690-690-690-740 Q50 V40 IR8

Hi, everyone!
I did not participate in many discussions, but I learned a lot from this forum, and I want to add some fresh perspective

I did real GMAT exam thrice in 2015, and all of them ended equally with the same score 690
Aug 15 - 690 Q48 V36
Sep 15 - 690 Q50 V32
Dec 15 - 690 Q48 V35

I almost gave up, because no matter how hard I tried, solving thousands questions, the result did not change.

I postponed application from R2 to R1 next year and changed the way I study. Two month ago I started to refresh my skills and read through Verbal Manhattan GMAT books one more time. Instead of being strong and try to brute-force GMAT by doing tons of questions, I started to look for reasons for a failure.
What I did:
1) Added error log
2) Analyzed ALL questions I did wrong and some of the questions, in which I was unsure
3) Analyzed my practise test

I did a lot of practise tests


As you can see in 680 MGMAT results I was stubborn and was punished with low quant score, I just could not let it go and tried to figure it out how to solve question.
I know, I know, you would probably read it in 100th time, but - GUESS AND MOVE ON. Did you hear me? GUESS AND MOVE ON
Also I realised that I learned nothing new in 2016, but my score settled in 700+ mark. What had been changed?
My guess is that I learned how to manage stress and "GUESS and MOVE ON".
I reduced stress by taking as many practise exams and as close to real conditions as possible and found my good balance between speed and accuracy.

Also I tried to understand WHY I did particular question wrong, and WHAT I need to do in order to get rid of that mistake
Error log helped me a lot in answering that question, it literally forced me to fill in a reason of getting wrong answer. Turned out that I did a lot of silly mistakes, so I adjusted my style to minimize such mistakes.
Also I liked how I did stats, looks very informative to me


I would say error log per se was not so valuable. It just forced me to analyze mistake and adjust my strategy

Here is my error log, although it contains some Russian words, I hope they do not need to be explained


Today I managed to earn 740 Q50 V40 IR8. The test felt almost like GmatPrep. I think this is it, GMAT is done, time to "move on"

In conclusion
- study smart, not hard
- Guess and move on
- find balance between speed and accuracy
- GUESS AND MOVE ON!

P.S. Also I want to thank a particular person mikemcgarry
Hey, Mike! Thanks for your contribution, your posts are simply amazing, precise, straight to the point and contain immense value. Your ideas really shine throughout this forum!

P.P.S Guys, did I tell you to GUESS AND MOVE ON? Okay, have fun, I am open for your questions, if you have some