kawaljeet wrote:
Hello Experts,
I have been preparing since 2 years now.
My May 2015 score was 460. ( Q36, V16 )
I had joined classes for GMAT and then taken RC course of
EGMAT and after all this, i scored near about 500 in mocks.
In last 1 month, i have completed CR Bible, RC Veritas prep book and thought that it would be enough to score high in verbal.
Yesterday I gave GMAT PREP 3 exam and score 460 again ( Q38 and V 16 ).
I did very minor and careless mistakes but I am sure to score 44+ in quant but verbal is still a concern for me.
I got 6 wrong in 1st 10 Questions in verbal. Also, out of last 7 questions, I got only 2 correct as I was left with 7 minutes only to do these 7 questions. ( Verbal Detailed distribution - RC- (6 Correct and 7 Incorrect ), CR- (3 Correct and 8 incorrect ) , SC ( 7 Correct and 10 incorrect ).
Please can someone help me for this as I am my GMAT exam in next 3 weeks and I believe that i have enough time to improve.
Really Appreciate for your inputs.
Hi
kawaljeet! Carolyn from
Magoosh here
Happy to help!
It sounds like there are a few factors that might be contributing here. First, let's talk about how you can avoid minor and careless mistakes. When this happens, first, ask yourself where the error happened. Was it at the end of the problem or at the beginning of a problem? Many times I see students make errors right at the end of the problem. This is a natural human tendency that we have to fight. How many times have we seen a team winning an entire game only to lose in the final minutes or a runner ahead in the race who loses in the final stretch? This all comes from the same tendency: we drop our guard when we see the finish line. We relax. We drop our focus. We rush. All of which does not help us to succeed. So the first rule: when you see the finish line, when you are nearing the end of the problem, focus even more. Don't rush. Don't drop your guard. Know that everyone has the tendency to slack off near the end -- don't be that person!
Second, are you tired when you make these errors? Have you had a power session of studying? If so, taking a short break to stretch, move around, and drink water might be all that you need to refocus. Obviously you won't be able to take a stretch break in the middle of the test, but you should absolutely do so during your study periods. For every hour of study, let your mind drift off to somewhere else for 5 minutes. Then return to answering problems.
As for test day, closing your eyes momentarily can offer a nice break. Keep them closed and count to 10 or 20. Try to push all thoughts out of your mind and just focus on taking long, purposeful breaths. This will help to fight off any exhaustion. I would also recommend reading
Mike's article about careless errors on the GMAT math section
The second issue may be the depth of your understanding. You need to be brutally honest with yourself about why you miss questions. Was it a "silly" mistake or did you not really understand the concepts as well as you could have? For all your GMAT practice, analyzing your practice and learning from your mistakes is extremely important!
Basically, studying your mistakes gives you maximum improvement. If it were possible to never make the same mistake twice, you would become an absolute master of the test in a very, very short time. So be sure to watch explanation videos for every question you get wrong (and watching those you get right is also a good idea!), study very carefully the related concepts, research methods, or material you're not comfortable with but are mentioned in the solution, and really
analyze the questions.
On that note, see these very useful articles on learning from your practice, memory, and translating your practice to exam performance:
GMAT Strategies: Learning from Practice Problems“Understanding” the GMAT: Practice vs. Exam PerformanceThe GMAT, Learning, and MemoryThe final issue is practicing your pacing. This can be really tough on the GMAT, I know. You need to train yourself to work quickly and to have the discipline to guess/move on when a question is taking too long. That can be challenging, and to help you out, I recommend reading this post on GMAT pacing strategies
Pacing and Timing Strategies for the GMATI know you have put forth a lot of work already, and it's disappointing to see your scores stay the same. But don't lose hope! Here are a few final tips:
I hope some of this is helpful! Best of luck with your studies
-Carolyn
Thanks for the help. All links are really very nice and I usually also read articles from
.
Just need 1 help regarding the reschedule GMAT Data which is on 8th DEC ...
I have my GMAT on 8th December, Do i need to reschedule it to other date or not?? as I need to apply to R2 of maximum universities, and if it can't be delayed, then I need to give a shot on 8th Dec only as I cannot wait for an year more. Any new date suggestion if it can be given later in December or JAN ????
Please suggest on reschedule of my GMAT Exam.