Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
May 2301:00 AM EDT
-02:00 AM EDT
At one point, she believed GMAT wasn’t for her. After scoring 595, self-doubt crept in and she questioned her potential. But instead of quitting, she made the right strategic changes. The result? A remarkable comeback to 695. Check out how Saakshi did it.
May 2310:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Video explanations + diagnosis of 10 weakest areas + 150+ short videos + study plan!
May 2110:00 AM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
Make the most of your break with the most realistic GMAT™ prep. Take up to $700 off select products.
May 2212:30 AM EDT
-01:30 AM EDT
From 535→695 to 735 in one shot — GMATWhiz students prove what focused prep can achieve. Get up to 44% OFF on expert-guided, AI-driven GMAT prep with mentor support. Plans from $149.
May 2208:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
For many Indian MBA applicants, the default dream has long been a top US MBA. But as career goals, visa considerations, timelines, and global mobility priorities evolve, more candidates are seriously considering MBA programs in Europe.
May 2211:00 AM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
Take 30% off all study plans with code PICNIC - Expires on Monday, May 25th- Jun 10
06:00 AM PDT
-06:15 PM PDT
Register for the GMAT Club Virtual MBA Spotlight Fair – the world’s premier event for serious MBA candidates. This is your chance to hear directly from Admissions Directors at nearly every Top 30 MBA program..
25 Apr 2021, 09:55
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi all,
I took my first practice test cold (after just reviewing the basic guide in the OG book) on March 20th and ended up getting a 680 (Q43, V39, IR5). I wanted to take that first test without really prepping/studying to understand my baseline and felt pretty happy with my results. Based on that, I decided I wanted to first focus on tackling math so I bought the Manhattan All the Quant guide and have been studying from that for the past month. I've been averaging around 2-3 hours of studying a day for the past month and just finished going through the whole book yesterday, so decided to take another practice exam today to see how I was progressing.
As you can probably tell from the post title, it went AWFUL. I ended up getting a 610, with a breakdown of Q32, V41, IR4. I don't know what happened during the test, but I was really stressed out during the quant section and towards the end had only 10 minutes left to do the last 8 questions. I thought knowing the strategies from the book/being more familiar with the concepts would help, so I don't know how I dropped the ball this badly. Was my first practice test a fluke? Or the second one? I feel like I can't accurately gauge how I'm doing anymore. The one thing I can think of is that when I was going through the MGMAT book I wasn't solving problems from the OG at the same time (I was only going through the problem sets at the end of the chapter), and was also not really timing myself when I was doing the problem set questions. I understand why my score would maybe have not improved, but I cannot figure out why it dropped so drastically.
Does anyone have any insight or advice as to what caused this, or any recommendations to improve? I was thinking about TTP, but wasn't sure if that would be the best approach. I'm planning on taking my exam in June 21st, but I don't know if I should push that given this drop, as I was aiming for a score of 730+.
I took my first practice test cold (after just reviewing the basic guide in the OG book) on March 20th and ended up getting a 680 (Q43, V39, IR5). I wanted to take that first test without really prepping/studying to understand my baseline and felt pretty happy with my results. Based on that, I decided I wanted to first focus on tackling math so I bought the Manhattan All the Quant guide and have been studying from that for the past month. I've been averaging around 2-3 hours of studying a day for the past month and just finished going through the whole book yesterday, so decided to take another practice exam today to see how I was progressing.
As you can probably tell from the post title, it went AWFUL. I ended up getting a 610, with a breakdown of Q32, V41, IR4. I don't know what happened during the test, but I was really stressed out during the quant section and towards the end had only 10 minutes left to do the last 8 questions. I thought knowing the strategies from the book/being more familiar with the concepts would help, so I don't know how I dropped the ball this badly. Was my first practice test a fluke? Or the second one? I feel like I can't accurately gauge how I'm doing anymore. The one thing I can think of is that when I was going through the MGMAT book I wasn't solving problems from the OG at the same time (I was only going through the problem sets at the end of the chapter), and was also not really timing myself when I was doing the problem set questions. I understand why my score would maybe have not improved, but I cannot figure out why it dropped so drastically.
Does anyone have any insight or advice as to what caused this, or any recommendations to improve? I was thinking about TTP, but wasn't sure if that would be the best approach. I'm planning on taking my exam in June 21st, but I don't know if I should push that given this drop, as I was aiming for a score of 730+.
25 Apr 2021, 14:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi rheche,
To start, your original 680 was a fantastic initial performance for a CAT (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years) - and unless you had seen some of the questions before you took that CAT, then your overall critical thinking skills are likely really strong. There are a variety of different factors that can impact your performance on a Test though, including the 'brand' of CAT that you take, the time of day you begin the Exam, how well-rested you are, the number of silly/little mistakes you make, etc. Based on your original Q43 - and the work that you've done so far - I would bet that your overall 'math knowledge' is fine, so I don't think that that is the major issue here. The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test'; it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires that you work through lots of little calculations as you work through it. By extension, the first question you should ask yourself while reviewing that CAT is: "how many questions did I get wrong in the Quant section because of a silly/little mistake?" That's a significantly different issue from "how many questions did I get wrong because I just don't know how to solve them?"
Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:
1) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels
To start, your original 680 was a fantastic initial performance for a CAT (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years) - and unless you had seen some of the questions before you took that CAT, then your overall critical thinking skills are likely really strong. There are a variety of different factors that can impact your performance on a Test though, including the 'brand' of CAT that you take, the time of day you begin the Exam, how well-rested you are, the number of silly/little mistakes you make, etc. Based on your original Q43 - and the work that you've done so far - I would bet that your overall 'math knowledge' is fine, so I don't think that that is the major issue here. The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test'; it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires that you work through lots of little calculations as you work through it. By extension, the first question you should ask yourself while reviewing that CAT is: "how many questions did I get wrong in the Quant section because of a silly/little mistake?" That's a significantly different issue from "how many questions did I get wrong because I just don't know how to solve them?"
Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:
1) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels
ramlala
Joined: 22 Aug 2020
Last visit: 13 Dec 2022
Posts: 467
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 30
Location: India
Concentration: International Business, Finance
Schools: IIMA PGPX'23 INSEAD Jan'23 intake Sloan (MIT) ISB HEC Said
GPA: 4
WE:Project Management (Energy)
25 Apr 2021, 20:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi rheche
It seems that you are very good in Verbal, but need to improve in Quant.
I feel that any of the Quant score (Q43 or Q32) is not impressive compare to verbal.
Please start with basics and practice <600 level questions (with discussions and topicwise).
After that upgrade the level of questions according to your improvement.
All the best.
It seems that you are very good in Verbal, but need to improve in Quant.
I feel that any of the Quant score (Q43 or Q32) is not impressive compare to verbal.
Please start with basics and practice <600 level questions (with discussions and topicwise).
After that upgrade the level of questions according to your improvement.
All the best.
