GMAT Mock score stuck at Q45 V29

Question

Hi Everyone, I am preparing for GMAT for the last 2 months and have been trying to improve my score in the last 2-3 weeks. Somehow I am stuck at Q45 and V29. I am doing fine in RC but really struggling with SC and CR. I even completed the MGMAT SC book which helped a bit but didn’t lead to a significant jump. Should I be taking expert guidance through e-gmat or empower gmat for this? How should I analyse where I am going wrong?

My target score is 700 and I only have a month to prepare. Is it feasible to improve in a month?

My target score is 700 and I only have a month to prepare. Is it feasible to improve in a month?

ProKiller · Answer

Hey stutim96 - Welcome to the fun-struggle of GMAT !

Have you analyzed the "V29" score? Are there any patterns in the mistakes you have made? In 2 months, have you done everything you could think of?

Above all, which mock did you attempt? Though external guidance can always help, the answer lies within us.

stutim96 · Answer

Hey,

Firstly I attempted Veritas prep mocks.

I was scoring V23-25 when I analysed the questions and found I was only using grammar or hearing skills to solve SC questions. After some more studying I was able to get better with modifier errors, meaning etc. but haven’t been able to figure out how to further improve. Similarly for CR I make mistakes in assumptions and evaluate questions.

Posted from my mobile device

carouselambra · Answer

Hi, I would strongly recommend TTP for Quant. Since you are already at 45, you can modify your Quant course to the "advanced" level,i.e,45-48 and quickly start solving the Medium/Hard level problems if you are good enough with the concepts. Since you have just a month left, you can also opt for the flexible plan that will last only for a month

Let me know if you need more information/help. Cheers!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi stutim96,

I think a month may be tight, so if possible, I would try to give yourself a bit more time. Regarding how to improve your CR and SC skills, here are two very helpful articles:

GMAT Critical Reasoning: 8 Essential Tips

GMAT Sentence Correction: 8 Essential Tips

Feel free to reach out with additional questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi stutim96,

If you are currently "stuck" in the low-600s, then it's possible that you have developed some 'bad habits' during your initial studies that will take time to fix (and replace with new "good habits"). Statistically-speaking, raising a 600 to the point that you can consistently score 700+ will likely require that you commit to at least another 2 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. While I understand that you might really want to take the GMAT in a month, if you ultimately "need" a 700+ Score, then that Score Goal has to come first - and you might want to push back your planned Test Date.

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 study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
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

ReedArnoldMPREP · Answer

Hey there. Could you give a little more info? What do you find difficult about SC and CR? What strategies do you use? What mistakes do you tend to make? How does your review process look?

For general tips here, I'll point you to MPrep's "Free GMAT Prep Hour" series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDPcZ ... 2m67HA3CTg

A few that I'll highlight

FOR SC:
"The Three Parts of Sentence Structure"
"Reading like a Robot"
"Modifiers and Meaning"
"Comparison Considerations"
"Everything you could possibly need to know about Parallel Structure"
"Delaying the Sentence Core"

For CR:
"Three Key Questions for Critical Reasoning"
"Critical Reasoning Games"
"How to review RC/CR questions"
"Inference, the key to Critical Reasoning"
"Argument Deconstruction"
"The value of pre-thinking" (mostly about quant, but the last part is CR).

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi stutim96,

Let me share my insights with you on this.

The improvement of almost 100 points is challenging but possible with consistent efforts and structured preparation depending on how many hours you can devote per day.

Your Quant score looks good although there is scope for improvement. It appears that you are good with concepts but you have to work a little more on the application of concepts while solving the Quant Questions. You should consider to spend more time on analyzing the solutions of the questions from the topics in which you are weak. By analyzing I mean, go through each step of the solution, identify the exact step at which you made the mistake, compare your approach with the right one and then learn the right approach. This should help.

However, your Verbal score is an area of concern. 
Your verbal score clearly indicates there are many conceptual gaps and you may need to start from scratch, revisit the concepts and get a clear understanding of them before you solve the questions. Let me help you with the right way to approach your Verbal Prep.

GMAT verbal is mostly about eliminating four incorrect answer choices rather than choosing the right one. Before you start learning, it's important to understand what is actually tested using the questions. For example, before you start learning the concepts of SC, you need to understand that SC questions on GMAT test your ability to convey the right meaning without any ambiguity. So, it's important to approach them from a meaning stand-point. You might have often come across answer choices which are both grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect because they do not convey the intended meaning. So, the process to approach SC questions is to:

Comprehend the original meaning of the sentence 
 Identify errors if any (both grammatical and meaning wise) 
 Eliminate answer choices which either are grammatically incorrect or do not convey the intended meaning

You can go through the link below to understand the process in a better way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

In case of CR, one needs to have the ability to pre-think the answer which comes with the understanding the framework behind the question. And understanding the question stem is also equally important. The reason behind making mistakes in understanding the question stem might be because you are not able to identify the individual components of the argument or the stimulus. By individual components, I mean premises, conclusion, intermediate conclusion. If you end up making a mistake identifying the conclusion, there are high chances that you might be choosing the wrong answer choice.

These things tend to be taken care of if you go for a well-structured course. Hence, an exhaustive course will make your preparation disciplined and effective by helping you learn methodologically .

When you choose a resource, make sure to choose one which helps you with the right aspects for your GMAT preparation. As GMAT mainly tests your application skills, the resource you choose must help you with:

Concepts 
 Methodology (Very important) 
 Practice questions 
 Their detailed solutions

You can go through the article below to understand how to choose an online course

Key factors to consider while choosing an online course for GMAT

I suggest you to check out the free trial of GMATWhiz and then decide. In GMATWhiz, we simplify the process into various steps and follow a structured way to teaching things which makes the learning process a lot more easier and effective. For example, while teaching you the step of reading a sentence, we teach you the intervals at which you need to break the sentence. Some of intervals at which you need to break the sentence are:

Conjunctions 
 Verbs/Verbals 
 Transition words

These are a few words at which you need to pause, comprehend the meaning till there and then move forward. This way, your understanding of the meaning will be a lot better.

GMATWhiz follows a structured way of teaching and uses AI which continuously analyses your progress, generates instant insights into your performance in quizzes, and serves improvement modules in real-time. In this way, working on your weak areas becomes easy.

You can actually check out the free trial of GMATWhiz and decide whether it is the one you are looking for.

I suggest you to check out the free trial of GMATWhiz and then take a decision. If you have any more queries regarding the course or the study strategy, you can get in touch with me using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

GMAT Mock score stuck at Q45 V29

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