Shattered.. Guys pl Help !!!

Question

Hey all...

I took my GMAT yesterday... all I scored was a bad 620.. math 48 and verbal 29 !!!
I have been taking the prep tests ...
 Prep 1- 680 .. math 49 and verbal 36 
 Prep 2- 710.. math 46 and verbal 41

I really dont know what went wrong.. been studying for the the last month for around 8-12 hours a day...

Used the following for my preparation:
For Math:
1. OG 12- complete 
2. Math - I followed a local GMAT tutor's books pretty decent.. should say
3. Manhattan Guides - Number Properties

For verbal:
1. OG 12- complete .. almost know the answers for most by seeing the question
2. Manhattan SC - great book.. did it thrice
3. Power Scorer CR - did Must be True, Main Point, Assumption, Strengthen , Weaken, Evaluate and Resolve the paradox chapters..

Guys.. pl show me some direction.. 
Can some one suggest what was wrong with my approach so that I amend it the next time ?

Also suggest sources that I check out given my current status..

I hope to be ready for the next time..

AbhiJ · Answer

Chill out, its just another exam, what you will be ultimately is going to be weakly co-related by your GMAT score (if at all there is a co-relation). Take a break this weekend - just spoil yourself. Then come back and re-think what went wrong during the exam.

One observation - studying 8-12 hours a day is not the best way to study for GMAT. GMAT is an application based exam and our brain doesnot work well if you study 8 hours a day - 7 days a week. 1-2 day off is a must.

icaniwill · Answer

Try to relax for couple of days and think about your test day.
How were you with time management? 
How did you do in terms of stamina in later half of test i.e verbal section?

Like AbhiJ said, dont study 8-12 hrs. This is logic/reasoning based test. We tend to curb that as we study more. Take a day or two off each week and dont study more than 2-3 hrs in one sitting.

By now, you know all the concepts/basics. It is important to build on it i.e reason on it. Try to figure out things that you couldn't do in the test pressure and try focus on them and practice with review afterwards.

Mindreko · Answer

As above, don't burn yourself out by studying 8-12 hours a day. Keep it shorter, study smart, not information overload. The GMAT is a logic test, it tests concepts, make sure you understand those very well. Try to reason out why you didn't score so high on Verbal and plug those holes.

Priyanka2011 · Answer

Can some one suggest me a way out.. ???

Should I use any other sources ?
I am currently planning to buy the MGMAT tests ...

satishchandraaily · Answer

I am in same phase as you. I know how you would feel after working so hard to see your dream score.
You have already done pretty much good material. You did get good scores in Gmatpreps.
You need to attribute your 620 in official test to something. You shold work on that strategically.
Did you find official test tough?
Did you finish the test well?
What are the scores you were expecting when you clicked to view scores?
  You need to find exact reasons for your 620 and work on them to not repeat them again in your next official exam.  
Having worked hard and solved the above mentioned materials, you don't deserve a 620. You deserve 700+ Good luck.

For practice, MGMAT tests are good. I did them all. Pretty close to GmatPrep. But Mgmat verbal score slightly higher than Gmatprep.

Priyanka2011 · Answer

Hey satishchandraaily

Thanks ...

I though i would score terribly in quant as i had to complete 8 questions in the last 5 min..

Verbal, in contrast was well paced.. however i was for sure drained.. but kept motivating myself to read all questions..

I expected atleast a 39 in verbal..

satishchandraaily · Answer

From your post, I get two areas where you can improve for your next attempt.

1) Finishing Quant section. 
Practise more and more questions. As your quantitave ability improves, your speed will improve automatically.
Identify your unsure/weak areas of quantitative sections such as work/rate or statistics etc. Refer books for formulae and approaches. Solve more problems in that area.

2)Getting drained out in the exam. 
Did you have good sleep on the night before the exam? Did you have enough breakfast so that you were not hungry till end of your exam?
If YES, practise full 4 hr tests. Improve your energy. You can improve your energy levels by proper excercise/Yoga/good food

BlueRobin · Answer

Hey Priyanka,

Try to take it in a competitive manner. Even I had the same score as you Q49 V29. However, I managed to put more focus on my weak areas. In you case, you clearly need to learn more about english structure. You may speak English very well, but it is different in the test.

Regardless of the number of times you finish Manhattan Guides, you wont be able to get any better. I used three prep tools and only one helped me overcome my weakness.

Since you asked for suggestions, I would suggest forget everything else, put all your focus on MasterGMAT. I am not an affiliate, but the course really helped me learn about the English Structure. There are no tutors and you have lots of questions. They also have a 1 week trial, but I dont know if it is still available.

One thing I would advise is to keep realistic expectations. Just because many people post that they scored high scores does not mean it will just happen to others. So, be prepared to put quality effort in your preparation, Quality and not Quantity. Study 8 hours, if you want, I did, and it did not hurt me, its just how I am. Have your own opinions, listen to others and try different tools. Finally, GMAT is only one part, dont get too worried about scoring high or less.

aisha12 · Answer

don't be too hard on yourself. Relax, take a few days off and then ponder over what could have possibly gone wrong

piyushpachori · Answer

I had the same first attempt score as yours, and I was shattered too. But I could improve the score in my second attempt and am done with GMAT for now. Few things that I focused on for my second attempt were time management, clearly identifying and attacking my weaknesses and capitalizing on my strengths.

My 2 cents - don't worry too much about the prep material. You have already used pretty much the standard stuff. I did not even think about new prep resources for my second attempt, in fact, thought about how to best use the same material again. Your decision to buy Manhattan CAT exams is good. Their scoring is quite accurate. Manhattan quant is tougher than the real exam and verbal is at par with it.

I have written in detail how I raised my score from 620 to 710 in my debrief (link in my signature). Do read if it interests you. In that discussion, you will also find a link to Stacey's time management blog that greatly helped me overcome my issues with the timing.

I hope this helps you. Do write back if you have any specific questions. Don't worry too much about the exam, instead, be positive and get back at it with a planned approach.

Good luck!

Priyanka2011 · Answer

hey thanks a lot guys

I just thought I should take a break for a week and then start again..

Thanks for all yr inputs

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