Screwed it up

Question

I took the test and screwed it big time..570

need to increase it by 120 points. any suggestions.. please..

Paul · Answer

vprabhala, sorry for your experience. The club and myself would be glad to give you some advice but it will be difficult to do so with the limited information that you provided. What was your study approach? What material did you use? How much time did you put in? Did you ever take the GMAT before? What was your Q/V breakdown? Those are a few of many questions you will have to share with us for us to provide you with any kind of advice.

vprabhala · Answer

i started out with Princeton and then later switched to OG. my scores were not consistent. they ranged from 590-720.. thats what was difficult me to gauge. Quant in general used to get 90-99% but on the test i some how could not answer last 10 questions. time was up :!:

Verbal was never that strong but used to get 39+ score in my regular tests. I want to start as a newbie.

Paul · Answer

What was your score breakdown for the actual test?

vprabhala · Answer

quant 48% and verbal 60% cannot believe that! but its true..

Paul · Answer

I wonder how you went through the OG. In terms of verbal, as I repeatedly preached, it is THE verbal bible. Take it seriously and I can guarantee you that if you do understand the concepts explained in it, you will do 80%+ in verbal in the test. Of course, certain verbal explanations will not be crystal clear but that is when gmatclub will come in handy. Just post your questions and others will gladly answer your queries. Just make sure that you also participate as it will ensure that you really understood the concepts: Once you can explain something in your own words, you are bound to have mastered the given concept. For RC, I would suggest you to read the sticky "very scared of RC" in the "GMAT" forum.

In terms of Quants, there is definitely much room for improvement. Luckily, quant is much easier to improve, for the average test taker, than verbal is. I would perhaps not suggest you to do all of the PS in the OG. Maybe do the last 150 PS questions. DS, do the last 150 also although the last 60 may be overly difficult. Each time, try to understand the concepts being taught. You may be able to solve a problem but did you solve it in the most effecient manner? Maybe not. Remember that next to all Quant problems are solvable within 2 minutes.

PR gave you the basics in terms of quant. You now need to build on that basic. The next step up would be for you to purchase Kaplan800 as it really has good verbal and quant questions with clear explanations. Trust me, it is worth the investment. One thing you may want to look at is probability/combination rules. I know that in any of the book I studied, it was a neglected topic. Go through these forums work out those questions. Go through the probability guide provided free of charge in the forum. I knew nothing about probability/combination before joining this forum and I can do most of those problems here within the 2 minutes time frame. I even find those problems easier than many other question types(ie number properties). Remember, do not leave anything untouched. If you are weak at something or do not understand certain fundamentals, work on it, make sure you know how to solve the same concept under different settings. The GMAT fundamentals being tested is very narrow but the creative ways in which the questions are asked makes it that it is very broad. You must have known that by now

After all this, make sure that you manage your stress level. No matter how good you are at during practice, you HAVE to keep your composure during the exam. This is another aspect of the test that will affect about 25% of your GMAT score if not more. I would suggest you to read the invaluable advice given by crackgmat750 as he gave phenomenal insights into the exam. Here is the link: https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=10440
Feel free to ask if you have any other question.

After all this, make sure that you manage your stress level. No matter how good you are at during practice, you HAVE to keep your composure during the exam. This is another aspect of the test that will affect about 25% of your GMAT score if not more. I would suggest you to read the invaluable advice given by crackgmat750 as he gave phenomenal insights into the exam. Here is the link: https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=10440 Feel free to ask if you have any other question.

vprabhala · Answer

thank you so much paul.

vprabhala · Answer

everybody is talking about error log? can somebody tell me what kind it is

Paul · Answer

An error log is where you can write just anything and only you have access to it. Praet is asking that you have in the viscinity of 100 posts or at least commit to contribute so many before you can get one. I used one for myself and it helped me a lot as I reviewed interesting questions the days before my actual exam. Send a PM to Praetorian if you want to do such a thing.

vprabhala · Answer

did that. waiting for Praet to respond..

Praetorian · Answer

I will set up a forum log for you, but please read the following to see if you really need one. The log will not change anything if the test taker doesnt want to take advantage of it. 

error log = a collection of your errors

forum error log = is meant for our members who contribute significant time to our forums. this forum log was meant to extend the capabilities of the error log. Since this log is just like a forum, you can post problems, write notes for yourself ... this log is a private forum, which means only you can access it. 

The FORUM error log will have very limited use if you do not participate here. My intent is to let our members take advantage of what they are learning. and to 'record' their lessons learned in a convenient, easy to access method. I also wanted our members to have convenience of making notes for themselves right on the forum instead of maintaining a paper error log. 

I try to enable and facilitate our members prep as much as i can, but it is entirely up to you guys to take advantage of it. 

I will post a note about the error log shortly. 

Praetorian

vprabhala · Answer

thanks. Praetorian

Paul · Answer

vprabhala, just had more things that came to mind after re-reading your post. It seems like you way ran out of time so as to miss the last 10 questions. Remember that if you just can't do a quant question, do not get bogged down and stubbornly try to do it. What could happen is you spend 10 minutes on a problem and end up getting it wrong anyways. After 3.5minutes, you must seriously consider skipping the question... or guesstimate it. I must have myself guessed on 2 questions or so in the exam. Now, this does not mean that you must guess on too many either because if you do, it may mean that you are underprepared. To be ready for the exam, you must have a solid grasp of fundamentals. Go through the "category based" math questions. With your quant score, you may want to start with the basic questions and progressively move towards the intermediate and the advanced sections.

To build up your speed, there is nothing better than practice under timed condition. Practice the Kaplan CAT(math section) and PR CAT just to have a "feel" of what "time constraint" means. You will see that it is crucial to not only be able to find the right answer but also find the most efficient way to get there. Last but not least, sign up for the next math challenge: The questions may be hard but at least, you will get an idea of how working under timed conditions is. I got as low as 66th percentile in those test but one thing you should learn is not to panick despite a low score. Instead, try to apply the concepts to different problems. Play with the numbers and change them to see what other solution you would come up with. You should expect to spend about 50% of the time, if not more, of the time spend doing an exam to analyze it. I know, it is a painful process, but to succeed in this GMAT question, you will have to subdue yourself to many unpleasant learning methods :madd

Good luck.

vprabhala · Answer

i will be doing that. will also sign up for the challenge..

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