1st GMAT 600, 2nd 510 but cancelled.

Hi Shohrat,

I am sorry that the test day did not go as planned.
Your scores show a clear lack of understanding of fundamentals.
Not completing the test attracts a huge penalty and can be attributed towards your low score.

Questions related to the GMAT:

1. Were you mentally or physically exhausted before the test?
2. Did you sleep properly the night before the test?
3. Did you take both breaks between the test?

Preparation Questions:

1. Did you complete the OG and the Verbal Review?
2. Did you complete all the lectures and the problems from the On Demand Course?

Going forward, try to drill down deep in each problem type and figure out your exact problem.

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: Try to find out the particular topic that troubles you. For Example: Number System, Algebra, Geometry are the topics on which many questions are asked. You should be very thorough with these topics.

As an addition, start preparing an error log and keep a note of all the mistakes you made and the lessons you learnt from the problems. This will ensure you do not make the same mistake again.

Also, you should not convert your GPA to the US scale. It will more often than not give you incorrect results and leave you tensed. The schools have a fair bit of idea on how to compare the GPAs of students from different countries.

shohrat6383,

I'm no GMAT expert, but I can tell you this: If you have been doing the same thing for 2 years and you haven't gotten where you wanted to, then doing more of the same probably won't get you much farther either. Doing exactly the same thing and excepting different results is a common mistake, and often very easy to fix.

It appears that your verbal scores are the ones that are dragging you down the most. I could be wrong, but if I were you, I'd stop trying to take these online courses and start READING books in English. You don't necessarily have to read technical books, but use this opportunity to get used to English structures and try to practice your understanding and concentration. Trying to improve through the development of methods to solve questions is just ONE way, out of many, to improve your score.

Hi Shohrat,

I have some questions about the CATs that you took this year:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE you took the CAT?

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

Hi Janielle,

I completed the test both times on time. So I think I didn't get any penalty.

1. I think I wasn't mentally or physically exhausted before the test. Usually I work and study a lot and usually sleep 6.30-7 hours a day, if that can affect my mental or physical conditions.
2. I slept for about 7-8 hours the night before the test.
3. I took both breaks between the test.

Preparation Questions:

1. I think I completed most of OG and Verbal Review parts.
2. I did complete all the lectures and most of the problems from the On Demand Course

I think I should really start preparing an error log if I decide to retake the GMAT.

Thanks,
Shohrat

Hi Rich,



Thanks,
Shohrat

Hi Shohrat,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's likely what happened here. By taking your CATs in an inconsistent way - skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

Thankfully, this is a relatively easy set of problems to fix. The big question now is "how long will it take you to properly get 'used to' taking the full GMAT?" You'll certainly need a new set of practice CATs to work with and you have to put in the necessary time to train your brain (and body) for the FULL GMAT. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials.

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

Hi Shorrat, I’m sorry to hear about your recent GMAT struggles. In regard to your next steps, have you reached out to the schools to which you plan to apply? If not, I suggest you give them a call to discuss your situation. Perhaps someone in admissions can provide some more clarity on whether you need to retake the GMAT.

If you do have to retake your GMAT, you should start by doing a thorough analysis of exactly how you prepped for your first exam. Do you feel that you had a full understanding of all GMAT topics? If not, you should consider finding a new study resource. The best advice that I can provide is to find prep materials that that will allow you to do more focused learning and practice.

Ideally, your study resource should allow you to learn a topic and then practice that topic until it completely sticks. For example, if you are learning about Number Properties you want to make sure you learn everything possible about that topic, e.g., LCM, GCF, prime factors, divisibility, remainders, etc. After that, be sure to practice a lot of questions (50 or more) just on Number Properties. The results of that practice will help you to determine how well you have mastered that topic. Although this is just one example, you would want to follow this process for all sections tested on the GMAT.

If you are able to connect with anyone in admissions let us know what they say. Good luck!

You think practicing a lot of question, like 50 questions is going to help? GMAT doesn't work like that. I'd be very skeptical of listening to this advice.