I am stuck with 630. What do I do?

Question

I gave my first GMAT in June 2022. I received a score of 630 (Q44 v33). 
I scored 660-680 in all the mocks, so a score of 630 was taken with a pinch of salt.

I bought the official ESR and identified my weaknesses.

Since I run a small agency, keeping up with a new study plan was tough.

I used the OG, MGMAT books, e-GMAT, and later I practiced from the forum quiz.

I scored between 670-690 on the gmat club tests and 740 on the last official mock test.

Gave the GMAT today, and got 620 (q47 v28).

I don't know where am I going wrong. Please help!

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh.

Nice work increasing your quant score. Now, you just need to increase your verbal score.

Many people get surprised by GMAT verbal partly because preparing for GMAT verbal doesn't work quite the same as preparing for GMAT quant.

When preparing for GMAT quant, you can make a big difference by just learning some concepts and strategies. For example, you can go from 0 to 100 on Combinations questions by learning how to answer them and practicing for a few hours.

Preparing for verbal has an added dimension of developing an eye for what's going on in the questions and skill in analyzing the logical relationships between elements. So, your verbal prep has to support development of those things.

For some insights into how to increase your verbal score, see this post.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh,

I'm sorry to hear that your 2nd attempt did not turn out better. When these types of score drops (from practice CATs/mocks to the Official Exam) occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Were the study materials that you listed from your 1st attempt, your 2nd attempt or both? 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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). Since you purchased the ESR for your 1st attempt, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you (and I suggest that you purchase the ESR for your 2nd attempt, so we can better define any nagging 'issues' that are keeping you from scoring higher).

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

Sarmadk5 · Answer

SPEND TIME WITH E-GMAT TEAM AND USE SOME VERBAL GUIDES. I HAVE READ THE REVIEWS WHO HAVE TAKE E-GMAT COURSE THAT THEIR VERBAL IS VERY GOOD AND ONE CAN GET OVER 40-44. THUS I WOULD SUGGEST USE THEIR SERVICE . CONTACT THEM AND ASK THEM FOR PROPER GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO YOUR NEEDS.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Have suggested Manhattan-Prep's 6th Edition for SC and CR to students.  Here's an idiom list that may help boost your SC as well . Some Verbal tips on the gmatknight website you may also find helpful.

egmat · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh , I am sorry to hear that you did not score well. I know it must be frustrating to see the score drop in Verbal. But if you commit yourself to improving, you can do this. Here is an example -Tushar, a fellow e-GMAT who bounced back after a bad attempt to score a 730. Your next step is to create an improvement plan. And to do that, we must understand what went wrong in this attempt (The V28 Score indicates both concept and skill gap. We must figure out these gaps). I have a few questions about your preparation (to get a good idea about your ability in each subsection): 1.What were your average concept and practice quiz scores? Each learning activity in the e-GMAT course has an assessment quiz (which tells us your progress). 2.Did you pass the cementing quizzes (Medium difficulty) for all SC, CR, and RC? 3.What were your weighted accuracy scores for SC, CR, and RC in Scholaranium? This information can help us identify your areas of improvement so that we can draft a precise improvement plan for you. By the way, did you write to your e-GMAT mentor asking for help? If not, please do reach out. Alternatively, you can share your e-GMAT ID on a PM or you could e-mail it to us at support@e-gmat.com. I can get this data from your course ID and help you with the next steps. Your commitment and plan for the retake What is your target GMAT score? How many hours per day are you willing to put in for the next few weeks? I look forward to your message. Regards, Sundeep p.s. Thank you Sarmadk5 for the recommendation.

nikhilvsh · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh,

I'm sorry to hear that your 2nd attempt did not turn out better. When these types of score drops (from practice CATs/mocks to the Official Exam) occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Were the study materials that you listed from your 1st attempt, your 2nd attempt or both? 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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). Since you purchased the ESR for your 1st attempt, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you (and I suggest that you purchase the ESR for your 2nd attempt, so we can better define any nagging 'issues' that are keeping you from scoring higher).

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

Hi Rich,

1. I used to spend ~2 hr/day. Sometimes an hour during workdays. On weekdends, I used to study for 3-4 hrs.

2. After my first attempt, I started with Foundation of Verbal, and then covered MGMAT' old books on SC and CR.

Later, I covered entire verbal again on e-GMAT.

3. For mocks, I relied on e-GMAT, GMAT club tests, and the 2 official mocks.

4. Last eGMAT mock - November 4 - V35 Q47

GMAT club test, November 3rd week - q47-49.

Official mock - November 28 - q50

5. Target score -730-750

6. I was planning to apply for R2 of ISB.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh,

In addition to the advice provided by Marty, here is a helpful article:

How to Improve Your GMAT Score

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi nikhilvsh, I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

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I am stuck with 630. What do I do?

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