Real Failure... Huge gap prep/real (appreciate any help)

Question

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I had a real shock after I saw my record on Gmat, 540(Q36 V28). This was the second time, the first was 520 and it was 8 months ago which I almost haven't studied at all.

I bought Gmat prep Exam pack and got 580(q45v25) and 590(q40 v31) 4-5 days before the exam.

My goal was to see sthg just over 600. 540 was a real shock.

I finished the books below:

OG13
Kaplan Math Workbook
Mgmat Sc
Mgmat Cr
Mgmat Rc

I'm thinking of trying again 40 days later but don't know if it will be a waste of time to study again.

I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Bladedance · Answer

Yeah someone please reply, as am too on a similar standing and would appreciate any help thrown at our way

terencewhitten · Answer

You can try again 40 days later and it will not be a waste of time to study.

hamburglar · Answer

How many mock exams did you do prior to the real exam?

VerbalHow · Answer

On actual exam, you got 540(Q36 V28); on GMATPreps you got 580(q45v25) and 590(q40 v31). Just see the difference in Quant scores (45, which was your best score Vs 36 on the actual exam).

I would suggest you focus on Quant for the next 30 days (out of 40 days), since that seems to be the area with maximum variation.

Rock750 · Answer

Hi,

To get more than 600 on the real thing and considering the material used, i would suggest the following :

- Give yourself enough time to let your mocks reflect your target score. Don't go for another try unless you see 600 and more in more than 3 or 4 mocks (Gmatprep or MGMAT) 
- Quantitative Section : Focus on basics and shortcuts ( follow Bunuel, answer questions posted here , try an error logg and ask yourself for every question why i got this wrong ? is it a silly mistake or a gap knowledge or .. or ..)
- Verbal Section : Sc is by far the section in which you can see a great improvement in such a few days. So you have to re-read Manhattan Sc, make some flash cards to help you memorise the rules and practice , practice, practice ...
RC : there are a ton of strategies to attack this section, just try them one by one till u find the most suitable for you.
CR: just see if u can have the Powerscore CR Bible . In my opinion, it is the best in the market.

Good luck

bb · Answer

If you are getting a 580/590 cozying up at home on GMAT Prep, which questions are somewhat similar to what you can find in the OG, you should not expect to get 600+ on the real thing. The sings in raw scores should have showed you...

Your main issue is the 8 months. You need to be intense, agile, and focused in your preparation.

Your main issue is the 8 months. You need to be intense, agile, and focused in your preparation.

berkhai · Answer

Gmat Prep1 1.5 month before the test : 540
Gmat Prep2 1 month before the test: 550
Mgmat CAT1 20 days before the test: 570
Gmat Prep3 10 days before the test: 580
Gmat Prep4 5 days before the test: 590

Thanks, I'll take these advices.

Even if I shouldn't expect over 600, I had the right to expect something over 560-570 right? That's why it is official exam pack. If it isn't gonna reflect the real thing than no need to pay $40 for it. Plus, the 8 months gap was the one between first attempt and second. I spent over 1.5 months time (3-4 hours a day) to self study right before the second one. I was as agile and focused as I have never been before. I feel like I could score better if I hadn't studied at all.

soods26 · Answer

Hello,

I haven't had a look at the the Kaplan math workbook so I can't comment on it. However, I found that the MGMAT guides really helped me out a lot. They cover everything that is asked on the GMAT quant and are a very thorough resource. If I were you, out of the 40 days I would divide the period into 2 sets of approx 3 weeks each. During the first set I'd cover just CONTENT...specifically - Math content and content for SC...CR and RC usually don't have much to cover content wise but you could keep practicing questions and look for better strategies to tackle them. My de brief, which has a link to, in my signature might give you some ideas on formulating a strategy for RC and CR. I'd spend the second set of prep days on taking mocks but it is very important to review your mistakes and make sure that you don't repeat them at a later time. Ensuring that would surely help you improve your scores. All the best!

If you would like help on a personal one to one level, let me know.

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Real Failure... Huge gap prep/real (appreciate any help)

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