GMAT DISASTER....Anyone HELP...I don't know what to do

I'm going to discuss via PM. Quant is an easy fix. Fixing verbal is like driving a proverbial iron rod through the head to make substantial improvements if any can be had at all for me.

Hi FTS185,

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you experienced on Test Day. While you should absolutely reach out to Pearson to complain, the situation that you described is probably not significant enough to warrant a free retest. That having been said, you should not let any of this distract you from your goal. The other poster in this thread seems to be having a bad 'reaction' to the training and Test Taking experience; while everyone is entitled to their opinions, that specific opinion doesn't seem to be helping you with your situation, so you should move past it.

I'd like to know a bit more about how you've been studying:

1) How long did you study?
2) What resources did you use?
3) When you took your CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
4) You mentioned an attempt at getting accommodations - is that for ADHD, dyslexia, something else?

Thankfully, the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Think about everything that you learned from this attempt; you can use that knowledge to help you focus your studies and perform better next time.

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

Sir,

I am also having the same trouble(not getting good scores). Attempted GMAT once and scored 520. Now I have started again but still not doing good. I have gone through the MGMAT books, e-gmat & presently on gmatclub CATs but ..... nothing going well. Every other que in quant seems asking for new concept but when i see the solution i find ooopps moment. Again on verbal I am worse than quant even after completing the e-gmat online course.

Please can you advise me this ?

Regards

Hi jimmy02,

I have a few questions about your studies and your Official GMAT score:

1) How long did you study before taking your first GMAT?
2) What were the Quant and Verbal Scores on your GMAT?
3) How long have you been studying now?

4) Do you have trouble finishing any of the sections on time? Do you have to rush and guess on a bunch of questions just to finish (and if so, then how many?)?

5) What is your score goal?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

Sir,

I took classroom coaching in year 2013 for 45 days. But that proved to be a disaster. After finishing my coaching and while taking practice tests (some provided by the institute and some of 800 score tests), I scored avg 650 in few starting CATs but then my tests scores took downturn. This made me worried and then i left it on luck(lost hope). As expected i scored a mere 520. I don't remember the exact break up but Q34, V 18-20. Even i didn't cared about the break up, I was obviously irritated with me. So, for some time i put GMAT aside and went back to normal office routine.

But my dream of getting MBA never let me in peace. So, i started my prepration again in Jan'15. I finished MGMAT books again, though it was really boring as nothing new was there. As a non-native i struggle on verbal. (you can see it in my writing also). So, for verbal i took e-gmat online course. It helped me on SC a lot. But RC remains still a concern for me. Then I started Gmatclub CATs. Quant questions in Gmatclub are good and i am not able to perform well on these. I am really worried and dont know how to proceed. Presently on quant section i am able to get 32, 33 & 26 percentile only.

Though i am able to finish each quant section on time, but I think I hurry a lot in initial questions to keep up with timer. So, yes I guess a lot.

I study economist (1 article daily) and almost 3-4 hrs in night(mostly gmat club CATs now a days and then review them on the same night).

My goal is anything above 700.

I wanted to apply this year only but seeing my performance I am in a fix now. Resources i have with me are MGMAT Books, OG-15, e-gmat online, gmatclub tests, 800score tests, SC grail, RC grail....

Regards

jimmy02

One other thing! Don't rush any section ever during the earlier questions! if you must rush, rush your questions that remain around the final 1-2 minutes of the section. Your score is more variable in the beginning of the CAT. You won't lose as many "points" from later questions.

jimmy02

Hi Jimmy (which I assume is your name),

I don't know your background, but since you commented in my thread, I thought you might be interested in hearing what I suggest. Clearly, we are both frustrated. With all do respect, I believe the english language itself might preventing your verbal improvement. Please understand I only made this observation based on how you wrote your questions on this forum. I'm going to assume your native language is not english? Here's what I would do! Though your quantitative score (like mine) is closer to what I learned is a more ideal range (40 or higher) your verbal range is pretty low. I would bet you have trouble understanding the nature of the questions in the verbal section simply because you don't speak english as well as a native speaker can, which is totally fine! I don't know if you're an international student, but I would suggest also taking either the TOEFL or IELTS assessments. You'll probably never be able to dominate the english language in the same time frame that you hope to attend graduate school. It's generally too hard to do. You could also consider schools outside of the U.S. that may be more accustomed to testing in your primary language (If it's not english of course!) . I don't really know anything about admissions testing for schools abroad, but your situation depends on your target schools. Most importantly HOW YOU MARKET YOUR POSITION. Since your quant score outshines your verbal score, I would focus on getting this score as high as possible, since it better impacts your total GMAT score and demonstrates your ability to understand concepts mathematically. If you're shooting for a quantitative program like the MSF/financial engineering or MBA with finance concentration, this would be your best bet... Without seeing any of your other application materials, it's hard to say. Otherwise, I think you will be miserable trying to perfect your linguistic abilities while also improving your verbal score. Given your situation, I only would suggest one more thing. Again this is just my opinion so take my advice with a grain of salt! If you continue to struggle on the verbal section and no longer improve your score, you should really evaluate which schools you're planning to attend. Again, without knowing your location or english speaking ability, it's hard to say. However, if what i'm saying is accurate make sure you really think about which academic institution to attend. Success in any program requires the ability to understand the material and not struggle with any language barrier! If you aren't sure you can, visit a program and sit in on a class or something!
This will help you with your motivation! THE GMAT IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF YOUR APPLICATION. Get some help with writing strong essays addressing your verbal challenge! The GMAT is just an obstacle that is preventing you from achieving what you want! Don't lose your motivation! Do the very best you can in both areas then move on! Once you enter your career after graduate school, your GMAT score becomes obsolete. Which Master's program graduate would you rather hire? Someone who has irrelevant experience or is being indicted (haha), and brags about their 750 GMAT score? Or the person who did their best while consistently achieving throughout their graduate program and overcomes challenging tasks? Exactly. All that matters is YOU! GOOD LUCK!

Hi jimmy02,

I'd like to see how you perform on a new FULL-LENGTH CAT (including the Essay and IR sections), so I suggest that you take one of the CATs offered by Kaplan, MGMAT or Veritas. Once you have those scores, you should report back here.

I think that you've tried to combine too many different resources (some of which did not properly prepare you for the reality of Test Day) and you did not have the proper structure or guidance during your studies. To score 700+, you'll need a consistent approach, which will likely mean investing in some new resources and a specific study plan.

Since the Round 1 deadlines for most Schools are not until October, you still have plenty of time to study and still apply this year.

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

^that. You were upset and probably rushed through. It stands to reason if you were upset, you might not have been thinking so clearly. I'd reschedule, after you hear about the accommodation. Spend the time until the reschedule studying your weakest points. I wouldn't give up. I have a little over two months until my first attempt, and the math on the GMAT practice makes me feel stupid, and I know I'm not stupid. I graduated magna cum laude from a very hard school, and understand quite complicated stuff that others don't. I think that there is a way to do the math on there that may not be obvious, and same with the verbal. It's all a trick that can be learned. Another idea, whatever you were using to study prior to this, try something else. It obviously wasn't helping your practice score that much. I'm signed up for Magoosh, and it's nice because they have video explanations. I'm also going to take a class at the local university this summer. There's a ton of options, you just gotta find one that works for the way you think, and commit an appropriate amount of time to it.

Hi TdePayen,

It sounds like you've put in some study time already, so how has everything been progressing?

Have you taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs yet (and if so, then how have you been scoring)?

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

AWA 5.5... haha, that was quick. How did you do on the writing?

I took a full-length CAT from Manhattan prep - I bought one of their books, so I have six of them. I got a 560 on it, so hopefully I can improve that. The prep class I signed up for at the University, they give a pre-test and a post-test.

Hi TdePayen,

A 560 is a solid first CAT score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 540-550 most years). Since you mentioned having another 2 months before your Official GMAT, you still have plenty of time to study and improve.

What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on this CAT?
What is your goal score?

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

I finally took the full legth test of MGMAT. my score is 580 (Q40,V31)

Now , please advise how i can improve to 700+.

Jimmy

Hi jimmy02,

A 580 is a nice improvement over your prior Official Score. Assuming that this was a *new* CAT that you took under realistic and test-like conditions, we can use this score as your new 'baseline' score.

Since you've already used a variety of resources that did not help you to achieve your goals, you're going to need to look into some other options (and you're likely going to need to invest in a GMAT Course of some kind to hit 700+). 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.

If you have any additional question, then just let me know.

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

Sorry it took so long to respond. The last few weeks have been bad for me. My dog passed away from cancer at the end of May, and so I wound up not studying as much as I'd intended. I started a GMAT class at the local university on Saturday and took a full mock exam there. I got a 600 (Q36 V35). My score on the mock Manhattan prep from last month was 560 (Q34 V33). My goal score is at least a 700. If I could get a little higher than that will be nice. I could live with a 690

As an aside, the average score for the class, I believe there were about 25 people in it, was 419 with a standard deviation of 112. The instructor told us the average improvement was about 70 points, but some people can manage to improve even 300 points if they really work at it. I am going to do all of the homework the instructor assigns out of the OG and also the suggested problems too. We'll see how much I improve. I have a post-mock-test on the 25th July and then the real deal on the 28th of July

Hi TdePayen,

You could certainly improve 90+ points in the time that you have before your Official GMAT, and you've already made some slight improvements, so it would make sense for you to continue with your studies as planned. I will recommend one thing though: taking a FULL CAT 3 days before your Official GMAT could actually work against you. The process of taking a CAT can be an exhausting experience and we wouldn't want you going into Test Day burned-out or too tired to perform at your best. If there's any way to move that Test up in the calendar (so that it's further in advance of your Official GMAT), then you should.

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