Require advice for Retake after GMAT 1: 670 : Q49, V31 (25-06-2016)

Question

Hi,

I took my GMAT today and scored 670 (Q49, V31). I studied for 2.5 months and the study materials that I used are as follows:
1. Manhattanprep - complete series.
2. Official GMAT prep series - 2016.
3. prep4Gmat

I resigned from my Job a month ago, so of the 2.5 months mentioned above 1 month was completely devoted to studying. I put in a lot of effort(approx. 15 hours a day) to get up to this level, thus I believe that this is the limit I can reach without external help.

So can someone please suggest a course that would help me? I intend to work on my own to improve my quant score and it is not my primary concern. I need help to improve my verbal score, so please suggest a verbal course that will be beneficial. My GMAT 2 is scheduled on 30th July.

Thanks and regards,
Rahul

GMATPILLBILL · Answer

Hey Rahul, With your test on July 30th, that gives you about a month to prep. Here is a customized one month study plan that can help boost your score: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... study-plan Use this as a guideline. You don’t have to follow it exactly but the structure of the study plan should be the same structure that you take in your approach. This helps to optimize your retention and learning. As you study, we recommend that you focus on one particular subsection for multiple consecutive days before moving onto the next. You can see this in our study plan where we recommend 5 days on nothing but SC -- before moving onto CR and then RC. Here is a sample SC video to help you start your journey: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... ythons.mp4 Best of luck - we are here to help.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rahul,

First off, a 670/Q49 is a strong score (it's above the 80th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary.

1) What Business Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) When are you planning to apply?
3) What is your overall goal score?

With a July 30th Test Date, you have about 5 weeks of study time, and if you're going to focus your studies on the Verbal section, then you could accomplish a great deal in that time. Based on what you've described about your prior studies, some adjustments will probably be necessary though. To start, you should NOT be studying 15 hours per day - that is far too much (and you'll run the risk of 'burn out', if you haven't burned out already). You might also need to invest in some new study materials and learn/practice some new Verbal Tactics.

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

rahulprasad11 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your detailed response. 
I will take a reattempt for sure, following are the reasons:

1. I am still very enthusiastic about taking the GMAT exam, there is far too much room for me to improve and I want to have a balance score overall. 
2. I actually enjoyed working on my English during the course of preparing for the exam and did put in a lot of effort, especially in SC. Clearly, a score of 31 does not reflect that.
3. Most importantly, during yesterday's exam, neither was I ever pressed for time in the verbal section nor was I not able to comprehend what was being asked in a particular question. Thus, it really hurts to have scored a 31 because I know now that I committed so many mistakes so confidently in yesterday's exam that I did not even feel pressured.
It means that there are critical issues in the way I have learnt to solve verbal problems and I want to fix this. And, thus getting a better Verbal score IS MY PRIMARY GOAL NOW.

I am 29, have 6 years of work experience and have an above average academic record. I plan to apply in the first round starting September-2016.
I have scored round about the average score required to get into my targeted schools, but to be honest getting into a school is not my only aim for now.

And, the reason for mentioning 15 hours was to specify that I know that doing well in GMAT requires substantial effort on the part of the test-taker and because I had only a month's time, I had to study more hours per day. 
 
I want to do well in English and not let my score in quant slip(I will manage this on my own with practice and by not becoming over-confident). Kindly suggest a verbal course that would help me perform better in the verbal section.

Regards,
Rahul

rahulprasad11 · Answer

I received the Enhanced GMAT Score Report for yesterday's test from GMAC.
Sub section ranking in Verbal section:

SC : 79 percentile (37)
RC : 29 percentile (21)
CR : 63 percentile (33)

Got only 3 wrong in the first 20 questions, but ended the exam on extremely poor note with only 43% and 25 % correct answers in the last two sets of 10 questions respectively.

Actually, it all makes sense now:
1. I was always least comfortable with my RC skills, because I have never been interested in reading novels or even my subject books for that matter. Its difficult to improve your RC skills in a month's time.
2. Did poorly in CR though, I was performing better in my prep exams than 33.
3. Most importantly, I knew I was doing well in verbal -> thus became over confident around the 20th question mark -> lead to me becoming haphazard in my approach-> loss in concentration and I let my guard down: hence, poor performance in last 20 questions.
Quoting from the report: " You responded correctly to 75% of the first 10 questions, 86% of the second 10 questions, 43% of the third 10 questions and 25% of the final 11 questions."
Result: one more month of study and having to contend with the feeling of what if...

Attachments

File comment: Verbal review of GMAT 1 from Enhanced Score Report

Verval Review.tif [ 225.57 KiB | Viewed 1498 times ]

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

Your issue is consistency. You are at a level where a course can help you only to a limited extent. Likely, you will benefit the most from having somebody monitor the way you solve problems and provide feedback on how you can apply the principles to solve problems most accurately, most efficiently, and most consistently. Hopefully there is a tutor in your area whom you can entrust with your GMAT progress.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rahul,

While I respect the fact that you could potentially score higher on the GMAT, doing so might not actually be necessary. You didn't answer any of my questions from the prior post, so I've reprinted them here:

1) What Business Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) When are you planning to apply?
3) What is your overall goal score?

Wanting to score higher on the GMAT is understandable (everyone "wants" to score higher, even when they score in the 700s). Remember that the ACTUAL goal is to get into your first-choice Business School, so if you're in position to do that with THIS GMAT score, then you don't have to retake the Test.

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

rahulprasad11 · Answer

Hi Rich,

PFB the answers to your questions:

1&2) Target 1: Nanyang MBA,Singapore. Deadline - Round 1 : Nov 1-16, 2016
 Target 2: Indian school of Business (ISB),Hyderabad. Deadline - Round 1 : October 15, 2016

3. My target score is 720.

This GMAT score may not be sufficient to get into one of these schools since for the class of 2016 in ISB, the average GMAT score was 700 and for NTU it was 680.

Thanks and regards,
Rahul

rahulprasad11 · Answer

Hi Rich, I took my 2nd GMAT today and scored 730(Q49, V40, IR 6). I wanted to thank you for your responses on this thread. I took a 2 hour trial(2 email IDs, sorry

) of your course and would honestly say that those 2 hours played a major role in my score improvement. So thank you!!!! There is nothing better than the approach you suggest for solving CR questions. I would have surely subscribed to your course if I had seen it before my first attempt and I am 100% sure that I would not have had to take 2 attempts to score 730. Thanks and regards, Rahul

rahulprasad11 · Answer

Hi, I did not reply to your message before but I took special note of it and planned my whole approach towards the 2nd attempt based on it. I just wanted to see if I would succeed before replying. I took my 2nd GMAT today and scored 730(Q49, V40, IR 6). So hurrah

I did not want to spend on a private tutor because of financial reasons and I am also sure that I would not have found a good one near my location anyhow. So I became my own tutor, I critiqued my approach to solve each type of GMAT question in detail and fine tuned it as much as possible. I spent large portion of my study time reviewing my performance and being my own manager/teacher. So, thank you. Your response really helped!! I am very grateful!! Thanks and regards, Rahul

Require advice for Retake after GMAT 1: 670 : Q49, V31 (25-06-2016)

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