550 (Q- 44 , V-23) - 600 (Q- 47 , V-25)

Question

Hi,

I have not been a frequent visitor here and I recently registered on this forum.
There is a lot of material around and it is going to be a big help.

I wrote gmat today and it was not a very good experience.
My Gmat scores so far are as follows:
550 (Q- 44 , V-23)
Date : April 2008
Books / Tests :
OG 11
Manhattan SC
GmatPrep 1(430)
Duration : 15 days

600 (Q- 47 , V-25)
July 2009
Books:
Manhattan Series
OG11
OG10 (only SC)
Kaplan Premier
Tests: 
Manhattan (Range 620 - 660)
GmatPrep (600 - 680)
Powerprep 1 - 680

Duration : 5 months

The problems I faced during the test this time:
I sucked at timing.
I could not create a mental map of the CRs , which I guess is very important.
SCs were much more difficult than the ones I saw in Manhattan tests. 
The ear plugs were hopeless , I would rather kill the manufacturer.
The neighboring test taker was a jerk , I guess he practiced AWA with a typewriter. He literally fu**ed up my verbal section.

My plan :
I have not figured put yet. I hate unofficial material and I doubt I will touch 1000 series.
I have already consumed MGMAT / GmatPrep tests.

My aim:
800

Please advice....

VerbalPatient · Answer

no replies :?:

Is it not the right way to put up a query guys? Did I miss something? :roll:

subarao · Answer

From 600 to 800 will be very very hard. Yes you can if you are serious and ready to go for it at your full potential. I doubt . But what you are going to achieve by scoring 800? Do you want to be a GMAT instructor?

VerbalPatient · Answer

OK. I understand it now , you will give me suggestions depending on the score I am aiming. Right?

Probably I should you to ask specific questions / queries:

1. Verbal - Time crunch 
a. I guess I faced this problem because I wrote only 8-10 tests .Only 2 AWAs and to add to that with longer breaks. Should I right more tests (with exact test simulation)?
b. Given that I have already exhausted MGMAT / GmatPrep , should I go for KAPLAN / GMAX or any other tests?
c. I have paper Gmat sets / tests but never used them. How good are they?
d. I am going to read Manhattan SC / PowerScore CR in detail before I take any tests. Any other suggestions? I am good at RC. (I found rhyme’s and walker’s posts. Thanks for the stuff RHYME and WALKER.)

2. Quant - 47 to 50 a. I am good at Quant ; however I need an uplift of 3 points. GmatCLub tests is one of the things I am planning to take. (Maybe twice a week.)
b. Any further suggestions for Quant?

3. Test – When ? 
a. I am planning to take the test in another 2 months. Please advice.

I hope I am clear this time.

Even if I am a looser (looking at my score history) and did not mention anything about the score I am aiming , I am still aiming for an 800.
However you may just ignore this fact and answer my above queries.

snipertrader · Answer

VerbalPatient

Seems that your Quant is solid but you ack that there is scope for improvement.

Your weakness is in Verbals. Do you have the breakdown of your prep test in terms of RC/CR/SC.

I am sure a 15 point boost in Verbals will catapult you to 680+ levels

VerbalPatient · Answer

Thanks for the response snipertrader.

I am good at RC. I answer almost all of them correctly , except for the really difficult ones.
I suck at CR and to my surprise SC as well.

I need more practice , and I am ready for the same; however I dont know 
which tests should I use given that I have already used MGMAT / GmatPreps?
which practice material should I use ?(1000 series / OG12 / XYZ)?
most importantly should I invest another 3 months and take the test in the month of December? (I really want to do this.)
In case I take the test in early december , will it be OK if I wrap up the TOEFL and application essay part in a month or so (August)?
I know I will miss some of the deadlines by then (December) , but I still have chance in some colleges with late 1st deadlines and in R2 other colleges . What do you think guys?

snipertrader · Answer

I don't think its fair on my part to comment on when you should take the test. Take it when you feel ready.
Since quant is your strength, i would just make sure the fundamentals are rock solid and focus on really tough questions to keep you brain in prime condition.

Ideally though, if you take it by end of Nov....you should be good for most R2's

As for verbals
SC
Manhattan SC (has helped me a lot). I had to read it 2 times for it to sink! I am a non-native English speaker
1000 SC and Brutal SC are also a must have and try to finish as much as you can.
This forum has tons of good questions being posted....go through them. They are mostly the tricky ones which one needs to be adept in tackling for the real deal.

CR
Powerscore GMAT bible/ OG12 make a good combination. I did go through the MGMAT CR guide and frankly was not too excited
I am sure others can add in here.

RC - Again tons of material in the forum.

Hope this helps.

whatthehell · Answer

practice practice practice!!

VerbalPatient · Answer

Thanks a lot for the replies.
I have planned to go about my next GMAT attempt as follows:
1. I am not going to worry about the deadlines for the time being. Good GMAT score is all I want. I am going to take the test when I am ready with the all the prep.
2. For the next 1 months or so , I am going to work on 1000 series (I just hate this , but I don’t have any option.) for verbal . I will try to complete it.
3. For Math , I am going to go through MGMAT math series and will document all the tricks mentioned , will try to find corresponding problems which use these tricks. Write a GmatClub Test every weekend or so.
4. After one month of 1000 series , I will do Kaplan 800 / OG10 / OG11 for 2-3 weeks.
5. I am not going to buy any more tests. I am going to rewrite PP / GP / MGMAT.(with exact / less breaks.)

I hope the plan works for me.
An update , I have got 5 in AWA.

bb · Answer

Take a look at this post: gmat-study-plan-go-from-650-to-80235.html Your verbal is really the issue here. If you are a non-native speaker, you have a lot more to work on. Make sure you get a good grammar book (not only GMAT grammar but overall grammar as that will be helpful writing essays and on a day-by-day basis while getting your MBA) - one many recommend is Doing Grammar. For RC I would recommend GMAT Fiction. The same for SC actually combined with Doing Grammar. CR - it depends. MGMAT CR or PowerScore CR should do the trick. If not, re-read the book again and then get PR 1012 and work on targeted practice to make sure you nail each question type perfectly. Finally - as you are having "fun" with all of this, get an Error Log and keep it organized. Print out all the questions you get wrong and put them into a binder. Review every week or few weeks. Finally, stop by the Verbal Forum and try to answer some questions for others - you learn the most when you try to teach others

P.S. I see no value in you working through the 1000 series - it is a bunch of questions. It is much faster to improve your score by addressing weaknesses systematically rather than on a question by question basis. You can use 1000 series to test if you still have holes and then go back to books, but learning from them is not very efficient.

VerbalPatient · Answer

Thanks for the response BB. I completely agree with your comment below. 1000 series will be my last resort ; when I have exhausted absolutely every book I have. By the way I have had a look at brutal SC's and I just hate 1000 and brutal's. Its useful only when you want to create a Java / ClearBasic application which will pick questions from these docs randomly. :lol:

At the moment I have a doubt / problem so to say. Should I take the test date and prepare accordingly OR should I take the test date when I am confident about my prep. I may miss the Fall 2010 deadlines.

bb · Answer

You should set a date. One never feels confident with GMAT. Set a date in 2-3 months if that works for your application schedule.

VerbalPatient · Answer

Thanks for the replies.
I have decided to take the test on 28th Sep ' 09.

I have 8 - weekends(6 hrs everyday) and 40 - weekdays(3 hrs everyday)
So I have approx 170 hrs of time.

I have a good grammar book. I have decided to go through a few important topics.
For math I will study from MGMAT guides.

I am going to take 2 tests every week (in all 10 tests 2PP-2GP-6MGMAT).
I will print all the wrong ones and make the error log.

	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

550 (Q- 44 , V-23) - > 600 (Q- 47 , V-25)

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards