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07 Jun 2021, 11:03
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Hello, everyone.
I just completed my first official gmat exam. Scored a 530 (q33, v29).
Studied for exactly 30 days. Around 4 to 5 hours a day.(this includes studying, testing, reviewing)
I completed my bbm in 2016. Haven’t touched a book since then until a month back.
Always lagged behind in quantitative subjects. I considered my language ability to be my trump card however after my first mock I realised I was badly mistaken.
My first rando mock(lsb-economist free gmat test) I had scored a 410. Then after doing the official gmat diagnostic test I scored roughly around 500.
I tried building up my quant foundation but time constraints forced me to progress onto practicing. After my first week of practice, I scored a 570(q39, v29) on the gmac prep 1 test. Kept practising with the og for the last two weeks but my final official prep 2 test I scored a 490(q35,v21).
I honestly don’t know why my score dropped so low. I wasn’t nervous and I always stick to test conditions. The only thing I did different was that I started with verbal unlike all my other tries. I just figured since I needed to improve my verbal I might score better if I started of with verbal. Man, that back fired badly. My CR and RC accuracy was roughly between 70 and 80%. But SC was bleeding me dry for all the exams I took.
I kind of maintained an error log however I focused mainly on questions I was repeatedly making mistakes on. I didn’t review every mistake and for the last two weeks I didn’t go through any of the concepts again. I think the fact that I had to immediately write the exam made me think just pure practice might help me score higher.
I think after my first official prep exam I was getting rusty again on certain quant topics. I was so focused on getting a better verbal score I let my guard down against quant. I now feel that I must have gotten a lot of simple questions wrong on my official exam and hence my quant score just cratered.
Now that I have adequately painted a picture of my current situation, I would like some advice on how to proceed.
In this first test I feel that my exam prep was half baked. I did not study long enough to cement my foundations for both verbal and quant. The resources I used was a 2018 og guide and some old Princeton review gmat books my elder brother used a couple of years ago. And all the free online content like gmat club and associated content.
For my second attempt I have already ordered “all the gmat Manhattan prep.” I have also given myself 3 months to study for this exam. I haven’t set a target score because I do not want to limit myself. I want to Shoot for the stars basically.
Any advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated. I want to apply to business schools in Canada and the US (if I get a decent score). This would probably be my last chance to a apply to a good business school and I want to earn a good gmat score before I settle on a university.
I just completed my first official gmat exam. Scored a 530 (q33, v29).
Studied for exactly 30 days. Around 4 to 5 hours a day.(this includes studying, testing, reviewing)
I completed my bbm in 2016. Haven’t touched a book since then until a month back.
Always lagged behind in quantitative subjects. I considered my language ability to be my trump card however after my first mock I realised I was badly mistaken.
My first rando mock(lsb-economist free gmat test) I had scored a 410. Then after doing the official gmat diagnostic test I scored roughly around 500.
I tried building up my quant foundation but time constraints forced me to progress onto practicing. After my first week of practice, I scored a 570(q39, v29) on the gmac prep 1 test. Kept practising with the og for the last two weeks but my final official prep 2 test I scored a 490(q35,v21).
I honestly don’t know why my score dropped so low. I wasn’t nervous and I always stick to test conditions. The only thing I did different was that I started with verbal unlike all my other tries. I just figured since I needed to improve my verbal I might score better if I started of with verbal. Man, that back fired badly. My CR and RC accuracy was roughly between 70 and 80%. But SC was bleeding me dry for all the exams I took.
I kind of maintained an error log however I focused mainly on questions I was repeatedly making mistakes on. I didn’t review every mistake and for the last two weeks I didn’t go through any of the concepts again. I think the fact that I had to immediately write the exam made me think just pure practice might help me score higher.
I think after my first official prep exam I was getting rusty again on certain quant topics. I was so focused on getting a better verbal score I let my guard down against quant. I now feel that I must have gotten a lot of simple questions wrong on my official exam and hence my quant score just cratered.
Now that I have adequately painted a picture of my current situation, I would like some advice on how to proceed.
In this first test I feel that my exam prep was half baked. I did not study long enough to cement my foundations for both verbal and quant. The resources I used was a 2018 og guide and some old Princeton review gmat books my elder brother used a couple of years ago. And all the free online content like gmat club and associated content.
For my second attempt I have already ordered “all the gmat Manhattan prep.” I have also given myself 3 months to study for this exam. I haven’t set a target score because I do not want to limit myself. I want to Shoot for the stars basically.
Any advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated. I want to apply to business schools in Canada and the US (if I get a decent score). This would probably be my last chance to a apply to a good business school and I want to earn a good gmat score before I settle on a university.
07 Jun 2021, 23:08
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Maheshmohan6,
Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you studied for just 1 month, then it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to consistently score at that higher level yet. You did achieve a great deal though (raising a 410 to a 530 in that short timeframe is a great achievement) - and it shows that you have the capacity to learn and improve! Giving yourself another 3 months of study time is a smart choice.
In addition, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that may have already happened - and that we want to avoid in the future). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.
From what you've described, your studies so far have been "book heavy" - and so is your plan for your ongoing studies; unfortunately, many GMATers who study in that way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in some new, non-book study materials for this next phase of your studies.
While you might not have a Score Goal or a list of Schools that you plan to apply to, answers to those questions can help to make sure that you are following an appropriate Study Plan and timeline. I suggest that you take a little time to investigate the Schools/Programs that interest you - and define the type of GMAT Score that you will likely 'need' to comfortably apply to those Schools. Once you have that information, you should post back here.
1) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
If you took your GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you studied for just 1 month, then it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to consistently score at that higher level yet. You did achieve a great deal though (raising a 410 to a 530 in that short timeframe is a great achievement) - and it shows that you have the capacity to learn and improve! Giving yourself another 3 months of study time is a smart choice.
In addition, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that may have already happened - and that we want to avoid in the future). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.
From what you've described, your studies so far have been "book heavy" - and so is your plan for your ongoing studies; unfortunately, many GMATers who study in that way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in some new, non-book study materials for this next phase of your studies.
While you might not have a Score Goal or a list of Schools that you plan to apply to, answers to those questions can help to make sure that you are following an appropriate Study Plan and timeline. I suggest that you take a little time to investigate the Schools/Programs that interest you - and define the type of GMAT Score that you will likely 'need' to comfortably apply to those Schools. Once you have that information, you should post back here.
1) For your next attempt, are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
If you took your GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
08 Jun 2021, 02:05
Kudos
Bookmarks
