Q38, V5 - need help for end of September test

Hi AhmedMera,

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. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Retaking a CAT that you've already use almost always leads to an unrealistic, 'inflated' score, so we have to ignore the results that came from a retake of a CAT. However, had you seen any of the questions BEFORE you took those CATs for the first time?

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

Hi Rich, Thanks A lot for your questions,
1)Yes I did .
2)Yes I did.
3)No I took them at different times.
4)Yes I took longer breaks "Almost 15 minutes instead of 8 minutes".
5)No I had never seen any of those questions before I took the CATs for the first time.

One week before the exam ,the first score results were 560 Quant 44 Verbal 23. I thought I could compensate the remaining 40 points on the test day to reach the 600 as I was targeting total score of 600. but now I am targeting 650+

Dear AhmedMera,

I am sorry to see that you could not score high on the GMAT despite preparing really hard. GMAT is just a test. If you put in your efforts in the right direction, you will succeed. GMAT is similar to one of the many challenges that you will face in your post MBA life. If you are dedicated and have the right strategy, then you will succeed.

I see that you have followed "book heavy" study approach due to which you haven’t been able to develop your own strategy to approach/answer questions specially in the Verbal part.
To make a big improvement, you'll have to change your tactics and adopt a different strategy to prepare for the exam.

Consider the following points while preparing for the test.
 
·         Have a strategy that is based on core understanding of the concepts ad application of the same to solve questions.
·         A strategy that is based on shortcuts, smart work, back solving, guess work etc doesn’t work in the actual test.
·         Focus on one subject / section at a time and ensure that you improve in that section as per your desire score and then move on to the next section.
·         Don’t study from multiple resources. Focus on improving your core skills first. Once you have done that then you may attempt questions from different resources.
·         Study from the resource which gives you real-time feedback.

How to get to 650+?
Given your scores, you need to improve in both the Quant and the Verbal sections. To check how much you need to improve in the Quant/Verbal section, please go through the GMAT Planner tool.
Also, go through the GMAT Strategy webinar to see “ How you can get to your target score of 650+”.

Hope this helps. I look forward to your response.

Hi Neeti,

Thanks a lot for your valuable recommendations, your advice is highly appreciated, surely I will take it in my consideration. Yet again , thank you soo much.

Hi AhmedMera,

The extra information that you've provided is quite useful, as it helps to define what went wrong on Test Day. In real basic terms, you took your CATs in such a way that you were NOT properly training to face the Official GMAT.

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your scores can become - and that's what happened here. By taking the CATs at home, taking them at different times of day, taking longer breaks, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.'

While there are some broader questions about why your Verbal score dropped so much, these other issues are relatively easy to fix. The big question now is "how long will it take you to properly get 'used to' taking the GMAT under conditions that match what you faced on Test Day?" You'll certainly need a new set of practice CATs to work with and you have to put in the necessary time to train your brain (and body) for the Test Day parameters that you'll face. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT training materials. Thankfully, the GMAT is the same consistent, predictable Exam that it's always been, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. You just need to learn the proper Tactics and the various patterns that GMAT questions are built around (so that you can take advantage of them). Unfortunately, raising your GMAT score 230+ points in one month is not a realistic goal. You will likely need 2-3 months of consistent, guided study to get up to that level.

1) Do you have the flexibility to push back your Test Date?

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

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your precious feedback , I've benefited greatly from your words.

Please not that I've no problem to postpone the test date as long as I'll be able to reach my target, however, please bear in mind that am required to prepare for the TOEFL as well , that's why I've registered early.

My plan is to study at least 4 hrs/day "Weekdays" and 8 hrs/day "Weekends" , I'll focus on each section separately , during my study I'll be using GMAT CLUB, GMAT Prep and other CATs.
I'll push back the test date to 25th of October.

If it’s not too much to ask, I would appreciate if you could provide me with your comments regarding my strategy.

Thank You.

Hi AhmedMera,

The extra information about how you're also studying for the TOEFL is important - knowing this, I have different advice for you. Studying for 2 Exams at the same time is often difficult, so you should focus on one before working on the other. The skills that you'll develop while studying for the TOEFL should help you to improve on the GMAT, so I suggest that you focus on the TOEFL for now, take that Exam, then come back to the GMAT later.

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

Hi AhmedMera,

Based on your description of how you studied for your GMAT as well as the scores (of your first attempt) of each practice exam, it’s possible that you started practicing random questions prior to fully learning each GMAT topic and thus were unable to make significant improvements to your GMAT score. Given that you need a higher GMAT score to gain acceptance to your desired programs, you might consider re-adjusting your study routine prior to another GMAT attempt. When studying for a retake, strive for linear and targeted learning and follow that with focused practice. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next.

For example, if you are learning about Number Properties, you should learn everything possible about that topic: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. After that, be sure that you practice with a lot of questions (50 or more) just on Number Properties. The results of that practice will help you to determine how well you have truly mastered that topic. You will want to follow this study routine for verbal (sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension).

To allow for such focused learning and practice, you may consider using a self-study course rather than a book. In comparison to GMAT prep books, self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. By being able to track your progress, you will remain more engaged, and you’ll be able to more accurately forecast when you are ready to take your real GMAT.

One final note. If you must also take the TOEFL, your better strategy will be to study first for the TOEFL and then come back to the GMAT. Many of the skills you learn while preparing for the TOEFL will be assets in your GMAT prep. I would not recommend studying for both tests at the same time.

Feel free to reach back out with any additional questions. Good luck!

Hi Scott,

Thank you so much for your advice , I appreciate that. I will work on your notes and tips , however I am not sure that I'll be able to postpone the GMAT till taking the TOEFL exam.

As well, surely I will not study both of them at the same time , therefore I'll continue the GMAT first because I've been in a long journey studying it .

Please allow me to keep you posted with my progress.

Yet again, thank you so much.

Hi AhmedMera,

Don't be so discouraged! You still have plenty of time to improve your score.
Since we are specialised in math, we can only give you advice on math.

We think you can surely improve with studying Variable approach for DS in a short period of time since DS is a quick win. With our unique approaches of Variable approach for DS and IVY approach for PS, you can significantly save time, and will have 10 minutes to spare on exam. For instance, with our approaches, you can solve questions that normally take 4 minutes in 1 minutes and 30 seconds, and 2-minute question in 30 seconds.
Also, You can solve DS questions 100% with Variable approach and 30-40% of PS questions with IVY approach.

Hence, once you fully understand understand and master Variable approach for DS, you can surely improve your score and hit +40 in quant.

If you would like to try our approaches, Please try Trial Pack (4 hour lesson) that reveal our secret approaches of DS+PS core theory that you have never seen. You can test whether you like them or not before you enroll.

Additionally, the below is a useful article featured in GMAT Club for your reference. This will be helpful for you. You can see what sort of questions you might encounter on actual GMAT.

· Most Updated Math Trend : overview-of-gmat-math-question-types-and-patterns-on-the-gmat-211809.html

Come visit our website for further information!
www.mathrevolution.com

Happy Studying!

Jin
Math Revolution

Hi Jin,

Thank you so much for your motivational words. It really means so much to me. Surely, I'll check the Math Revolution website and try the 4 lessons.

Regards,
Ahmed Mera