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![[600] I wasn't good enough and I need your help](https://cdn.gmatclub.com/cdn/files/forum/styles/gmatclub_light/imageset/icon_post_target_unread.svg "[600] I wasn't good enough and I need your help"){kind=icon}
27 Oct 2016, 09:23
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As the title says, I wasn't good enough in my previous test - it was my first time taking the GMAT. I scored a 600 (Q42, V30). Now, I am planning to take the GMAT again either in Q1 or Q2 2017, and I seek your help to show me some guidance.
I know there are a lot of repeated advices being thrown here and the other forums as well, and I've read most of those that are of similar score/situation as me. Maybe I have been reading too many, but all these advice overload left me confused with where to re-start all over again.
Before you read further, I would like to thank you for reading all the way here, and also thank you in advance for your advises/recommendations. Here's a little bit of information of my first GMAT test journey:
Booked my GMAT on 30 April 2016 for a test date on 10 August 2016. That was slightly more than 3 months to prepare.
Prior to that, I did not have much of an idea about the test format - I was recommended not to find out too much about it and to take the first GMATprep mock test immediately (550 - Q44, V21).
Afterwards, my journey began:
I work as a management consultant with one of the big 3 - with very long work hours, and very difficult to allocate enough studying time on weekdays.
I put in about 2-3 hours on weekday nights as much as I can (about 10pm-1am) and about 12-15 hours over Saturdays and Sundays.
I bought the 3 OG books, all the MGMAT strategy guides, and MGMAT Advanced Quant.
I took 4 MGMAT CATs and 4 GMATPrep Exam Preps
Results:
01/05/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 1 - 550 (Q44, V21)
06/07/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 2 - 590 (Q47, V24)
23/07/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 3 - 620 (Q44, V32)
30/07/2016: MGMAT CAT 1 - 620 (Q42, V33)
31/07/2016: MGMAT CAT 2 - 570 (Q39, V30)
I took a week off from work to study full time at this point.
04/08/2016: MGMAT CAT 3 - 580 (Q42, V28)
06/08/2016: MGMAT CAT 4 - 590 (Q44, V29)
08/08/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 4 - 570 (Q45, V24)
10/08/2016: Actual GMAT - 600 (Q42, V30, AWA6, IR4)
I must say that the score I got wasn't suprising at all, considering the scores I've gotten on my last 4 papers. What I can't figure out, is why have my scores dropped since the beginning up till the end?
I pushed myself very hard everyday and remain focused while studying.
I made sure I was in a quiet environment (otherwise, I will wear the same standard GMAT earplugs).
During the final 1 week, I studied almost 15 hours a day, slept at about 1am every night and woke up at 9am every morning.
I took my mock tests in a similar setting, with 8 minute breaks between each section.
So.. what am I missing here?
Maybe you can help me a little bit - these are some things to start with:
- Advises to my (unstructured) studying strategy
- Recommendations to some good studying strategies that I should read and replicate
- Whether the materials I've got are enough to attain a target of 700-720
- Other forms of guidance (anything! and I will read everything!)
Once again, I thank you in advance for reading this far.
Thanks,
need to beat the GMAT
I know there are a lot of repeated advices being thrown here and the other forums as well, and I've read most of those that are of similar score/situation as me. Maybe I have been reading too many, but all these advice overload left me confused with where to re-start all over again.
Before you read further, I would like to thank you for reading all the way here, and also thank you in advance for your advises/recommendations. Here's a little bit of information of my first GMAT test journey:
Booked my GMAT on 30 April 2016 for a test date on 10 August 2016. That was slightly more than 3 months to prepare.
Prior to that, I did not have much of an idea about the test format - I was recommended not to find out too much about it and to take the first GMATprep mock test immediately (550 - Q44, V21).
Afterwards, my journey began:
I work as a management consultant with one of the big 3 - with very long work hours, and very difficult to allocate enough studying time on weekdays.
I put in about 2-3 hours on weekday nights as much as I can (about 10pm-1am) and about 12-15 hours over Saturdays and Sundays.
I bought the 3 OG books, all the MGMAT strategy guides, and MGMAT Advanced Quant.
I took 4 MGMAT CATs and 4 GMATPrep Exam Preps
Results:
01/05/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 1 - 550 (Q44, V21)
06/07/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 2 - 590 (Q47, V24)
23/07/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 3 - 620 (Q44, V32)
30/07/2016: MGMAT CAT 1 - 620 (Q42, V33)
31/07/2016: MGMAT CAT 2 - 570 (Q39, V30)
I took a week off from work to study full time at this point.
04/08/2016: MGMAT CAT 3 - 580 (Q42, V28)
06/08/2016: MGMAT CAT 4 - 590 (Q44, V29)
08/08/2016: GMAT Exam Prep 4 - 570 (Q45, V24)
10/08/2016: Actual GMAT - 600 (Q42, V30, AWA6, IR4)
I must say that the score I got wasn't suprising at all, considering the scores I've gotten on my last 4 papers. What I can't figure out, is why have my scores dropped since the beginning up till the end?
I pushed myself very hard everyday and remain focused while studying.
I made sure I was in a quiet environment (otherwise, I will wear the same standard GMAT earplugs).
During the final 1 week, I studied almost 15 hours a day, slept at about 1am every night and woke up at 9am every morning.
I took my mock tests in a similar setting, with 8 minute breaks between each section.
So.. what am I missing here?
Maybe you can help me a little bit - these are some things to start with:
- Advises to my (unstructured) studying strategy
- Recommendations to some good studying strategies that I should read and replicate
- Whether the materials I've got are enough to attain a target of 700-720
- Other forms of guidance (anything! and I will read everything!)
Once again, I thank you in advance for reading this far.
Thanks,
need to beat the GMAT
27 Oct 2016, 17:32
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi needtobeatgmat,
The good news is that your actual GMAT score closely mimicked the scores of your practice exams. That shows that, although you were not prepared to score a 700 on your GMAT, you probably performed up to your abilities. However, to raise your score from a 600 to a 700+, you are going to have to find a way to study more consistently and perhaps seek out some new prep materials.
I am not certain of how many total hours you spent prepping for your GMAT; however, I’ve seen students need as many as 300+ hours of study time to break a 700 on the GMAT. Given your busy work schedule, is it possible for you to put in more study hours?
Since you are fairly consistently scoring in the low 40s for quant and low 30s for verbal, you clearly have a handle on the GMAT quant and verbal fundamentals. However, to raise your GMAT score to a more advanced level, you need to study each topic “with a fine-toothed comb” to determine your exact weaknesses.
For example, if you are learning about percents, you want to make sure you learn as much as possible about percents: percent less than, percent greater than, variable percents, and percent change. Then it will help to do numerous practice problems on percents (50 or more). The results of that practice will give you a clear idea of your exact weaknesses in that topic. Once you are able to strengthen those weaknesses, move on to the next quant topic. Ideally, you want to follow a similar process for the verbal topics: Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. For your first GMAT, were you able to study in this way?
Finally, if your current resources do not provide for such focused learning and practice, you may consider investing in a new GMAT prep resource, such as on online self-study course.
In comparison to GMAT prep books, self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. By being able to track your progress, you will remain more engaged, and you’ll be able to more accurately forecast when you’re ready to take your real GMAT.
I also wrote a detailed article that explains some more steps that you can follow to help achieve your GMAT score goal..
If you would like to speak about any of this in detail, feel free to PM me and we can hop on a call.
Good luck!!
The good news is that your actual GMAT score closely mimicked the scores of your practice exams. That shows that, although you were not prepared to score a 700 on your GMAT, you probably performed up to your abilities. However, to raise your score from a 600 to a 700+, you are going to have to find a way to study more consistently and perhaps seek out some new prep materials.
I am not certain of how many total hours you spent prepping for your GMAT; however, I’ve seen students need as many as 300+ hours of study time to break a 700 on the GMAT. Given your busy work schedule, is it possible for you to put in more study hours?
Since you are fairly consistently scoring in the low 40s for quant and low 30s for verbal, you clearly have a handle on the GMAT quant and verbal fundamentals. However, to raise your GMAT score to a more advanced level, you need to study each topic “with a fine-toothed comb” to determine your exact weaknesses.
For example, if you are learning about percents, you want to make sure you learn as much as possible about percents: percent less than, percent greater than, variable percents, and percent change. Then it will help to do numerous practice problems on percents (50 or more). The results of that practice will give you a clear idea of your exact weaknesses in that topic. Once you are able to strengthen those weaknesses, move on to the next quant topic. Ideally, you want to follow a similar process for the verbal topics: Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. For your first GMAT, were you able to study in this way?
Finally, if your current resources do not provide for such focused learning and practice, you may consider investing in a new GMAT prep resource, such as on online self-study course.
In comparison to GMAT prep books, self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. By being able to track your progress, you will remain more engaged, and you’ll be able to more accurately forecast when you’re ready to take your real GMAT.
I also wrote a detailed article that explains some more steps that you can follow to help achieve your GMAT score goal..
If you would like to speak about any of this in detail, feel free to PM me and we can hop on a call.
Good luck!!
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