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Whether to join a GMAT course ?

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Whether to join a GMAT course ? [#permalink] New post 17 Oct 2009, 17:56
So I'm stuck with this big dilemma. I have a 690 which is not a bad score but the quant score is really low 70th percentile. As an Indian with computer science background - there's no way in hell I can make it to the top schools with this score. So in order to give my quant score a boost I'm doing the GMATClub tests and the progress has so far been hopeless.

The first 10 GMATClub tests - My scores are pathetic. In the low 20th percentile. I'm really missing out on the fundamentals. I've been reading the explanations for all the wrong answers but then when I move to the next test there's a new type of question that gets to me. Here's what I've listed as the problem areas:

1. Lack of concentration - leading to a lot of silly mistakes.
2. Lack of understanding of the fundamentals - leading to unnecessary time spent on tough problems.

Does taking a course such as knewton help ? I'm not convinced that the fundamentals can be 'taught'. I'm in the process of almost giving up on top schools dream and try for tier 2 schools. Any advice ?
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Re: Whether to join a GMAT course ? [#permalink] New post 18 Oct 2009, 04:42
pleonasm wrote:
So I'm stuck with this big dilemma. I have a 690 which is not a bad score but the quant score is really low 70th percentile. As an Indian with computer science background - there's no way in hell I can make it to the top schools with this score. So in order to give my quant score a boost I'm doing the GMATClub tests and the progress has so far been hopeless.

The first 10 GMATClub tests - My scores are pathetic. In the low 20th percentile. I'm really missing out on the fundamentals. I've been reading the explanations for all the wrong answers but then when I move to the next test there's a new type of question that gets to me. Here's what I've listed as the problem areas:

1. Lack of concentration - leading to a lot of silly mistakes.
2. Lack of understanding of the fundamentals - leading to unnecessary time spent on tough problems.

Does taking a course such as knewton help ? I'm not convinced that the fundamentals can be 'taught'. I'm in the process of almost giving up on top schools dream and try for tier 2 schools. Any advice ?



Hello pleonasm,

We have had people report success with Knewton. You can see the direct links in the review thread:
gmat-prep-courses-classes-reviews-ratings-and-comparison-78451.html

The class can NOT help you with #1. I had a similar issue and the key with making silly mistakes is SLOW DOWN when reading and approaching the problem. Make sure you are answering the question being asked and nothing else. The test writers will throw in key words that will impact what you need to solve, and while you might have found the solution to the unknown in the problem, the question being asked might not care what the unknown really is.

Taking a course can help with #2, assuming you want to take that route. Go through the debrief threads in the share your GMAT experience forum and maybe you'll find someone with a similar experience. We have also had people report success with Kaplan premier to nail down some math fundamentals.

Let us know if we can answer any other questions.
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Re: Whether to join a GMAT course ? [#permalink] New post 19 Oct 2009, 09:09
mohater wrote:
pleonasm wrote:
So I'm stuck with this big dilemma. I have a 690 which is not a bad score but the quant score is really low 70th percentile. As an Indian with computer science background - there's no way in hell I can make it to the top schools with this score. So in order to give my quant score a boost I'm doing the GMATClub tests and the progress has so far been hopeless.

The first 10 GMATClub tests - My scores are pathetic. In the low 20th percentile. I'm really missing out on the fundamentals. I've been reading the explanations for all the wrong answers but then when I move to the next test there's a new type of question that gets to me. Here's what I've listed as the problem areas:

1. Lack of concentration - leading to a lot of silly mistakes.
2. Lack of understanding of the fundamentals - leading to unnecessary time spent on tough problems.

Does taking a course such as knewton help ? I'm not convinced that the fundamentals can be 'taught'. I'm in the process of almost giving up on top schools dream and try for tier 2 schools. Any advice ?



Hello pleonasm,

We have had people report success with Knewton. You can see the direct links in the review thread:
gmat-prep-courses-classes-reviews-ratings-and-comparison-78451.html

The class can NOT help you with #1. I had a similar issue and the key with making silly mistakes is SLOW DOWN when reading and approaching the problem. Make sure you are answering the question being asked and nothing else. The test writers will throw in key words that will impact what you need to solve, and while you might have found the solution to the unknown in the problem, the question being asked might not care what the unknown really is.

Taking a course can help with #2, assuming you want to take that route. Go through the debrief threads in the share your GMAT experience forum and maybe you'll find someone with a similar experience. We have also had people report success with Kaplan premier to nail down some math fundamentals.

Let us know if we can answer any other questions.


Thanks Mohater - appreciate the feedback
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Re: Whether to join a GMAT course ? [#permalink] New post 19 Oct 2009, 15:18
pleonasm wrote:
So I'm stuck with this big dilemma. I have a 690 which is not a bad score but the quant score is really low 70th percentile. As an Indian with computer science background - there's no way in hell I can make it to the top schools with this score. So in order to give my quant score a boost I'm doing the GMATClub tests and the progress has so far been hopeless.

The first 10 GMATClub tests - My scores are pathetic. In the low 20th percentile. I'm really missing out on the fundamentals. I've been reading the explanations for all the wrong answers but then when I move to the next test there's a new type of question that gets to me. Here's what I've listed as the problem areas:

1. Lack of concentration - leading to a lot of silly mistakes.
2. Lack of understanding of the fundamentals - leading to unnecessary time spent on tough problems.

Does taking a course such as knewton help ? I'm not convinced that the fundamentals can be 'taught'. I'm in the process of almost giving up on top schools dream and try for tier 2 schools. Any advice ?


I serioulsy doubt you have issues of fundamentals. Have you shed your ego on the Quantitative questions? Initially I was trying and trying and ending up with 6/7 questions in the last 8-10 minutes meaning 3/4 were guesses. I some how learnt (hard way) that I should let go off some questions.

I did guess two questions and the last Q on the test. Still I managed at 49. So guessing is important especially when you are idling or killing time on the test.

Do you nail the easy questions under 30 seconds and move on to the next one? Initially I had the bad habit of double checking or triple checking to make sure there are no traps. How ever, you are having silly mistakes means you need to slow down and also write down every thing. Regardless of how small the problem is work it out on paper. Thats one way to avoid mistakes.
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Re: Whether to join a GMAT course ? [#permalink] New post 19 Oct 2009, 20:27
icandy wrote:
pleonasm wrote:
So I'm stuck with this big dilemma. I have a 690 which is not a bad score but the quant score is really low 70th percentile. As an Indian with computer science background - there's no way in hell I can make it to the top schools with this score. So in order to give my quant score a boost I'm doing the GMATClub tests and the progress has so far been hopeless.

The first 10 GMATClub tests - My scores are pathetic. In the low 20th percentile. I'm really missing out on the fundamentals. I've been reading the explanations for all the wrong answers but then when I move to the next test there's a new type of question that gets to me. Here's what I've listed as the problem areas:

1. Lack of concentration - leading to a lot of silly mistakes.
2. Lack of understanding of the fundamentals - leading to unnecessary time spent on tough problems.

Does taking a course such as knewton help ? I'm not convinced that the fundamentals can be 'taught'. I'm in the process of almost giving up on top schools dream and try for tier 2 schools. Any advice ?


I serioulsy doubt you have issues of fundamentals. Have you shed your ego on the Quantitative questions? Initially I was trying and trying and ending up with 6/7 questions in the last 8-10 minutes meaning 3/4 were guesses. I some how learnt (hard way) that I should let go off some questions.

I did guess two questions and the last Q on the test. Still I managed at 49. So guessing is important especially when you are idling or killing time on the test.

Do you nail the easy questions under 30 seconds and move on to the next one? Initially I had the bad habit of double checking or triple checking to make sure there are no traps. How ever, you are having silly mistakes means you need to slow down and also write down every thing. Regardless of how small the problem is work it out on paper. Thats one way to avoid mistakes.


So I took a Knewton trial class and was not heavily impressed. I mean there was no 'tutoring' as such. So am not signing up for any course. Yes, the ego with quants is what gets to me mostly. I get stuck on one or two problems for more than 4 minutes and screw up. This in addition to silly mistakes bring down my score and more importantly my morale heavily. I have thus far developed a 'phobia' for quants. I do double check the easy questions, yes. Damn it. Now I know where the mistakes are and hopefully I can improve upon them.

Thanks a bunch.
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Re: Whether to join a GMAT course ?   [#permalink] 19 Oct 2009, 20:27
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