Struggling to see any visible improvement in score

Question

I have my GMAT exam scheduled for June, and I have been preparing for c. 2.5 months now. I initially started at 620 (Q45, V30), and I have managed to make a jump to 660 (Q46, V35) but I still believe this isn't an adequate improvement. I am targeting a 730 score to position me well for my apps, but I feel really lost at the moment.

Here's what all I have done until now:
1. Signed for a local GMAT prep provider. I have gone through their course in entirety once but felt that their material was too basic and verbal was definitely not up to the mark.
2. Solved the OG from cover to cover (Here I am not maintaining an error log, but I am marking all the questions in the OG itself so I can return to them later)

Here's where I am at at the moment:
1.  Quant:  Being an engineer, my quant score should have been higher, but unfortunately, it is not. I know the material, but I am struggling with silly mistakes and data sufficiency. I am just not able to shake these silly mistakes off, and my data sufficiency accuracy is never higher than 50%. This is causing me sleepless nights. 
2.  Verbal:  Being a non-native, I always knew this would be my problem area, and hence I signed up for a prep provider. I even supplemented them by reading the Manhattan guides, and have read the critical reasoning guide once and working through the sentence correction guide at the moment. but my accuracy isn't overshooting 50% in any of the three sections. I understand the basics of sentence correction, but whenever I see a question, I am not able to figure out what is it testing and just go blank.

I try my best to study every day despite a very demanding job and usually put in a couple of extra hours on the weekends. Can anyone suggest how can I make a leap and get to my target score? Any advice is welcome.

(I am using Veritas mocks, if that's relevant)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi humphreydunphy,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What specific study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) When is your exact Test Date?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
 
 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi humphreydunphy,

Quant:  
Your Quant score suggests that you are pretty good with the concepts but are struggling with their application. I understand that being an engineer, you must have dealt with a lot of math but GMAT Quant is more about the logical approach. Most importantly, you need to use the right strategies to avoid the traps set in DS questions. Before jumping into solving statements, you need to do a certain pre-analysis on the question stem. Doing this will help you understand the exact information that is asked by the question stem.

And there are few things you should keep in mind while solving DS questions:
   Not assuming information that is not stated in the question stem:  For example, if the question stem has "x" in it, the general tendency is to assume it as an integer. But never do that. 
  Considering all possible cases:  While solving a few questions, students generally tend to miss out a few basic cases such as considering "0" or "1". This might lead them to an incorrect answer.

You might find the below recording helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTYgz01RO3I

Verbal: 
To score well on Verbal, you need to have a strong conceptual base and at the same time, use the right methods and strategies to solve questions. This is possible only when you understand what is tested using those questions. For example, before you start learning the concepts of SC, you need to understand that SC questions on GMAT test your ability to convey the right meaning without any ambiguity. So, it's important to approach them from a meaning stand-point. You might have often come across answer choices which are both grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect because they do not convey the intended meaning. So, the process to approach SC questions is to:
  Comprehend the original meaning of the sentence 
 Identify errors if any (both grammatical and meaning wise) 
 Eliminate answer choices which either are grammatically incorrect or do not convey the intended meaning

You can go through the recording below to understand the process in a better way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

The path ahead: 
Solving questions from OG or any other random resource is definitely not a solution to improve your score. As I earlier, it's the process on which you have to work. I think you need to focus on the application skills to improve your Quant score. Coming to Verbal, it's more about approaching the questions in the right way. And if you didn't exhaust your official mocks, I suggest you to stick with them as they will give you the right prediction.

To suggest you in a better way, I would like to know the  way you approach questions  right now. This will help me understand the flaw in your approach if any and then suggest you what to work on. A zoom call would be ideal for us to connect and have a discussion on the same. That will even help me analyze your way of approaching questions. You can use the below link to schedule a call with me.

Click here to schedule a call

MathRevolution · Answer

Hello humphreydunphy,

Don't give up! You can surely do better.

A score of 660 is decent and a target score of 730+ seems realistic.

Also, with my GMAT tutoring, guidance, and counseling experience, we have to accept a fact with a pinch of salt that diagnostic/ mock test scores are above then what one should expect in a real test. There is often dropping in the score. Some students have even experienced a drop of 100 pointers. It is one of the realities, and your preparation should not sideline this fact.

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning especially on hard level questions while stably hitting middle-level questions.
• Lack of many updated questions and practice in the recent exam trend
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

We would recommend you make a note of various possible combinations of your target score. The possible scores will help you track your performance after taking the mock or practice test. It will also help you maintain balance in both the sections, and you will always be in a great position to allot the study hours to a specific area accordingly.

The possible score combinations for 700 or 700+: Q should be Q 46, 47, 48, and V should be V38, 39, 40.

You can try our free diagnostic test and receive a comprehensive study guide by topic. receive. This test will clearly help you understand your weak areas.

You can schedule a Comprehensive counseling session for 30 mins with one of our experts: https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session for detailed advice on your current study plans.

You must schedule your day smartly to revise the topics and also practice more questions. We would suggest you register with MathRevolution https://www.mathrevolution.com/member/signup to get access to our 7-day full on-demand course (27 topics, 490 subtopics, and 1,500 questions) for free trial lessons.

700+ level questions https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/questionbank are separately available, too.

Since we are a math expert, we will recommend you go through our post on the GMAT club: Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

Since you are close to your target score, you can also enroll in 1:1 private tutoring offered by us https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/online_02tutoring.

Regular tests will reflect the positive change in the score, and hence, your confidence will boost up. Gradually, with the help of mock tests, you will be able to compete with time and hence will be able to learn time management.

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Math Revolution Team

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

First off, you should also use official practice tests. Third party tests may score differently from the actual GMAT. So, it's not certain that your score level is where the third party tests are indicating is is. It's likely slightly higher.

Regarding your accuracy issues, this post on accuracy discusses in depth how to be more accurate and make fewer so called careless errors.

Improving Your Accuracy on the GMAT

Regarding verbal, the key to increasing your verbal score is effective preparation. To get some insights into exactly how to prepare for GMAT verbal, you could read this post.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

humphreydunphy · Answer

Hi humphreydunphy,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What specific study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) When is your exact Test Date?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Thank you for taking the time out to reply:
1. I think I study for at least 1-2 hours everyday, and 3-4 hours over the weekend conservatively
2. OG/Quant review for quant and verbal practice. Also solved Verbal questions at the end of Manhattan guides
3. Here are my test dates and scores
 Date Total score/%ile Q/%ile V/%ile
 February 28 620 / 63 44 / 50 32 / 66 
 March 21 660 / 77 45 / 55 36 / 80 
 March 27 650 / 73 46 / 58 33 / 68 
 April 10 650 / 73 43 / 47 36 / 80 
 April 18 640 / 68 44 / 50 34 / 71

4. Test date is June 19, so gives me exactly two months
5. Targeting to apply to local B-schools in September and other B-schools in Canada/US by the end of the year

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

The Quant fluctuates a little, but is consistently high. If you're looking to hit a 730, you'd probably need a "high" Q50 V38. If you can get your Verbal to a V40+ level that would be helpful.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi humphreydunphy,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (640 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Since these Scores go back almost 2 months, it's possible that you developed some 'bad habits' during your earlier studies that are keeping you from scoring higher - and need to be fixed (meaning that we need to replace those bad habits with new 'good habits'). Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. You will have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections though.

From what you've described, your studies so far have been "book heavy"; 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.

1) 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?

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

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi humphreydunphy,

660 is not a bad start! To improve your GMAT score to a higher level, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses . You also may find it helpful to read the following article about  The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT .

Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!

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