DK1995 wrote:
Hello Everyone,
Seriously need some guidance. I have been preparing for gmat from May 2017, didn’t do much research about GMAT then and started studying on my own. Found it too difficult and decided to join a classroom course and got myself enrolled into Manya Princeton Review. Took my first mock got a 480. I wasn’t disappointed coz i knew I wasn’t prepared. So took classes for like a month, course was half finished, they told me to take another mock. Boom....430, i was like what really. But then my teacher said sometimes it happens you are learning to apply strategies so it’s okay you ll improve. Studied for another month, now the course was over so decided to take another mock and got a 450. Meanwhile i never took any official mocks, i was taking Princeton Review tests. I heard they are not even close to real test, not sure. So i was really disappointed. Till that time i never got above 30 in quant and 25 in verbal. I was very disappointed. So started studying again took a test and got a 540 ( quant 39 and verbal 21 i guess). I saw some improvement in quant. But still it wouldn’t hurt to see atleast 600, it would atleast give me some motivation. I thought maybe these scores are not accurate, i should take a official mock, took gmat prep free test got a 500 (q39 and v21). Someone please help, i have been trying so hard to atleast get a 650 although my desired score is 700 or above. I am a full time indian working female. I spend 12 hours at work ( including travel time) and i try to study at work whenever i get a opportunity and study 1.5 hours after coming from work. On weekends i give 4-5 hours. Where am I going wrong. I see lots of people talking about preparing a
error log, I just don’t know how to do that. Already spent 40k on a classroom course, now don’t want to waste more. There is absolutely no point enrolling for the real exam unless I don’t do well in mocks. Please suggest how can I improve.
Any suggestions are most welcome.
Ps:- Sorry for the long post had to get it out.
Sent from my iPhone using
GMAT Club Forum mobile appHi
DK1995,
Do not think negatively of what happened till now, because, on a positive note, Your initial get-to-know-GMAT phase is over.
Let me first count on your problems you have got:1. Hectic job that leaves you with little time to study.
2. Money invested already and you won't buy another course. Well that's not a big problem.
3. Both Quant and Verbal needs to be improved.
Here is the solution considering the above problems:You need to go through the following phases/steps:
1. Concept Phase
2. Practice Phase
3. CAT Taking Phase
Other Steps
4. Revision while doing 1, 2 & 3
5. How to Study and Time division
Concept PhaseQuant: 1.
MGMAT guides2. All you need for Quant:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-you-need ... 40445.html3. Download Gmatclub Quant guide
Verbal:1.
MGMAT Guides (Verbal Foundation, SC,CR, & RC guide)
2. GMAT PowerScore CR Bible (Either
MGMAT CR or this book)
3. Read from here also for SC -
https://gmatclub.com/forum/e-gmat-s-all ... 44985.html4. Download RON Purewal's Videos from here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/mgmat-study- ... l#p1607954or you can watch them on Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com /118940948
Practice PhaseQuant: Practice questions on gmatclub:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ds-question- ... 28728.htmlhttps://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-ps-ques ... 27957.htmlCheck out first 5-7 URLs on this main Quant Page:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/quantitative-7/?fl=menuOfficial question directory:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-official ... 42995.htmlGMATPrep:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmatprep ... 87679.htmlFollow Bunuel on gmatclub. Whenever you do a question and took more time and got it wrong, please check how bunuel did it. Bunuel posts new queestions, please do them.
Verbal:Practice Official questions and
MGMAT questions for verbal. Following are the official question resources:
OG10/11/13/15/16/17/18 -
https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-official ... 42995.htmlVerbal Review -
https://gmatclub.com/forum/official-gui ... 58197.htmlAll the questions from GMATPrep default pack:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmatprep ... 87679.htmlQuestion Pack(404 questions), Exam Pack 1 & 2 (CAT-3 to 6)
Use REQUEST EXPERT REPLY BUTTON on gmatclub if you have a question for verbal questions.
Follow GMATNinja and GMATNinja2 on GMATClub
Subscribe to gmatclub on youtube:https://www.youtube.com/user/gmatclub
Find Videos by GMATNinja such as:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLAJ_drP8UMCheck out first 5-7 URLs on this main Verbal Page:https://gmatclub.com/forum/verbal-11/?fl=menu
CAT Taking PhaseKeep taking CATs on regular intervals. As official CATs represent reliable score, spread them out throughout the prep.
You have 6 official CATs. (GMATPrep Default Pack, Exam PAcks)
You can create 4 CATs from Question Pack. but you wont get score. See this:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/experts-topi ... 44293.htmlReview your CATs really well. CATs are not only taken to jsut check where do you stand but also to know the weak areas such as time management, a particular concept of SC or strategy of RC.
For Quant
GMATClub tests are AWESOME. Get them do them, learn from the questions in them and you are DONE with Quant.
Revision:Please keep on revising. There are many templates of
error log on Gmatclub, please follow the one you like. Purpose is to go through the questions that stumped you and don't get them wrong in your second attempt.
You can make a TAKEAWAY document specially for SC questions. not for all questions but for those that you think have added a new leanring. Keep revising this document when you're travelling. Similarly you need to note down the learnings for all the sections. but for other sections your takeaway document is going to be short. Mainly note down why you got a question wrong and what you learnt and what is the concept behind that question.
Without Revision, improvement is tough.
How to Study and Time division:Give your study the most fruitful 2 hours of a day. Also whenever you get a chance to quickly study for 30 minutes, just revise or learn a concept and just think about it in mind.
Do not just exhaust yourself on weekends. Study as much as you can.
Physical and Mental Health:Your Brain also needs good food. Add Kellogg's Muesli, Dry fruits, Lot of Water, Excersie, Running, Meditation. Most importantly sit for 15 minutes silently keeping the eyes closed. This will keep you calm and not stressed.
Feel happy about your prep. Do not loose confidence at any stage.
The best learning: Do not leave a question until you have learnt everything from it. Do less questions but learn more is the fundamental to utilise the time well and improve.
Learn - Practice - Revise - test - repeat!I might add more URLs that might help you. I got my laptop formatted and do not have the backup of favorites. so i will find and add soon, if need be.
GMATClub has everything you need, so use it efficiently. Please ask if there is any followup question.
By the way, You have the determination, Just add DISCIPLINE and you will succeed.
All the best!