GMAT in 1 month, need some advice on my Verbal strategy

Question

Dear Gmatclubers, I am writing this post because I need some help and advice from you guys ! Maybe from GMAT experts, but also from your personal experiences ...! - My situation : GMAT attempted 2 times : 480 January 2016, and 560 March 2016. Since my second attempt in March, I have worked hard every single day to improve both Quant and Verbal, which is my major weakness (I am non-native speaker). Today my general score is stuck around 600/630. Finally, my next real GMAT appointment is July 4th : 3 weeks !

- Quant : After 6 months of hard work my quant level is not a problem anymore !

I always score around Q49. I generally make 6/8 mistakes by exam, with 50% of silly mistakes. I am confident with this part! My goal is Q50. - Verbal : My score oscillates between V23 and V28. Generally speaking, I am too slow to complete this part : time is running out around question n°35... Accordingly, my 10 last answers are almost 75% false (stress, answering in the hurry, etc.), and my score collapses ! However, I have noticed that, individually, my accuracy for SC and CR questions is not that bad. My RC is bad. - Questions : Is it possible to score around V35, which is my goal, skipping the last RC ? I have red a post from a guy who has scored V44 with 100% accuracy on SC, CR, and only 1 RC, answering randomly the other RC. What do you think of this strategy ? Generally, what are your advices to improve from V25 to V35 ? I hesitate to subscribe on e-gamt, which seems to be effective for non-native speakers. But I have only one month... 3 weeks in fact. How should be my schedule for the next 3 weeks ? Thanks a lot for your help !!! Alex

diegocml · Answer

Hi Alex75PAris,

I'm sorry but I can't give you any feedback on your situation.

What I am really interested in learning is what materials you have used and how you have studied/organized/worked on your GMAT studies so far.

You mentioned you got a 480 on your first GMAT. What were your Quant and Verbal score?

Thanks a lot for your help and time and good luck!

Cheers,
Diego

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Alex,

Since you've been studying a certain way for so long, making the necessary changes to how you handle the Verbal section in just 3 weeks will be challenging. It's not impossible, but you'll have to learn/practice some new Tactics and eliminate any 'bad habits' that you've developed during your studies - and that might take more time than you've allotted.

1) What practice materials have you used?
2) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Test Date?

3) What is your overall score goal?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

Alex75PAris · Answer

Hi, The score of my first GMAT attempt was 480. I don't remembrer the detail between Quant and Verbal... I was so angry against myself to see this score on my srceen !! :evil:

My second score, 2 months after, was 560 Q42 V25. I was frustrated also, but I was more "OK, that's an improvement, and I am in the middle 50% percentile". Material used during my GMAT journey : 1/At the beginning : Kaplan books and Kaplan account online. I made almost all the questions in the "question bank" section, and (too) few lessons. I have red all the Kaplan books for verbal, and train every single question. I have also red 2 or 3 parts for quant, but thanks to my previous studies, it was not too hard for me. 2/After that, I continued my training only on the official software (GMAT Prep 1 and 2; I bought it after my second attempt to keep training on fresh questions). I have made every question of every section, except Reading Comprehension... I am ashamed to hear what I am writing now ! 3/Here, I was begging to understand that I needed more theory and lessons on Verbal Part ! better late than never... ! I subscribed on "https://www.gmatprepnow.com/", which is free. My SC accuracy improved, my general understanding and approach for CR was better... but my timing was always very bad. My Reading comprehension was still bad. And here I am, my next GMAT in 3 weeks, and about 10 verbal points to capture ! But I am not loosing hope, I feel it's possible ! I am now preparing my heavy schedule for my next 3 weeks, 75% based on verbal training ! And that's why I need hep, to have your advices, your feedbacks, etc. about how I should do that. EMPOWERgmatRichC : 1) What practice materials have you used? Above my answer. 2) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Test Date? No, unfortunately. After, it's summer time.... and I know I will not be able to work hard for GMAT 3) What is your overall score goal? My overall target is 670 and more. 4) When are you planning to apply to Business School? I f possible, in September for Round 1. But I am not against the idea to reschedule : Round 2, or next year if I have to ! I am training every day since 6 months... and GMAT is becoming too absorbing in my life, and you know, all good things must come to an end ! I need to finish this in 1 month !

GMATPill · Answer

Hi Alex,

Our program is actually designed to be completed in as little time as possible and still covering what you need to know for the exam. We have a 1 month program with daily emails reminding you what you need to do that day as a guideline.

You may find this video helpful in your studies: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... ythons.mp4

And this is also a great resource to do practice questions on: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test

Based on what you wrote - it sounds as if you've been doing lots of questions, but not necessarily learning from the mistakes you make. Reviewing and revisiting questions you have seen is an absolute critical component to effective studying and retention. So before you plow into another book of 1,000 questions -- be sure to review, review, review--in sets of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 20 questions -- mix it up. Do some SC, then some CR -- group them, etc. GMAT is a mental exam so you will constantly have to change your mindset as you progress through the test.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Alex,

I'd like to know a bit more about your recent CATs:

1) On what dates did you take your last 3 CATs?
2) What were the scores on each (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
3) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
4) Did you take them at home?
5) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
6) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
7) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE you took the CAT?

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

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hi Alex,

With the GMAT coming up in less than 3 weeks, I would suggest that you use some smart strategies while studying. I read that your accuracy in SC and CR is fairly decent, however I would urge you to also analyse your performance on these sections to maintain your consistency.

For Reading Comprehension, what is the technique that you are using? Do you spend a lot of time reading the dense information in the passages or is your problem in creating an effective map for the passage? Once you identify your problem area, the solution becomes fairly simple.

The best advise on Reading comprehension is to read the first few lines of each paragraph to grasp the essence of the information that follows. Make a very simple map! Your map must give you direction to search for the answer in the passage. Do not spend a lot of time in "understanding" what the information is about.

The second thing you need to figure out is what type of questions do you fail on the RC? Is it Main idea questions, Inference questions, Anchor-phrase questions etc. Once you know this, solve more questions to get comfortable with that question type. And yes, most important is to time your practice. Give yourself a total of 6-8 minutes while solving an RC passage - in this way, you will also train your mind to think under a timed environment.

I am also going to ask you to watch this video on the 5 challenges to overcome in RC: https://gmatonline.crackverbal.com/cours ... res/243897

This video will be a starting point to help you plan your approach

I hope this helps! All the Best for your test!

Alex75PAris · Answer

Hello,

First, I would like to thank you guys for your help and answers !

GMATPill:
Thank you, I will watch these videos for sure ! Every piece of advice, tips, etc. I can take is very useful.
I also know that I have to learn from my mistakes, but for verbal stuff it's easier said than done !
For quant you can categorize you weaknesses (geometry, combinatorics, etc.), but for verbal it's not that straight and simple.
OK, I will make sessions mixing SC CR and RC !

EMPOWERgmatRichC :
1) On what dates did you take your last 3 CATs?
My 3 last CATS, on official soft, were : June 12th, June 5th, and March 28th.
2) What were the scores on each (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
June 12th 610 Q49 V23, June 5th 640 Q49 V28, and March 28th 680 Q50 V32.
3) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
Not every time, but yes I try to make full exams, including AWA and IR to train my stamina.
4) Did you take them at home?
Yes at home
5) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
Almost. But generally speaking, I am not afraid and stressed about these "logistical" things. I have already taken the exam two times... so I already know the environnent, what will happen, etc. Moreover, I am lucky to live very close from the Parisian test center!
6) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
No, I follow the same timing.
7) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE you took the CAT?
Yes, that's the issue! For some CAT, I have already seen questions, making me react and think in a different way.

CrackVerbalGMAT :

For Reading Comprehension, what is the technique that you are using? Do you spend a lot of time reading the dense information in the passages or is your problem in creating an effective map for the passage?

My strategy (which is not 100% clear in my head):
I read the whole passage once at the beginning. I read everything.
While I am reading, I try to summarize each paragraph, or each idea within each paragraph.
My notes are maybe too long, and not very clear.
After this work done, I attack the questions. I always write "A B C D E" on my scratch paper, proceeding by elimination.
I rarely re-read my notes, and I often have to re-read some parts of the text.
Average time for reading = 6min ; for answering question = 2min
Accuracy= bad :cry:

The second thing you need to figure out is what type of questions do you fail on the RC?

Unlike for CR, for RC I am not thinking about the question type.
Is it a mistake ? On your side, do you always begin to analyze the question type ?

Thank you for the video, I will watch it this evening before training

Finally, thanks again to everyone, and thank to gmatclub and its awesome community !

Alex

The second thing you need to figure out is what type of questions do you fail on the RC? Unlike for CR, for RC I am not thinking about the question type. Is it a mistake ? On your side, do you always begin to analyze the question type ? Thank you for the video, I will watch it this evening before training

Finally, thanks again to everyone, and thank to gmatclub and its awesome community ! Alex

navz2018 · Answer

Hi,
I was in a similar status as yours..even I had very less time but within a month I worked very hard and improved my scores using the veratis prep material and GMAT club tests. Incase you would need sme additional material for reference ,you can pm me.

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