You do need to take a practice test in order to gauge your progress, but that test doesn't need to be GMATPrep. Take one of our practice tests. Make sure to take it under 100% official conditions (including the essays!).

Then, use this article to analyze your results:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and share your analysis. (Note: don't just post the data. Tell us what you think the data means and what you want to do about it - that analysis is an important skill to develop. We'll tell you whether we agree. :)

Once we have the data, we'll talk about where to go from there!

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

Dear Stacey,

Its been a while since I have been on this forum. Just a little update since the last time I posted here. I have given GMAT twice,

1) Real GMAT Score: 510 (Q: 35 and V: 25)
2) Real GMAT Score: 560 (Q: 42 and V: 24)

I have been at the GMAT for the last year and half. Been working on my weaknesses of both Quant and Verbal. Since the real test I have given 5 Proactise test thus far, the results for these are below,

Date: 4/7/2012 MGMAT 5A: 600 (Q: 34 V:38)
Date: 4/15/2012 GMATPrep: 560 (Q: 38 V:28)
Date: 4/28/2012 GMATPrep: 560 (Q:40 V:27)
Date: 5/5/2012 GMATPrep: 590 (Q: 41 V:31)
Date: 12/5/2012 MGMAT 6A: 600 (Q: 37 V: 35)

I have my third real test om 31st May 2012. I am aiming for anything above 680+, but will take anything above 650+. The last practise test I have analyzed, I realize that I am slow at Algebraic Transalations and Overlapping Sets. Weak in Rates and Works, Percents, and Fractions/Ratios. I also tend to make careless mistakes in Inequalities, Roots and Exponents, and Factors due to time pressure. The timing problem still presists as I run out of time in quant by atleast 4-7 question of the last leg. I still have to work on Quant (not only on my weaknesses but also on the timing aspects), with that I cannot also stop Verbal as I still have to streangthen SC some more.

I have planned to give the test by 31st May in order to avoid the Integrated Reasoning part of the test of GMAT from June onwards. But looking at my performance of the last 5 test I am thinking what should I do next.

Should I post pone the test date by 2 to 3 months and then give GMAT with the IR or should I give it a third try and then if I don't get anything above 650+, then give a forth try in 3 to 4 months. I feel that if I don't get the score in my third try then the forth try will be a bit more to show on my MBA applications. Please let me know what would be the best way to go forward based on my situation. Thank you in advance for your assistance.


Regards,
Salesh Aswani.

You are still far enough from your goal score that it's unlikely you will hit 650+ in 2 weeks. I agree that it would be nice to be able to avoid IR, but I don't think there's much you can do - if I were you, I would postpone.

Re: your practice test scores, quant started at 34, went up to 41, then dropped back down to 37. Why? Verbal started high, went down, and is coming back up again. Why?

Such variability often indicates timing problems and holes in your foundational knowledge. Ah, okay, just got later in your post and saw that you are having timing problems. So that is one of the problems, at least.

Read these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

translations:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... into-Math/

overlapping sets: don't worry about them - they're not commong enough. Know how to make a good guess and make sure you don't LOSE time on these.

Inequalites, roots, exponents, factors - those are all common and important. You say that you're making careless mistakes on these due to the time pressure, so if you fix the timing problem, that will help to reduce the incidence of careless mistakes.

Also, though, ask yourself: what specific mistakes do you actually make and WHY do you make them? What different habits do you need to make in order to minimize the repetition of the same kinds of errors in future? (eg, I used to solve for the wrong thing sometimes, so I changed the way I wrote things on my scrap paper to make it a lot less likely that I would solve for x instead of y.)

Percent and fraction difficulties are usually due to 2 issues:
- translating words into math (addressed above)
- knowing when to go back and forth among fractions, percents, and decimals (in one problem)

eg, it's usually easier to add or subtract in decimal or percent form than in fraction form. It's usually easier to multply or divide in fraction form (since you can cancel). And then you need to think about when it's worth it to convert to one or another. Etc. This comes with a lot of practice and very conscious thought about: what would be an easier way to tackle this? You may have to try a few different things in practice until you figure out WHAT would be easier and then you ask yourself WHY is this easier and how would I know the next time around? What criteria need to exist in order for me to say: oh, fractions will be the easiest way to do this one?

Re: IR, you may want to go and browse through our blog for the various IR articles that have been posted in the last couple of months. They'll get you started. :)

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT

Hi Stacey,

Thank you for the feedback as always valuable feedback and gets me to fish into my test results further.

Though it would be preferable to not take GMAT with IR but it seems like I am doomed to have to take GMAT with IR.

The first test showed Quant at 34 because in the month of Jan, Feb, and few weeks of March I was only concentrating on Sentence correction. As my previous results in verbal were always stuck at 24 and 25. I took MGMAT at the end of March and saw my Verbal score jump to 38 (must have been dumb luck. Did not know how to analyze such a jump so did not pay much attention to it). Realistically I think my verbal score now hovers around 30 +/- 2 points. Depending on how well I do in CR and RC.

Thereafter from last few weeks of March I started on Quant again. Hence the improvement in Quant but verbal fell due to no prep in CR and RC. So I started regular reading of various books which helps me get rolling on RC and its easier to speed up on the same. Also did some prep on CR.

In quant I compared the last two test and found that on test 4 where I scored 41 in quant I mostly got Rate&Work, Ineuqalities, and Percent problems wrong and only three problems wrong from other topics. But in the last test besides the three topics i.e. Rates&Work, Percents, and Inequalities. I got 1 problem wrong in Quadratic Eq. (due to time crunch as this was the last problem of the test), 2 problems wrong in topics of linear equations (which is one of my strenghts) and of Overlapping Sets, 3 problems wrong in Number Properties (sub topics were odds&evens, Positives&negatives, and Consecutive Integers).

I have to improve a lot in terms of recognizing what kind of method of solving a problem applies where. I tend to take almost 10 Min in solving rate/percent/fraction problems in OG 13. I also have to practise using numbers where ever there are variables in the question and in answer choices. But like they say bad habbits die hard, I tend to dive into problems with variables.

Besides rate/percent/fractions, Inequaities I get it wrong cause mostly I end up not testing a perticular scenario and under time pressure just select the answer choice and move on the next question.

Minor question types as Lines and Geometry also had some foundational issue (such as in lines, various line equations and their slopes have to be at the back of my hand, and in geometry I get stumped on questions with similar triangles and exterior angle concepts), which now I am conciously working on.

Overall seems like a lot of work to be still done even after being at it for more than a year. But I created a graph of my practise tests which indicates a slow climb towards my target, which keeps me going slowly but surely. Like the age old adage goes "Slow and Steady Wins the Race", I guess I have taken this to heart :)...

Good, I'm glad to read your analysis. That's how we really get better - diving into the data on our performance and picking apart the construction of these questions so that we can determine the best solution methods (including educated guessing!).

Inequalities are often used to disguise number properties problems - you may want to look into that. Here are some NP resources:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -gmatprep/

(There are two "inequalities as a disguise" articles linked in that article.)

That article also has a link to a "translating from words to math" article that might help you to become better at rate, work, etc. problems ("wordy" problems).

You mention percents as a problem area, too, so I'm wondering whether "wordy" problems in general are causing you problems. Go back and try some old problems using this technique: put yourself in the problem. Pretend it's a real situation and you're the driver / business owner / whatever it is. Then, draw out whatever the scenario is, thinking it through like "this is really happening, and this is what I would do next."

You're going to be slow with this at first, but use it to help develop your ability to think your way through this "situation" problems. That'll help you set them up well / correctly, which will make it easier to do the actual work to finish them off. (Also, browse our blog and resources section for more articles in particular content categories!)



This is critically important - in fact, this is the overall goal of everything you do while studying! Buy some flash cards. On one side, put "When I see ___________" and on the other "I'll think / do ___________." When you're studying a problem and you think anything like:
- oh, this is the best way to do it
- oh, I see, that's what they're really asking / telling me!
- this is a trick; they're trying to get me to ....

Then ask yourself HOW do I know that? (From specific clues in the original problem.) And start filling out a flash card!

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT