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21 Jan 2014, 04:21
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Hi Gmatclubbers,
I have been pursuing the 700+ dream since 2011 and I am already 3 attempts old.
I managed to score 560(Q42,V21), 550(Q45,V19) and 580(Q47,v25).
I agree that my first attempt was a little too early as I was not very well prepared for it.
I was under the assumption that RC is manageable and even if I do not manage to score very well on this part,
other parts of the verbal would compensate for this. I was doing e-gmat and found it really helpful. I did not do many practice tests either which i thought was not important.
I was proved wrong the moment 560 flashed on my screen.
In my second attempt, however, I left no stones unturned. I joined one of the well know GMAT coaching centres and I was very sincere about whatever they taught. I practiced CR thoroughly, strengthened my SC abilities and gave a much better attempt at the RC. And I admit that I would not have rated myself an "Expert" on RC but somewhere close to "proficient with understanding". However I noticed that I would score badly or poorly based on the part of the test it popped up. I mean that if it popped up at the beginning of the verbal section, I was 'OK' with it but if it popped up at the end I was not very sure. I was doing a lot of grockit questions and my score prediction was somewhere around 630. I did quite a few practice tests from princeton, manhattan and kaplan without the AWA. The score predcitions was something around 610-640. And finally the test day came and I happened to score 10 points lesser than my last attempt - 550.
In my third attempt, I pushed myself harder. i was reading a lot of digital magazines and blogs, enhancing my vocabulary and doing tougher level of questions. I was being tutored and mentored by Nischal(he holds a 760 in GMAT. He also holds online classes if you want. I preferred to meet him in person. He is based out of Bangalore). I continued to religiously practice questions on grockit. After a while I started giving tests with individual section just to see where I stand.
At one point, I convinced myself that I should stop running behind the score and instead focus on the accuracy. In quants i used to get 28-32 question correct out of 37. And in verbal I used to score 25-29 out of 41 question correct. I was convinced that i will end with a better score.
And one day before the exam i practiced a decent amount of quants, revised the formula and little bit of Sentence corrections. On the exam day, As i started off with AWA, i was comfortable and sailing through it easily. I was a little incompetent with the IR section. And then came the Quants. It took some time to gain confidence in the exam and I was very happy with the way quants ended. During the eight minute break, I motivated myself to stay calm and focused for the next section as it was going to be excruciating and a little frustrating too. I managed to enter the hall with a smile and a cool mind. As I sat for it, I kept reminding myself "stay calm and be focused". I remember that I got a bold faced question at 18th position and I was elated to see it. I understand that you get such questions only if you have crossed a certain level of difficulty. Seeing that, I decided to be more focused but I think I started losing it from then onward. I guess I lost my full focus and energy but I really didn't realize this till I reached the end of the exam.
And I was devastated once more to see the sub-600 level score of 580(Q47,v25)
After the exam, I introspected my past performance. And I realized that I studied more intensely and more strategically for the verbal for my third attempt. In the test, I finally got to see my improvement in quants and Verbal. I expected more out of the verbal section. But I believe, had I touched a 30+ in verbal I would have been satisfied. One part of me says that "how did I manage to score a 47 in quants but a 25 in verbal. Such a difference is not acceptable. Plus I was scoring 630-660. How could i end up with such a score?. i should re-take."
I believe I should go ahead and attempt it once more because its not that I lack knowledge on verbal/quants but it is my test taking abilities/ behavioral deficiency that pull me down.
I think I would need help in
1. Focusing for 4 hours at a stretch,
2. Stamina building.
3. Better RC performance and clarity.
Do you people see anything different on my take on my analysis? Please post a reply.
Any idea, help, suggestions and criticism on my re-take on 4th attempt at GMAT shall be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joy
I have been pursuing the 700+ dream since 2011 and I am already 3 attempts old.
I managed to score 560(Q42,V21), 550(Q45,V19) and 580(Q47,v25).
I agree that my first attempt was a little too early as I was not very well prepared for it.
I was under the assumption that RC is manageable and even if I do not manage to score very well on this part,
other parts of the verbal would compensate for this. I was doing e-gmat and found it really helpful. I did not do many practice tests either which i thought was not important.
I was proved wrong the moment 560 flashed on my screen.
In my second attempt, however, I left no stones unturned. I joined one of the well know GMAT coaching centres and I was very sincere about whatever they taught. I practiced CR thoroughly, strengthened my SC abilities and gave a much better attempt at the RC. And I admit that I would not have rated myself an "Expert" on RC but somewhere close to "proficient with understanding". However I noticed that I would score badly or poorly based on the part of the test it popped up. I mean that if it popped up at the beginning of the verbal section, I was 'OK' with it but if it popped up at the end I was not very sure. I was doing a lot of grockit questions and my score prediction was somewhere around 630. I did quite a few practice tests from princeton, manhattan and kaplan without the AWA. The score predcitions was something around 610-640. And finally the test day came and I happened to score 10 points lesser than my last attempt - 550.
In my third attempt, I pushed myself harder. i was reading a lot of digital magazines and blogs, enhancing my vocabulary and doing tougher level of questions. I was being tutored and mentored by Nischal(he holds a 760 in GMAT. He also holds online classes if you want. I preferred to meet him in person. He is based out of Bangalore). I continued to religiously practice questions on grockit. After a while I started giving tests with individual section just to see where I stand.
At one point, I convinced myself that I should stop running behind the score and instead focus on the accuracy. In quants i used to get 28-32 question correct out of 37. And in verbal I used to score 25-29 out of 41 question correct. I was convinced that i will end with a better score.
And one day before the exam i practiced a decent amount of quants, revised the formula and little bit of Sentence corrections. On the exam day, As i started off with AWA, i was comfortable and sailing through it easily. I was a little incompetent with the IR section. And then came the Quants. It took some time to gain confidence in the exam and I was very happy with the way quants ended. During the eight minute break, I motivated myself to stay calm and focused for the next section as it was going to be excruciating and a little frustrating too. I managed to enter the hall with a smile and a cool mind. As I sat for it, I kept reminding myself "stay calm and be focused". I remember that I got a bold faced question at 18th position and I was elated to see it. I understand that you get such questions only if you have crossed a certain level of difficulty. Seeing that, I decided to be more focused but I think I started losing it from then onward. I guess I lost my full focus and energy but I really didn't realize this till I reached the end of the exam.
And I was devastated once more to see the sub-600 level score of 580(Q47,v25)
After the exam, I introspected my past performance. And I realized that I studied more intensely and more strategically for the verbal for my third attempt. In the test, I finally got to see my improvement in quants and Verbal. I expected more out of the verbal section. But I believe, had I touched a 30+ in verbal I would have been satisfied. One part of me says that "how did I manage to score a 47 in quants but a 25 in verbal. Such a difference is not acceptable. Plus I was scoring 630-660. How could i end up with such a score?. i should re-take."
I believe I should go ahead and attempt it once more because its not that I lack knowledge on verbal/quants but it is my test taking abilities/ behavioral deficiency that pull me down.
I think I would need help in
1. Focusing for 4 hours at a stretch,
2. Stamina building.
3. Better RC performance and clarity.
Do you people see anything different on my take on my analysis? Please post a reply.
Any idea, help, suggestions and criticism on my re-take on 4th attempt at GMAT shall be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joy
gambelda
Joined: 12 Jan 2014
Last visit: 31 May 2014
Posts: 83
Given Kudos: 2
Location: United States
Schools: Ross '16 (WL) Booth '16 (D) Duke Fuqua (D) Anderson '16 (D) Marshall '16 (A) Kellogg MMM '17 (D)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V44
GPA: 3.92
Schools: Ross '16 (WL) Booth '16 (D) Duke Fuqua (D) Anderson '16 (D) Marshall '16 (A) Kellogg MMM '17 (D)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V44
Posts: 83
21 Jan 2014, 12:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
Take this advice with a grain of salt.
There are some people who just cannot get 700+ If everyone was able to do it, then 700 wouldn't be a barrier to entry, it would be higher like 750-760. That being said, I read your post and saw this:
"I think I would need help in
1. Focusing for 4 hours at a stretch,
2. Stamina building.
3. Better RC performance and clarity."
As someone who has tutored this exam, it really bothers me when I statements like this. I think you could certainly take the exam a 4th time and maybe hit 700+, but a lot of people who get to that level are those individuals that find this exam GENUINELY FUN. You shouldn't need to kill yourself to focus for 4 hours straight or building stamina. You should be able to pass the 4 hours without even realizing it and enjoy yourself. The more you think of the exam as an exam, the harder it will be to improve. It is just a fun game.
Basically, until you sit down and say to yourself that you can have fun taking the exam, I wouldn't take it a 4th time. Bashing your head against a wall will only drive you insane.
There are some people who just cannot get 700+ If everyone was able to do it, then 700 wouldn't be a barrier to entry, it would be higher like 750-760. That being said, I read your post and saw this:
"I think I would need help in
1. Focusing for 4 hours at a stretch,
2. Stamina building.
3. Better RC performance and clarity."
As someone who has tutored this exam, it really bothers me when I statements like this. I think you could certainly take the exam a 4th time and maybe hit 700+, but a lot of people who get to that level are those individuals that find this exam GENUINELY FUN. You shouldn't need to kill yourself to focus for 4 hours straight or building stamina. You should be able to pass the 4 hours without even realizing it and enjoy yourself. The more you think of the exam as an exam, the harder it will be to improve. It is just a fun game.
- Reading comprehension doesn't test your memory, it tests your ability to visualize. The people who can close their eyes and see everything the passage is talking about do really well
Logic Reasoning questions test your ability to play devil's advocate with yourself. Make it into a game.
The quantitative section doesn't test your math skills, it tests your ability to think outside the box and manipulate numbers. If you spend most of your time solving, you're probably doing it wrong. Visualize numbers as objects and manipulate, etc.
For sentence correction, it isn't testing your understanding of grammar, it is testing your ability to see the differences between answer choices - which is a lot more interesting than knowing rules of grammar.
Basically, until you sit down and say to yourself that you can have fun taking the exam, I wouldn't take it a 4th time. Bashing your head against a wall will only drive you insane.
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