Hi All,
I would love to hear your thoughts, as I am seeking advice on how to move forward from here. I started studying for the GMAT around March of this year and used the
MGMAT online interactive course, along with their study guides. My Quant is a little inconsistent and my Verbal needs a lot of work. My confidence is a little low when answering Verbal questions; I think this has impacted my performance on the tests. Below are my scores:
1/31 -
MGMAT 1 - 480 (Q31/V28)
7/03 -
MGMAT 2 - 560 (Q36/V31)
7/30 -
MGMAT 3 - 530 (Q39/V24)
8/06 -
MGMAT 4 - 590 (Q42/V31)
8/13 -
MGMAT 5 - 580 (Q36/V33)
8/20 -
MGMAT 6 - 570 (Q36/V32)
8/29 - Real GMAT 1 - 560 (Q37/V31/AWA6/IR3)
9/05 - GMAT Prep 1 - 580 (Q39/V31)
9/11 - GMAT Prep 2 - 590 (Q44/V28)
9/18 - GMAT Prep 3 - 600 (Q40/V32)
9/24 - GMAT Prep 4 - 610 (Q43/V31)
10/01 - Real GMAT 2 - 530 (Q38/V25/IR6)
My observations on Quant:
- DS is much stronger than PS
- PS weakness areas are: Percents, Algebraic Translations, Combinatorics/Probability, and more complex Geometry problems
- Seems like my foundation is decent, but need to close some of the gaps and get more consistent in my Quant performance. I would like to consistently score in the Q44 range.
- I practice all
OG questions under timed conditions (2 minutes per problem)
- Timing isn't much of a concern, I usually finish the practice test just in time
My observations on Verbal:
- Initially, CR came very easily, but for some reason switched and now I struggle with this section the most. I need to practice anticipating the answer before reading answer choices. I can usually identify the question type.
- RC, I go back and forth on reading for meaning vs. skimming the passage on the first pass. It seems like reading for meaning helps me the most, but is way more time consuming. I'm 50/50 on all question types: Main Idea, Specific Detail, Inference
- SC, I usually narrow down to 2 remaining answer choices but choose the wrong answer because of a one-off idiom or I miss a subtle sub/verb agreement, etc. This shakes my confidence when selecting SC answers. I usually spend a lot of time on tests wavering between the remaining two answer choices.
- Timing is a huge issue on tests for me. If I don't worry about time, I usually get most of the problems right through #30, but then realize that I only have 10 minutes left after reaching Question #30 and then rush to the end, causing my score to tank. On the flip side, if I'm aware of timing and try to stick to the 1.5-2 minute ballpark, I seem to make silly mistakes and get more questions wrong.
I'm taking 1-2 weeks off from studying and am trying to determine how to go forward from here.
E-GMAT and EmpowerGMAT seem appealing, as both have great reviews at a pretty low cost. I also extended my
MGMAT online account, so I can re-watch lectures. Additionally, I purchased the PowerScore CR Bible as I've heard good things about it. I will probably stick with
MGMAT's Sentence Correction Study Guide and re-do those lessons. I typically read posts in the forums for problems that I get wrong.
My target score is 700 and above. I think that some of my issues are self-inflicted (applying too much pressure, etc.), but I also know that I have some gaps to fill in Quant and Verbal. Anyone have any advice on how to move forward? More specifically, can anyone share their feedback on
E-GMAT, Veritas, or EmpowerGMAT? I'm not giving up hope on
MGMAT, but I think I could use another perspective on Verbal.
Thanks for your help!