Disappointing GMAT experience! Need advice on retaking.

pushpitkc Thanks a lot for your advice- really appreciate it. One of the problems I faced with the gmatclub tests were that I faced a lot of variations in my CATS. What do you think I can do to maintain a more consistent score?

Hey nithinjohn

IMO, the best thing that you can do is to analyze the mistakes in the GMATclub tests that
you made and understand why are you making these mistakes. The best way to analyze
your mistakes has been detailed in the below-given post:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-revie ... 67118.html

If there is a particular topic that seems to be creating the problem for you, you should go
back to basics. You could use the GMATClub Quantitative Mega-thread in order to clarify
your concepts.

Hope this helps you!

Hi Nithin, do you know which specific area in Verbal, has been your nemesis?

Also, ordering a ESR might not be a bad idea, since it would give us for data points for analysis.

EMPOWERgmatRichC I have attached my ESR for your perusal. Please let me know, which areas I need to concentrate more on. Also does the ESr not tell you the number of questions I got right right in each sub-section? Couldn't find it when I went through it.

And I am planning on re-taking the GMAT in a couple of months. Would really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on how to maximize my chances of improving my score by atleast 50 points.

I plan on applying for a Masters in mangement for Fall 2019. I am primarily looking at schools in France.

Hi nithinjohn,

I've sent you a PM with some notes/suggestions.

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

First off, a 650 is a really solid starting point. I realize you have put in a lot of time and effort thus far, but with some further smart and dedicated prep, you can improve!

You goal in your next round of studying should be to build on the solid foundations you have made. Furthermore, although your verbal was the main culprit for your drop in score, you may consider hitting both math and verbal hard, so you can improve in both sections and thus hopefully score even higher than 700.

In order to improve both your quant and verbal skills an “advanced level,” you probably need to study each topic “with a fine-toothed comb” to determine your exact weaknesses.

For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By properly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant knowledge. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

For verbal, follow a similar path. For instance, in Critical Reasoning: strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific CR question type? Were you doing too much work in your head? By thoroughly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your Critical Reasoning knowledge. You can also follow this process for Reading Comprehension and Sentence Correction questions.

Lastly, if you are looking for the best quant and verbal materials, check out specific GMAT Club reviews for the best quant courses and for the best verbal courses.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Let’s do this!!