Consistantly scoring very low on Practice Test - Don't know

Question

Hi There,

I have started studying for gmat about 5 months ago, and I am STILL getting pretty much around the same score as I've started out with.
I started out with taking a prep course that was offered at the school that I want to attend (figured that was a good way to get to know people and everyone else). I didn't find the course very helpful, nor the instructor either. I've continuously came up to him with these concerns but he assured me that it would get better with time.

It hasn't. I've been studying on my own after the course. I've gone through the Manhattan prep material. 
Problem is, every question for quant somehow seems new to me. I have very good basic math skills, but somehow on GMAT questions I seem to get duped. It's really frustrating and I am not sure what to do. Verbal is not too far from that. I seem to get somehow hypnotized by the jargon written in there, and 1/2 way through the actual test, i have no idea what is going on.

My stamina for the test is pretty bad too. I just can't sit for 4 h and concentrate. I find this very difficult.

Having said all that, lol, does anyone have any suggestions for me? I am pretty much clueless as to where to turn to for help and what to do. Getting classes just seem like a waste of money. I think i really need to make a fresh new strategy on how to go about this.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

soods26 · Answer

How well do would you say do you know your content? Both for quant and verbal.

Say, I asked you what is the sum of numbers in an arithmetic progression would you have an answer in seconds? OR say I asked you about usage of present perfect tense or past perfect, would you have some examples pop up in your head right away?

If you aren't confident on questions like the ones I've asked you above, might need to work more on content. MGMAT for quant, SC and RC is a great resource. If you would like to polish CR you could have a look at the power score bible.

My signature has a link to my de-brief, which might give you some ideas on how to look to improve. Hope this helps.

Vips0000 · Answer

Well, practice will make u better no doubt about that.. . Try using error logs to find out specific types of mistakes u r making.. focus on one concept at a time.. master it and move on to next.. I am a big fan of gmatclub toolkit app.. that should help u in keeping track of what u do.. However,looking at a bigger picture -- do you know whats ur target score? and do u know if thats really required for the colleges that u r targeting? GMAT will not be the criteria that would keep u out of ur dream school..its just one of the factors.. . Try answering these bigger picture questions and if answers make sense.. go for the error log thing

hope it helps.. :twisted:

Yela · Answer

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Thank you very much on your reply and on your feedback. I would say that my math skills are ok, verbal need to work on. Especially reading comprehension and critical reasoning. It seems that I have not "cracked the method" on solving these questions. I would say that is the main problem.

Do you have any advice here?

Abdul29 · Answer

If you analyze question patterns and carefully read each question, you could almost always relate to certain concepts, don't rush things, don't think of the answer immediately, really think the question through and see beneath the words.

This sums up roughly 50% of your problem, you always have to simulate test environment, for example, I always answer quant questions in multiples of 37 under timed conditions (not only PS, but DS too). Also, do as many CATs as you can, I'd recommend doing at least MGMAT + GMATPrep CATs.

GMATPill · Answer

Here's one perspective from which you can think about the GMAT.

Yes, the GMAT is pretty intimidating -- all kinds of concepts and reasoning brain teasers, etc..

But if you think about it - there's only so many types of ways that GMAT can test you on the same thing. There are somethings --- for example, the calculation of standard deviation, and other complex formulas -- that will definitely not be tested. The concept may be tested, but the calculation will not be tested. So if you hone in on the questions from the OG and GMATPrep -- you'll get a sense of what you might see on the actual test.

It's OK if you get many questions wrong - but the key is to learn from your mistakes. If you can learn from each mistake you make --- even if you initially get every question in the book wrong---as long as you learn from you, you should be able to eventually get everything correct.

Put yourself to the test -- keep asking yourself what you could have done differently to get the correct answer. Is there a different part of the question you could have focused on to save time? Is there a misreading on your part of exactly what the question is? If the question asks you for what 20% of x is ---and you do all the fancy math to solve for x----well, the answer is NOT x! ---it's 20% of x -- so don't fall for those kinds of traps. Learn from it -- and next time --- before you choose your final answer, make sure you are actually answering exactly what the question is asking you about.

So with this philosophy that there are only so many types of ways the GMAT can test you on ---as long as you keep learning from your mistakes -- you should eventually be able to master every GMAT question. From there, it's about repeating the process in a timed, pressured environment.

Only after you review your mistakes should you consider taking another practice test. When you do, try this one: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... ctice-test

And if you need assistance with the OG SC questions - take a look at our video solutions here: https://www.gmatpill.com/official-guide

amgmat15 · Answer

Good suggestion from GMAT. I was extremely disappointed from my gmat practice score, first one actually.(I gave it few days ago). I lost points at places i thought i shouldve known the answer! It was easy for me to know when i was certainly wrong and I realised the only way I could improve was to practice. From school days, i tend to practice the same thing over and over again. at certain points you are like, oh i could've done it this way too. You get different angles to the same problem, and this way it becomes easy to solve many types of problems. I am going to apply the same methodolgy to my gmat preparation. I only hope i dont end up wasting too much time in the prep

heyhadi · Answer

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Consistantly scoring very low on Practice Test - Don't know

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