100 More Points - Strategy to go from a 610 to a 710

Good thread. Keep going, best of luck.
I have my GMAT next week and I am working at raising my current 650 to 700...
Wish me luck..

I just finished taking the diagnostic and I am honestly very surprised with the results.

I was expecting a score in this range, but I am almost shocked that my Q and V are the same scaled score.

I only got 18 questions right on the quantitative section. Compare that with 30 on the verbal. Anybody care to explain how that gives me the exact same scale score? I do have one theory. I'm going to look over my answer choices, but I have a feeling I just happened to guess well in the first 1/3 of the Quant and the almighty CAT bumped me up.

So yeah, that's my no-study starting point from a midnight GMAT - 37Q 37V 610 Composite.

Thanks for the welcome!

I figured as much about the difficulty. I took the GRE a year ago so I am familiar with the CAT concept, but it still never ceases to amaze me. I felt like I got into the "difficult' section of the verbal pretty quickly. (I only missed a couple of the first 13 questions - the 3rd and the 5th.) I guess this just goes to show you how critical it is to not miss any of the first 25% or so of questions.

yeah....you take it....appear in it ...write it but never give it.....but one can give it up though

I just took the free Knewton test. I found the Knewton quantitative to be harder than GMATPrep. (There were some concepts in the early questions to which I am not accustomed.)

One thing that I wonder about, since I just got a 610 on the GmatPrep1, is whether or not Knewton lowers its composite scores in order to limit the number of students eligible to apply for a refund. (They've guaranteed me a 620! Oh Wow!)

Results:

Q31: 23/37 questions correct. (Compare this with a 18/37 on the GmatPrep1 that got me a Q37.)
V38: 32/41 questions correct. (Compare this with a 30/41 on the GmatPrep1 that got me a V37.)
Composite: 570 (YIKES!)

The good news is that I am getting better at discerning why I missed a question.

On the verbal, more often than not, it is because I am not taking enough time. I consistently end the verbal section with 15 minutes or more to spare. If I pace myself better, I'll be able to think more clearly and make fewer errors.

My quantitative problems arise from a sheer lack of practice. Concepts that I once remembered but have since forgotten are eluding me. In many cases I know that there is a trick to expedite the solving of a problem, but I just cannot remember.

My goal is to be one of the very few 700-clubbers with a higher V than Q. I think this is a worthy challenge. I am not sure what kind of score distribution that would require, but I am guessing I'll be shooting for something like a V46-47/Q39-40. If this sounds a bit low, let me know - it seems like the CAT gives more weight to the Q-scale.

I'm scheduled to take the test December 13th. That's 44 days from now. As I mentioned earlier, I got a 610 on GmatPrep1 cold at midnight and a surprisingly low 570 on the free Knewton.



Target Scaled Score Increase:
38V to 46/47V
37Q to 39/40Q

Target Composite Score Increase:
610 to 700/710

Do you think that it would be in my best interest to reschedule, or should I keep preparing until the 1-week deadline in hopes that my preparatory CATs begin to produce scores that align with the level of my aspirations?

I think its enough time.
Just keep yourself in the study plan.....

That's what I was thinking, too. If I don't get the score I want then I'll retake it! Easy enough.

Difficulty in Planning Because I am Unpredictable

The hardest thing about making a plan for myself at the moment is that I don't really have a pattern of questions that I miss. Sometimes I miss easy questions, sometimes I miss hard questions. Sometimes I "see" the simple way to do a quantitative problem and sometimes I don't. Nonetheless, I definitely notice an improvement in my quantitative when I study much more than when I study verbal.

The Luck Factor

It seems like once you get to a higher percentile, luck plays more of a factor.

A perfect example of this is how my verbal tests usually go. I usually miss about 5 or 6 of the first 25...and verbal is my thing. I'm a native English speaker and I was a history/French undergrad. The difference between missing 2 or 3 of the first 25 and 5 or 6 on the first 25 would have a huge impact on my scaled score, but frankly I believe it will end up being luck. It will all come down to how well I am able to choose between the "two of these remaining choices could work, but one is better" options.

How I Currently Rate My Ability For Each Section (1 Being the Worst, 10 Being the Best):

Sentence Correction (9/10)
Reading Comprehension (8/10)
Critical Reasoning (7/10)
Data Sufficiency (5/10)
Problem Solving (6/10)

I tried to do this based on the percentile scores I've already been getting to give you an idea where I am at in terms of all other test takers.

Feeling Like You Are An Idiot Half of The Time is The Goal!

The only questions that help me get better are the questions that make me feel like an idiot. At this point I have to focus entirely on 650-800 level questions in order to see improvement. SO to reach my goal, I have to get to the point where I can feel comfortable getting 700+ level questions right only half the time. That's the GMAT for ya!

See my debrief (link in sig). I went through what you're going through (610 -> 710)

Glad to know I'm not alone!

I am learning more and more about how I take tests each day. One revelation is that if I give myself about 45 more seconds than I normally would to either solve a question in a different way or check my work before guessing, then I am exponentially more likely to get it right. Any longer than this, though, and I start a vicious cycle that eats all of my time up. This extra 45 seconds or so is a sweet spot that is easy to make up on the questions that don't give me much trouble.

welcome to GMATclub,

i'm glad to have found you, i got the same 610 when i took my GMAT prep cold. that was like 3 weeks ago. and i'm planning to five it in december with around same target score if you have some study plan that you've made i would love to take a look at it.

Good luck

Kyro, I sent you a PM. I'm still working on whatever my overall strategy is, but for now it is mainly just making sure that I do a little bit of each question type every day - especially quantitative questions.

Two days ago I got an abysmal 560 on a Princeton Review test..OUCH! Today is much better!

After 4 days of regular study, I have some great news!

I just got a 660 on GmatPrep2, once again with a higher split on quantitative! (42Q/40V) I really keep surprising myself. I guess I shouldn't be, though, because I put a ton of thought into the quantitative section and STILL get cocky about the verbal section. (I finished the Q with about 1 minute to spare. I finished the V with 12 MINUTES to spare!)

I made some good notes as I took the test this morning, too. There are just a few concepts I need to tackle in verbal, but there are around a dozen in quantitative. Here are some examples:

Verbal

1. What is the distinction GMAT wants you to make between because of/due to? In American English there isn't really a distinction...

2. What is the distinction GMAT wants you to make between based on/according to? Again, no real distinction in American English.

Quantitative:

1. Negative Exponent Rules
2. Sequence Rules
3. Triangle Rules
4. Inscribed Shape Rules
5. Real Numbers
6. Primes.

I feel like I am making progress. Wish me continued success!

Just ordered the MGMAT 8-Pack. Given my current skill levels, which I have articulated in previous posts, can anybody with experience using these books suggest in which order I should complete them once they arrive?

Dammit Veritas!

38Q/39V
Composite: 620

Verbal - Incorrect Questions:

5, 9,15, 20, 29, 31, 32, 33, 38, 40

The 31, 32, and 33 in a row killed me. Such a shame.


Quantitative - Incorrect Order:

11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 24, 29, 30, 32, 35, 37

I got the first 10 right only to miss the next 3. I can't help but think that GMATPrep would give me a much greater reward for getting the first 10 right than Veritas.

I'm realizing more and more that it may be more feasible to try and have a higher quantitative score than a 46+ Verbal and a comparatively lower quantitative score. I keep relying on my ear too much and it is causing me to miss questions due to grammatical technicalities.

The cornerstone of our GMAT improvement is acquiring new skills from intense attention to many different, highly-specialized areas. At the same time, we have to combine these new skills with good sleeping habits, good exercise habits, and good nutrition habits. Lastly, we have to couple these new habits/skills with basic test-taking and time-management skills. It is not an easy thing to keep track of all of this at once! Don't get down on yourselves and don't give up - nobody said that this would be easy!

What that being said, I just took the free Kaplan CAT.

43V/36Q
620 Composite

I felt great during the verbal section, even though I missed Verbal #2 like a moron. Had I gotten that one right, I may have gotten the first 23 questions right on Verbal. My Q bombed because of horrible time management. I was really focused and doing well for the first 15 questions or so. (I only missed 1 out of the first 15.) Then, I realized that I only had 10 minutes to finish 9 quantitative questions. I know that this brought me down.)

I could definitely tell I was cranking through some tough stuff on the Verbal; I wish that I had managed my time better on the quantitative.

This puts my highest V/Q combination to date at a 43V/42Q, which would just barely give me a 700! I was originally planning to get well above a 43V, but I can tell that that will not be an easy task at all! A 43V/43Q split is probably much more achievable.

Let's keep on working toward our goals, everybody! Please feel free to post in here, it's getting all cold and lonely - my prep books are horrible friends!

P.S. My friend has offered me a free steak dinner at Outback Steakhouse for a 700+! Woohooo!