GMAT Second Attempt

Question

Hi all,

I had given my first GMAT attempt on 29th November, 2021. I was preparing for the last 4-5 months but did a sincere preparation in the last 2 months. I was shocked to see a score of 640 (Q47, V30) on my GMAT as I was pretty confident of my preparation and I had a starting score of 620 in my diagnostic mock before the start of the preparation . ( Prep source- eGMAT for Verbal). I thought of going for a second attempt in Jan and applying for ISB R3 deadline (30th Jan). However, ever since my first attempt I feel mentally exhausted and I'm unable to put in any productive hours of study/practice. Kindly suggest what should I do to get out of this situation.

sislam04 · Answer

Hey bud. Deep breath.

This test is stupid and annoying but it is manageable. I promise.

I went from 650 to 720 in 2 weeks. I made one small tweak during the exam that shot my verbal score up. I paused at reading comprehension and really just too the time to understand the passage. Likewise, you need to really dig in and see where the errors are on both sections. Is it comprehension is it foundational or what. Everyone has a different way of achieving that 700+ score, you just need to focus on the easy points for your bleeding and you’ll see your score start to rise. Have you had your mocks analyzed?

Posted from my mobile device

EducationAisle · Answer

How much were you scoring in official mocks?

EducationAisle · Answer

You still have a solid 1 month left for GMAT preparation (since application can be prepared within 10-15 days, though it's bit of a stretch).

You really should be looking at your end-goal (MBA) to pump yourself up. Reiterating, GMAT is not your end-goal; MBA is.

So, if you are passionate about your end-goal, realize that scaling GMAT is a necessity for you to enable your end-goal.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

However, ever since my first attempt I feel mentally exhausted and I'm unable to put in any productive hours of study/practice. Kindly suggest what should I do to get out of this situation.

Might be helpful. Also maybe take a day or two off to recharge/think over things?

Importance of Solving Approach - Not just for Quant

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Sk567,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better. Your Official result is similar to the practice CAT results you posted about in late-October, so it's possible that you've gotten "stuck" at this particular Score level. Assuming that your Score Goal is still a 710+, you will have to make some significant changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam. From what you describe, you might also be a bit 'burned out' from your studies - so taking some 'time off' (re: a few days or a week) would likely be beneficial. Thankfully, the GMAT is still the same consistent, predictable Exam that it has always been, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Since it's been a couple of months since we last discussed your studies, I have a few questions about how you've been studying during that time:

1) How many hours have you been typically studying each week?
2) What study materials have you used during that time? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do To Score at the Highest Levels

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Sk567,

Sorry to hear that your GMAT did not go as planned. I know it can be disappointing to not reach your target score after months of preparation. But there is clearly scope for improvement. Let me help you.

Your verbal score clearly indicates there are many conceptual gaps and you may need to start from scratch, revisit the concepts and get a clear understanding of them before you solve the questions. Verbal questions on GMAT are very tricky. Let me help you with the right way to approach your Verbal Prep.

How to Ace your Verbal Prep?  
For GMAT Verbal, it is very important that you follow the  right methodology  and the  logical approach . Your focus has to be on  eliminating four incorrect choices rather than choosing the right one . The key is to develop a solid understanding of the concepts that are typically tested on the GMAT and master the process skills that are required to solve GMAT questions. Only then, you will be able to smartly avoid the traps set by the test makers.

Before you start learning, it's important to understand what is actually tested using the questions. Each module in Verbal (SC, CR and RC) has to be approached in a different way. For example, before you start learning the concepts of SC, you need to understand that SC questions on GMAT test your ability to convey the right meaning without any ambiguity. So, it's important to approach them from a meaning stand-point. You might have often come across answer choices which are both grammatically correct and convey a logical meaning but are indeed incorrect because they do not convey the intended meaning. So, the process to approach SC questions is to:
• Comprehend the original meaning of the sentence
• Identify errors if any (both grammatical and meaning wise)
• Eliminate answer choices which either are grammatically incorrect or do not convey the intended meaning

You can go through the link below to understand the process in a better way:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGA8bwFNJM

Also, improving in SC alone won’t fetch you the desired score. You need to prepare for RC and CR as well in a structured and efficient manner. You have to follow a methodical and systematic approach while solving the questions in order to work on your accuracy and increase your score. For example,
• In CR, you have to understand the argument, identify the premise and the conclusion and then pre-think the answer before looking at the solutions.
• In RC, you need to have the right reading strategies to understand the inferences which are not directly stated in the passage.

You can go through the below link to see how Rishabh, despite a demanding 60 hour work week, improved from  V33 to V41  in  20 days , bringing it to a GMAT 740:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw5TvxA_1zE

Having said that, to understand what could have led to such a score and to suggest you the plan of action, I need a little more information about your GMAT preparation. I would like to know more about:
1. Your Official mock scores along with score breakup, if you have taken any
2. The time you are able to devote to studying each day 
3. The structure and study plan you followed till now (including the study strategy)
4. Your approach of solving questions
5. Your target score

Answers to these questions will help me guide you in a better way. And I personally suggest to go for the retake only after you prepared well and are 100% confident.

I would like to have a one-on-one conversation with you. The discussion would be mostly around the answers to the above questions and the plan of action. If you have an ESR with you, that will be even more helpful to get the insights about your performance. You use use the link below to schedule a call with me.

Click here to schedule a call

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Sk567,

640 is actually not a bad start! To improve your GMAT score to a higher level, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

You also may find my article with more information regarding  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  helpful.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

Good luck!

	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

GMAT Second Attempt

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards