Need help to increase verbal score. GMAT 1st attempt: 570 (Q 44 V 22).

Question

Hi everyone,

I gave my first GMAT on 9th December 2017. I scored 570 with a break up of Q 44 and V 22!!!! I have never been great at math so the quant score did not surprise me. However, my verbal score was much lower than what I had expected. I had been scoring a consistent 37-38 in my GMATPrep mock exams. In the real exam, I had to rush through the last 10 verbal questions as I was running out of time. I got really stressed out when I saw how little time I had left. It really messed up my mind.Could that have really affected my verbal score to such an extent as to bring it down to 22??!!

Here are the books I had used for my preparation:
1. OG.
2.Manhattan Quant books.
3.Manhattan verbal books.

I am really disappointed with my score and I feel a little hopeless at the moment. I am planning to give the exam again in March 2018. Please help me by recommending some good verbal study materials and a good study plan. 22 is definitely not reflective of my actual verbal potential but if I have to make major changes in my approach I am willing to do so.

Thanks and regards.

P.S. Happy Holidays

pushpitkc · Answer

Hey diya2085

Your first step must be to order the ESR and find out what your exact problem areas are.
Once you have an ESR, the experts on the forum will be able to give you ways to improve your score.

Link for Quant theory: https://gmatclub.com/forum/ultimate-gma ... 44512.html

A Q44 in the actual test means you have made mistakes at almost all the 700+ level questions.
The GMATClub Mocks which have a lot of really good Quant questions can help you build the
stamina to solve 700+ level questions. IMO, you should focus on re-building the concepts of your
weak topics from the links given above.This should be enough to improve your score to Q49-50.

This is an awesome post which will definitely help you improve your Quant scores to 50
https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 41670.html

Addressing your main problem, Verbal!

A V22 most probably means that you have to work on your basics. Since you have used the
Manhattan Guides, you should try a different method.

You could use the PowerScore CR bible in order to get a basic understanding of how
the CR section works. This should help supplement the basics you have learned using
the Manhattan Strategy guides.

For RC, you could refer to the below-given link
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-club-s- ... 83101.html

IMO, eGMAT is the best resource to improve your understanding of the concepts as far as
Sentence Correction is concerned. Additionally, you can use the SC videos collection of Ron
Purewal to build your concepts.

Hope this helps you!

diya2085 · Answer

Thanks a ton pushpitkc. I have ordered the ESR and the Powerscore CR Bible. I will also check out the links you have mentioned.

I really want to improve my score. Let's hope I am able to do so.

Thanks again

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi diya2085,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as hoped. Before we can determine why your Verbal Scaled Score dropped so much, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
3) Did you take the FULL CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

diya2085 · Answer

Hi Rich ,

Thanks for reaching out.

Please find the requisite information below in italics:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?

I studied for 2.5 months. I am from a non-engineering background and I had not studied math for almost 12 years after school. Hence, I had to start quant right from the basics i.e. learn what prime numbers are, etc. In my diagnostic test I scored a 590 with the break-up of Q 37 V 35.

2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Diagnostic GMATPrep 1: 590 Q37 V 35
Manhattan 1: 590 Q 44 V 28
Manhattan 2: 680 Q 45 V 37
Manhattan 3: 680 Q 44 V 38
GMAT Prep 2: 690 Q 47 V 36
GMAT: 570 Q 44 V 22

3) Did you take the FULL CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?

I did not do the essay section but completed the IR section every time with a score ranging from 6-8.

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?

700+

5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

2018-2019

6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

I am aiming at the top 20 as my credentials otherwise are pretty solid. I have over 7 years of work experience in M&A with good school and college scores.

Further, I received the ESR and it seems that I performed very badly in SC and CR only managing an 18th and 40th percentile respectively. Comparatively, I faired quite decent in RC managing an 80th percentile. As I mentioned in my first post, I took a lot of time in doing the first 2 sets of questions in verbal and had to really rush through the remaining sets.

I hope the above suffices the queries that you have. Please let me know if you need any additional clarifications and/or information.

Regards.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi diya2085,

Raising a 570 to a 700+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. That having been said, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

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 them at home?
2) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT?
3) 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.)? 
4) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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

diya2085 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Please note that I will not be able to dedicate more than 2 months for the preparation.

The answers to your queries are set out below:

1) Did you take them at home?

Yes.

2) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you took your Official GMAT?

No. I took the CATs early in the morning but gave the GMAT in the evening slot.

3) 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.)?

No I didn’t take any extended breaks or pause the exam. However, I did skip the AWA section.

4) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

I did not repeat any CATs but yes I did get some questions that I had seen before. They were not exactly the same but similar.

Regards.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi diya2085,

From your prior post, there were some 'red flags' in terms of how you took your CATs. Before we discuss those details though, I have a few additional questions about the lead-up to Test Day and Test Day itself:

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

As an aside, if you're 'limited' to just 2 months of study time, but you don't hit 700+, how will your plans change?

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

Do you remember whether you got a lot of SC/CR questions towards the end? The ESR data could be extremely skewed if you had to rush through (mostly) SC/CR questions.

To check whether your V22 is an outlier and should not be regarded as a reliable data point, you should get the exam packs from mba.com. You will almost certainly benefit from the additional test practice that tests 3-6 will provide. Ensure that you have  a solid timing strategy  in place, and implement it during your practice tests going forward. You must not allow what happened to your timing during the first exam to happen again.

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi diya2085, 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. 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. I would also encourage you to purchase the GMATPREP QP 1 for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu Hope this helps. All the best.

Plunkster82 · Answer

Hey Rohan, Could you update the link? It appears it's broken. Thanks, Colin

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi Colin,

Thanks for pointing that out. The link has been updated.

All the best.

diya2085 · Answer

Thank you all for the valuable information.

I have subscribed to the E-gmat verbal course and found it to be quite effective.

Once I am through with the course, I will also take the additional GMAT Prep and VeritasPrep mock exams. Hopefully, I will be able to pull up my score this time.

Thank you again.

Regards.

Need help to increase verbal score. GMAT 1st attempt: 570 (Q 44 V 22).

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