ONLINE GMAT EXPERIENCE

Question

Yesterday, I appeared for online GMAT. Not a great experience though. Scored 650 only (Q47/V34). Not as per expectation and not even close enough to target score. Though, inline with GMAT PREP Official Practice Tests. First, I panicked in the beginning as couldn't find Launch Exam. I missed to see in the Gmail that the Launch Exam tag will appear only 30 minutes before the scheduled exam. Totally my mistake. Then got stuck in first question of the Quant as I couldn't let go my ego and remained stuck for 7-8 minutes then had to guess. The question was based on Fixed and Variable costs and because I had solved such type of questions, I couldn't decide quickly enough whether to guess and proceed. I thought what if all questions will be like this. Verbal seemed ok but got stuck in one hard RC passage and couldn't decide easily which option may be correct and wasted valuable time hence had to guess all 4 options of last RC passage and one CR question in the end. I got a total of 4 RC passage will 14-16 questions. 
Anyway, will reattempt after structured preparation and target Round 3 admissions.

Meanwhile, I couldn't find how to connect with GMAC representative as I'm not able to see my score in mba.com.

Will also need suggestions to improve score. I would say this was not my best as my preparation was not structured enough and I deviated much from official sources. I first wanted to finish the so called syllabus of GMAT hence jumped from here to there. All your valuable suggestions are welcome.

bb   Bunuel ,  GMATNinja  ,  souvik101990  anybother GMAT expert  ARINGO 
Regards

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egmat · Answer

Hi kuldeepkrlhd , I’m sorry to hear that you could not score well as per your expectation. But, since the score is in line with the official mock tests, you must undoubtedly make changes to your prep strategy to improve. V34 and Q47 suggest that you have a strong foundation, but they also indicate some gaps in your prep ( skill gaps ). Your next steps should be to identify these areas and improve in a targeted way; you must also have precise estimates of the time and effort required for improvement in each sub-section. Completing the syllabus should not be your primary objective. GMAT is a test of skills (comprehension, communication, inference, visualization etc. ). You must build these skills to ace the GMAT. I can surely share my suggestions for your score improvement. But to do so properly, I would need your percentile ability scores in each sub-section (SC, CR, RC, Arithmetic, Algebra-Geometry). If you can find some time, will you be able to take our SIGma-X mock test? It comes with an ESR and that data can help me share some suggestions. Here is the link – https://e-gmat.com/sigma-x/ Since your time management was a bit off in the official test, taking this mock test can give us a good estimate of your current skill level. (Feel free to drop an e-mail to support@e-gmat.com post the mock test so that I can share the analysis and suggestions) By the way, here is an example of a student journey that might help you - From GMAT 640 to 730 to 750 in less than 2 months You should be able to contact folks at mba.com here - https://www.mba.com/service/contact-us Hope this helps! -Sundeep

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kuldeepkrlhd,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better - although if this Official Score is similar to some of your practice CAT/mock results, then it's possible that some of the issues that impacted your performance on the Official GMAT have been around some time. By extension, you might need to hone a number of different skills before you will be able to consistently score at a much higher level. 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 long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider using time markers to help your time management.

Scored 650 only (Q47/V34)

Will also need suggestions to improve score.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi kuldeepkrlhd,

Regarding how to improve our GMAT score, here is a helpful article:

How to Improve Your GMAT Score

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

bb · Answer

It will take some time for your essay to be graded and your score to be reportable.

Sorry about getting stuck on a question in quant and RC. You can’t do that 😬🥴

kuldeepkrlhd · Answer

Thanks Sundeep for your guidance.. I did attend classes from e-gmat for 6-8 weeks and for basics course is ok but detailed method outlined in e-gmat for every question takes too much time. And second nature to solve GMAT questions in actual GMAT may take at least 5-6 months for average student like me and that too if working, it may take even more time. I'm thankful to e-gmat for for providing right approach to a student. It was mistake from my side that I initially tried to finish the syllabus at a fast paced rate and gave only one month to official questions. I'm still following e-gmat approach in questions I get stuck and will soon take x-sigma again to understand my weak areas.

Thanks and regards

Posted from my mobile device

Thanks and regards

Posted from my mobile device

egmat · Answer

Hi  kuldeepkrlhd ,

Thank you for writing back. Nothing to worry about here. Since you are an e-GMAT student, please drop an e-mail at support @ e-gmat.com (referencing this GMAT Club thread). Your dedicated mentor will analyze the course attempt data and help you identify the gaps in the prep. Your mentor will also draft a hyper-specific improvement plan for your score improvement and give precise time estimates in each sub-section for improvement.

I look forward to your mail.
-Sundeep

kuldeepkrlhd · Answer

Thank you very much Sundeep. Will do that for sure.

Posted from my mobile device

kuldeepkrlhd · Answer

Hey Rich,

I understand that there is some process and conceptual gaps in my preparations. Actually, after seeing so many debriefs in GMATCLUB of students who scored steller score in GMAT within 2-3 months of preparation, I too thought of doing so but didn't addressed my conceptual gaps then and there. 
I studied approximately for 3 months. Out of that, I dedicated 6-8 weeks of my time to e-gmat course 5-7 hours daily. 
80-90% time was verbal.. Quant I studied only for a week or two.. 
1 month I dedicated to official questions OG and from GMATCLUB. Although couldn't revise all attempted questions. My accuracy in easy and medium official questions were 70-80 percent but average time to solve a question correctly in verbal was 2.5 - 3.5 minutes. For hard level Official questions my accuracy was 50-60 percent only.

I appeared for GMATPREP Tests only in which my verbal score ranged from 27-35. And quant from 47-49. Since, I was targeting second round only hence attempted all GMATPREP Tests in a span of 1 month with a gap of 5-6 days only. I know I couldn't dedidate much time to official questions and understand the nuances of questions. Moreover I didn't dedicate much time to official questions hence my speed accuracy was not upto the mark. 
Since my target score is 750+, reason to post my experience and asking for guidance is that, what should be my way forward. Since, I have solved many official questions during that one month period, should I again start solving same questions to understand the nity-grity to increase my speed accuracy. Because after reading those questions I already can guess answer without thinking much as I remember most of those questions, hence I should look for more questions such as those from LSAT. I have solved questions from OG 22, Verbal Review and GMATCLUB forum quiz questions atleast 900-1000 in numbers total.

Your guidance at this stage will be very helpful.

GMATNinja ,  ScottTargetTestPrep , @empowergmat,  bb

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kuldeepkrlhd, I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions. GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made, Rich Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

egmat · Answer

kuldeepkrlhd

Kuldeep,

You have listed some interesting points, which I would like to address. Before I address those, Let us start with some context.

Your target score

The fact that you are retaking after scoring 650 indicates that you are aiming for a 700+ score, probably a 720+. Let me know if I am off here. Fewer than 6% of people get there – and one telling characteristic of everyone who gets there is tenacity. They know the right way to solve questions and they master that way.

Why can I be so certain about this characteristic – because ~60% of 700+ scores reported in the GMAT Club’s review section since 2021 are by e-GMATers. I want you to go and read the reviews  here . You will notice that a majority of them have gone through the painful yet rewarding process of learning. Next – I would urge you to contact them. Many of them will tell you that if they had to do it again, they will still go through the same process.

Why should the above be relevant to you?

Frankly, if there were another way, that is other than the way outlined in the course, we would not have accounted for such a big share of reported 700-scores.

On a curious note – which classes are you talking about?

An average student takes 5-6 months…

I am not sure where you got this statistic. Here is something that you need to remember: The pace of improvement depends on the intensity of effort. Try cutting a tree using your hand and it would take a lifetime. You will probably break your hand before that happens. Use an axe and you probably will be successful in a day. Note – in both cases you are still using the same force – the force from your shoulders. It is just that it is more intense when you use an axe as the axe channels all that force in one area. That is exactly what you need to do.

Did you use an axe?

Cementing is the equivalent of using an axe. Did you do cementing and hit those metrics? Did you do Strategic review and fill out the respective error logs? If you graduated from cementing then congratulations – you probably are a few weeks away from V40. You just need to focus on Test Readiness. If you did not, then let us try and use the axe.

I am not sure why you did that. At multiple places, we recommend that every student does cementing - in the Winning behaviors session, Your GMAT Roadmap, or in the Cementing Module present in every course.

By not doing cementing, and moving from one subsection to another, all you did was try and take down multiple trees by using an unfinished axe, that too without putting much effort.

The process of learning and building ability does not work this way. If it did, then B schools would teach you all the theory in Accounting, Economics, and Marketing, Finance, Costing, Strategy, and then teach you your first case, rather than teaching you cases with each individual subject.

Let us talk about the 5-6 months?  
 
For people who do the course well, the process of cementing in any subsection takes between two and five days for every sub-section. Remember, doing the course well means applying the method to every question while going through the course.

Here is an example of our student  Hitesh , who went from  V23 to V38 in 3 to 4 months .

Here is another student of ours,  Arshita , who went from  V30 to V41 in 2 months .

Are there people who take up to two years?  
 
Yes, there are! Why do they take two years – not because the method takes two years but because they don’t put in the intensity needed to excel. Remember, iron becomes malleable only at a certain temperature. You can continue heating it all your life .. if you don’t reach that temperature, you will not be able to bend it. Bottom line – change in life is not linear.. neither is change in learning outcomes.

Your recommended next Steps

You are a smart guy. Otherwise, you would not have scored 650. Verify the numbers that I quoted and then decide how you want to proceed. To score 720+, you need to improve both your Quant and Verbal scores.

You can go two ways:

One – go and practice OG questions and hope to improve.

Two – work with the support team to first define the Scholaranium metrics you need to hit in every Subsection and then do the hard questions in the OG.

Decide on a route and stay true to it. Both can lead to success. One just happens to have a higher success rate.

-Rajat

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