Suggestions based on my CAT scores? [help...]

Question

Hi, first post here! I've been on the forum for the last month and would like to say thanks to all the amazing advice you give. Now I hope some of you could try and help me understand why I'm doing so bad... losing my motivation week over week...

I have just finished my 4th CAT test (5 mins ago)...  570 . I have been studying for the last 4 weeks non-stop, at nights and in transit to work during the week and full time on the weekends.

Here are my 4 CAT scores:
1st - with close to no studying:  590  - Q39, V32. Used the 1st GMAT prep software CAT, with essay and IR
2nd - with 2 weeks of study:  530  - Q31, V34. Used the economist free CAT test, with essay and IR 
3rd - with 3 weeks prep:  590  - Q38, V34. Used the 1st Manhattan GMAT CAT test, with essay and IR
4th - the one i just finished:  570  - Q38, V30. 2nd Manhattan GMAT CAT test,  without essay and IR! 
(not worth mentioning my IR scores btw...very low as I still have to check how to do those)

Am I just hopeless? I have focused on the quant part these 4-5 weeks and much less on the verbal.  I have: 
- studied on all 5 Manhattan GMAT books, done the practice problems
- done close to all the 13th OG PS and DS problems, checking mistakes - and keeping an error log which i still have to go through again
- done the above tests and checked my mistakes

Am I doing something wrong?  I thought my weakness was Quant, and that's why I'm dedicating most of my time on it.. but with no apparent result... I thought I was doing generally well on verbal and am not focusing on that part because i thought that by doing practice problems i could improve step by step checking my mistakes.. but check my last V score...  (I am Italian, but have good knowledge of english, and some big gaps in my high school math)

I feel I can just answer the average questions, and I won't move up to the next level.. I think I struggle with the Quant on time (I get 70% of OG problems right with a couple of more minutes on the harder questions), and I think I know the right answer in verbal questions, thus making silly mistakes and finishing some minutes before the time is up. Should I give up the quant and strengthen even further my verbal part which i have totally neglected?

I have taken the official GMAT 7 years ago, just by going through the OG at the time and doing very little study and practicing and got  510 . If after 7 years and studying so hard I improve by just this small amount... should I give up my  700 goal ?

I have the test in 10 days.
 
Thanks in advance for your feedback!

getsunny · Answer

Hi Nick,

Sorry to hear about the situation that you're in. I can totally understand the frustration and feeling helpless. However, feeling like that will not help at all. I'm going to share my opinion on you current status and goals, and I'm going to be very honest with you.

You're scoring under 600 at the moment, and you have just 10 days for your GMAT to score a 700+ - Considering this scenario, I would say that you're not ready for the GMAT and you won't be able to improve by over 100-120 point in a span of 10 days. I know it's difficult to hear this, but it is the bitter truth. I would suggest that you postpone your exam by at least 6 weeks (preferable if you postpone it by 2 months).

Once you've taken a decision on this, you can think about what you should do to prepare effectively to get to your score. I'd be happy to help out, and so will the many forum members.

Trust me, its not impossible but its not easy either. Have a look at the following debrief and you will know:

retake-experience-from-590-to-770-in-one-month-159957.html

All the best with the decision!

nick_wz · Answer

Hi Getsunny,

thanks very much for your reply. You actually made me think about it, and between today/tommorow I will probably reschedule my exam!

I think I will reschedule for exactly one month (end of september). If I do pretty well then I might be still able to apply to some of the schools that were in my top list (e.g. NYU, UCLA), and try for the second round on some other top10-20 US schools. I just will have to scrap my plans to go for first round with my top target schools (e.g. berkeley, MIT)...guess I can take it.

Still if I don't do well enough on my first try I will then retake it at the end of october/mid-november and apply to my top choices in the second round and maybe on the third round to some "safer" schools.

Just wanted to add that I think that besides the freaking GMAT (yes, I need to start loving it rather than hating it!), I think I have a great profile for a European candidate:
- I work in a US tech company with a solid career track record (might get some sponsorship)
- graduated from top10 EU graduate schools with 2 different business masters of science (dual degree)
- have great references (both with top10 school MBA)
- I think my career goals and motivation will make some great essays (ok, ok.. maybe everyone has from its own perspective

)

I mentioned the above, just to point that my goals is not 700+ (probably unachievable for me in the time I have available to prepare, and my general ability with these tests), but is 700 MAX. Meaning that I think I still might be considered with around 670-700 - please correct me if I'm wrong!

Would be great to have some extra feedback from the GMAT club on the decision I'm about to take (rescheduling) and also on my profile/school thoughts...

Thanks!

) I mentioned the above, just to point that my goals is not 700+ (probably unachievable for me in the time I have available to prepare, and my general ability with these tests), but is 700 MAX. Meaning that I think I still might be considered with around 670-700 - please correct me if I'm wrong! Would be great to have some extra feedback from the GMAT club on the decision I'm about to take (rescheduling) and also on my profile/school thoughts... Thanks!

nick_wz · Answer

BTW - I read the amazing tips the guy gives in his debrief, and first of all I have just purchased access to the GMAT club CAT tests.

I still want to point out that the person you mention, in the first 2 months or so of preparation and practice test-taking, he was scoring around 640-710, which is significantly higher than what I have been scoring in the last month. Just to say it's probably hard to benchmark our profiles...

getsunny · Answer

Absolutely my friend! Nothing (not even a massive 750+ GMAT score) can substitute for great work experience and essays. You're target of a 650-700 is good for tier 2 colleges for sure, as long as you can back it up with a good application, and show that your achievements in the professional side make you an exceptional candidate.

Even I've been advised to retake the GMAT and try for a 720+ (mostly because I'm Indian and someone from my applicant pool is expected to have a high GMAT score). But, I'm very confident about my work experience and profile, and I think I'll give a retake ONLY if I can't do something awesome in my work profile over the next 1 year.

You never know what works and what doesn't, but you can always try.

Also, I wasn't benchmarking your profile with the that individual. I was just trying to motivate you by showing that such a massive improvement is possible over a course of 1 month or so, as long as you can develop a sound strategy.

nick_wz · Answer

Shukriya Getsunny! (if I'm writing it right...has been 5yrs since my last trip to India...)

Anyone else has any feedback on the above? I know it's a long read.. but come on you're already getting my motivation back on track!

I would like to know most of all if based on my preparation summary and my CAT scores up to date, what you suggest to improve my preparation.

I think this is what I will do in the next 5 weeks:
- review my error log for the first time and thoroughly, as well as my 4 CAT exam mistakes
- restudy the manhattan GMAT quant books starting from the topics in which I have been weak, building a Quant rulebook (I suck with FDPs...)
- take no full CAT exams for the next 2-3 weeks, instead do CAT quant problems from the GMAT Club forum
- start studying some Verbal theory beginning with the Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction book

What do you guys think?

nick_wz · Answer

would be really cool to hear some more opinions!

Posted from my mobile device

GMATPill · Answer

With Quant -- you want to be comfortable with all the variations off of any core question you might see on the exam. For example, you might see a sum of sequence question. In practice, you might be comfortable with 1 to 100 -- but what if on the exam, you are asked about 101 to 150?

With rates -- you might be comfortable with two people moving towards each other -- but what about when two people are moving away from each other?

This is the approach we take in our course -- we take the most common core problems -- and we walk students around different variations off of that core problem -- so if you see a similar looking question but slightly different, you'll still be ok.

With math - there's only so many ways they can test you on the same underlying question. You just need to be able to understand all angles and leave no opening to get caught.

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