Need guidance on study plan

Question

Hi, i have appeared today for Gmat and got 570 (48,22). Can somebody please suggest me some pointers for verbal study?

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JeffTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi sagarb,

Before providing some specific advice, I would like some more insight into your GMAT preparation and goals.
 
1) Did you get your enhanced score report? If not, could you do so and share the score breakdown from your GMAT?
 
2) Can you provide us with the dates and score breakdowns from your Official GMAT prep practice exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)? Did you complete the entire CAT, including the IR and Essay sections?
 
3) Describe your study routine. What resources have you been using to study? How many hours a day did you study and for how many total months?
 
4) What is your GMAT score goal?
 
5) What are the MBA programs to which you plan to apply? What deadlines are you targeting?

grb26 · Answer

Hi JeffTargetTestPrep ,

Thanks for your your response, here are the required details:

1) Did you get your enhanced score report? If not, could you do so and share the score breakdown from your GMAT? - Not yet, it says wait for 48 hours min after taking the exam, i have given the exam 20hours back. I will surely provide it here in this thread in as soon as it is available.

2) Can you provide us with the dates and score breakdowns from your Official GMAT prep practice exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)? Did you complete the entire CAT, including the IR and Essay sections? - I took GMAT Prep exam 1 and exam 2 , exactly 4 and 2 days before my actual GMAT exam. I skimmed through the AWA on both of these attempts, and one thing i noted is i was almost getting mentally exhausted in my 2 Prep exams and actual exam's verbal section. Score breakdowns are here:

Prep 1 (41,26)
Prep 2 (45,24)
GMAT (48,22)

I mimiced the real test environment in Prep exams, also I took 3 other mock exams in last month, each 1 week apart, scores there were actual scores rather than scaled score or percentiles, nevertheless they were also miserably low.

3) Describe your study routine. What resources have you been using to study? How many hours a day did you study and for how many total months?

I have used Jamboree's material to start with and then i worked on OG17, verbal and quant guides. I started my preparation in Mar'16 and spent an hour on average studying daily for first 3-4 months. In July, my study hours went well above 1.5 hours daily, while in 
Aug it went well above 2 hours daily on an avg. On weekends though this avg. was at least 50% higher in earlier months, and 200% higher in last a month or so.
Also, an important note, i am an IT employee from last 9 years, out of which i hv been at client location here in US from last more than 4 years as a full time employee.

4) What is your GMAT score goal?

I need to get 710-750 for the programs i am targetting.

5) What are the MBA programs to which you plan to apply? What deadlines are you targeting?

I am planning to apply to IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahemadabad or IIM Kolkata in India for ExecMBA program in 2017, the admissions start there in Oct this year.

Please advise.
_________________

grb26 · Answer

Hi JeffTargetTestPrep ,

I just tried and got the ESR, attached here the same for reference.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sagarb,

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 (not either time).

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 scores can become - and that's what happened here. By skimming the AWA, you took shorter CATs that required less overall effort and energy from you, so you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.' In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week. By taking two CATs right before your Official GMAT, there's a reasonable chance that you experienced some 'burn out' on Test Day.

Raising a 570 to a 710+ is going to take some significant time and energy on your part; that process will likely take another 2-3 months of consistent, guided study (and you'll have to make some significant improvements to how you deal with the Verbal section). As such, you might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials and learn/practice some new Tactics.

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

grb26 · Answer

Thanks for the details EMPOWERgmatRichC , i really need to spend some good amount of time on verbal preparation now, any pointers on which material i should use for same please?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sagarb,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you're looking for about the Verbal section, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying:

1) What practice materials have you used to study for the Verbal section?
2) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC or CR prompt?
3) How often do you "narrow down the answers down to 2 choices, then choose the one that "sounds good"?"

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

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hi sagarb,

The SC section is the easiest verbal section to make improvements on. Once you understand how to think and approach this question type, there are only so many ways you can be tested. Here at GMAT Pill we developed the 10 core frameworks which detail the 10 ways to approach GMAT sentence corrections.

Here is a sample video detailing one of the core frameworks: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... stion/2184

For CR, we recommend a visual framework approach to help you understand the complex short passages and how each item relates to each other.

Here is a video describing the visual framework approach: https://www.gmatpill.com/criticalreasoni ... Estate.mp4

The RC score could definitely use some improvement. To improve RC - you really need visual guidance. Don't read articles about how to improve reading. You improve by actually doing or watching someone else do.

That's why you might find these video walkthroughs helpful: https://www.gmatpill.com/practicequestio ... tions.html

Best of luck on your studies!

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