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ecstatcpirate
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630(Q-47,V-30) on GMAT 18 Sep 2016, 20:33
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Hi!
I got a 630 on GMAT with 47 on quants and 30 on verbals. I think i did fairly well on the quants. I am planning to reappear for the exam.
I need to increase my verbal score from 30 to 40.

Last time i prepared using a premium magoosh subscription, and a copy of powerscore cr bible and manhattan sc guide.

What should be my approach for scoring higher on verbal this time ?

Thanks.
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mikemcgarry
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Posts: 4,485
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630(Q-47,V-30) on GMAT 19 Sep 2016, 14:13
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ecstatcpirate
Hi!
I got a 630 on GMAT with 47 on quants and 30 on verbals. I think i did fairly well on the quants. I am planning to reappear for the exam.
I need to increase my verbal score from 30 to 40.

Last time i prepared using a premium magoosh subscription, and a copy of powerscore cr bible and manhattan sc guide.

What should be my approach for scoring higher on verbal this time ?

Thanks.
Dear ecstatcpirate,

I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, do appreciate the profound ambiguity in your question? When a student said, "I used the Manhattan SC Guide," this could mean
1) I skimmed through this once in an afternoon
2) I read this once through, every word
3) I read this once through, practicing each practice problem and studying the explanations
4) I re-read each section I didn't understand multiple times
5) I not only re-read every part of the book, but also wrote extensive notes on everything I didn't understand.

You see, with any of the sources you mentioned, there are multiple levels of possible engagement. As a general rule, I would say that the MGMAT SC book contains everything you need to ace SC on the GMAT. I can't speak to the Powerscore CR Bible, but I have great respect for the MGMAT CR book. I also would say that the Magoosh videos & questions contain everything you need to get above a 700. Most sources have more than what most students need, but most people do not break the 700 barrier because they are not willing to put in the dedication and commitment demanded.

You said you used Magoosh: does this mean that you watched every lessons, and watched multiple times any lesson you didn't understand fully? does this mean that you watched every video explanation to every question you got wrong? Does it mean that you kept an error log and reviewed it? With any source, there are multiple levels of engagement at which to "use" it.

It may help you to find another good source---the MGMAT CR and RC books are great. I would say, though, it might be that you will see more score improvement from pursuing greater depth rather than greater breadth. Chasing different resources is a trap for many students: let me use sources A, B, C, and if those don't get me the results I want, I will use sources D, E, and F. The trouble is that students fail to address the constant, the level of commitment & diligence & engagement they bring to each and every new resource.

More than any source new or old, I would recommend the habits of excellence--you will see a discussion at the bottom of that blog. I don't think there's a magic source out there that will automatically give you the improvement you seek, but I think if you can significantly increase your engagement with each and every aspect of the studying, then even the sources you already used can give you a tremendous boost, because with much deeper engagement you will mine them for everything you missed in them the first go-round.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)
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ecstatcpirate
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630(Q-47,V-30) on GMAT 20 Sep 2016, 06:19
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mikemcgarry
ecstatcpirate
Hi!
I got a 630 on GMAT with 47 on quants and 30 on verbals. I think i did fairly well on the quants. I am planning to reappear for the exam.
I need to increase my verbal score from 30 to 40.

Last time i prepared using a premium magoosh subscription, and a copy of powerscore cr bible and manhattan sc guide.

What should be my approach for scoring higher on verbal this time ?

Thanks.
Dear

I'm happy to respond. :-)

My friend, do appreciate the profound ambiguity in your question? When a student said, "I used the Manhattan SC Guide," this could mean
1) I skimmed through this once in an afternoon
2) I read this once through, every word
3) I read this once through, practicing each practice problem and studying the explanations
4) I re-read each section I didn't understand multiple times
5) I not only re-read every part of the book, but also wrote extensive notes on everything I didn't understand.

You see, with any of the sources you mentioned, there are multiple levels of possible engagement. As a general rule, I would say that the MGMAT SC book contains everything you need to ace SC on the GMAT. I can't speak to the Powerscore CR Bible, but I have great respect for the MGMAT CR book. I also would say that the Magoosh videos & questions contain everything you need to get above a 700. Most sources have more than what most students need, but most people do not break the 700 barrier because they are not willing to put in the dedication and commitment demanded.

You said you used Magoosh: does this mean that you watched every lessons, and watched multiple times any lesson you didn't understand fully? does this mean that you watched every video explanation to every question you got wrong? Does it mean that you kept an and reviewed it? With any source, there are multiple levels of engagement at which to "use" it.

It may help you to find another good source---the MGMAT CR and RC books are great. I would say, though, it might be that you will see more score improvement from pursuing greater depth rather than greater breadth. Chasing different resources is a trap for many students: let me use sources A, B, C, and if those don't get me the results I want, I will use sources D, E, and F. The trouble is that students fail to address the constant, the level of commitment & diligence & engagement they bring to each and every new resource.

More than any source new or old, I would recommend the habits of excellence--you will see a discussion at the bottom of that blog. I don't think there's a magic source out there that will automatically give you the improvement you seek, but I think if you can significantly increase your engagement with each and every aspect of the studying, then even the sources you already used can give you a tremendous boost, because with much deeper engagement you will mine them for everything you missed in them the first go-round.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)

HI! mikemcgarry

Thanks for replying. :)
I understand the ambiguity in my question.
I went through the entire Manhattan Sc guide and the Powerscore CR bible multiple times. I watched almost all of Magoosh's quants and verbal videos. I practiced them from time to time to revise the core concepts. I maintained an error log and did extensive practice. I practiced questions from Magoosh's question bank, OG and gave 5 MGMAT tests.
Initially i was scoring about 28 on verbal, but with time i was able to increase my score to 35. But i got a 30 on my final test.

I am reappearing for GMAT on 18th October and i wish to strengthen my Verbal so as to ace the Verbal section this time and score 700+.
But, i am a bit confused regarding what approach should i follow, since i have already practiced all questions in the OG and Magoosh Question base.
I have recently downloaded some 700-800 level questions from gmatclub for the verbal section. I am thinking of practicing them.

So, it would be of great help if you could guide me on what approach should i follow to ace the verbal section. And, also since i have already taken the 2 free GMAT prep tests and 5/6 MGMAT tests, i would like to know which test series should i further take
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mikemcgarry
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Magoosh GMAT Instructor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Last visit: 06 Aug 2018
Posts: 4,485
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29,377
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Expert reply
Posts: 4,485
Kudos: 29,377
630(Q-47,V-30) on GMAT 20 Sep 2016, 11:55
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ecstatcpirate
HI! mikemcgarry

Thanks for replying. :)
I understand the ambiguity in my question.
I went through the entire Manhattan Sc guide and the Powerscore CR bible multiple times. I watched almost all of Magoosh's quants and verbal videos. I practiced them from time to time to revise the core concepts. I maintained an error log and did extensive practice. I practiced questions from Magoosh's question bank, OG and gave 5 MGMAT tests.
Initially i was scoring about 28 on verbal, but with time i was able to increase my score to 35. But i got a 30 on my final test.

I am reappearing for GMAT on 18th October and i wish to strengthen my Verbal so as to ace the Verbal section this time and score 700+.
But, i am a bit confused regarding what approach should i follow, since i have already practiced all questions in the OG and Magoosh Question base.
I have recently downloaded some 700-800 level questions from gmatclub for the verbal section. I am thinking of practicing them.

So, it would be of great help if you could guide me on what approach should i follow to ace the verbal section. And, also since i have already taken the 2 free GMAT prep tests and 5/6 MGMAT tests, i would like to know which test series should i further take
Dear ecstatcpirate,

I'm happy to respond. :-) You have only a few weeks until your next GMAT, and you want to see a sizable increase. I assume you are prepared to devote 6-8 hrs a day each day if you want to improve this much in such a short time.

I would recommend this blog article:
[url="https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/how-to-improve-your-gmat-verbal-score/"]How to Improve Your GMAT Verbal Score[/url]
You need to push yourself to read challenging works in English every single day. That will be a big help. I would recommend the MGMAT books on CR and RC. If you haven't used it already, I would recommend the OG Verbal Review book. I assume you know that you can buy additional questions for GMAT Prep.

Finally, I will say that it's not at all unusual to see your score drop a bit on the real GMAT. Students who see a trend of improvement through their studying erroneously think that this trend will include the real test, and it very seldom happens that way. See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/lower-on-the-real-gmat-than-on-practice-tests/
If you practice the stress-management skills as assiduously as you practice the academic skills, you are likely to see a stronger performance.

Does all this make sense?
Mike :-)