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sensitivechins
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 25 Jan 2021, 14:56
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Hello!

First post but I began to study for the GMATs about ~4 months ago. On my first diagnostic test, I scored a miserable 390 (Q22, V22). But I began to follow my study plan (do 10-20 problems each on Quant and Verbal along with TTP for Quant). On my next two tests, I scored a 520. Last month, I took another test and scored a 560 (Q42 V27). I'm positive I can increase my Quant score even further but I'm having a hard time on Verbal. In the past two months, I purchased Manhattan Prep's "Foundation of Verbal" and "All the Verbal". Finished the former and currently working through the latter. The number of questions I'm getting correct on the practice problems are going up but I feel that I need to get at least a 35+ to get a score of above 650.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost Verbal? Any other guides that you found helpful? I've always been a quant guy so it was easy to increase my score. Thanks!
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 25 Jan 2021, 15:57
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Hi sensitivechins,

To start, raising a 390 to a 560 is a fantastic improvement! For this next phase of your studies, you will likely have to focus on a new set of Tactical skills (in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections) to get to the point that you can consistently score 650+ though.

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:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) 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)?

Goals:
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 25 Jan 2021, 17:54
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Are you studying verbal from Target Test Prep, how is it working for you?
which company mocks did you gave?

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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 25 Jan 2021, 19:35
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sensitivechins - Improving the quant raw score by 20 points from Q22 to V42 is phenomenal. However, you still need to work on the verbal section, and improving the raw score in the verbal takes a longer time than quant; therefore, you need to be patient and follow a strategic approach to solve each verbal question type.

I recommend that you review a few amazing forum posts from our highly esteemed verbal expert, Charles aka GMATNinja
Ultimate SC Guide
Ultimate CR Guide
Ultimate CR Guide

Also, I highly recommend Charles' Season 1 and 2 YouTube series. Please use the below links to access the tutorials.
Season 1
Season 2
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 25 Jan 2021, 19:53
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Are you studying verbal from Target Test Prep, how is it working for you?
which company mocks did you gave?

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I am not studying the verbal on TTP. I gave it a go but personally, I really learn hands on (highlighting, jotting notes, etc.) so I’m using Manhattan Prep’s Verbal books since I can write in them.
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 26 Jan 2021, 01:51
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sensitivechins, how do you study verbal, I mean, do you practice questions related to the topics you just covered on that particular day?. I'm very confused, how should I study verbal. Below are the resources I currently have:
1. TTP Course
2. Manhattan Verbal Foundation; kindle edition
3. Powerscore Critical Reasoning
4. Manhattan SC (old version, 2015)
Please guide if you can

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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 26 Jan 2021, 20:49
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Hi sensitivechins.

Since you are using TTP for quant, for sure, you should also be using us for verbal also. We've had countless students use TTP, for both quant and verbal, and those students have really kicked butt on the GMAT.

While I understand what you are saying about taking notes and highlighting, the TTP course has a notes feature that you can use to take notes on any text that you highlight as you go through the course. Meanwhile, the GMAT itself is presented on a computer screen. So, practicing answering questions on a screen is optimal.

Overall, in allowing this notes and highlighting issue to keep you from using the TTP Verbal Course, you are depriving yourself of the use of a very powerful resource. To give you a sense of what I mean, a student came to me having trouble with Sentence Correction. I practically begged him to use TTP Sentence Correction, but he kept saying that he had already used a variety of Sentence Correction resources and, thus, knew all about Sentence Correction rules, etc. So, he doubted TTP SC would teach him anything new. Finally, after spending additional months not making progress in Sentence Correction, he decided to use the TTP SC course. The next time he took the GMAT, a week ago, he got all but one Sentence Correction question correct, for a 98th percentile SC score.

So, I would encourage you to use the TTP verbal course and figure out how to address the note taking and highlighting issue in another way.
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 26 Jan 2021, 20:58
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Hi sensitivechins.

Since you are using TTP for quant, for sure, you should also be using us for verbal also. We've had countless students use TTP, for both quant and verbal, and those students have really kicked butt on the GMAT.

While I understand what you are saying about taking notes and highlighting, the TTP course has a notes feature that you can use to take notes on any text that you highlight as you go through the course. Meanwhile, the GMAT itself is presented on a computer screen. So, practicing answering questions on a screen is optimal.

Overall, in allowing this notes and highlighting issue to keep you from using the TTP Verbal Course, you are depriving yourself of the use of a very powerful resource. To give you a sense of what I mean, a student came to me having trouble with Sentence Correction. I practically begged him to use TTP Sentence Correction, but he kept saying that he had already used a variety of Sentence Correction resources and, thus, knew all about Sentence Correction rules, etc. So, he doubted TTP SC would teach him anything new. Finally, after spending additional months not making progress in Sentence Correction, he decided to use the TTP SC course. The next time he took the GMAT, a week ago, he got all but one Sentence Correction question correct, for a 98th percentile SC score.

So, I would encourage you to use the TTP verbal course and figure out how to address the note taking and highlighting issue in another way.
Show more

thanks for the reply, Scott. you know what? i’ll give it another go. just took another practice test and scored a Q40 V25, not improving on my Verbal with my current plan. so can’t hurt to utilize TTP! while disheartened by the score, i’m motivated to really hone in on my Verbal.

how would you recommend studying on a daily basis for two hours a day? would you recommend an hour of quant, an hour of verbal on TTP?

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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 26 Jan 2021, 23:31
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sensitivechins
Hello!

First post but I began to study for the GMATs about ~4 months ago. On my first diagnostic test, I scored a miserable 390 (Q22, V22). But I began to follow my study plan (do 10-20 problems each on Quant and Verbal along with TTP for Quant). On my next two tests, I scored a 520. Last month, I took another test and scored a 560 (Q42 V27). I'm positive I can increase my Quant score even further but I'm having a hard time on Verbal. In the past two months, I purchased Manhattan Prep's "Foundation of Verbal" and "All the Verbal". Finished the former and currently working through the latter. The number of questions I'm getting correct on the practice problems are going up but I feel that I need to get at least a 35+ to get a score of above 650.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost Verbal? Any other guides that you found helpful? I've always been a quant guy so it was easy to increase my score. Thanks!
Show more

Hi sensitivechins,

The first thing I would suggest you for verbal is to follow a structured process. Do not just practice questions. There are certain methods and strategies you have to learn for each module of verbal. Only after you learn the concepts and methods, dive into practicing questions.

I scored V26 in my first GMAT attempt. I learnt all the concepts by then but didn't know what else to learn. Then, I enrolled in GMATWhiz online course and realized that there's a lot to learn other than the concepts. GMAT is mostly about application. So, no matter how conceptually strong you are, unless you use the right methods, you are not likely to score well on GMAT. I finally improved my Verbal score to 38, thanks to GMATWhiz.

I have made a couple of debriefs elaborating my GMAT journey. You can go through them to know a few tips.

Debrief of my journey from 570 to 680 to 720:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-journey-f ... l#p2648110

Scoring a perfect CR 51 ( 97 percentile ) from being an amateur in CR:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/scoring-a-pe ... l#p2526853

Hope it helped. All the best :)
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Hi sensitivechins.

Since you are using TTP for quant, for sure, you should also be using us for verbal also. We've had countless students use TTP, for both quant and verbal, and those students have really kicked butt on the GMAT.

While I understand what you are saying about taking notes and highlighting, the TTP course has a notes feature that you can use to take notes on any text that you highlight as you go through the course. Meanwhile, the GMAT itself is presented on a computer screen. So, practicing answering questions on a screen is optimal.

Overall, in allowing this notes and highlighting issue to keep you from using the TTP Verbal Course, you are depriving yourself of the use of a very powerful resource. To give you a sense of what I mean, a student came to me having trouble with Sentence Correction. I practically begged him to use TTP Sentence Correction, but he kept saying that he had already used a variety of Sentence Correction resources and, thus, knew all about Sentence Correction rules, etc. So, he doubted TTP SC would teach him anything new. Finally, after spending additional months not making progress in Sentence Correction, he decided to use the TTP SC course. The next time he took the GMAT, a week ago, he got all but one Sentence Correction question correct, for a 98th percentile SC score.

So, I would encourage you to use the TTP verbal course and figure out how to address the note taking and highlighting issue in another way.

thanks for the reply, Scott. you know what? i’ll give it another go. just took another practice test and scored a Q40 V25, not improving on my Verbal with my current plan. so can’t hurt to utilize TTP! while disheartened by the score, i’m motivated to really hone in on my Verbal.

how would you recommend studying on a daily basis for two hours a day? would you recommend an hour of quant, an hour of verbal on TTP?

Posted from my mobile device
Show more

I think the move actually is to follow the study plan exactly as it's laid out. Have you been doing that?
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 29 Jan 2021, 13:15
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Hi sensitivechins.

Since you are using TTP for quant, for sure, you should also be using us for verbal also. We've had countless students use TTP, for both quant and verbal, and those students have really kicked butt on the GMAT.

While I understand what you are saying about taking notes and highlighting, the TTP course has a notes feature that you can use to take notes on any text that you highlight as you go through the course. Meanwhile, the GMAT itself is presented on a computer screen. So, practicing answering questions on a screen is optimal.

Overall, in allowing this notes and highlighting issue to keep you from using the TTP Verbal Course, you are depriving yourself of the use of a very powerful resource. To give you a sense of what I mean, a student came to me having trouble with Sentence Correction. I practically begged him to use TTP Sentence Correction, but he kept saying that he had already used a variety of Sentence Correction resources and, thus, knew all about Sentence Correction rules, etc. So, he doubted TTP SC would teach him anything new. Finally, after spending additional months not making progress in Sentence Correction, he decided to use the TTP SC course. The next time he took the GMAT, a week ago, he got all but one Sentence Correction question correct, for a 98th percentile SC score.

So, I would encourage you to use the TTP verbal course and figure out how to address the note taking and highlighting issue in another way.

thanks for the reply, Scott. you know what? i’ll give it another go. just took another practice test and scored a Q40 V25, not improving on my Verbal with my current plan. so can’t hurt to utilize TTP! while disheartened by the score, i’m motivated to really hone in on my Verbal.

how would you recommend studying on a daily basis for two hours a day? would you recommend an hour of quant, an hour of verbal on TTP?

Posted from my mobile device

I think the move actually is to follow the study plan exactly as it's laid out. Have you been doing that?
Show more

meaning, if in Module X, there’s a quant and verbal, complete those? then yes! although i have to catch up on verbal, that’s exactly my game plan
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 08 Feb 2021, 20:00
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sensitivechins




meaning, if in Module X, there’s a quant and verbal, complete those? then yes! although i have to catch up on verbal, that’s exactly my game plan
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Then your gameplan is perfect!
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Scored a 390 on first diagnostic, 560 on most recent (Q42 V27). 24 Mar 2021, 00:24
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sensitivechins Saransh123 - Having used almost every GMAT test prep courses, I can confidently tell you with full responsibility that the Target Test Prep verbal course is extremely good and self-sufficient to get you a very high score on the verbal section. The Target Test Prep test is graciously offering the verbal course in a pre-launch format to all existing students; therefore, please take the time to go through the course. Given the course is still in a pre-launch stage, you will not find too many reviews of Target Test Prep verbal, but trust me when I say that the course is incredible; it touches upon some of the most dreaded areas of the GMAT with sheer perfection, without overloading your brain with unnecessary details on Grammar or the English language in general.

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