Advice/opinion on inconsistent GMAT score in a day

Hi. Are you sure you did. It swap out Q and V scores? Did you get Q36 V49 and not Q49, V36?


If you indeed got V49, I am very very impressed but your Q score will need a lot of help.


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Hi BB, thanks for the reply. Apologies, it was my bad and I fixed the post. The correct one is V36 Q49 lol

That's why I was asking if there's a way to improve the V section methodically, and not the Q section.

Got it. That’s what I thought. Sorry it looks like. I also made a typo. In my post asking you about a typo 😂

I am interested in your verbal score differences. There’s a difference in question bank size and question difficulty between GMAT prep Test 2 and Test 3.

Test two has a very large database of questions or as test three only has the exact number of questions needed for the test, and even if you reset it, you’ll still get the same questions, no matter how you respond to them, which kind of makes the whole adaptive algorithm not very effective since You don’t have a large database of questions …

Anyway, the current situation with the GMAT is more of the test three situation, where they don’t have many questions available because they have to supply separate question banks for the online test and for the in person test. It does not mean you’ll get an amazing score because of that, but it is a positive potentially.

Improving verbal is a hard and difficult question. It is so vague in general. It’s almost like someone asking. How do I get a job. The answer probably would be very different depending on if you wanted to be working at McDonald’s versus McKenzie. Same ways with verbal, while there is no McDonald’s in Verbal, the purchase, a very different and require a different Practice and skills for verbal. I would suggest to you too be very specific in what you’re trying to do. If you ask him questions, ask, actionable questions such as how can I improve my timing in sentence correction or how can I get my accuracy rate from 50 to 70% in reading comprehension or how can I answer assumption questions faster Or more accurately. You would be more likely to get specific recommendations for specific actions rather than asking, extremely generic, global questions. I understand the allure of getting a magic answer but the chances of that answer are zero. 😇

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Hi Yzreel,

There are a variety of factors that can impact your performance on a CAT/mock, including the type of Exam that you're using, the time of day that you start the Exam, the testing conditions, how well-rested you are, if you see any 'repeat' questions (that you had previously solved), etc. This is meant to say that you should absolutely be thinking in terms of you can put yourself in the best mental, physical and psychological positions for Test Day, but we can't assume that you're consistently able to hit a 700+ Score just yet.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) Have you taken any additional CATs/mocks besides the 3 that you mentioned? On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

Thank you so much for the insightful reply! I had my consideration that it might be partially because of a different exam package, and it's nice to know that I wasn't wrong. It's also interesting to know that the actual exam will be closer to the third Test Prep instead of the second, and definitely is helpful to how it makes sense for me.

In regards to the "improving verbal", let me explain a bit more about how it works for me:
1. I have usually had no issue for the CR and RC. I feel like (and generally the results also show that) my CR and RC are good. However, I find it difficult to understand how or why I do good. I cannot break it down methodically like I can in Quant or SC, other than "well just read it and use logic". I would like to know if it's possible to approach CR and RC in a more step-by-step manner, so I can see definite increase in my ability;
2. In CR, I generally find it a bit more difficult to answer questions that includes inverse-proportion (like if y increase than the ratio of x to y will decrease), or if there are multiple factors that may contribute to something (like if a, b, c, and d all have an effect to x. which is the one that has the most effect to x?);
3. In RC, I think I have issues upon deciding between two of (what I feel) equally logical answer, and which is why I consider point number 1 is important because I cannot find the "tiebreaker" when I face a dilemma;
4. in SC, I have particular difficulty in dealing with modifier-usage (like verb-ing), conjunction (like "that" or "while"), and sentence structure (like if the options change the entire structure entirely from "x, then y and z" in one option and then "y and z happened because of x").

Do you have any tips in dealing with the issues highlighted above? In particular, point 1 is the most important for a tip, I think. Thank you!

Hi Rich! Thank you so much for replying.
Yes, I don't think I'd be quite consistent in getting 700+ and I'll definitely work on it while I increase my point.

Here are the answers to your questions:
1. I've studied for a total of around 120 hours, roughly 10 hours per week;
2. I've only used the official guide (just finished the whole book), but for concepts that I didn't understand I've been perusing youtube videos, mainly "Tested Tutor" for Q and "GMAT Ninja" for V;
3. No, I haven't. Do you suppose I should? If so, which one to take? I've heard the Manhattan prep is good for mock up?;
4. I'm aiming for 700+, and would be extremely glad to get 730+ score.;
5. I intend to apply in the January round on two different GMAT tests:
a. First GMAT test (somewhen in November, initially intended to take it in the 3rd but will probably move it to 16th or 23rd so I have more study time), will apply to the following: LBS and Insead (Reach), IESE (Par), Cambridge and Oxford (Safety) for the European MBAs.
b. Second GMAT test (somewhen in December, at the latest the 14th because of 20-days result and the earliest deadline in this batch is the 4th of January. I was hoping that during the time from the first GMAT test to this, I can squeeze in more study time and get better score), will apply to the following: Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton (Reach), Yale (Par), and Cornell (Safety) for the US MBAs.

Any tip/advice on any of these would be much appreciated, thank you very much!

P.S: What's your best tip for the "last spurt", especially on Verbal? I don't seem to improve in that department.

Consider working on your solving approach. May help boost your score. Had a 6-hour student who went from a V41 to a V45 in about 10 days (retake). Perhaps work with a study buddy with strong Verbal skills.

Some Verbal tips and resources (idiom list) on the GMAT Knight blog you may find helpful. For assumption questions, learning the negation technique, for example, may be good to know.

How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?

Thank you for the reply. Any particular detail in solving approach you are talking about? I suppose you're referring to the vids?

Also 10 days? That's impressive! But I thought you can only retake after 16 days?

That's the thing. I _am_ the one with best Verbal score around lol. I am not from an english-speaking country.

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A person may go from the in-person to the Online and vice versa below that limit. You could technically schedule them on consecutive days. There's a study buddy thread on gmatclub you may want to check out.

Hi Yzreel,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com