Scores seen a sudden drop

Question

Hello all. I gave three tests in the last 3 weeks and ended up scoring 620, 680 and 580.
I have been very stressed after scoring 580 in the last test.
I started revising verbal all over again and even then I am getting on 50% of my answers right.
My weakness is verbal. I am confident I can get a 48 in Quant.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
I have a month before my gmat exams and I work full time so any advise to get a 720+ score will help.

phlaym39 · Answer

Are these simulation tests or actual GMATs? If simulation, which ones?

What is the distribution Q/V? What types of questions are you struggling with? What have you tried so far?

You haven't given enough info for others to diagnose your issues, or to give you meaningful suggestions.

rom12 · Answer

The first test was the test from the official gmat. 
The last test was the powerprep.
Currently struggling with SC in verbal.
And with DS in quant.

phlaym39 · Answer

See my post here  https://gmatclub.com/forum/700-with-terrible-split-181043.html#p1406872 . This method worked especially well for me in verbal.

evansgherzi · Answer

Hi rom12,

GMAT exams generally range + or - 30 points from your average practice exams. Everything from stress, to what questions you answered can have a toll on this. Certain questions hold a different weight than others, as getting two questions wrong can sometimes affect your score in the same way getting one wrong can. Although there usually isn't that big of a range, sometimes it happens. Without knowing major specifics of the 3 exams, I cannot say what specifically happened with the last one.

With that being said, your main question was in regards to Verbal...you have realized Verbal is an area of weakness. Knowing what your weaknesses are is key to GMAT preparation! First, do not rush to take the exam...if you think you are ready go for it, but if possible for you to extend it by another month, I would say do it. The extra time would be great for you to work on the Verbal. You should start by going back to the basics. Without knowing the basics of grammar you will have problems with all verbal. Even if you know the majority of the basics, there are most likely a few basics you don't have down. Get yourself a book that covers grammar basics. After you feel that you have this down, then I would recommend taking a practice test or some practice verbal work to determine your specific areas of weakness, and focus on those sections. Do not move on until you have them down. After you feel more comfortable with these sections I would then go back to working on overall practice questions for verbal as a whole. If you feel you need more grammar practice we would recommend "English Grammar in Use" (intermediate and advanced levels). Please be aware that almost all grammar books tend to be exercise-oriented and often go into much more detail than what the GMAT tests. In addition, many grammar books do not deal with certain sentence structure issues (e.g. dangling modifiers). You need to cross-reference what is on the GMAT with the book you get. But "Grammar in Use" is probably the best grammar self-study book available.

If you have problems determining your areas of weakness and if you extend your test date, I would recommend getting a good adaptive course that will determine them for you. If you decide to go this route, check out https://gmat.economist.com/ for a free trial with an adaptive course.

If you have any other questions at any point please feel free to ask, I hope this helped a bit.
Good Luck!
-Evan

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