First Attempt- GMAT

Question

Dear Experts,

I gave my first gmat attempt yesterday and scored a poor 620. I cancelled my score. I actually knew that I was on the verge of ruining the exam because
A. I had only taken official free test 1 in which I scored a 650.
B. I have been preparing since November first week actually and since I had barely finished the curriculum, I was very under confident.
C. I finished my OG completely apart from doing a few questions from GMAT Club forums.
D. I have taken the Magoosh Premium plan. I could only finish around 8% of their verbal questions before my test.

I knew in way that this was coming, however one thing that I did not understand as to why my verbal went so bad. After my first mock (15 days before actual exam) and my actual exam I could improve my timing and accuracy of Verbal but I was so unable to replicate the same.

Also I am from India. At my Test Centre in Delhi I had to get my markers changed thrice. Even then they were not working properly. Is that an issue generally?

I am posting here to ask as to what are the things I should do to improve in verbal. Quant I think I can manage.

Attempt I - Q49 V27- 620

Posted from my mobile device

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Gratz on the Q49. That's a solid score.

When it comes to Verbal, you may need to spend a bit of time to increase that depending on what total score you are looking to achieve. In addition to whatever online course, textbook, Verbal tutor or method of self-study you decide upon, one more thing you could do is to read articles from The Economist.

arnab2312 · Answer

Thanks for the reply. I have in fact started reading more books and magazines and shall try improving my reading and comprehending skills. That apart, can you give me some better resources for RC improvement.

Thanks un advance :)

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anoushki · Answer

Hi  arnab2312 , 
For the marker part,
I gave my tests in Delhi too and they weren't an issue for me.
- Try to check the markers beforehand
- The markers have a special ink which dries up if you don't use them for 10 secs or more. So the only solution is to cap the markers when you don't intend to use them for a long time.
I understand how little things such as these can trouble someone in the actual test.

For Verbal, you might want to re-read fundamentals, practice abundantly and make an excel tracker to track your progress and issues across CR, RC and SC!

arnab2312 · Answer

Hi  anoushki 
Thank You so much. That’s actually a new information. I will surely make sure to cap the marker between use the next time. I actually checked them but none of them were working very well till last.... like even after 3 iterations. For ex, while trying to write fast or drawing lines... it was very frustrating actually. But may be it was my fault. Will surely take care. For verbal I have just started with LSAT RC by Powerscore since comprending difficult passage became my biggest stumbling block. My verbal was actually going good till the 10th question. Then a very complex RC with 6 questions stumped me. I kept in reading it. Was a legal passage. Then after the whole test was ruined. So RC is my weakest area followed by CR.

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AnirudhaS · Answer

This is quite unusual. I guess 4 is normal, 5 is possible, but 6? You sure about it?

arnab2312 · Answer

Yes. There were 6 questions. And I wasted a lot of time.

Posted from my mobile device

anoushki · Answer

Hi, 
So for RC, I would really suggest you to read Gin's notes and try to implement the strategies. They helped me change the way I approach RCs and its questions.
Beyond that, practice is surely the key. Practice more passages and specifically the kind that bother you.
Once you feel you are nailing easy and medium, move to more complex ones. LSAT/MGMAT is a good source for complex passages.

For CR,
Try to improve your process. Read Power score CR Bible. That might give you new ways to approach specific types of questions.

In general, give more mocks before your next attempt and try to establish consistentcy in your scores. 
If you still aren't very sure of what really was the problem with your test, I suggest taking an ESR. It is a great $30 investment. After my first attempt, I too wasn't very sure of the what went wrong but my esr opened my eyes as the area it pointed out as problematic was one I never considered would be.

anoushki · Answer

Also saying this because sometimes we err in our perception. If you really did see complex RC passages it's probably because you were doing well there and maybe need more practice on other areas first. So if you aren't too sure, go for an ESR!

arnab2312 · Answer

Thanks anoushki . I will surely check my ESR then. Also I want to better my reading and comprehending skills, so hopefully will be able to up the game from here onwards. Thanks a ton.

Posted from my mobile device

anoushki · Answer

No worries. All the best!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi arnab2312,

I have 3 perfect articles for you. If you have any questions after reading these feel free to reach out.

GMAT Sentence Correction: 8 Essential Tips

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

GMAT Critical Reasoning: 8 Essential Tips

arnab2312 · Answer

Thanks a lot  ScottTargetTestPrep . I will surely get in touch.

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi arnab2312,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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 1 CAT result - along with your Official Score - shows that you essentially performed the same each time (about 630 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

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 long have you studied in total? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What is your overall goal score?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

arnab2312 · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hi Rich,

First of all thanks for the detailed reply. To answer your questions:

1) How long have you studied in total?  How many hours did you typically study each week?--- I have been studying for 2 months now, with 2 hrs every weekday and 4-5 hrs. during the weekends as part of my overall preparation.
 2) What is your overall goal score? -- I am aiming at anything above 750.
 3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to? - As soon as I am done with my GMAT. I am planning to apply by April.

I am trying to improve my verbal drastically. However, my actual verbal accuracy was reduced by a huge margin since I just took 1 mock. (I wanted to take a shot at the actual exam owing to an R3 deadline of a college).

As far as the ESR is concerned, I am still thinking, since I clearly know that too much test anxiety took a toll on me that day. I just wasn't ready it seems. However, I want to practice verbal to an extent wherein the Test becomes apparently easier (from the current levels of appearing very tough), under timed circumstances of course.

Thanks in advance.

Regards.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi arnab2312,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so since you studied for just 2 months, you might naturally improve as you continue to study.

Since we're now entering the latter half of the application cycle, if you are interested in any highly-competitive Schools, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

As an aside, the 750+ score is approximately the 98th percentile - meaning that clearly most GMATers never score that high. Thankfully, NO Business School requires a score that high. There's no harm in making that your Score Goal, but it's important to realize that the score that you "want" and the score that you "need" to get into your first-choice School are probably not the same thing.

Statistically-speaking, raising a 620 to the point that you can consistently score 750+ 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.

1) 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?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

arnab2312 · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hi Rich,

The reason why I have to aim for a score above 750 is that there are certain things about my profile which probably I have to compensate by virtue of the higher score. Of course, I don’t expect a complete offset, nonetheless a certain compensation can be expected I guess.

Now coming to study hours. I am going to dole out a consistent 4hrs daily on weekdays and 6-7 hrs on the weekends from now on. Performance anxiety took a huge toll on my Gmat. Lack of enough practice and lack of strategies (owing to just 1 mock), seem to be the main reasons apparently. I am planning to go for an in centre GMAT only.

Mostly I need to improve my verbal. In Quant, DS mistakes cost me the upper 2 points.

As far as profile evaluation is concerned, correct me if I am wrong, guess almost all of them would ask for a GMAT score. I cancelled mine though. So....

Posted from my mobile device

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi arnab2312,

Sorry to hear about how things went with your GMAT. But the good thing is, you know the problem. You haven't done the preparation completely. So, that reflects in your score. Next time, make sure you are done with your entire prep and then give the test.

How to approach Verbal? 
Verbal questions can be very tricky. You will often come across close answer choices which are worded similarly. So, it's important that you are conceptually clear and that you use the right methods and strategies to solve questions. Remember that, GMAT Verbal is all about eliminating four answer choices rather than choosing the right one.

So, I suggest you to focus on the methods along with the concepts. When you finish learning the concepts of any topic,   make sure that you learn the methods to solve question types tested from that topic.  
 Once you do this, practice a few questions to solidify your learning.  
 Repeat the process for all the topics 
 Once you are done with all the topics, start taking timed quizzes to get used to the time constraint

This is how you should go about preparing for Verbal. Hope it helped. If you wish to have a detailed discussion regarding the study strategy, you can get in touch using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi arnab2312,

Even if you do not have your 'final' GMAT Score yet, an Admissions Expert should be able to assess all of the other aspects of your profile and offer some recommendations (such as the type of GMAT Score that you might 'need' for the Programs that you are interested in, the other areas of your profile that you need to improve and when you should apply - since we're past Round 2 for most Schools, you might have a better chance at receiving an invite if you waited until Round 1 of the next application cycle).

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Sounds good!

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