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I've now done this twice, each with unbelievable results. Allow me to describe the scenario:
- two weeks ago i took an 800Score practice test, and i scored a 44 (97% percentile) on the verbal. I was rushed on the last 10 questions because i have an obvious pacing problem. If i go slow, i do AWESOME on the first 31 questions and get KILLED on the last ten questions, but still score very well. In total, i missed around 13 to 14, with almost all of them in the last 10 questions.
- So i decided to change my strategy, and took a GMAT Simulator test yesterday. when i felt i was going too slow, i kicked it up a notch until i was back up to pace. I still only missed the same amount: 14. But i scored a 32 on the verbal, which frankly is less than i scored when i took the test cold turkey in undergrad 4 years ago. Naturally frustrated, I went back to review my incorrect questions and found that 5 were obviously and directly the result of being rushed.
- Just now, one day later and having subsequently reviewed NOTHING from the veritas textbooks over the last 24 hours, i decided to take another verbal exam. Because only 800Score will allow me to take a verbal without having taken a math before hand, i chose to take one of their practice tests (i didnt have the time to take the math today). Again, i chose to take a comfortable and diligent pace. I thoroughly digested everything before answering a question. In the first 31 questions, i missed 4. In the last 10 questions i had about 9 minutes left and still a reading comprehension. i missed 8 of the ten because i was rushed, didnt do the STOP methodology on the reading comp passage due to lack of time, and frankly guessed on the last 3 questions (guessed incorrectly on all 3). I missed 12 in total (not that far off from 14), and scored a 47! that's 99th percentile!
Subsequently, i am challenging the following proposition to Veritas Advisors, but let me make the following disclaimer: i am not proposing other students follow in my lead. Here is what i think should be my approach for the next 3 weeks on the verbal section:
- I should go at my comfortable pace for the GMAT exam, and should accept a strategy where i am rushed and practically flunking the last 10 questions of the section over a strategy where i am trying to keep a pace that will allow me to allot sufficient time over the last ten questions.
- My focus with regard to verbal preparation over the next 3 weeks should be to increase the speed at which i am comfortable and to maintain my current content knowledge of the material.
Naturally my goal should still be to increase the speed at which i am comfortable, but it appears that deliberately speeding up is counter-productive. Is that correct? Is this an 800Score anomaly? Will this backfire on me for the real exam? I vaguely remember Veritas recommending against this strategy, which is why i dont recommend it for othersw. However 99th and 97th percentile is hard to ignore, and would practically guarantee me acceptance to the schools of my choice. I would appreciate knowing if this strategy is seriously flawed.
thanks,
GW
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