Hi guys,
I joined GMATClub quite a long time ago, but I just read topics all the time and rarely make posts. However, I've just taken the 1st real test 2 days ago and now I really your advice for my next retake test.
I got 640 (Q50, V26). This is the worst score I've had, mostly because of the Verbal score. I've never got lower than V30 in GMATPrep or Manhattan tests. Here are my CAT scores:
- GMATPrep 1 (12/4/2015): 660 (Q49, V31);
- MGM CAT 1 (18/4/2015): 600 (Q44, V30);
- MGM CAT 2 (25/4/2015): 630 (Q42, V34);
- MGM CAT 3 (08/5/2015): 640 (Q44, V33);
- MGM CAT 4 (15/5/2015): 650 (Q47, V32);
- GMATPrep 2 (24/5/2015): 660 (Q50, V30);
- GMATPrep 1 Retake (29/5/2015): 750 (Q50, V41);
- GMATPrep 2 Retake (01/6/2015): 740 (Q50, V40);
- GMATPrep 3 (Exam pack 1) (11/6/2015): 690 (Q51, V31);
- MGM CAT 5 (13/6/2015): 670 (Q48, V33) (the one right before the real test).
- Real exam (19/6/2015): 640 (Q50, V26).
While my Quant scores on MGM were not too good, I am not really concerned as long as the scores on GMATPrep were still good. The main problem that really annoys me is the Verbal scores. Materials that I used for Verbal were:
- SC: Manhattan SC guide, subsequently
e-GMAT SC course;
- CR: PowerScore Bible, and some from
e-GMAT CR course (in fact I think on CR, contents of Bible and
e-GMAT CR course are quite the same);
- RC: not specific on any materials because I think on RC I do not get much from learning.
Overall, my performances on SC and CR are the same, I am a bit better on SC in particularly. I think the Manhattan SC book helps me solidify my grammar, and the
e-GMAT course provides me with a very good approach to solve SC questions. On RC, my accuracy on easy or medium passages are >75%, while on difficult passages are ~ 60%.
When practicing, I used quite large portion of time to do questions without timing in order to understand the undermining factors behind each question. In fact, I think I quite understand the "style" of GMAT SC and CR questions. So in Prep tests, where I score from V30 to V31, I think the the main obstacle that prevent me from getting a V36 or higher is that I do not concentrate enough in the first 10 questions (I usually get 4-5 incorrect questions in the first 10 questions).
On the real test, for the first 10 Verbal questions, I think I did quite good. And from questions 15, I found every question quite difficult and I think they were at high level. So I just made many guesses with the belief that I were doing well. But finally, the V26 score just refuted my belief. So after the test, I think at that time, my brain just ran out of energy and stamina, so every question became difficult for me to digest, while they were not probably. I fact, I've never come through any CAT test with nearly zero-memory about the questions like the case with the real test.
After all, I really need a good 1 month-plan focusing on Verbal. I intend to retake in July, and I want a V38 or above so badly. All of your recommendation will be very high appreciated. Thanks so much!
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21 Jun 2015, 09:48
