Hi all,
After 5-6 months of studying for the GMAT, I finally sat for the exam and did not perform as I hoped I would. To provide some background, I am a native English speaker, and recently graduated from a top 50 US public university. I am also an avid reader. I mention this because the main focus of my studies has been Quant (probably 75% Quant, 25% Verbal), and I have always performed well in Verbal (V41-42 on average) on my CATs. Unfortunately, my Verbal took a slight decline on test day, which obviously did not help my final score. I have seen a good deal of improvement in my Quant ability since I started studying, but I didn't hit the top of my range on test day. I studied relatively quantitative majors at university, and work in a finance role currently. While I haven't always been the greatest at math, I am confident that I can get my score up to Q48 after my past improvement.
My goal is a 730, which I have hit in official practice tests.
I'd like to ask for advice on how to proceed. I am considering getting a tutor, but I have a somewhat limited budget, and I'd like to make the most of 4-5 sessions. I'd also like to know how experts would recommend I revise my study plan going forward, excluding the possibility of getting a tutor. Also, how soon would you recommend scheduling my next exam? I've taken several days off from studying to do some introspection and formulate a plan to study/practice more effectively.
Resources: -
Magoosh: I started using
Magoosh's 3 month Quant-focused study plan, and watched all the Quant videos twice. This was great for brushing up my Quant knowledge.
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OG 18: I've gone through all the problems.
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Manhattan Foundations of GMAT Math: Used this early on to brush up on concepts.
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Manhattan All the Quant Book: Learned some great strategies here.
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Manhattan Advanced Quant: Good, but not quite as useful as I had expected. Read through it once I had hit Q47.
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GMATClub Tests: Great for preparing for harder questions. Unfortunately, I think I am still getting too many 600 level questions wrong for these to be very effective.
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Manhattan CATs: Hard quant, but useful. Manhattan Verbal question can sometimes seem "un-GMAT-like".
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GMATPrep CATs (1-6): Best CATs available, obviously.
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Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension Bibles: somewhat useful. CR had better content than RC.
CATs (usually 1-2 weeks between CATS, taken on weekend afternoons):
-GMATPrep 1 (cold, no studying, 1 year ago):
660 (40Q, 40V) -GMATPrep 2 (1 month of light studying, 11 months ago):
640 (39Q, 39V) -Manhattan CAT 1 (3 months into
Magoosh study plan):
660 (Q38, V42) -GMATPrep 1 (retake, Feb 20):
690 (Q44, V41) -Manhattan CAT 2:
650 (Q40, V38) -Manhattan CAT 3:
640 (Q41, V36) -GMATPrep 3:
670 (Q42, V40) -GMATPrep 4:
730 (Q47, V42) -GMATPrep 5:
710 (42Q, V44) Allegedly this particular CAT has more difficult Quant (based on a few GMATClub discussions).
-Manhattan CAT 4:
(Q45) Real exam was approaching so I only took Quant section, as that was my focus.
-GMATPrep 6 (One week before GMAT):
720 (Q47, V42) -
Actual GMAT:
680 (Q44, V39, IR6)My Quant skills improved significantly over this time period, though I scored in the middle of my range on test day. I was hoping I could reach the high end of my range (Q47) or even surpass that. No such luck.
While this was disappointing, I was even more distraught when I saw my Verbal Score (V39!). After months of studying, I scored lower than my first ever practice test score with no studying whatsoever. I could handle the Q44. Obviously, I wanted to improve more, but at least that showed progress. Verbal showed zero progress, or even regression. This really bothered me. Now, not only do I have to work on bringing up my Quant score, but I have to figure out what went wrong on Verbal. If I do get a tutor, I am concerned as to how we will balance our time between Quant and Verbal. Was Verbal just a bad showing due to exam day nerves, or do I really have more work to do? I've also used up all of my GMATPrep Practice Tests - of course, I can retake them, but I imagine my scores will be artificially inflated.
To summarize, I really need a new study plan and timeline to figure this all out.My practice CATs have been close to test-like conditions, but not perfect. I've taken longer than 8 minute breaks, and paused occasionally when the house gets noisy. For some reason, I had not considered practicing with a mask on, as is required at test centers. While I don't think this made a significant difference, 3.5 hours of wearing a mask was an obvious difference from practice conditions.
Please advise! I'd appreciate any information on how to move forward.ScottTargetTestPrep egmat EMPOWERgmatRichC bb DisciplinedPrep GMATNinja mcelroytutoring HanoiGMATtutor AjiteshArun VeritasKarishma IanStewart ccooley AaronPond generis daagh souvik101990 EMPOWERgmatVerbal BrentGMATPrepNow GMATinsight EgmatQuantExpert