Need guidance desperately

Question

Hello everyone,
I started preparing for the GMAT three months back and about a month back I started giving mock test and I scored just 600 on the Manhattan's GMAT test. Also, I scored 730 on expert global's GMAT test. I am confused about what should I do now and which score should I take as a real indicator of my preparation. I am planning to take my GMAT exam in 15 days. I really need guidance about what should I do next. 
Thanks in advance!!!

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DavidTutorexamPAL · Answer

Hey  Insiya ,

I'm a bit short on information at the moment, so have difficulty giving advice. The only comment I can make now is that the official CATs from GMAC are considered most reliable, so the two you have taken, while they do suggest considerable progress, are not necessarily indicative of your current abilities.

To give more specific advice, I'd appreciate the answer to the following:
1. What is your target score?
2. What materials have you studied with so far?
3. Have you created an error log? That is, are you currently capable of identifying your weak points and your strengths?
4. When you took the last CAT, did you take it in conditions as similar as possible to the real exam? Same time of day, full length exam with no breaks, no help from calculator/phone, etc.?

If you like, consider creating a free account with us  here . Every section starts with a brief diagnostic which will help us and you measure your current ability.

Insiya · Answer

Thank you so much DavidTutorexamPal for your reply.
Well, My target score is 710 and I gave all my exam in GMAT's actual time format without any break. As far as study materials are concerned, I referred to Kaplan GMAT prep. 
I am facing quite difficulty in verbal. In quant, I work really hard to speed up my logical thinking and calculations but it doesn't seem to improve.

Posted from my mobile device

DavidTutorexamPAL · Answer

Hi Insiya , Happy to help

First of all, it is excellent that your CAT was taken in similar conditions to the actual test but I would still request that you take an official CAT from mba.com. Once you have, report back to us here and we will be happy to analyze it for you. When you solve Quant questions, do you usually try writing them out as equations and explicitly solving? While this works, it often takes far more time than necessary. Many questions can be solved by what we call Alternative methods, such as picking numbers or eliminating impossible answer choices (and many others). These methods are more efficient than calculations but are not guesses - they get you to the right answer ever time. Which, for many students, helps to save a lot of time. Alternative methods can take a while to master but are usually relatively simple to pick up early on, consider watching a few example videos on our site. With respect to Verbal, what gives you difficulty? Once again, timing issues are often the result of inefficient strategies such as reading all of the answer choices. There is no need for this; with many questions it is possible to infer the correct answer without actually reading the given options. This prevents both the confusion and loss of time that come from reading and thinking about every answer option.

GMATPill · Answer

My recommendation is to worry less about what your score is on these practice CAT tests. These best predictors are the GMATPrep ones - and even then, it's not necessarily a perfect representation of the actual test.

So the most you can worry about is just getting WHATEVER comes at you correct. You should be familiar with what to expect and the types of concepts.

More importantly, to do well, you need to be familiar with what is likely being tested, where the booby traps, where you should focus your attention, and where you should avoid wasting time.

These are small, but critical elements that add up and affect your score -- and you actually have control over these. So don't fret over things you don't have control over -- such as the specific algorithm that is used to calculate a total score for you.

That said, if you are looking for an extra practice test, many of our students at GMAT Pill report scores within +-30 points of what they get on the actual test:

https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... ctice-test

We encourage you to learn more about GMAT Pill at https://www.gmatpill.com/testimonials

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Insiya,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2), so it would be useful to know how you performed on one of those CATS. Once you have that score result, you should post back here and we can talk through what all of this data means.

You might also want to consider paying to reschedule your Exam. While you might not be 'happy' about that idea, it would be preferable to going into Test Day under-prepared, having a bad experience and then having to pay the full fee to retake the GMAT later.

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) What study materials have you used so far?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Insiya · Answer

Thank you so much, EmpowergmatRich Cohen, for your valuable advice. 
I have used Kaplan GMAT prep for the preparation. I am planning to apply in Ross university for the PhD program this year. Need guidance on the same.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Insiya,

The process of applying for a PhD Program is a bit more 'intense' than applying for an MBA - since there are fewer applicants for a relatively small number of 'spots', each aspect of your application will be given serious attention. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admission ... tants-124/

1) What is the exact application deadline for this Program? Are there multiple application Rounds (and if so, then what are they?)?

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

MrJglass · Answer

They've said a lot, this is just my own little sentence correction input, perhaps, it might earn you an extra point. 
The correct grammar is: 
"I really need guidance about what 'I should do' next" and not 
'what should I do next'.

Bests of Luck man!

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Need guidance desperately

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