what to do in last week before test?

[abhisheks901]

Dear Sir/Ma'am

I want to ask about my performance, and what can i expect about my final scores in gmat? I am expecting to take GMAT exam within next 5-6 days.

sr. no. test name test order test date quant verbal integrated reasoning total

1 mgmat cat 1 q,v, ir,essay 9th may 2018 48 (69%) 31 (62%) 4.43 (4-5) 640 (70%)

2 gmat prep 1 q,v,ir,essay 5th june 2018 50 (90%) 38 (84%) 5 (52%) 720 (94%)

3 mgmat cat2 q,v, ir,essay 12th july 2018 45 (57%) 31(62%) 6.6 (6-7) 620(64%)

4 mgmat cat 3 V,Q,IR,essay 23rd july2018 48 (69%) 32(66%) 5.2 (4-6) 650 (75%)

5 cat 4 v,q,ir,essay 26th july 2018 46(60%) 34(71%) 8 (8) 660(78%)

6 cat 5 v,q, ir,essay 30july18 49 (75%) 36(81%) 8(8) 700 (88%)

7** gmat test online 2 v,q,ir,essay 3rd aug 18 51 (96%) 44(98%) 8(93%) 770 (99%)

** 1) 16 questions in english and 13 questions in maths were repeated. (these questions were also in gmat prep test 1)
2) timer was very slow. i mean time was reducing at very slow pace. at the end of each section timer was still showing about 30 minutes left. I realized it later. So, I don't think in gmat test online 2 my performance was actual.

1) I want to ask how can I improve so that in final gmat I can score 99%ile marks (790)?

2) A significant number of questions were repeated in gmat test online 2. is it because i took first gmat test on gmat prep software and second one on online? in that case if i take second test on gmat prep software will i get all new questions or same number of questions will be repeated in that test too?

3) there was problem in test clock. what can be the reason behind it. (i know this is a silly question). but due to this clock issue i am not able to predict my actual performance.

4) I had timing issues in test. I had to run through last questions to complete them on time in both maths and english. this is the reason i took so many tests in july. but i still have timing issues with problem solving and critical reasoning questions in particular. i take close to 3 min. on these questions. How can I improve?

5) How can I get my awa essays evaluated? I am completely unaware how much marks will i score in awa section. essays written during gmat official tests surprisingly disappears after tests.

6) what should i do in these 5-6 days before exam? should i take another mgmat cat or gmat test? should i review official guide? or should i review mgmat past tests?

I need your advice at the earliest.

Thanks
Abhishek Singla

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, so yes, we need to ignore the data from that last test—repeated questions + more time = not real conditions.

Your recent exams before that were in the 650 to 700 range, so that is the best estimate of your current scoring range. That range is not likely to change in the week before the exam.

Next, your (longer-term?) goal score of 790. I have been taking this test since 1997 and my best score is 780...so I can't tell you (or anyone) how to get a 790.

And, more important, that kind of goal is a waste of your very valuable time. It's not the case that a school would reject you at a 740 or 750 but let you in at a 790 (with everything else on your application the same). If the application isn't good enough even with a 740-750, then the issue is something else on your application, not your GMAT score.

So my first piece of advice to you is to set a more realistic goal score. The very highest average for any school is about a 740. Yes, some people score higher than that average—but it IS an average. Lots of people score lower and still get in, too. So if you can get yourself up into that lower 700s range, then you'll be okay on the GMAT front. (That may or may not be enough to get you in, of course—the schools look at a lot more than your GMAT score.)

Given that you have a real test coming up in less than a week, though, I wouldn't think about that yet. Concentrate on the test that you have coming up (and your current scoring range), and you can worry about setting a new goal for the next time you take the real exam.

The downloadable GMATPrep contains the same question pools as the tests on the website—but there's no way for the two to communicate. When you went to take a test online, it gave you the first one first (because you hadn't taken any online before), and so that was pulling questions from the same pool as the first one that you took from the downloadable version. When you go to take the second one (in either form), you will get questions from a different pool than the first one.

The most common cause of an issue with the clock is your internet connection. The timer is basically running "over" the Internet, so if your connection kept dropping or timing out, then the timer would keep getting interrupted. Next time, if possible, try to take your test someplace where you have a very solid / steady internet connection.

Time management. Read this first:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning

Then read this or watch the webinar linked at the beginning:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

Then come back here and tell me what you think you need to do in order to improve on time management.

This article gets into great detail about what to do—but I still want you to tell me what you think before you read the below. It's important for you to really internalize / understand why you need to approach the test in the way this describes.
blog/2016/08/19/everything-you-need-to-know-about-gmat-time-management-part-1-of-3/

Essay. The official test makers sell a product called GMAT Write. Your essay on the real exam is scored by one real person but it's also scored by a computer program—and GMAT Write uses the same computer program that is used for your essay on the real test. So this is a good way to see what level you're scoring at before you go into the real thing.

If you own the Official Guide, you can also take a look at chapter 11 to see sample essays graded 2, 4, and 6. Generally speaking, a score of 4.5 or higher is good enough and a score of 4 is probably good enough. Anything below a 4 is probably not good enough. So you can look at the sample essays to try to gauge whether you think you're capable of writing something that would be at least a little better than the sample essay that is graded 4.

Here's what I recommend doing in the last week before your official test:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2016/09/ ... mat-part-1

Good luck!

[abhisheks901]

Dear Manhattan Team,

I took GMAT on 13th Aug, 2018 and scored 720/94% score. verbal 38/85%, quant 50/85%, awa 5/53%, ir 8/92%.

I also took toefl ibt on sep 2, 2018 and scored 104 marks in it. reading 30, listening 27, speaking 22, writing 25.

I want to give special thanks to Manhattan prep team, and gmatclub.com. I prepared from manhattan books, and sentence correction book is one of the best books i have ever read. And the way you have explained essay in your AWA book is just awesome. I have never imagined that writing essay can be so easy. preparing for GMAT has helped me in reading and writing section of toefl ibt in particular and whole toefl in general.

I was initially suspecting that asking problems on forums can be time consuming and would not help me much, but thankfully I was wrong. Your team promptly resolved my queries on forums and i am very thankful to you for that. I also got a lot of help from gmatclub, there i saw explanations of lot of questions of GMAT prep software. Both of these sources played a very important role in my GMAT prep. I read from OG of GMAT, manhattan books and took test series of manhattan for my preparation of GMAT. Though i also purchased verbal review and quant review books, but i never got time to open them.

For TOEFL ibt, i prepared from OG of toefl and tests included in the book. free toefl course on Notefull website can be helpful. I also took help of free resources from ets website and youtube videos. If you have prepared well for your GMAT, TOEFL can be very easy.

Lssons: I have read it on Stacey Ma'am blog that don't try to solve each and every question. Believe me this is very hard to follow. If I have followed it, I may have scored much better in English. I strongly suggest you all to follow this advice. Also, I got panicked in my english section in last 10 min. so I advise you to take care of your timing.

Toefl ibt (in india): practice hard for speaking section, especially non-native speakers. Try to talk to other people in english. Also there may be a lot of noise in toefl exam centres so be prepared for that and prepare accordingly. reading passages that I used to solve in 12-14 min. during practicing at home took approximately 20 min. to get solved in actual exam. this is because of exam pressure and noise in exam centres which makes it difficult to concentrate.

I am applying for various MBA colleges in US and Canada. Ma'am Can you please guide me in this process? I find it really difficult to write essays and making resume.

Thanks
Abhishek Singla

[StaceyKoprince]

Congratulations! I'm really happy for you.

And thank you for sharing the thing that you thought were useful for you. Your fellow students will benefit!

My area of expertise really is the GMAT—I don't know that much about the rest of the admissions package and process. There are a number of resources available from admissions consultants (these are the companies that specialize in helping people with admissions, as my company specializes in helping people with the test). My favorite is MBA Mission. Take a look at their website in the Free Guides, Resources, and Blog areas.

They also often hold free webinars (we've even held some webinars in conjunction with them), so look for that information too. (And, of course, they sell various kinds of services. There are a lot of free resources / you don't have to spend money, but if you are interested in more personalized help on the essays, resume, etc, they do offer those kinds of services for a fee.)

Let us know how applications go! Good luck!