Need serious help!

Question

Hello dear friends,

It all started somewhere around Dec' 5th, 2019. I started my GMAT journey with one of the tutors near my locality. Before I talk about the main reason for writing this post to seek help. Let me give you all a small introduction about myself.

I am a commerce graduate. I did my graduation around 13 years ago. I haven't been able to stay in touch with studies ever since. I am a working person. I have had a couple of businesses during this time. Since, my post grad was due for so long, I decided to take GMAT and fulfill my dream. Hence, started my GMAT coaching with the tutor.

Past one - one and half months have been tough. Really tough. I spent hours to catch up and learn all the forgotten concepts old and new. Sometimes even sat for 8 hours a day to gain back some knowledge. After around 20 days, I felt lost due to lack of planing and systematic road map and approach. So I decided to read from the internet all the possible experiences and stories related to planning and succeeding in GMAT. I got hold of some techniques like POMORADO and spaced repetition. It helped me gain my momentum as I was able to track my progress. I started learning and implementing my knowledge by doing various drills on various topics. Things started to fall in place as I was able to attend most of the questions with proper understanding unlike earlier. I was able to comprehend the questions, though sometimes rather most of the times could not come up with the correct answer. However, I was at least able to understand the language GMAT uses. Sometimes I did a lot of things at a time and sometimes took up as little as possible so as to digest the subject correctly.

Some 4 days ago. I was enrolled to The Princeton Review plan by my tutor. This changed everything. I started taking up the coursework in their study plan and started doing the drills. Here I get the shock of my life. Suddenly I feel I do not know a single thing! I did really bad in the topic wise drills. My accuracy was not more than 60%. I lost faith. Lost my confidence and got extremely panicked.

As the last resort. I choose to write this up before I burst out and loose the remaining hope. I am sure I am not the first person to have experienced such a fear. I literally fear to attempt any question with the pre-notion that I will not be able to solve it. May be the confidence have hit it's lowest.

Please guide me and help me figure out what exactly do I need to do about learning and performing good at my GMAT. Keeping by back ground in mind please suggest how can I ace this. This is my last chance to fulfill my dream and I do not want to loose it at any cost. I know nothing is impossible. I just want to know the possible ways if at all I am missing any.

Expecting a quick and supportive response on this post.

Regards,
Ankit Singh

cantaffordname · Answer

Hey Ankit,

Glad you reached to this community. I am commerce student without math background, hence I can understand your pain. Since it's your dream I believe you are not going to let it go. And you have to work smart as well as hard.

Everything is possible, just focus on the fundamentals stay away from negative people. For quant I will recommend TTP

globaldesi · Answer

Try out some work longs and track your progress everyday.
By tracking i mean literally writing down every day what you are doing. Focus on weak areas but suggest find out areas where you are a pro.

Keep a date in mind and a set a deadline for yourself

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ankit,

Many GMATers are anxious about some portion of the GMAT (whether the Quant, the Verbal or both) - so you're not alone. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. The key work there is "train"; to hit your Score Goal, you have to stay focused on doing the proper work needed to earn that Score.

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:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other practice materials besides the ones that you mentioned?
3) On what 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

ASR2021 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your encouraging words.

1. I study on an average 4 hrs a day.
2. I have been using Veritas Study Materials along with Princeton Review online subscription and not to mention OG of course.
3. Like I said in my post. I a unable to overcome my fear. Also, I don't find myself prepared for the mocks yet. Most probably I will start writing mocks/CATs by the end of this month.
4. My goal is 730.
5. I am planning to take GMAT by the end of April'20 (flexible for a month or so)
6. I will apply for Business Schools by August/September for the 2021 intake. I want to apply for HEC Paris and LBS.

Last night after reading some articles and talking to few GMATClub members, I have been feeling better and looking forward to giving a fresh start.

I am going to make some changes in my study schedule and the way of studying. I will come back here after 15 days with an update. So if anyone on the same side of the shore like me can watch this thread.

Thank You.
Ankit Singh

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ankit,

While I understand your concerns about how well you currently know the material that is tested on the GMAT, you really MUST take that initial diagnostic CAT sometime soon. Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. It's just a measure of your skills right now - and we need to know your skills, strengths and weaknesses so that we can put together the proper study plan for you.

If you have not taken any practice CATs/mocks yet, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can take 2 for free at www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). That initial Score will help to define how effective your studies have been so far and will provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here (or you can PM me directly) and we can come up with a study plan.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Ankit,

You did the right thing by reaching out to us here. I realize that you are worried because there seems to be so much to learn to master GMAT quant; however, as long as you follow a linear and structured study plan and a realistic timeline, you CAN improve your GMAT quant skills. Furthermore, it’s important that you don't “fear” the GMAT, OK? I want you to adjust your feeling of fear to a feeling of determination. Get excited to attack GMAT quant and learn all you need to so you can succeed on the GMAT. The right attitude will go a long way.

Regarding how to move forward, I agree that since you need quant help, TTP would be an awesome resource for you. We are the  top-rated quant course here on GMAT Club . We offer a full-access, 5-day trial, so feel free to give the course a shot. If you have any questions regarding TTP, feel free to reach out to me directly.

Let’s do this!!

ASR2021 · Answer

Hi Rich - I appreciate your extended help and suggestions. I will surely write a practice mock soon and report it here. Also, I did ponder on the difficulties and the reason for the lack of confidence. I figured that my plan will now be to master the quant on the basis of the lvl of questions. First I will spend time in mastering the 500+ lvl questions and only then move to 600+ lvl and so on. Hope this is the correct strategy to implement.

Thank You,
Ankit Singh

ASR2021 · Answer

Hi Scott - Thank you for your encouraging words. I was in shock of my life when I was stuck with inability to answer the questions and hence started this post. I am feeling much better now. I have plans now. I will work on them as mentioned by you without 'fear'. I shall try to keep this post active and keep posting my progress.

Thank You,
Ankit Singh

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

My pleasure, my friend. I'm here if you need me.

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