GMATClubbers,
I gave GMAT ( yes, for third time) on Dec 27 and scored 600 (Q47, V25)- exactly the same split i got during my first tryst with GMAT.
May 2011- 590( Q47, V25) AWA- 4.5
Sep 2011- 560( Q47, V20) AWA - 5.0
Dec 2011- 600( Q47, V25) AWA- 5.5
I think I tried all the material(
MGMAT books, Knewton, GMATPill,
e-GMAT, MasterGMAT and misc material on the net), yet I failed miserably.
After 1st attempt, I thought it was RC and CR since i was confident about SC. I bought
e-gmat (with Grockit) and worked diligently for SC and CR course. In sep 2011, I got V20 in second attempt. Disappointed and desperate, I bought master-gmat course and thought it'd help improve my verbal score this time. To my dismay, I scored V25 in third despite having 80% accuracy in the practice questions (mastergmat and
e-gmat).
I heard that i shouldn't taking many tests in order to avoid burn outs. Some of Knewton and all of
MGMAT tests i finished in first attempt.
Knewton #5- 640( Q46, V31) - I got Q46 after 7 quant mistakes and V31 after leaving two questions unmarked. Arggggh)
MasterGMAT #1- 670-690 ( Q48-49, V35-37)
MasterGMAT #2- Skipped Quant ( V35-37)
VeritasCATPrep #1- 660( Q51, V32)
VeritasCATPrep #2-540( Q36, V26)- Didn't feel well and couldn't concentrate at all.
VeritasCATPrep #3- 660(Q45, V37) Got my confidence back.
I gave few GMATPreps but most of results were inflated because I knew most of the questions.
So, I went into my third attempt with high confidence. It was going perfectly fine until #20 in verbal, and after that, i saw some nasty SC questions and couldn't eliminate more than one question for a grammatical error. Even CRs and RCs were manageable. However, after #30 i couldn't concentrate at all because i had only 12 mins for 11 questions. I think i got most of the last questions incorrect, even thought they might have been solvable. No matter what how much i tried to internalize the timing strategy, i couldn't follow it during the test day.
I wasn't thinking about 4th attempt, but after reading GMATLA's
reply on another gmatclubber's
debrief, i'm contemplating another attempt after practicing in the recommended fashion. But i'd like to give myself a break for two months to get other parts of the application ready, in case i want to apply. I'm targeting part-time or EMBA programs at NYU and Columbia.
Few Random observations:
- All practice tests use slightly different flavor of CR and SC question that we get in the real exam.
- Practice tests don't really mix SC, CR and RC perfectly as real gmat does.
- I faced SC's in which it was difficult to make 2/3 splits where as practice tests have many questions with clear splits and easily removable options.
Big question- Does stamina or endurance matter to the extent that it can drop your score by 100 points? Does timing strategy hold greater importance than concepts after a certain level of proficiency? I'm asking because i have grasped the fundamentals and even applied with good accuracy in various courses, and despite having the knowledge of the concepts and the knowledge of how to apply the concepts, i don't get the desired result.
Thanks
RG
Big question- Does stamina or endurance matter to the extent that it can drop your score by 100 points? Does timing strategy hold greater importance than concepts after a certain level of proficiency?--YES u bet. I have learned this the hard way too.
As you yourself mentioned-- 'I'm asking because i have grasped the fundamentals and even applied with good accuracy in various courses, and despite having the knowledge of the concepts and the knowledge of how to apply the concepts, i don't get the desired result'. If you timing goes haywire then you don't get time to apply the fundamentals/strategies you have learned so you solve in haste or guess questions leading to multiple errors and score drop.
Try and assess yourself by solving mocks with AWA section, the section adds to the endurance factor in the game.You might want to read the article below.