stuck in the upper 600s...difficult to break the 700 barrier

Question

i have written 3 MGMAT tests and 2 GMAC tests

the scores (in the order)
1st: GMAC: 630(without prep)
2nd: MGMAT: 670
3rd: GMAC: 730
4th: MGMAT: 650
5th: MGMAT: 680

The odd 700+ score seems like an anomaly. My quant scores range from 46-51 and verbal scores range from 33-39. I am facing problem with CR questions. I have the exam in 2 weeks. Any suggestion would be valued highly.

AjiteshArun · Answer

You seem on track for a good score, but please try to take the exam pack 1 tests as well.

What have you done for CR till now?

maxsteel90 · Answer

i read up the kaplan verbal material and practiced questions. i do have the manhattan study material but haven't read up the CR portion yet. would it help? i am doing very good in SC, good in RC and horrible in CR.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Okay, but what about all the official material for CR? Especially the question pack 1? You might want to pick that up as well.

Don't be too quick to discount that 730 you got.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

Before I can offer any suggestions, I'd like to know a bit more about how you took these CATs:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you can't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

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

maxsteel90 · Answer

1) no(i excluded the essay question 4 times, wrote it during the last test only)
2) yes
3) no(i took some early in the morning and some in the afternoon: i am writing the gmat in the afternoon though)
4) yes(skipped the essay question), besides that no
5) no(appeared them once)

Porkbun123 · Answer

Have you taken a real test yet?

Manhattan is notoriously harsh on quant. I don't think I've ever broken 700 on Manhattan simply because of how hard the quant is.

You may be pleasantly surprised when you take the real test.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

There's been some inconsistency with how you took your CATs (skipping sections, different start times), so it would help to have a CAT score that comes from a realistic and test-like experience. If possible, I suggest that you take one of the GMAC CATs (including the Essay and IR sections, at the same time of day as your Official GMAT, away from your home, etc.), so that we can get a clearer sense of your skills. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can talk through what you should focus on going forwards.

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

JenniferAtKaplan · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

I'd like to know if there are particular question types that are giving you more difficulty than others with the CR questions. Different CR question types ask you to do different things with the prompt given. Also, because most CR questions involve an argument, do you feel comfortable breaking down those arguments to find the author's evidence and conclusion? Understanding the argument given is crucial for finding the correct answer among the answer choices.

Best,
Jennifer

maxsteel90 · Answer

I got a 730 in GMAT, thanks for all your help.

Q: 50
V: 38
AWA: 5.5/6
IR: 8/8

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

That's outstanding news! With a 730/Q50, you have a score that is well above the 90th percentile overall, so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you.

1) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
2) When are you planning to apply?

Since there was a gap of about 2 months between your last couple of posts in this thread, my guess is that other users would probably want to know what work you've done during that time. How did you score on your more recent practice CATs? How did you adjust your studies? Etc.

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

maxsteel90 · Answer

I appeared the GMAT exam in December and subsequently wrote TOEFL a week later. I was planning on applying to the masters in finance programs as well as the MSc Fin/MS in Fin programs. 
In the past two months, I have applied to 6 programs:

1) HEC(Paris)- MIF
2) LBS - M.Fin(Full Time)
3) Cambridge: Judge School of Business - M.Fin
4) LSE - MSc Fin
5) MIT: Sloan school of management - M.Fin
6) Vanderbilt Uni - MSF

Currently, I am waiting for the interview emails. 
I have got a rejection email from Cambridge(got it yesterday evening, with a hilarious reason for not shortlisting me for an interview, anyway it is their call) 
And an interview email from LBS(got it yesterday evening, haven't got the interview date yet, though). 
I am waiting for emails from the other schools.

My target schools are LBS(preferred), MIT(difficult but possible) and HEC(nice program).

maxsteel90 · Answer

Regarding my GMAT test prep in the last two weeks,

I focused on keeping myself happy. Personally, I recommend that Manhattan test series is not helpful in preparing for GMAT. On the contrary, it was demoralising. In reality, GMAT is more logical and fun than the unnecessarily tough Manhattan tests(well that is my opinion, anyway enough of the bashing).

I tried Kaplan tests and some others(I don't remember them). All the time, I focused on CR. I reread the basics, and solved fewer examples and spent most of my time analyzing the solutions. I was good with quant and SC. In the last week, I wrote two Kaplan tests and scored 720, 740 with 7/8 and 8/8 in IR respectively. I was feeling confident and on the exam day, I just chilled out as much as I could. I did everything that would keep me happy.

Drawing insights from my experience, I would advise the prospective test takers to spend maximum time analysing the solutions rather than solving loads of problems. That would be the the difference between a 700+ score and a <700 score.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

Receiving requests to interview is good news - that means that the Schools are clearly interested in you - but they're not completely 'sold' on you yet. At this critical point in the process, you really should plan to 'prepare' for your interviews - 'rehearse' answers to potential questions, etc. You might even consider working with an Admissions Expert. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

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

JenniferAtKaplan · Answer

Hi maxsteel90,

Congratulations on your strong GMAT score! That's great news, and thanks for sharing!

Best,
Jennifer

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stuck in the upper 600s...difficult to break the 700 barrier

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