Scoring ~530-580. Please help me improve

Question

Hi,

I am going to appear for GMAT on 3rd June’16. I completed some practice CATs (6 Tests). The scores were

1st Test: 530 (Q44, V19)
2nd Test: 520 (Q43, V19)
3rd Test: 490 (Q39, V21)
4th Test: 580 (Q44, V25)
5th Test: 540 (Q44, V21)
6th Test: 530 (Q43, V20)

I have been preparing for the exam since 2 months. Please help me to improve.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Your mock score shows a clear lack of fundamentals. In your preparation so far, how did you study?

1. What material did you follow?
2. Did you take the test including AWA and IR?
3. Did you complete both the sections? (There is a high penalty if you do not complete a section)

Also, I would recommend you to refrain from taking tests until you have gone through all the fundamentals. 
You need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:

1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach

Whatever you choose, make sure that you choose one. Because GMAT tests you on some concepts and fundamentals that you can learn from a course. Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of our course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.
In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.

TSrinu · Answer

Hi Janielle,
Thank you for the suggestion!

1. I used Princeton review material (attended class room training).
2. No. I did not attempted IR and AWA.
3. I completed both the sections.

I will review the basics once again.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi srinivasaraotatraju, I think relearning the foundations is a great idea. Do you plan to seek out another GMAT prep resource?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi srinivasaraotatraju,

Your CAT scores are all 'clustered' in the mid-500s, so you appear to be fairly consistent in how you perform - you do certain things consistently well, but you make the same consistent mistakes. Since you've been skipping the Essay and IR sections, you've been taking a shorter, less realistic Test that required less effort, energy and endurance than what you'll face on Test Day. As such, these scores are likely 'inflated.' With a June 3rd Test Date, you have a little more than 2 weeks of study time remaining, which is not a lot of time to correct all of these issues. Before I can offer the specific suggestions that you're looking for, I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:

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

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

TSrinu · Answer

Hi Rich,

What is your goal score?
I am targeting 700+ score.
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
I am planning to apply this year.

Thank you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi srinivasaraotatraju,

Beyond the other issues that I've already mentioned, given your practice CAT scores and your goal score, it's not realistic to think that you can improve 120+ points in 2 weeks. Thus, you can take the GMAT as scheduled, but you'll almost certainly have to pay to retake it again later. As an alternative, you can pay the rescheduling fee and push back your Test Date so that you can continue to study (and save some money).

Since you've been studying a certain way for 2 months, and your scores are clustered, you're likely going to continue scoring at this level. To hit your goal score, you're going to have to make some big improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections of the Test. As such, you'd probably find it beneficial to invest in a new GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led).

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

mika84 · Answer

Hi,
I were in your shoes. This what I've done.
Quant to increase from 44-49:
1. Get Manhattan books, read chapter by chapter. Understand the basics. After each chapter attempt to solve problems in official guide and then here on this forum. You will easily find many problems on specific topic. Try to solve the problems without time constraits first and then under time conditions. While solving you need to have following accuracy: 500-600-100% accuracy, 600-700- 80-100%, 700-above 70%. 
If you do make mistakes while solving, try to understand why did you make the mistake. 
Usualy mistakes fall under:
1. Careless calculation mistakes
2. Lack of knowledge
3. Lack of time
Analyze and work on your weaknesses.

Verbal- even though I didn't get great score (34) but I know how to improve it:
SC - mahattan books must do- try not skim through them, but read chapter by chapter and understand EACH concept. After each chapter solve the problems. I would recommend when reading SC, to understand the meaning of the sentence. If you make mistake, try to analyze why all the answers but one is wrong. You have to 100% clear why those answers are wrong.
CR- here you just need practice-practice. But also there are some great books such as Holy Grail for CR. I don't remember the name but you can find tons of references on this forum
Reading- the same here is just lots of practice.
Usually it takes 100 hours of very diligent study to improve score by 100 points. But in your case it could be more or less, it all depends on how efficiently you are preparing. 
Good luck!!

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Scoring ~530-580. Please help me improve

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