Need inputs to kill GMAT Verbal (V40-45+)

Question

Hello GMAT veterans,

So, I gave my first GMAT exam on 23-Dec-2022 and scored a 660 (Q49V31) (which is way below my target score of 750+).

I am looking to understand what went wrong and how can I improve to a V40-45.

Background information :
I began my prep in mid May-2022 with TTP and finished all sections/material by mid Nov-2022. I was able to complete the following before my first attempt:
a. 2/3 of OG 2021, almost 40% of OG Verbal Review 2022 and 30% of OG Advanced 
b. OG PT1 - 710 (Q49V38)
c. OG PT2 - 730 (Q49V40)
d. OG PT3 - 720 (Q50V37)
e. OG PT4 - 690 (Q50V33)

What's baffling me is that I cannot understand where I went wrong on the GMAT exam. During the verbal section, I felt in control and confident about my answer choices, so it was a bit disheartening to see my score dip. Below are the strategies I used within each sub-section in verbal:
i. SC - I try to eliminate incorrect answer choices by using grammar rules and meaning (in that order). However, I do have a tendency to let go of this strategy and listen to my "ear". I perform the poorest on this section out of all 3 sub-sections
ii. CR - I do slightly better than I do at SC. I've had 90%+ accuracies on Easy, Medium level OG questions and about 60% on Hard OG questions. I rely mostly on logic and the strategies I picked up from TTP CR.
iii. RC - I believe RC is kind of like an extension to CR and this sub-section is the one where I have had near-perfect accuracies on across OG, mocks etc. I was disheartened to see my percentile ranking drop to 50th in the ESR. Again for RC questions, I rely mostly on logic and the strategies I picked up from TTP RC/CR.

I think the variation in my verbal score across mocks is a red flag in itself. At this point, I've made it my mission to ace GMAT Verbal and I'm willing to put in necessary resources to make sure I do it.

P.S. - I'm unable to attach my ESR here as I don't have 5 posts as of now. I'll be happy to share them over DM.

pintukr · Answer

Solve using GC Forum Quiz. Explanations posted by Experts assist to build up the concepts.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi viditg,

I have the perfect article for you:

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi viditg.

In addition to going through the post that Scott shared, I'd suggest focusing on achieving very high accuracy on practice questions, regardless of how long you need to spend per question

Any time you miss a question, determine why you missed it (knowledge gap, flawed strategy, etc.) and address the issue. If you have a knowledge gap, be sure to review the concepts you're not clear about.

By focusing on achieving super high accuracy, such as easy - close to 100%, medium - 90%+, and hard - 80%+, on practice questions, you'll be doing what you need to do to master GMAT verbal.

Once you're achieving that kind of accuracy, you'll be ready to achieve your score goal, first on practice tests and then on the real GMAT.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Try to improve your method of tackling the questions if you feel your fundamentals are solid. May quickly boost your score a bit at a certain point.

How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi  viditg

As you have an ESR, I can definitely help you in analyzing it. I feel it's better to have a one-on-one discussion rather than responding here as the former would be more effective. We could connect over a zoom conference call and analyze your ESR together. This way we can figure out what exactly your weak areas are and then make a plan of action. Feel free to connect with me on DM for further discussion.

viditg · Answer

Thanks Marty! I'll review my OG error log again to understand where the gaps are. Can I reach out to you or ScottTargetTestPrep over email for a study plan ? I'm kind of lost right now. TTP did the planning for me for the first attempt

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Sure. You could reach out to Jeff and me.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi viditg,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. 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. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

That having been said, a 660/Q49 is still a solid Score, with a strong Overall profile, it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to act on that advice, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

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

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Did you use any other study materials besides the course that you listed? Did you use any other “brands” of CATs/mocks besides the Official ones?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). Since you purchased the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you. Before you can include attachments with your posts/PMs, you need to have at least 5 posts in the forums (right now, you have 2 posts). If you would rather not go through those extra steps at this point, then you can feel free to email me directly (at [email protected]).

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

viditg · Answer

Thanks for reaching out Rich! I've emailed you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Vidit, I've sent you an analysis of your ESR and some additional questions. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

egmat · Answer

Hi viditg

I am sorry to hear that you did not score well. I know it must be frustrating; but if you commit yourself to improving, I am confident that you can improve your Verbal score.

I’d like to start by congratulating you on your Quant score. Solid effort! You not only need to maintain this score but at the same time try to improve to a Q51 by identifying the topics that need more effort. You should do that by following a precise improvement plan.

I have recorded a video to give you my recommendations on improving your Verbal score. Below is the link:

Viditg | Personalised Response - Watch Video

Here is the summary of the video:

You’re absolutely right about the variation in Verbal scores being a red flag. It indicates conceptual gaps, lack of cementing of core skills, and need for checking test readiness before attempting a mock.
SC – your conceptual knowledge needs work along with a need to follow the right process in solving questions instead of relying on your “ear”. I believe the Meaning-based approach would help you immensely. Here is a link for our webinar that would be helpful to understand the Meaning-based approach.
CR – You need to identify why your accuracies dropped on the test day. You can do that by getting recent data of at least 60 questions for all the individual topics in CR which will help you pinpoint the areas that need your attention (ability and/or timing issues). Precise data analytics will help you here.
RC – It seems that your current approach is not working for you, and you need to perfect your reading strategies and techniques. Here is an article on tips for improving RC.

Please share your ESR via a DM or by writing to us at [email protected] so that I can help you analyze it. We can also arrange a one-on-one session where we can help you with a precise and personalized improvement plan to target a 750+.

Your time commitment

Also, please share your time commitment for your next attempt – weekly hours that you can invest and overall timeframe.

Some motivation for you –

Neel improved from 650 (Q50V27) to a 750 (Q51V40) in 40 days.

The e-GMAT GMAT Online Course has a comprehensive foundational course (based on our proprietary methodologies such as Meaning-based approach in SC, PreThinking in CR, etc.) along with a dedicated quizzing platform which will help you with both Cementing your core skills and checking your Test readiness. Feel free to check out our free trial resources here.

Hope this helps!

-Vaibhav

viditg · Answer

Hey Vaibhav - Thanks a ton for taking out the time and sharing a personalized analysis. I kind of agree with your inference that the variation in verbal score during the practice tests do indicate that I'm weaker in a few areas and stronger in others. I loved the suggestion to identify ability/timing stats across 60 (20-E, 20-M, 20-H) questions of each question type and I'm going to apply it across SC, CR and RC (on each sub-question type in those sections) . It will surely highlight the areas I need to improve. Currently, I'm refreshing my concepts across SC (I will also check out the webinar you mentioned) and reading up on CR and RC techniques/strategies from PowerScore bibles. Once I'm done (probably in a week), I'll perform the activity highlighted above and see where I stand. I will definitely reach out to you with my findings for your inputs. Coming to your other questions, -> time commitment is 20 hours a week on average (can push this up to about 25 hours depending on my workload) -> the idea is to give the next attempt after ~2 months of prep (maybe mid March), but this is not fixed and definitely want to make sure that a) I am reaching the target accuracies/time limits across question types in each verbal sections. I have 2 GMATPrep mocks (#5 and #6) left which intend to use in addition to Manhattan Mocks which I'm planning to get soon. b) I am not burned out from mock tests (I took 4 mocks within a span of 7-10 days leading up to my main exam. I think this may have caused me to burn out. I want to make sure that a week before the next attempt, I'm just reviewing my error log and concepts). With regards to my quant score, the test day didn't go as I had expected. I ended up spending 6-7 mins on the first question, only to panic and rush through the others and finished the section with about 5 mins to spare :-I. I do target a Q50-51 on my next one and I think I can get it (as I did score >=Q49 on all mocks consistently

). Do you have any inputs on the weekly effort on the quant practice ? I don't want to just stop doing it only to find my brain rusted at the end :-D.

egmat · Answer

Hi  viditg

Thanks for your reply. Really glad that you found the Verbal Strategy helpful! 😊

Here are my inputs on mocks and Quant strategy-

About Mocks  
I completely agree with you that you shouldn’t burn yourself out by taking a lot of mocks in the last 7-10 days leading to your exam day, because doing so could adversely affect your performance on test day. However, I would still advise you to remain in the “zone” in the last week by taking at least 1 or 2 mocks (not more than that). While we certainly don’t want to be burned out, we need to get our speed and momentum going so that we are in the right mindset and on top of our game on test day. You need to hit your peak performance on test day. This is where you need to figure out your sweet spot in terms of the ideal number of mocks for you in the last week (1 or 2) because, while you certainly should be relaxed in the last week, you also need to maintain your momentum.

Quant Strategy  
To keep yourself from losing touch with Quant, I would advise a similar strategy as in Verbal, where you practice 50-60 Medium and Hard questions for each sub-section (Number Properties, Word Problems, Algebra, etc.) in a timed manner and with precise data analytics on your accuracies and timing across topics. This will also help you uncover any topic-wise weaknesses. Once your accuracies are good for all subsections, you can move to checking your Test Readiness by taking mixed quizzes across sub-sections, again, in a timed manner.

Hope this helps!

-Vaibhav

Need inputs to kill GMAT Verbal (V40-45+)

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards