confused at what to do : should I give GMAT : cant reach the score

Hi vbandyo,

I have a few follow-up questions:

1) What is your goal score?
2) What Business Schools are you planning to apply to? If you know the Schools, then what are the exact Round 2 and Round 3 application deadlines?

The 'problem areas' you listed (DS, RC and CR) represent about 40 questions on Test Day (out of the 78 total questions in Quant and Verbal). That would help to explain why your scores are 'stuck' in the low 500s.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

my goal score is 660-680 (mostly all colleages that i plan to apply have requirement of 600+) and also because my field is niche field of study unlike general stream.
Some of institutes in my list are:(These are some of school names)
1) Essec, France
2) Bologna business school , Italy
3) SDA Bocconni business school
4) ISC( paris)
5) Fordham(USA)
6) IUM( Monaco)

1st Deadline ends by January 8 and second round will end by Feb and third by April in most of cases.

also i tried taking free test quizzes on GMAT forum club, I am getting 700 level question correct but am getting all 500 level questions wrong in verbal and in Quant it is mixed.

( also 1 more thing i study whole day, I have no problem sitting hours and studying, been doing so since July.)

Hi vbandyo,

Raising your GMAT score to your goal score by January 8th isn't a practical plan, so you should plan for the later application deadlines (and that extra study time should be quite helpful). Since you've been studying a certain way for the last few months, and your scores are 'stuck', you'll likely need to invest in some new resources and learn/practice some new Tactics to hit your goal score.

You do NOT need to study all day - that type of approach often does NOT lead to any real long-term benefit (and sometimes leads to burn-out, which you want to avoid). You DO want to have a consistent and organized study routine though.

When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are a variety of different options. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

how do i know what type of sources will help me and how do i adopt new techniques that are different from earlier. Also how do I learn new tactics.
i am really at loss.
Please kindly guide me.

Hi vbandyo,
The very first requirement is that you have to believe that you can do it but I will agree the timeframe you have kept for yourself or that is left with you may not be sufficient.
Having said that if for some reasons you are not able to extend the date, your attitude moving towards the D day and on the D day will itself make a difference of 40-50 points. So may be brush up your concepts. If I were to look into the three grey areas mentioned by you-
1) DS - yes , it is a new form of question for most of us taking the GMAT. And many of the times, even the best of students do make mistakes even after knowing all the concepts. Reason is that we tend to make mistakes on the very basic points. some I would write down knowing that you would know these but tend to overlook in a hurry. Make it a habit to check for these points and other which you would know and not mentioned here, in all your questions especially so where variables x,y etc are used..
a) make a very conscious effort to limit the essence of each statement to that statement only and not carry it forward subconsciously when you are checking whether each statement alone is correct.
b) when you see variable x, y ,z etc the following point should come to your mind immediately..
i) the variables although mentioned as x, y ,z etc can be the same..
ii) the variables can even be fraction, if not mentioned..
iii) the variables can be positive and negative too...
iv) At times it is given x and y are distinct positive integers or distinct integers, but we are so engrossed in the above three points that we overlook the info, so read the statement for these info very carefully.
c) Solving 700 level Q and missing out on 500 level Q does show that you may be overlooking very simple points given in the Q or statement.

2) RC- there is nothing but practice and concentration that can take you out of woods here. Each Para will have few sitters, which can be easily found in the para, so that get overwhelmed by the inference or authors purpose Q that you miss out on those Q.

3) CR- CR too tests you less for english and much more for the logical part. Like the DS, the CR too requires a very careful reading and cannot miss out on even a single word of the para unlike the RC. Invariably you can home down too to the two closest choices and then it is understanding the CR which can help you.

all the topics ofcourse require you too practice and you will have to decide on your date of GMAT accordingly. Do make a log of where you are going wrong and you may find that the mistakes are generally of some certain kinds, which may thereafter require extra effort.
and yes, i will reply to your query on absolute mod and send you the link accordingly

Regards
Chetan

Thank you for your guidance and I'll remember what you have mentioned.
In any case, i would go for another attempt next year and before that, i ll keep sufficient time to improve in areas where I'm weak.
Since you have given me advise, may I ask, what kind of books/ study technique will be good for Gmat prep next time from solving question in proper time before i take another attempt.
Thank you once again.

Hi vbandyo,

Given your current 'issues', I believe that there are a variety of different practice resources that can help you to improve. It's just a matter of which one(s) will work best with your personality.

I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating: Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

First of you need to be determined whether you want to enter in this field or not, if you are not comfortable and if you think that there is no use of sticking to it , then you should seek another options for better career opportunity.

Hi radhika8506
The above user is unlikely to get your advice since it is an old post and the user was last online in 2015.
Thank you.

It's possible!