Need guidance, ISB admission and verbal score improvement

I see you only studied for about a month before taking the test. Keep in mind that many students feel the need to study for much longer than a month to achieve their GMAT score goals. If you do decide on retaking the exam, you shouldn’t have too much trouble, with more dedicated prep and motivation, in raising your verbal score.

Did you receive an enhanced score report? It will show you your separate percentile scores on sentence correction, reading comprehension, and critical reasoning. If not, you may want to purchase that report, so you can get some direction on where to focus your verbal study efforts.

Based on how you studied for your initial GMAT, it’s quite possible that you jumped into tackling OG questions prior to fully learning each GMAT verbal topic. If so, consider going back and reviewing each topic more extensively. Then follow that review with focused practice on individual topics.

For example, when learning about critical reasoning, attempt to master all aspects of critical reasoning before moving on to another section. Follow up your learning with focused critical reasoning practice, so you can determine your specific weaknesses within each topic. For example, if you continually have trouble with strengthening arguments based on scientific evidence, you will want to identify and overcome that difficulty. You should follow a similar routine for sentence correction and reading comprehension.

Also, to help improve your reading comprehension ability, I recommend reading publications such as the Economist, the New Yorker, Scientific American, or the Smithsonian so you can get used to reading and analyzing long, sophisticated passages that are well written.

To truly master sentence correction, you must develop mastery of grammar rules (eg. parallelism, subject/verb agreement, comparisons, pronouns, etc.) and accepted English usage. In addition to your dedicated study, notice grammar and usage in your everyday life. Be aware of the things you habitually read in terms of sentence structure, how phrases are worded, whether pronouns are easy to understand, to name just a few topics. Make sure to use proper grammar in your everyday writing as well. Have you put parallel ideas into parallel constructions? Do all of your pronouns refer back to specific nouns? The more you reinforce your study with related activity outside of your study, the greater the likelihood you will master the topics, and have fun doing so!

Once your weakest verbal areas have been addressed, you may want to take some more practice exams to track your progress. Since you have not taken any official exams you may consider using only those exams for your retake.You can start with the two free exams. After that you can purchase exam pack 1 and exam pack 2.

When taking the exam, try to replicate the test day experience as much as possible: Go to the library instead of taking the test in your house or apartment. Be sure to complete all sections (AWA, IR, Quant, and Verbal). Only take the allotted breaks.

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. Thanks!