Extremely depressed

Question

On Sept 22 I scored a 480 (25Q and 31V), the following day I signed up for Master GMAT and started studying, I've completed about 50% of the course so far for a total of about 83 hours.

Today I took the Master GMAT sim test and scored exactly the same...

Master GMAT is the only course/supplement I'm taking right now.

I am extremely distraught does anyone have any advice...

anon1 · Answer

As of now there are roughly 70 days until I retake the test...

I could jump switch to the GRE but I have already invested so much time and effort on the GMAT that I'm at a loss for what to do.

ilya.b · Answer

My advice - no tricks, no shortcuts, get down to basics.

Get Manhattan GMAT books and work hard on fundamentals until you nail them all down.

Keep in mind that if you target 700+, seventy days will be a challenging timeline.

bb · Answer

Have you seen any improvement in the sections themselves?
Sometimes it is too early to measure the progress if you have only covered some areas partially (e.g. half the quant and half the verbal).

What was your improvement pre-Sept 22? What was your original diagnostic?

P.S. What made you sign up with Master GMAT? Seems like you pulled the trigger very fast.

souvik101990 · Answer

70 days is not bad at all.
Master GMAT is clearly not working out for you
Try something else
Start with comparatively inexpensive options such as MGMAT or Aristotle Books.
Take a diagnostic in 15 days to check your progress.

anon1 · Answer

480 (25Q and 31V) was the ACTUAL GMAT test. And the Master GMAT practice I took gives you an estimate, here is a copy/paste

Overall: 470 - 500
Quant: 23 - 26
Verbal: 33 - 35

I guess I've improved by 2 points on the verbal, but quant is exactly the same. What made me sign up with Master GMAT was urgency in timing. I was planning on applying in R1, I received the 480 and knew time was of the essence so I picked the program with the highest rating and went for it. I did the trial and thought it was good.

My original diagnostic (before even the real GMAT) was 600, but I took this test under unrealistic timing. This original diagnostic was done through the official GMAT people I believe.

bb · Answer

Yes, looks like you got some improvement but not a whole lot. 
Usually 2 main items contribute to lack of progress:
- Lack of strong foundations
- Not timing yourself in exercises

(of course sometimes you may be not measuring your progress well. I have no idea how Master GMAT tests compare).

If you are not confident in the course - you should speak up now. Bring it up to the management and see if they can switch you to a diff instructor/class - assuming you have one that is. You don't want to waste money here as you can use it for something else (e.g. buy MGMAT or Veritas Prep books)

OldFritz · Answer

Hi anon,

To repeat a cliche, Rome was not built in a day. There's no need to be depressed so relatively early I the prep process. People have been known to devote more than a year to achieve GMAT dream targets.

However, I do agree with the previous posters that you might need to revisit fundamentals in both Quant and Verbal. The MGMAT books can serve you well there. To see real improvements, you need to start from basics and build from there. There are myriads of other resources on the forum that you can easily search for. Most importantly, you need to draw a study plan that fits your goals and preparation needs. In addition, you should speak to someone to decide on how realistic your schedule is and take it from that point.

All the best as you work your way up.

Cheers,
Der alte Fritz.

Posted from my mobile device

anon1 · Answer

Thanks guys, my confidence is slowly coming back...

GMAT #2 
27 Oct 2012
560 - 610 Q: 32-35 Verbal: 37 - 40

Just have to keep studying as smart and as hard as possible... The key is smart, learning the basics and fundamentals. Thanks for all the advice, I'm doing the best I can.

ngould · Answer

Going from a 480 to this score is a big jump. Congrats on the improvement. Keep your head up and don't sell yourself short. You have done well and will continue to see progress. Best of luck in your GMAT. Continue to keep us posted.

anon1 · Answer

Master GMAT #3
03 Nov 2012
610 - 640
Quant: 39 - 41
Verbal: 36 - 38

YEAH! went from 480 2 weeks ago, to 580 last week, to 620 this week.

I'm so happy about the improvement. The moral boost in seeing improvement is greater than the score itself because I get more inspiration to keep studying hard. I was so distraught two weeks ago that I started to doubt my actual intellectual capabilities, what a 180 in emotions.

ngould · Answer

Congrats on the improvement. That really is pretty amazing.

anon1 · Answer

Master GMAT #4
12 Nov 2012
650 - 680
Q 41 - 43 (%PERCENTILE 63 - 69)
V 40 - 42 (%PERCENTILE 89 - 95)

I AM FIRED UP NOW.

480 3 weeks ago, to 580 2 weeks ago, to 620 last week to 670 just now.

It's getting so close, the only step is to push the ball through the goal-line on the real thing.

Baracuda123 · Answer

Congrats man, keep it up.

I to started with a poor score in quant (around 30) and now I am seeing upper 40s!

At some point, you might get a feeling that you have mastered the test but the result would not represent that feeling. Fear not, it means that you have to work SMARTER instead of HARDER. In my case, getting Advanced MGMAT Quant helped out a ton.

I am telling you this because at some point of my studying I began to feel that I reached my peak. If I did not continue I would have settled with a mediocre score. Good luck man!

anon1 · Answer

Barracuda, you're right.

I failed to improve for the first time since starting Master GMAT

Master GMAT #5
18 Nov 2012
640 - 670
Q 40 - 42 (60 - 66%tile)
V 39 - 41 (88 - 94%tile)

This is make or break on the road to break 700 I feel. I roughly a month and a half left until D-day so I'm confident.

Any suggestions on how to break past this barrier on working smarter vs harder would be great.

Baracuda123 · Answer

What helped me a lot was a simple and obvious thing: write everything down, even though it is very simple.

The reason is as follows: Your brain has a limited working memory. There is only so much you can visualize or so much information you can keep on top of your head when approaching a difficult problem. If you write things down, you will be able to free up some memory in your brain to upgrade your thoughts/thinking. This is especially important in Data Sufficiency (i.e. testing positive and negative numbers to fit the statement), inequalities and geometry.

In my opinion, going through 1000s of problems is not going to get you there by itself. I cannot explain it to you why, because I am in similar situation like you except that I have considerably more time to figure it out.

Hope you find this information a little bit useful

anon1 · Answer

Ugh.... Last week I scored a 650 on the GMATPrep practice test.

This week I took another MasterGMAT test and scored a 580......

Overall: 580
Quant: 34
Verbal: 33
IR: 5

I finished the MasterGMAT course about 2 weeks ago and have been going through practice problems since, and then reviewing since. I do feel not as sharp though.... I moved from SD to SF this week so that may have played a role? but doubt it.

Now I am stressed, I feel like I don't have a strong game plan right now. ugh

anon1 · Answer

So I have focused on nothing but Quant for the past couple of weeks because I thought my verbal was awesome.

I just scored a 640 (practice test)

Q: 47
V: 32

Now my Quant is good and now my verbal sucks AGH. ACtually relieved though, because I much rather prefer verbal than Q, and will be easier to study.

My actual GMAT is on the 31st and Ive even booked a hotel. This has been a grueling 3 months......

anon1 · Answer

I just left the test center, the final and official results are in.

Total: 660
Quant: 42
Verbal: 39

Aggggh, goddamn verbal. The verbal was actually 90% but I feel had I got into 42 territory that 660 would be closer to the 700 mark... ditto for the quant ~47 range. The quant was 60%. Overall percentile was 82%

Oh well, I really did push myself as hard as I possibly could have. Considering that I started with a 480 it is not horrible.

Blax0r · Answer

This is really impressive considering where you started; congrats!

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Extremely depressed

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