Need help to start preparing again for 2nd attempt

Question

Hi
I just recently took GMAT n my score was very depressing (480 , Q35, V21). I never scored this low in any of my practice tests. In GMATprep i scored 620 n 640. 
And i do admit that i was not as focussed as one needs to be but now i want to start again n atleast get a minimum of 630 this time. 
I was just searching on net n there is so much of material available to chose from n that made me much more confused. I am very weak in verbal as u can c frm my score n need to improve on both Quants n Verbal.
In Quants i usually get those number theory n prob. questions wrong. Which books do u recommend me.. i intend to work for two months before my next attempt.. Plz suggest me how to move fwd....

2012dreams · Answer

it would be helpful if you shared which books you have already used to study from and what you method of study was. that will help guide advice on what supplemental materials you should use and a study plan

sunainaluthra · Answer

Hi,

I had taken up princeton classroom tutoring and based my study plans strictly acc to it.
I followed OG11, Princeton Manual, Princeton Online student centre wherein i had several timed drills on all the topics.
In last few weeks i started on with Kaplan Priemier but cldnt cover the book.
I took many practice tests.. which included 5 CATs from princeton (score range: 520-630), Kaplan diagnostic (630) kaplan CAT(610), OG diagnostic (610), GMAT prep 1(610), GMAT prep 2 (630).

The areas where i lack are : quants ( Number theory : primes , factors , multiples etc usually the DS questions which includes this concept and probability) 
 Verbal ( my score shows i need to work on each verticle of verbal although i guess SC needs much more practice)

Something about me and my test experience:
Am actually...not an applicant for MBA but am intending to do MS in Integrated marketing Communication for which i need a score ranging b/w 610- 650 atleast. And Hence, am targeting for a score of 650+.
I intend to retake the test arnd end of August. so that means about 2 months of study time is there with me. I wanted to share my full GMAT test experience too :. 
 
What went wrong on the day:
 
1. I was a bit nervous .. and to add to it in the very first Argument essay the time ran out.. n i cldnt complete the conclusion.
 Although Issue essay was a cake walk n i scored 5.0 in AWA.
 
2. Due to a collapse in AWA argument i was a bit tensed but neverthless geared up for quants.. i was sure that m doing pretty much good in it as i faced good prob quest, and few standard deviation questions too. As told by princeton ppl u face these set of quest if u r sumwhere in 40's on GMAT quant section. But the turning point came when i got stuck in a Prob quest n lost time there... my timing got mis managed n i had to rush thru last few questions... few even w/o reading carefully.
 
3. U can imagine what mindset i had that time.. i took the break relaxed my self but still i sumwhere suffered frm a mental block.. n had a negativity in me..which resulted in poor conc in Verbal, i keprt rereading sentences again n again... n got highly confused.. it was as if nothing could work. 
 
I knew i wont be scoring good but 480 i didnt expected despite of all this happening.
 
Nyways, there can be a bad day in one's life but then it made me learn many things too .
I now specifically knw where i need to work.. in quants my weakness lies in Number theory DS questions (Primes, factors, multiples etc) I usually get them wrong and ofcourse probability has been a struggle since, school days.
Verbal as u all can make out from my score needs hell lot of work in every aspect.

I was searching on net n i came across "Winner's Guide to GMAT math, CR, SC, RC" does ny1 out here knws abt it?
I found it good for fundamentals but still need sum reviews before buying it.

I am eagerly waiting for ur advices which can help me design a study plan for next two mnths and score of 650 atleast.
God bless

shaselai · Answer

I think many people will tell you to improve the weaknesses rather than keep taking tests. Find your weaknesses (you said quant and SC) and study those subjects. Probably good idea to get the Manhattan GMAT books for specific subjects... i find them reasonably cheap on Amazon.com( ~18$) and if you sign up on prime trial for a month you get 2nd day shipping for free!

Pathfinder · Answer

I would like to recommend you a combination of improving fundamentals and takin as much moch tests as you can.

Obviously, you are not bad at all, considering your results from GMAT Prep. Actually, you are pretty close to your desired result, but you have to work on your stamina and concentration. I think that best way to acomplish this is to take GMAT Prep, 3 or 4 times each, but you should take them simulating real test conditions.

Additionaly, you have to work on your fundamentals and I think that, accrording to your list of weaknesses, MGMAT would be an excellent choice. If you are confident with some areas, you can order just the ones you think you will have trouble with.

sunainaluthra · Answer

I would certainly go in for the material u adviced .. do u have ny idea about "Winners guide to GMAT math" and Winners guide to GMAT SC, CR" . MGMAT i can order from amazon.. till i get those i am thinking to buy this guide which focusses on basics.. whats holding me back is that m not too sure abt its effectiveness n ofcourse need to find out much abt it before making the purchase. Ny advice in this regard?

shaselai · Answer

best-gmat-verbal-prep-books-reviews-recommendations-78094.html best-gmat-math-prep-books-reviews-recommendations-77291.html they have reviews for "best" books. I didn't see anything on the "Winner's guides" though but if I were you I would go with the books recommended by people here... The Manhattan GMATs also cover basics as well. You should get the Official Guide 11/12 (depends on version of Manhattan you are buying (if not any will be fine)). I just started reading on the Manhattan books and it is more thorough per subject than those big "catch all" books.

phoenix09 · Answer

Hang in there..your story/prep/GMAT experience is similar to mine..I too am frustrated with a poor game day performance...

sunainaluthra · Answer

Hey thanks a lot for that suggestion.. i m quite sure of buying manhattan series now.. although i am in India n it wld certainly take time to get shipped . So, in the mean time i plan to go thru sum of the material i got hold of like free pdf review of SC from Manhattan, Spidy's notes on SC .. i hope i m not making ny mistake in this.. m act quite concerned abt my study plan n study material this time bec of what happened just few days back.. but need to get out of it n WORK..

Thnks once again.. I hope i get the material delivered soon

Thnks once again.. I hope i get the material delivered soon

sunainaluthra · Answer

@ phoenix..

as ur username suggests "risen from ashes" so thats what we need to do... we need to rise .. n its only a directed work that wld help.. i plan to retake the test around end of august... nd with everyone here to help us.. i certailnly think we can reach our goals.. 
all thats required is to find out our weaknesses . And in case, u lost confidence as i did in b/w the test due to time shortage etc.. what i guess we need is the timed practice sessions.. i didnt really timed my practice sessions of OG which i guess was a pitfall.. And ofcourse m geting set to work on the parts where m weak (Number theory, SC etc) ... with help of all advices i get here.

All in All "believe and it shall be done"

sunainaluthra · Answer

HI i have decided on my study plan and also, the materials i require to focus on... 
Am gng to refer the folowing material:
1. OG 11 (done once), 12
2. OG quants and verbal review
3. Kaplan Primier
4. MGMAT SC, Number theory, Word translation (have picked them acc to my weaknesses as mentioned before)

I intend to start with my studies from 1st of july.
I plan to study for 4hrs on a daily basis bec as of now m free and can do that with ease. Although once i join the company with which am recruited, i wld be coming down to 2 hrs in weekday n 5-6hrs on weekends.

To start with this is my strategy:
I plan to distribute these 4hrs equally between Quants and Verbal.
like.. first two hrs i wld dedicate to quants (fundamentals and practice (20PS+ 20DS).
And next 2hrs to Verbal (fundamentals mainly SC as m weak in it n doing a set of 20SC, 10CR, 2-3 RC). This m planning for weekdays and ofcourse i wld be analysing each question to its depth.

On Saturdays i am going to take tests... and Sundays would be analyzing them combined with revision of the week's work.

Do u think m on the right track?Is the material sufficient? And is the startegy good to hit the target (ofcourse i will follow it )? I m preparing myself for a score of atleast 650.
Looking fwd to some insights from you.

phoenix09 · Answer

I think you are on target for a minimum 650...I advise not to overwhlem yourself with studying...break it up sometimes..I made the mistake of making GMAT my life and I ended up burnt out......

Pathfinder · Answer

It is an excellent plan. I would study for three months if I were you, but considering your GMAT Prep scores two months should be enough.

Additionally, I would write-off Kaplan from your study material list. You will see nothing in Kaplan Premiere that you already don't have in MGMAT and OG. For Verbal, situation is even worse, Kaplan is an awful resource for Verbal.

Time saved by avoiding Kaplan, you can use more wisely - probably for some more CATs. This is the area I am most concerned with in your case - test taking itself. It seems you don't have enough concentration and stamina, you have to work on that even more than on your fundamentals.

sunainaluthra · Answer

Thanks a ton.. I was just adding Kaplan Premiere as a source of practice. But considering what u said i guess i first will do OG's n MGMAT n ofcourse much more CAT's (u correctly pointed out i lack conc. n stamina)..

Thnks once again..

Thnks once again..

sunainaluthra · Answer

I have started practicing but the problem is that i have not yet received my MGMAT guides.
So, Yesterday i brushed up my Geometry basics and did 20PS n 20DS questions(based on geometry)+ 3 RC passages from OG11. And today, i did 20PS+20DS (Work and rate related) + 3 passages+ 10 CR. I didnt do ny SC questions as i want to first complete the MGMAT guide n then do it all.

I expect the guides to reach me tomorrow.
But what i want to know is .. whether i shld first complete the guides--- MGMAT number theory, word translation and SC fully. and then solve the questions from OG. {BUT IN THIS CASE I WONT BE DOING MUCH OF DAILY PRACTICE TILL M DONE WITH THESE GUIDES}.

OR

Shld i follow the same routine.. that is i divide the OG into question sets based on various topics.. and pick up one topic for the day (for both quants + Verbal (sc))read the MGMATguide(RELATED TO THE TOPIC eg. modifiers, idioms for 4th july.. i make a set of 20 sc questions based on this from OG11 n solve them) and then solve those sets. For CR and RC this is not applicable and i would be continuing to solbve 3 passages daily + 10-15 CR daily.

I also want to take a CAT next sunday.. so that i can c sum improvement.

Plz guide me ...

pm4553 · Answer

I'm not sure if you've ordered, however, MGMAT books are available in India. You don't need to place an order and wait for them to reach.

You can find them in leading bookstores. PM me, if you want to know the stores.

Good luck with GMAT. I'm sailing in the same boat, too.

sunainaluthra · Answer

I just rcvd my guides.. now what i plan to do is complete these 3 guides in about 10 days from now.
I would be dealing with Number properties and SC 1st wherein i would work on fundamentals and then pick up OG n do the questions based on those concepts.

Also, while scanning thru Number properties i found that i can easily do 2-3 topics in a day (practice- 20PS+20DS+MGMAT practice set).
Whereas for SC i wld do 2 topics per day and then solve 20SC questions from OG.
For CR n RC i wld follow the same schedule (10-15CR+ 2-3 passages from OG).

I plan to take a CAT on 11th July.

Plz suggest.

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