Hello Guys

My first post in GMAT CLUB.

Background:
Indian Engineer: working in the Manufacturing field 6+ years Experience.
Schooling: Local Language (Not English)
Target: GMAT-650 (planning to apply march. next year), mostly European Business schools.


I started GMAT preparation last year Jan-19. My friend suggests me to start preparation from MGMAT books, I read all these MGMAT books in the span of 2 months and I thought I am ready for the actual test. I wrote the 1st MGMAT mock. I scored 510 on my first mock. I don't know why but I thought I should get around 600 in the actual test. because some posted on the quora that actual mocks are easier than MGMAT mocks. so I booked my first GMAT test on 16 March 2019. and I scored 380 with Q32 V7, I was really frustrated with this score. I did not understand what's going wrong.

I took 3-4 week break and after reading some posts on GMAT club, I registered for the e-GMAT online verbal course, I thought I would be more focused on my verbal compared to Quant. I completed all the videos from e-GMAT in around 3-4 months (June-19 to Sept-19).
And started solving the GMAT verbal problems from their Scholarium platform. After completing all these videos Still, I get overall accuracy of (SC-40%, RC-40%, CR-30%).
Now I do not understand What went wrong??
After that, I revisited all of their videos in the next 1 months and again started solving their Scholarium questions. This time I was more confident on SC and CR. I was able to solve easy level questions with 70-90 % accuracy Medium around 60% and hard around 40%.
At that time I did not prepare for the Quant part. I was only solving some Quant questions from the GMAT CLUB. and at that time I thought If I get more than 600 on the GMAT then I am eligible for applying to some of the B-Schools in Europe.

I wrote MGMAT Mocks with a similar environment as per GMAT following are my scores
2nd MGMAT: 500 V21 Q38
3rd MGMAT: 530 V26 Q36

Now I do not understand what more I have to do. I thought I just didn't want to waste my time and money on this exam, I was not doing workout during my preparation so I was not in good shape, Most of the time I was spending on preparation. I used to work from 8.30 AM to 7.30 PM after that I was doing most of the prep. I thought I should write the GMAT Prep Official mock and based on that I should decide what next I have to do. In the Nov.19 I wrote Official Mock with similar GMAT like environment and following score I got

1st GMAT Prep Mock: 410 Q31 V16

I did not take the 2nd attempt or did not give the official GMAT because of this low score.

Now I literally gave up on this exam, I did not understand what more GMAT is asking? I was a good student in university. I was asking the question Is low GMAT score because I had never written any standardized test before or I was very anxious during the exam.

I took a break from GMAT preparation from Dec-2019 to Feb-2020 because there is no quick fix of the poor verbal score, so I did not prepare for next 2-3 months then COVID Padamic came into the picture our company has stopped working, and I went to my hometown, where I was working accessing my Office mail. I got some free time to think of GMAT once again.
Now it's March and I was doing my research for the GMAT Score improvement. I thought If I get a good score in GMAT Quant and If I manage Verbal in the 30s' then I can get around 630-640 in actual GMAT. So I thought I should prepare Verbal from GMAT Club and QG guide with the same question-solving approach as eGMAT (Pre-Thinking on CR and Meaning based approach in SC). and for Quant, I registered for the TTP course in March 2020 after their free 7days trial.

April-2020 to Mid-October -2020
I completed 86% of the lesson from the TTP. (strategy lesson did not finish) and 88% of the Quant problems (2100+ Questions). My overall accuracy was 82 % and avg time was 2.14 Min.
During this time I allocate most of my time to the GMAT quant section. Now I was very confident that during solving the Quant questions. I was able to understand exactly what the question is asking and How to approach solving a medium to difficulty level question. I booked my GMAT exam on 20th Nov 2020.

Mid-Oct 2020 - Mid.Nov 2020

I spend most of the time on completing TTP verbal lessons SC and CR. These are very detailed. I somehow completed a lesson and a couple of Verbal tests as well.
Now I plan to give the 2nd GMAT mock.

I write Official GMAT mock on 14th Nov 2020 in a similar GMAT like environment. I again scored 450 (Q39 V13). Now I tried to postpone my actual GMAT exam but I could not postpone it for free of cost. I don't want to waste more money so I thought I should write on the 20th nov. and I score 440 in actual GMAT at test center (Q39 V13- same as my Mock)

Now, I am planning to complete my remaining TTP quant and Verbal module, and QG questions apart from that please let me know How to improve my verbal score?
I am planning to give my next GMAT attempt in End of Feb so I have in total 3 months.

Hi Amit700,

As you plan to do, I think it's a very good idea to first complete 100 percent of TTP. Once you do, feel free to reach out to me directly and we can discuss the next steps.
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Hi Amit700,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your CAT score results going back to November, 2019 - and your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 430 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Since you have been performing at this same general level for over a year, it is likely that you have developed some 'bad habits' that are keeping you from scoring higher. Before you can consistently score at a higher level, we need to fix those habits (and replace them with new 'good habits'). By extension, continuing to work through 100s and 100s of additional practice questions (using the same approaches that you used over the last year) will probably NOT lead to a big improvement.

Statistically-speaking, raising a 430 to the point that you can consistently score 650+ will likely require that you commit to at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to and what specific application deadlines are you facing?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Thank you so much for your feedback.
yes, I got a similar score in my mock and actual exam. But I improve my quant score from Q31 to Q39 but my I scored badly in my verbal. following are my answer to your questions:

1) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
- I was studying (1.5 hrs weekdays and 8 hrs in Weekend)

2) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
-GMAT at a Test centre

3) What Schools are you planning to apply to and what specific application deadlines are you facing?
- European B-schools
WHU, HHL, ESMT, Mannheim Business School
- Application deadline march-2021

Best Regards
Amit

Hello Scott,
I will complete TTP in the coming week and I will be in contact with you. In my last attempt, I did very less study for reading comprehension, Please suggest me how to improve RC? I am struggling a lot in RC.

Thank you
Regards
Amit

Hi Amit700,

Since you're not planning to retake the GMAT until the end of February (and your application deadlines are not until March), you still have plenty of time to study and improve. That having been said, since you have just a little more than 3 months of potential study time, you will have to be really efficient with your studies going forward. If you want to finish the resources that you are currently using, then that might be fine - but the type of Score improvement that are after will require that you make significant changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections - and it is not clear how you are going to do that if you're simply working through more practice materials in the same ways that you worked through previous materials.

You might consider taking a NEW practice CAT/mock this weekend (or sometime shortly after that) so that we can see if you are making any substantive changes to your Test-taking routine. Once you have your next CAT Score, you should post back here (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Consider regularly reading articles from The Economist to improve your Verbal.
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Here is a perfect article for you:

GMAT Reading Comprehension Tips: Top 8 DOs and DON’Ts
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