methodical, write down your work, etc. Don't rush. Too many careless mistakes will pull your score down.
- Even with your PhD in math, there's a strong chance you'll see at least one quant question that is Just Too Hard. Do NOT let yourself get sucked in - you could mess up the timing (and therefore your score) for the whole section.
- Ditto for verbal: you're probably going to see at least one question that makes you think, "Huh???" Don't get sucked in. Make a good guess and move on.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
jedy
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Re: 780 avg on mock tests. Should I push harder?

by jedy Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:11 am

Took it. Sadly only 770.
What's you view on AWA/IR scores, which marks I must/can retake?
StaceyKoprince
ManhattanGMAT Staff
 
Posts: 9360
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
Location: Montreal
 

Re: 780 avg on mock tests. Should I push harder?

by StaceyKoprince Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:23 pm

I hope the "sadly" was a joke. :) Congratulations!! That's awesome!!

4 or higher on essays and IR = fine. It's possible that some schools won't look at IR at all, in which case any score will be fine - but you probably won't know whether your particular schools will care.
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep