Low Score after 1 year preparation, need help: Mock Q42 and Actual Q6

Question

Hi

I have just received my gmat online score this morning. And the result is: Total 360 (Q6,V31) I spent almost one year preparing for this. I used Manhattan prep books for the first 6 months and eGMAT for the rest. Is it possible for me to get 700 in one year? If anyone could give me any advice on how to improve, that would be much appreciated, or if there is anyone who had a very low score at the first attempt and managed to get 700+ in the end, could you please give me some tips on how I can approach it going forward? Thank you My previous mock results were: 1. Total 490 (Q30, V28) eGMAT (25/10/2020) 2. Total 620 (Q42,V33) Manhattan (07/03/2021) 3. Total 550 (Q35,V31) Manhattan (13/03/2021) 4. Total 580 (Q40, V30) eGMAT (16/03/2021) GMAT Online Total 360 (Q6,V31) (19/03/2021) How I studied so far. 2020 May: I used OG Official Books to start off with, then I found that I had a lot of conceptual gaps. 2020 June: Started to read Foundations of Verbal and Quant by Manhattan Prep 2020 August: Moved on to read All the Verbal and All the Quant by the same 2020 October: Signed up for eGMAT to took the mock and got only 490 so started to go though all the materials in it. Took me a while to go through all the sections. 2021 January: Still not improving and having difficulties to solve medium to hard questions, so started to take Error Log more seriously. 2021 March: my 1st Attempt GMAT Online

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Sivatorne,

Sorry about how things went with your GMAT. You can definitely improve your score if you identify what went wrong and work on improving them. Let me help you here.

The probable reasons for scoring low: 
I'm wondering if you have taken any mocks before and if yes, what were your scores in them. Because, your Quant score is too low and that doesn't happen very often. So, I just want to know if something happened on the test day or were the scores similar to your actual scores.

Your Verbal score is decent. You are probably having a few conceptual gaps which you need to address and you need to start working on the application of concepts. GMAT Verbal is more about the methodology and the logical approach. So, your study strategy has to focus mostly around learning the right methodology.

The path ahead: 
If 360 represents your actual score, then it makes sense to start your prep from the scratch, mainly Quant section. I'm not sure how you prepared previously, but this time,   use a standard resource, 
 Deal with one topic at a time 
 learn the concepts of the topic 
 then learn the right methodology to solve questions of that topic 
 practice questions of that topic to solidify your learning 
 If you get a decent accuracy, only then move to the next topic

So, this is the process you need to follow to do your prep right. If you see, the process above is more structured. So, the more structured the process is, the better the outcome will be. You can do the same with Verbal but there seem to be a few conceptual gaps.

To suggest you in a better way, I would need a little more background about   how you prepared till now,  
 your weak areas 
 your mock scores

This information will help me understand your concerns and I can guide you in a better way. It would be better if we can get in touch over a call and have a detailed discussion on the same. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

Sivatorne · Answer

GMATWhizTeam

Hi 
thank you for you reply.

My previous mock results were:
1. Total 490 (Q30, V28) eGMAT
2. Total 620 (Q42,V33) Manhattan 
3. Total 550 (Q35,V31) Manhattan 
4. Total 580 (Q40, V30) eGMAT

I usually work on concepts first and do practice tests, and my weaknesses are Critical Reasoning and Math in general.

Thank you.

Sivatorne · Answer

I don't think that anything happened on the test day, apart from the fact that I was a little nervous since that was my first official GMAT attempt.

EducationAisle · Answer

Q42 on Manhattan and a Q6 on the actual exam! Wow. I must admit that I have never come across a variation more staggering than this.

Any idea what could have happened with your Quant in the actual exam?

Sivatorne · Answer

EducationAisle

haha yes I am quite surprised myself, too. It was shocking when I had to face this when I woke up this morning lol

I really cannot think of any reason. 
As it was an online one, there was no change in the environment, and altho I was kinda nervous but not too much.
I knew I was not doing that well during the exam, but Q6 is too low....

Probably, level of concentration was low? or the questions in the exam were from the topics that I am not good at? I am trying to come up with a strategy and want to hear others' stories and advice so that's why I posted this disappointing result.

MathRevolution · Answer

Hello Sivatorne,

Welcome to the GMAT club. It is one of the great platforms to get information about the GMAT official test, Study plan, Section wise instructions, and many more.

You are recommended to visit various posts and utilize this forum in the best efficient way.

A score of 360 is a bit shaky and far indeed from the target score of 700+. So, it is all about raising 300+ pointers. You were not probably on the right track or wrong direction in your study plans. You can surely do better.

You can schedule a Comprehensive counseling(https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session) session for 30 mins with one of our experts to have detailed advice on your current study plans.

We would like to recommend specific vital points which will be helpful. The score tells that neither the Math nor the Verbal is above average. Hence, both sections have to be taken care of simultaneously. To improve, you will require consistent learning and practice. Also, keep motivation high to learn.

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Lack of basic math skills
• Not detailed knowledge of GMAT Math pattern and Question types
• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning
• Lack of many updated questions and practice in the recent exam trend
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

Since we are a math expert, we will recommend you go through our post on the GMAT club, which gives a complete Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of-gmat-math-question-types-and-patterns-on-the-gmat-211809.html#p1641411

Also, make a note of various possible combinations to achieve a score of 700+. The possible scores will help you track your performance after taking the mock or practice test. It will also help you maintain balance in both the sections, and you will always be in a great position to allot the study hours to a specific area accordingly.

After visiting the post, now is the time to start with the basics. To strengthen the basic concept on various topics like arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and word problems, you may refer to many free materials available in GMAT Club. Our website also helps strengthen the necessary skills of math”.

Solve as many questions as you can relate to different topics, and it is recommended that you try to connect with many proven experts. You can visit Math Revolution and get access to our 7-day full on-demand course (27 topics, 490 subtopics, and 1,500 questions) for free trial lessons and free videos.

While concept learning, try solving 600 level questions by topic and be habitual of creating the error log. Prepare the list of all the doubts you face during solving and practicing questions. This practice will help you assess the topics in which you need more time to prepare. After solving as many questions as possible, take the 1st mock test and assess your performance. You may try our free diagnostic test once. Let some experts evaluate it to make you understand it better.

Continue the process with 650+ level by topic and then 700+ level questions by topic. The entire mock test should be completed in a disciplinary manner. Since this is a bit long journey, 1-on -1 tutoring can also be helpful to shorten the study period if your study budget is affordable.

To prepare for Verbal, you can access many study materials from Crack Verbal, e-GMAT, and other test-prep experts for Verbal. You may also refer to Aristotle Grail for sentence correction and GMAT power bank for CR question types. There are also many free materials available in GMAT Club.

Regular tests will reflect the positive change in the score, and hence, your confidence will boost up. Gradually, with the help of mock tests, you will be able to compete with time and hence will be able to learn time-management.

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.
If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You can reach us at [email protected].

Success is within your reach.

Good luck!
Math Revolution Team

Sivatorne · Answer

MathRevolution

Thank you!

ramlala · Answer

Hi  Sivatorne

To keep it simple, just start with following link  https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?selected_search_tags%5B%5D=217&t=0&sid=4650c56819e06b2b77a4932540da8b3f&search_tags=exact&submit=Search , go one by one example (start with five a day) - more important is explaination, you will find it very easy in next 3 months.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Sivatorne,

Based on your mock scores, Q6 must be an aberration. Having said that, learning the concepts and then practicing questions is not the right way to go about your prep. You are missing one very important step in between which is learning the right methodology. GMAT is a test of application of concepts. So, your focus while preparing has to be to learn the concepts and the methodology. Only after these, you have to move to practicing questions.

For example, to solve CR questions, you need to first learn the concepts that is the individual aspects of the module such as premise, conclusion, argument, assumption etc. Once you learn them, you need to learn the framework on which most of the CR questions are based. Once you do that, learn the guidelines for each framework which will help you pre-think the missing link. The right way to solve CR questions is:
  Read the argument 
 Identify the premise and the conclusion 
 Read the question stem 
 Identify the missing link (Pre-think using the framework) 
 Eliminate answer choices which are irrelevant, out of scope, partially truth or distorted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZG-oIl09Rk

As you see, the process here is more structured. So, the more structured and consistent your prep is, the better the outcome will be. I'm not sure if you have used any standard resource till now. But if you haven't please use one because I'm sure you do not want to take a chance this time.

And I don't think you need to invest one year to score 700+. If done properly, you can reach there way sooner. I can help you with a better plan of action if you can tell me the number of hours you can study and what difficulties you face while solving questions. Please schedule a call with me using the below link so that we can have a detailed discussion on the study strategy.

Click here to schedule a call

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Low Score after 1 year preparation, need help: Mock Q42 and Actual Q6

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