ynk wrote:
Dear All,
I just gave my 1st MCAT and have scored--
Quant--41
Verbal--31
Total--590.
I am targeting a score in the range of 680-720.I have completed every Manhattan Guides and also have exhausted most of the problems of OG16.I have not started preparation for RC yet and also had completed the Quant Preparations 15 days back and never reviewed it.Maybe that is the reason for such a bad score.
Please help as I was planning to give GMAT in May End.Also please suggest whether should I join any course or is it too late.
Your mock score shows a clear lack of fundamentals. In your preparation so far, how did you study? What material did you follow?
1. Did you complete both the sections? (There is a high penalty if you do not complete a section)
Also, I would recommend you to refrain from taking tests until you have gone through all the fundamentals.
You need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:
1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach
Since you have been following a book heavy approach, it might be a good idea to try another mode of learning. GMAT tests you on some concepts and fundamentals that you can learn from a course. Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of our course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.
1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.com
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from
the Official GuideNot studying for the RC section would have definitely impacted your score. RC is the section that is mostly ignored by the students. Make sure you try to practice from the
OG and the Verbal review and understand the different RC questions.
For the other sections, you should drill down deep and understand the problem types and topics that trouble you.
SC: The questions test various concepts such as S-V agreement, modifiers, parallelism etc. Find out what troubles you.
CR: There might be certain types of questions that are troubling you. May be Assumption, may be conclusion, inference etc.
You need to find that out and then practice them
RC: This again can be drilled down into different types of questions and also different topics. See what questions and topics trouble you the most and then practice accordingly.
Quants: You can again bifurcate the questions in different topics such as Algebra, Geometry, Number System etc.
To increase your stamina, you need to train hard for the test. Treat the GMAT like a marathon. You need to train hard to run the full distance. Similarly you need to train your body and mind for the full 4 hours. The best way to train is by giving full length mock CATs includinf AWA and IR. You can download 2 free GMAT prep CATs from mba.com and buy 4 additional.
I would also recommend you to postpone your test by at-least a month if you need to hit your target score.