Consistent Decline in Scores

which company mock test did you take?
have you taken subscription of GC tests? if not take it , they are gem..
evaluate your tests why you got question wrong , there must be some gap in your learning work on your weakness.

Hi Marty,

Thank you for your reply. My scores were:

590 - V35, Q35
510 - V27, Q32
490 - V25, Q32

AM017
You can make significant improvements in quant scores. Explore the link for quant: https://gmatquantum.com/official-guides ... at-videos/

Good Luck!

Were those official practice tests, third-party tests, or a mix?

If they were third-party tests or a mix of tests, from which sources did each come?

All of these were unique official mocks

Hi AM017,

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:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What OGs have you used so far? To confirm, did you take Official CATs/mocks 1-3?
3) On what dates did you take each of your CATs/mocks?
4) 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

So, we could maybe consider your first test score an outlier, but there is also the possibility that what you have been doing to prepare has actually driven your score down for some reason. Such a result of preparation is not that uncommon, particularly in verbal, because many approaches for answering questions that are promoted by test prep companies and others don't actually work that well. So, you have to be careful what you learn.

To develop a clearer understanding of how to increase your verbal score, you could read this post.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

On another note, regardless of what you have been learning, probably you have to MUCH more practicing than you have done by almost finishing the OG. For both quant and verbal, you likely have to do dozens of categorized practice questions to master each topic, as in dozens of Weaken questions, one after the other, dozens of overlapping sets questions, dozens of exponents questions, etc.

Also, to get to 700+, you have to be achieving accuracy of at least around 80 percent on quant practice questions, close to 100 percent on easy verbal practice questions, and 80 percent on medium and hard verbal practice questions.

For some more insights into how to practice, see these posts.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/mastering-th ... 58019.html

Three Key Practice Tips for Mastering GMAT Verbal

So, to sum up, in general, to increase you score, you have to master the GMAT one topic at a time. To master a topic, you first review or learn the relevant concepts and strategies. Then you practice by answering practice questions involving that topic, untimed at first, and then faster as you become more skilled in that topic. Then, you move on to the next topic and do the same thing. By mastering one topic at a time, you eventually master the entire test and score 700+.

Dear AM017,
I also read these materials, but these books did not bring me the visible result. The issue is that reading the materials and learn from them are two different things. Thus, to improve my verbal score I have started to employ the TTP service, because its well organized study plan and unique approach already have helped me to ameliorate my Quant score. I have not consummated the Verbal part yet, but what do I say is that its curriculum, not only covers all general materials but also provides step by step guide to hone the acquired knowledge. You can take its diagnostic test to check where you are.

Thanks a ton for such a detailed review/answer for my query. I have begun re-doing my topics for the test. Thanks a lot

Hi AM017

Official guide is a good collection of Questions, so definitely it is a very good book for practising questions, but it shouldn't be your starting point for preparation. Let me explain why

When it comes to scoring well on GMAT, a student has to go through 3 skill levels

Skill Level 1 (the easiest one) - Having a strong grasp over concepts

This is the most fundamental aspect and hence needs to be done first. The OG won't do a good job at this because it just touches upon the concepts tested on GMAT and hence isn't enough. Remember that this skill level will only take you to a 550-600 kind of a level on GMAT. For a higher score, you need to move to Skill Level 2. Let's see what it is.

Skill Level 2 (the most ignored one) - Learning a methodical approach

Most students jump from concepts to directly solving questions without realizing that GMAT requires them to be methodical and logical. Hence, it is important that you learn the right method to solve various questions. For example, in order to solve 2 linear simultaneous equations, you need to start by equating a set of co-efficient and then eliminating that variable and so on. Now, video lessons alone won't help you to develop a methodical approach. You need to have a structured resource that follows a consistent approach and focuses a lot on teaching it. Sadly, such resources are scarce. If you develop a methodical approach, your score will be in the vicinity of the 650-720 mark.

Skill Level 3 (commonly focused one) - Working on Gaps/weaknesses

Another thing that most students follow but they do so before even working on Skill Level 2. Ideally you need to maintain an error log to ensure you keep track of your weak areas and work on them as and when needed.

Skill 3 is mostly where the OG fits perfectly.

The importance of using a standard resource:

The only method to make sure that you invest your time, money and effort in an effective way is to use a standard resource which teaches you the concepts, strategies and also helps you work on your weaker areas. Studying using OG or a few random resources might help you to solve GMAT like questions but I’m afraid that they won’t be able to help you much from a strategy perspective.

I would suggest you to go for some standard course for your preparation which can help you prepare in a structured and efficient manner thereby increasing your productivity.

I hope this post helps and gives you some perspective about effective preparation. Feel free to connect if you have any questions your preparation. I will be happy to help!