{"id":29278,"date":"2022-11-16T10:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T15:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/?p=29278"},"modified":"2022-11-17T11:36:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T16:36:46","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-of-gmat-cats-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/the-dos-and-donts-of-gmat-cats-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dos and Don\u2019ts of GMAT CATs, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.\u00a0<\/em>Manhattan Prep<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Stacey Koprince<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense.<\/em><\/p>\n

What are the Dos and Don\u2019ts to get the most out of your CATs? If you have not yet read the earlier installments\u00a0of this series\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>, go take a look!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

DON\u2019T take a practice CAT within five days of the real test<\/strong><\/p>\n

Would you run a practice marathon a few days before a real marathon? Of course not! You risk tiring yourself out or (mentally) injuring yourself (by reducing your confidence) just before the real test.<\/p>\n

If your score is not where you want it to be, postpone the test; you are not going to change it substantially by taking a practice CAT at the last minute (or doing anything else).<\/p>\n

DON\u2019T go months without taking a CAT<\/strong><\/p>\n

When someone does this, the impetus is usually anxiety. You feel nervous that you will not get the results that you want, so you avoid getting any results at all. Alternatively, maybe you plan to study everything and\u00a0then<\/em>\u00a0when you take the test, you are confident that you will get the score you want\u2026 but practicing without any CAT data is going to cause you to build bad habits (such as spending too much time on a question) and fail to build good ones (such as learning how and when to cut yourself off and guess).<\/p>\n

If your last CAT was so long ago that you are no longer sure what your strengths and weaknesses are\u00a0under testing conditions<\/em>, it is time to take another CAT.
\n
\nTakeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n

In short,\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0take a CAT pretty early on in your study process. Then analyze the results and use that analysis to inform your study plan. When you have addressed a substantial proportion of the major issues identified via that analysis, take another CAT. Most of the time, you should be able to find at least two to three weeks\u2019 worth of issues to address after every CAT.<\/p>\n

Once you have your score where you want it to be, start your final review. During this phase (which typically lasts a couple of weeks), plan to take one CAT two weeks before and another CAT one week before your real test date. Read the article\u00a0\u201cThe Last 14 Days: Building Your Game Plan<\/strong><\/a>\u201d\u00a0to learn what to do with this data.<\/p>\n

Good luck and happy studying!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything.\u00a0Manhattan Prep\u2019s\u00a0Stacey Koprince\u00a0teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. What are the Dos and Don\u2019ts to get the most out of your CATs? If you have not yet read the earlier installments\u00a0of this … Read More  <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[289,104,192,175],"class_list":["post-29278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","tag-computerized-adaptive-testing","tag-gmat","tag-gmat-scoring","tag-manhattan-prep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dos and Don\u2019ts of GMAT CATs, Part 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are the Dos and Don\u2019ts to get the most out of your CATs? 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