tinyinthedesert ,

whoa , is your second test score got you to V47 ? That's huge . Could you throw some light on what were your quant resources ?
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For verbal used the OG 2018 guide and the Princeton review book. That's basically it. I did far far more study in quant than verbal.

For quant I used OG, Manhattan guide advanced quant, a few veritas tests and many gmatclub quant questions

From looking through the debriefs the common factor of the very high verbal scores is an extensive amount of reading, so turn off your TV and get a copy of The Economist.

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The fluidity with the math concepts is definitely my downfall. I also did algebra and calculus in high school (ages ago now), but never learned probability or combinatorics, and had forgotten most of the basic math principles like dealing with square roots etc. My brain just seems to settle in the language/arts side and I really have to get it revved up to do math (if that makes any sense). If I take even one day off, then I struggle to get back into it.

I found the exam experience to be very stressful and was not prepared to use the scratch pad in the quant section. I have since bought one off Amazon and have been using it to study, so hopefully that will help. I would be happy with anything over a Q45 on the actual test. I got Q47, 48 and even 49 on my practice tests, so I think it's possible.

I managed to get a V41 on the actual test (now you know exactly how much I bombed quant . I bought the report and saw that I got 98% accuracy on reading comprehension, 96% on sentence correction, but only 70% on critical reasoning, so I'm going to focus on those skills as well.

V47 is amazing! I appreciate you empathizing with my struggle, but it sounds like you are a genius!


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Luckily CR is probably the easiest section to improve as it's not based on any prior knowledge, unlike SC

Here is my strategy for CR

1) Read the question and identify the type of question (weaken strengthen flaw in argument etc)
2) Read the passage twice, carefully.
3) identify the flaw in the reasoning or any assumptions made, especially correlation/causation assumptions
4) from this, think about what the correct answer would address/sound like
5) only then look at the answers. This prevents you getting "swayed" by an incorrect answer choice and letting that affect your own analysis. Be particularly careful with choices that are outside the scope of the passage. Be careful also to note the exact wording used in the passage

The hardest SC questions for me were the very high level bold type argument structure analysis questions. I couldn't quite get my head around what the GMAT considered a "conclusion", a "supporting statement" etc. I got a very tricky one in the exam and wouldn't be surprised it if was one of my wrong answers.

My top maths score was a q49 on gmat club which probably translates as a q50 on OG. I got q49 in the exam (missed an easy 2nd question and the final question) so it is possible to score near the top of your range, so long as the tests you did aren't repeats of any material you've done. Hopefully that helps relax you.

The high level combinator/permutation questions often involve calculating the number of total allowed combinations and subtracting the disallowed. The key to this is a) making sure that you identify all the disallowed patters and B) making sure you identify when order matters and when it doesn't

For me the hardest questions were inequalities DS, especially absolute inequalities, because I just had to test so many options and often ended up missing a crucial one. I found these questions very time consuming and extra time is not something I had to spare on quant.

Remember there's a +/- 30 point margin of error on the exam. If you felt you had a bad run, you know you can do better.


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Hey Rich. Just rewrote the GMAT and managed to bring my score up to where I wanted it! I significantly increased my quant score (By 9 points in 3 weeks) and it is 100% because of your test it and triage strategies. I feel confident applying with this score, so thank you! I might not be an assassin, but at least I'm not a victim anymore!

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Hi NathalieMathalie,

That's FANTASTIC news! What was your Official Score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? A 9-point increase to your Quant Scaled Score in such a short period of time is a noteworthy achievement (and as long as your GMAT Score is in the competitive 'range' that your Schools are looking for, you won't necessarily need a really high GMAT Score to get into your first-choice School!)!

1) What application deadlines are you facing?

Rich
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Hey Rich, I feel weird posting the final score I will be applying with on here for some reason. It is within 10 points of my school's average My quant score went from Q32 to Q41 (obviously still not a strong suit for me, but much much better than 3 weeks ago.) The verbal score was much higher.

I have a 3.7 GPA and will be applying to the same school for my MBA, so I think that helps. I also have 8 years of industry experience and a somewhat unique profile (oil painter/designer turned marketer, and I'm a mom of 2).

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Hi NathalieMathalie,

It certainly sounds like you have the GMAT 'piece' of the puzzle covered - and your profile appears suitably 'unique' (which is good), so now you just have to make sure that you're properly 'marketing yourself' to each School that you apply to. As such - even if you're going to assemble your applications on your own - you might find it useful to consult with an Admissions Expert on your profile/plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

http://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admission ... tants-124/

Rich
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