Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some help in getting up the plateau of 680!!

I have given both the GMAT prep tests, GMAT Club tests and 3 of the Veritas tests. The average score is 650 and the average of the last 3 test score is 680.

Quant range is from 41 to 49
Verbal from 27 to 37

I have done OG questions, referred MGMAT book for fundamentals and then began with tests.

Can someone please help me to understand what do I do now? I keep postponing the plan to write the test just because the scores wont look up.

Thanks,
aimtoteach

Hi aimtoteach,

It's clear that your verbal is not quite as strong as your quant. However, I'm curious about the following.

-What's your target score? I'm assuming it's 700+, but it would still be helpful to hear from you.
-Have you scheduled your official GMAT? If so, what's your test date?
-When are you planning to apply to business school?

Additionally, it would also be helpful to go back and understand which parts of the verbal gave you the most trouble. From there, I'm sure we'll all be able to chime in.

Best,
Rich
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Hi aimtoteach,

If you're last three scores are right around 680, then you're likely approaching each CAT in the same ways, including making the same little mistakes. With a 680, you're remarkably close to scoring 700+, but until you fix the little things, you'll likely continue to score in that general range.

I have a few questions about these CATs and how you've been studying:

1) Beyond the books that you mentioned, have you used any other resources?
2) When you took these CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?

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

Thank you for your response.

Here are the details you need from me:

Target Score: 730+ ; I am planning to apply to HBS,Harvard- GSAS, BU, UMass and Carrol for MBA and Phd both. So the higher the score the better I have 10+ years of experience in Global Learning & Development roles with Conglomerates and I do have have a good CV but I am guessing 730+ is the minimum to get in. Right?
Test Date: I was planning to book the test once my mocks get closer to the target score. Given the plateau of 680 - I havent taken a date yet
Applying for: Fall 2016 Term

Now about the verbal area - you are correct in the diagnosis. But truly speaking, I am surprised that verbal is my weak point! I have been a voracious reader and not just fiction but the classics kind Even when I try to analyse the problem areas - they are all over the place. Sometimes, SC will be really low while other times, SC will be 100% accurate but RC will be down to 30% accuracy. When both of these are fine, CR will go for a toss.

So, I am really lost and not sure how to plan my next move.

Thanks,
aimtoteach

Hello Rich,

Thanks for your response.

About your questions:

1) I havent used any other courses that these - OG, MGMAT, GMAT Club - CATs and Veritas -question bank and CATs
2) I always give the full CAT

I believe you are right - feels like I am running in circles and thus no progress. What do you recommend should I do next. Honestly, giving the remaining CATs dont make sense as I dont want to waste perfectly good study material.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,
aimtoteach

Hi aimtoteach,

Can you list out your last 3 sets of CAT scores (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores) and the date that you took each? When it comes to this type of data, the more specific you can be, the easier it is to diagnose the issues that are likely holding you back.

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

I think you're on the right track with being such a voracious reader. However, I think this is more of a supplement to tackling the verbal. There are plenty of strategies you'll also need to master to get the score you want. I'll be interested to see your responses to Rich Cohen, which should shed some additional light on how to proceed from here.

Best,
Rich
_________________

Hello,

Here goes the last 3 test details:

Total Q V
Veritas 13-Apr 680 47 37
Gmat Prep 8-Apr 680 49 32
Veritas 24-Mar 650 46 33

Looking forward to your inputs

In the meantime, I am going through all my error logs and notes and brushing up. Also, doing 700+ level problems in verbal on GMAT Club forums.

Thanks,
aimtoteach

Hello Rich and Rich

Looking for your advice here please.

Thanks,
aimtoteach

Hi aimtoteach,

Thanks for your response. I know you've tried doing this previously, but it's interesting to see that your first verbal score was higher than the more recent practice exams. Although you haven't identified a concept or question type you're struggling with more than others, have you also looked for patterns in the mistakes you made across all three practice exams? I'm curious to see if you can find any other issues (timing, concepts you're struggling with more than you realize, etc) by taking the time to look for any patterns in your test taking.

Best,
Rich
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Hi aimtoteach,

I'd like to know a bit more about the last CAT that you took. You'll have to do a question-by-question review of everything (even the questions that you got correct).

1) How many questions in the Quant section COULD you have gotten correct but didn't (due to a silly/little mistake)?
2) Did you have to rush to finish the Quant section (and if so, how many questions did you have to guess on to finish on time)?

3) In the Verbal section, how many questions did you 'narrow it down to 2 and "guess" on?" (whether you got them correct or incorrect).

That last question likely defines the 'root' of your problems in the Verbal section. It doesn't sound like you're approaching the Verbal section with a tactical approach - I think you're just trying to "figure it out on the fly" and you're choosing answers that "sound good" instead of answers that you know are correct. At your current scoring level, the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes, so to score 700+ you can't afford to be making too many of them.

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

here are two very helpful links where you can get an idea of what worked for other students:

how-to-improve-verbal-from-v30-to-v40-142361.html

720-q42-v47-how-to-improve-verbal-tips-50635.html

They got a lot of KUDOS and you should def. take a look.

Optimus Prep's verbal booster is also a great course and can be of tremendous help for you!