Mgmat 620, Target 740

[mash.xxxx]

Dear instructors,

I have taken four Mgmat tests. Results are below:
1. 670 ( quant 47, verbal 34), Completed 4/21/2015 11:23 AM EDT, without IR and AWA
2. 590 ( quant 42, verbal 31), Completed 4/26/2015 6:35 AM EDT, with IR and AWA
3. 610 ( quant 44, verbal 31), Completed 5/7/2015 3:25 AM EDT, with IR and AWA
4. 620 ( quant 45, verbal 31), Completed 5/18/2015 5:25 AM EDT with IR and AWA

I am planning to give GMAT after 2 months, but haven't taken the date yet.So that I can postpone it if I don't see 720+ in practice at least twice. Could you please guide me to reach the target. I can devote 5-6 hours a day or more on prep.In case you need any additional details to answer, pls let me know.

Thanks
Manish

[StaceyKoprince]

I do need more information from you!

First, what materials / resources do you have to study?

Next, read these two articles:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
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 2 MGMAT 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. 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!)

We can already speculate about one thing from your scores. It looks like you may have a mental stamina issue for verbal. Your highest score was the test on which you skipped essay and IR (test #1) and your score has stayed steady since then (though quant has been creeping back up, even with essay and IR). I assume that you have been studying verbal (correct me if I'm wrong!), so it may be the case that this part of your score is not improving due to mental stamina issues. (Or timing issues. Or both.)

[mash.xxxx]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for replying. Below is the analysis from last two practice tests.

1. In quant section of both the tests, after first ten questions I found myself 5-6 mins behind.This pressure made me make silly mistakes in next 10 questions without bridging the time gap.From Qn 18-20 on both the tests I start making alternate guesses to bridge the time gap.I got a string of 4 questions wrong in CAT 3 from Qn 18 to 21 and in CAT 4 from Qn 24 to 26 and from Qn 32 to 34. I think time management/pressure is an issue here.

2. In CAT 3, verbal part I got questions 11 to 18 wrong in a row( all 700-800 questions except 18th which was 600-700 level).In CAT 4 I messed up with some easy CR questions , got 4 questions wrong in a row(20-23) .I got 80% of RC wrong on both the tests. You are right about the 4 hours stamina part.

3. In quant FDPs- 700 ,Positives and negatives-700 qns and combinatorics and probability- 600-700 qns are the weak parts and in Verbal RC is the major issue apart from taking more time on CR.

4. I am using the following tools/books:

1. Manhattan SC
2. power CR bible
3. MGMAT RC
4. MGMAT FDPs
5. MGMAT Geometry Guide
6. MGMAT Number properties Guide
7. MGMAT Word problems guide
8. GMAT toolkit for iPad - around 4000 practice questions


Please guide further on the strategy.

Appreciate your help.

Thanks
Manish

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, so you need to get better at the executive mindset / decision making so that you're not spending too much time on a subset of questions and then messing up the rest of the section. Getting better at timing is part of this; here are some resources to help:

https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -to-do-it/
http://tinyurl.com/GMATTimeManagement

(Note: the second one is a two-parter; make sure to read both parts.)

In conjunction with that, re-read the What the GMAT Really Tests / executive reasoning article that I linked last time. Read it every few days. Think about what practical implications this mindset has for how you take the test and even how you study for the test. As you get further into your studies, you'll keep getting more and more out of these thought exercises. Your timing is really ultimately about making better decisions while the clock is ticking.

And here are some things to help with stamina:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... you-crazy/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/2012/ ... abilities/

But a big part of mental stamina is just making better decisions in the first place - cutting yourself off when a question is just too ridiculous / not worth your time and mental energy!

Next: the materials you listed. I didn't see the Official Guide books listed there. Is that because you just assume everyone has them / I'd assume you have them? Or are you not actually studying from them? If not, buy at least the big OG. (Note: GMAC is publishing new editions of all of the OG books on June 8th - you may want to wait to buy then.)

Which leads us to: what did you think of the 2nd Level of Study article? How has your study been like what that article describes and how has your study fallen short of what that article describes? (I'm bringing this up because the best place to do this analysis is with official test questions!)

The issues you mention with respect to timing (and, therefore, decision-making) are significant enough that they are probably responsible for at least half of the shortfall between your last test score and your desired test score, if not more than half. So those are your major focus for now. Of course, you can also work on specific content weaknesses as you notice them, but your real goal is to get better at the process of thinking your way through this test.

By the way:

quant FDPs- 700 ,Positives and negatives-700 qns and combinatorics and probability- 600-700 qn

I'm not very concerned about any of these things. The first two are 700+ questions. You can get those wrong and still earn a 700+ score. As for the third category, you will typically see just one of these on the entire test. Maybe two. Repeat after me: these are not worth the mental energy required to do them (or to learn how to do them)! Blow them off. Worry more about careless mistakes, topics that show up frequently, etc.

Where do you tend to make careless mistakes on quant? Do you have any general weakness areas that are both sub-700 and topics that are tested frequently?

For RC, do you have our 5th edition or 6th edition guide? (I ask because we completely re-wrote RC for the 6th edition.) If you have 5th edition, here is a link to a series of RC articles I wrote while figuring out how to re-write the book for 6th edition.

https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... rehension/