nazeh
I have been studying for the gmat since October of last year, and have taken the exam twice but my score hasn't improved at all. I have studied the
Manhattan books,
the official guide, and even registered with Exampal but my score hasn't even changed. The only thing that has changed is my IR score, which has jumped from 3/12 on the first one to 9/12 on the second one. Both of my exams were at 410, which is a score that does't portray my intellectual capability bit it has made me feel dumb. Any feedback is appreciated?
Considering you haven't improved even with the amount of time you've put in, it sounds like you are making the same mistakes or falling for the same traps. I would advise you to first identify the problem before spending anymore effort studying. Some possible issues:
- have you covered all of the subject matter / topics on which questions could be based on?
- have you taken mock tests at all or are did you only try the official exam? if you have done mocks, what did you do between mocks to improve?
- do you maintain an
error log to figure out which questions you get wrong in practice and mock tests? do you make sure not to make same error next time?
- do you finish all the questions in a section (during mock or real test)? or do find yourself finishing a section too early or with not enough time to finish all the questions?
- if you do better in mocks but not on official test, do you simulate your mock tests well? do you use pen & paper or scratchpad & marker? do you follow time restrictions strictly at home? etc.
- do you breakdown your mock tests to figure out where your strengths and weaknesses lie?
- have you figured out strategies that work for you, for answering different types of questions efficiently?
It's not the amount of time spent, it's the quality of your effort that counts. Don't lose hope and try to figure out where your weaknesses are.
Good luck!