Hi nishatfarhat87,
Thank you for sharing such detailed information about your GMAT experience.
Although you have been studying for the GMAT for quite some time, there must be some fundamental issues in your studying that is not allowing you to improve your GMAT knowledge. That fact that the GMAT seemed much harder than any of your mocks, could be an indication that you did not have as thorough as an understanding of GMAT quant and verbal than you previously thought.
As I am constantly reminding all of my new students, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, but expecting different results. So - we need to figure out what you’ve been doing - both right and wrong - and get you on a better, more productive path.
Remember, what makes the GMAT such a challenging exam is that there are relatively few questions asked in a given exam, yet those questions come from a huge topic pool. Thus, the best way to get a great GMAT score is to have a thorough understanding of all the topics that may be tested on the exam. To develop such mastery, you want to strive for linear and targeted learning and follow that with focused practice. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next. Have you been able to study in this way?
For example, when studying verbal focus on learning one section at a time: reading comprehension, sentence correction, or critical reasoning. For example, when learning about critical reasoning, you want to be able to learn about all aspects of critical reasoning: e.g. strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Follow up your learning with focused critical reasoning practice, so you can determine your specific weaknesses within that topic. You should follow a similar routine for sentence correction and reading comprehension.
For quant, since you are already scoring between 44 and 46, you might consider following a similar but slightly altered approach that consists of more focused practice. For example, if you are reviewing number properties, be sure that you can practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. The results of that practice will help you determine your weak areas within that topic. Once you find and fix your weak areas, then move on to the next quant topic.
To help diagnose your GMAT quant strengths and weaknesses, I welcome you to take my free
37-question quant diagnostic. After completing the diagnostic, you are provided with a detailed analysis of your proficiency level of all GMAT quant topics, as well as an opportunity to discuss your diagnostic results with me or another
TTP instructor/coach.
If you are able/willing to follow a new approach to your prep, I think you can achieve GMAT success in your 5th attempt. As far as a timeline, you might consider giving yourself another 2 to 3 months of dedicated prep; however, it could take more or less time than that.
If you have any further questions about how to get moving with your GMAT prep, feel free to reach out to me directly.
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