need advice

Question

hey guys. i done my gmat yesterday .but i did not achieve my target score.in mock exams i scored 600-630 range.In mock exams my quantitative score is varied in between 48-50 .verbal is big problem to me. it is varied in between V 20-25.but finally real exam ended up with 430.(Q38 V13). | :cry:

I did not follow any course.I did self study.I Completed All OG questions and followed Manhatten Sc, Powerscore CR Bible as well.i'm very exhausted and have no idea what should i do now. could you please guide me what should i do for the score improvement.I am targeting 675-700 range.i feel that i can not achieve the target and you know how it's painful.

LeonidK · Answer

Try to take Time Keepers with personalized questions on GmatClub every day. Not less than 10 per each section (Verbal and Quantitative)

Regards,
Leo

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi asangika,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops 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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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

asan · Answer

Hi rich, 
Thanks for getting back to me.i read your questions and my answers are as follows.
1. I took entire CAT one time only.most of the times I skipped AWA and IR
2. I took all CATs in my home
3.I took CATs at same time.Actually, I took 1 CAT few hours before leaving for the exam.
4.I took same CAT more than once.I saw same questions again.
 I did verbal review, quantitative review along with the OG 2017.I did them several times.due to that , when i read the question ,without reading answer choices, I remember what the answer is .normally my sore varied in 600-630 range in home.i tried 3 times real gmat.ended up with 400,500 and finally 430.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi asangika,

The extra information that you've provided is quite useful, as it helps to define what went wrong on Test Day. In real basic terms, you took your CATs in such a way that you were NOT properly training to face the Official GMAT - so you were not ready to face it on Test Day.

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skipping sections, taking the CATs at home, taking the same CAT more than once, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.' By extension, your practice CAT scores were not accurate. In addition, taking a practice CAT the same day that you took the Official GMAT was NOT a good idea. The process of working through a CAT requires a great deal of effort and energy - and takes time to 'recover' from. Based on what you described, you were likely 'burned out' before you even arrived at the Test Center, so you were too tired to perform at your best.

Your actual ability level is probably a bit higher than a 430, but to score a 670+, you will have to do far more than just take your practice CATs in a more realistic way - you'll need to make some significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. All of that work will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

1) What study materials have you used so far?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

asan · Answer

hi rich , 
thank you for assessing my current situation.Your evaluation inspired me .for your questions , my answers are as follows.
1. I used OG 2017, verbal review and quantitative review.I bought these ones.
Further, I completed the Manhattan SC and power score CR bible
2.For the exam , I shifted to the part time job.Now I am working on 3 days per week.
3. I am trying to get admissions for Queens university or Ivey Business School in Canada. Programs are supposed to be start on January and March 2018 respectively.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi asangika,

Considering that you'll need to score another 150-200 points to hit your score goal, and you've already tried self-teaching, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led). Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

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

asan · Answer

hi rich,
thank you so much for your guidance.Your words inspired me to do this again.i will follow your suggestions and advice. Further, I will have a look on GMAT courses and their free materials.

mbaaspirant80 · Answer

Hi Asangika,

In my view , to raise your quant score to Q50/51, most reliable is GMAT club tests.
I used these tests and scored Q50 in real exam.

good luck

asan · Answer

thank you.I will.could you please suggest me what is the best course for verbal and quantitative.Do i need to follow two different courses for verbal and quan.my verbal is very weak and i want to improve quan also.my current score Q38 V13

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi asangika ,

You should dedicate around 2 months to improve your score. If you study dedicatedly for that period, you are sure to achieve your goal. If you are willing, there are some great GMAT prep companies that can help you with your preparation.

In order to make an informed decision I would highly encourage you to go to their websites and try on their free trial and decide for yourself which one do you like better. You try out free access to EmpowerGMAT, Magoosh and Optimus Prep as they have great reviews on GMATCLUB.

Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas.

I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them.

Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas.

Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that.

Lastly I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html

Hope this helps. All the best.

asan · Answer

hi rohan, 
thank you so much for your guidance. In past, i did so many stupid mistakes by underestimating GMAT.Now i realized i need proper guidance to beat GMAT.I already purchased Egmat online course. OG 2017,verbal and quant review 2017 . I started to learn with verbal section.I will follow your suggestions.Thanks for send me the links to get an idea about how to achieve my goal.
Thank you

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