HELP! 370 toady in one month 550? possible?

Question

Hello,

I am really frustrated now. I don´t know if I should take my exam on the 10th march or not. because today I did my first practise test and i scored 370. I have to say that I was not that concentrated and I had 10 min. left in both setions. but in math I didn't even know how to start... I have to say that I did not study word translation, the official review and geometry and sentence correction from the manhattan gmat books .... I am studying 4 hours a day.. or more... on the weekend maybe a little bit more...

but I don't know if i should try my exame on the 10th march or not? ... is it possible to improve my score in 7 weeks? ...

If I will not do the Gmat on the 10th, I have to wait one year to apply again. But if I score now really bad... and try to enter next year wouldn't it be worse? because they will see my score which i had the first time....

Please... Somebody can give my an advice ... or some other help?... :?:

THANKS A LOT!!

sabrina

THANKS A LOT!! sabrina

ttnguyen104 · Answer

You should be fine. Just need to work on the fundamentals and do a lot of the practice questions.

StrangeWind · Answer

First thing you need to do is relax. Seriously! It will help a lot especially on test day. I would recommend you to look at your test, determine which is your weakest section, and then work from that point up.

Vladny · Answer

I'm also in the same situation as you, I think the best way to handle this is by doing tons of questions from OG 12 guide and hope that similar questions will show up on the exam so you would know the format.

sab02 · Answer

Hi, Thank you so much for your advices... Yesterday i thought it over and i decided to try it! .. and what happen will happen... I think it is also better to do the exam because i allready applied to the school with all documents ect. payed the fee etc. and it will be more embarrassing if i will not do the exam (it is a sign of fear) than trying to do the exam and pass poorly and retry to enter the next year if so. But anyway.. i think with intensive study i will pass! i passed always every thing so why shouldn't I this time ??

,... Also if there average is 600. I think when I get 500 they will take my anyway because they told my that they do not have e minimum score... they regard your work experience and international experience, too. And my CV in this point is very strong for my age.

I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!... But thanks for your encouragement it helps me a lot!! It is only a mental question :D .... but the fail yesterday encouragement me now more than before! :D THANKS AGAIN! Nice evening. sabrina

wallstreetbarbie · Answer

370 indicates strong lack of fundamentals... get the MGMAT quant fundamentals work and start there... Get the basics down. Do not try OG until you get this down. Review your exam and figure out where you have most trouble... 550 is NOT an easy score to get... especially if you look at the math section and dont even know where to start. Work hard and focus on learning the fundamentals.

sab02 · Answer

Hey,

Thanks for your advice. Yeah, I know that I have real troubles with the fundamentals because I didn't do math for 5 years now... and I did my bachelor in an artistic field... so I didn't need math.... and the funny thing is that I will study marketing.. and do not even have a lesson where i need math :D.. but for applying I need math.. BUT I know that I need to improve to think more logical and that I need math fundation if I want to work in the business field afterwards.. so I really have to reactive my math knowledge... ! I am working trough my test now which I did yesterday and look every error up I did... with the manhattan book ... and rework section by section.... I hope I will finish in time...

THANKS!
sabrina

fcvald01 · Answer

Sabrina, I was also in the same boat. I took the diagnostic test and didn't know where to start, I think I got close to a 400. I bought the Manhattan books set. I wouldn't even start looking at problems until you get through the MGMAT books, it will just frustrate you and you won't understand the concepts. Also, do not go through the advanced sections, you don't have time it seems. I went through the books twice (only the math twice, the verbal part just once) and worked the problems in the back of each section and the corresponding OG problems in the back of each book. This probably took me about a month with 2 hours of studying a day on weekdays and 5 on the weekends. I took an official GMAT exam and got a 590. Went through the series of books again, took me about 2 more weeks and got a 600. I take mine in 3 weeks and plan on just reviewing and going over the same problems to increase my score more. Getting the fundamentals down will easily get you a 550.

sab02 · Answer

WOWWW!! Thanks for your advice! It is amazing! I am sooo glad to hear your story. Now i really feel confident! ... I am redoing the math part now once again.. linked with the errors i did on the diagnostic test... Now I repeat the functions...

DO you have any advice which math fundamentals i really have to know by heart... which one appear more frequent on the gmat?!?... functions... percentage.... geometry... ???

THANK YOU SOO MUCH!

MY only wish is right now to have more than 500-550!! :D

fcvald01 · Answer

The short answer is all of them. Honestly, if you were like me and were really bad with fundamentals, you need more study material. You cannot get by with just the OG. The MGMAT set is like $116 on Amazon. You can also get notes from people on the gmat club for these sections and could get by not buying the books. There are other books and I am sure they are good, but the important thing is to learn the concepts for each question type. Also, the best advice I got on here was to do one section at a time (ex: do Basic Number properties, then FDP's, then combinations, then geometry etc..) and do problems for each section after you read the material. The problems will start getting repetitious and they will start to get easier and you will spend less time working on them. If you try to just start doing problems randomly you will not know what concepts to use and will just keep getting frustrated.

Also, work on timing, if you have no idea how to work a problem on the exam, skip it and go to the next problem in which you do know how to solve. To get a 550 you can get by with knowing some concepts and not others as long as you can learn to pick your battles.

Also, work on timing, if you have no idea how to work a problem on the exam, skip it and go to the next problem in which you do know how to solve. To get a 550 you can get by with knowing some concepts and not others as long as you can learn to pick your battles.

sab02 · Answer

HEY,

THANKs... I already have all 8 Manhattan books... and the thing is that i already studied the first 4 books and some of the verbal book... but i don't remember anything.. maybe .. i did wrong in hurry up.. and moved on without understanding it ... I redo.. now all of the math book... and study every section until i got it... afterwards i will start the OR.

THANKS REALLY FOR YOUR ADIVCE!!... I have to focus really on the math part... ! (the only thing is that i do not understand the Data sufficient part in the manhattan book?!... after some sections their is written DS... but than their are only pages given from the OR?!?... where can i study the DS part in the Manhattan books?...

THANKSSS!!!!
sabrina

fcvald01 · Answer

First, that is natural, I went through the books 3 times and just now feel like im grasping the concepts. Go through them again. I took notes on my 3rd time and I am beginning to remember the concepts by memory.

Secondly, There are no DS questions, other than the few examples, in the MGMAT books. What you need to do is go to the back of each MGMAT book and work on the DS questions asked. Each book has a CH. dedicated to the corresponding OG questions. These are the most important questions to do. One page is for PS and the other for DS. (It took me a while to find where the different question types were in the OG, but once I did, I tabbed them).

Thirdly, know the DS tricks. As soon as you see a DS question on the GMAT your paper should immediately have "AD/BCE" next to it. If you don't understand this, its another good thing to pop into the gmat club browser. Im sure someone has already explained it well.

Lastly, take your time on the problems. There is no use busting through 20 questions that you sorta know how to work, when you can definitely work five from start to finish. You will start noticing a pattern and will then be able to work on timing. You have plenty of time to study. I really believe a 550 is attainable by just knowing the fundamentals. I don't think you hit a wall until about 600 and then you have to hone in more on complex concepts.

Remember to also do some Verbal, even if you feel comfortable with it. I went down from a 38V to a 33V, because I didn't study between my practice exams. If I would have just dedicated some time to verbal I probably would have gotten higher than a 600 on the second go.

Karite · Answer

Hi wallstreetbarbie,

I saw that your GMAT test is scheduled when the new section is going to be added. How do you plan to study for it? I have been thinking about taking the Manhattan course because I want to take the test before June (April or May). I am in the same boat as sab02. I did purchase the Foundations of GMAT Math and it really helped. Now I am going through the Number Properties book again and I seem to be getting it but I am concerned about how long it will take to complete the other four math books of the Manhattan series.

GMATPill · Answer

Yes certainly focus on fundamentals - get them right and redo all the wrong ones in random order. Pretend your sitting for the actual exam each time you do the question - stay focused, be fast and efficient - that way you prepare yourself mentally and avoid being panicked on the real exam. Of course, don't neglect verbal as fcvald01 mentioned. The verbal skill tends to be more sensitive as your score goes higher.

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