Stuck on 560 - Q43 - V25

Question

Hello Experts,

I really need some help on how to improve my score. So far my mocks have been stagnant -5mocks (3 Gmat Prep & 2 Mgmat)
after the OG11 review and after the OG13 review.
-:3mocks in Feb/Mar
-:2 mocks in May & June

Materials I have used:

1. OG11 & 13 & verbal review (reviewed once)
2. Veritas prep materials
3. e-gmat verbal package
4. Time spent - 40-50hrs week past 3 weeks (May - June)
 a) Started in Feb 2015 for a month full time
 b) Daily 4hrs and 8hrs on weekend Apr - May

Thanks for your help,

-ReallyWantToGetBetter

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi getbetter,

I have a few questions about the CATs that you've taken so far:

1) What were your Scaled Scores on the Quant and Verbal sections for each CAT?
2) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
3) Did you have to rush to finish any of the sections? If so, then how many questions did you guess on at the end just to finish?

CAT Review is a BIG part of the training process - by doing the review, you can figure out if you have 'content' problems or 'organizational' problems. Here are a few things worth noting about each of your CATs:

After reviewing a section, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/grammar that you just didn't know how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) How many Verbal questions to you 'narrow down to 2 choices' and then "guess wrong?"

My guess is that you're getting a bunch of questions wrong because of little mistakes. You can train to "fix" these issues, but you're probably going to need some help to get out of whatever 'bad habits' you've developed during your studies.

When are you planning to take the GMAT?
When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

getbetter · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the questions. Below are the answers and let me know if you need more details.

1) Previous Gmat Prep CAT(Q44,V20 & Q43,24), MGMAT CAT (Q41,V29 & Q37,V27)
2) Yes entire CAT with AWA and IR with 8 min breaks - similar to actual test
3) Quant I had to rush, Verbal didn't rush much. More detail below.
4) Planning to take the Gmat in 3 weeks
5) Planning to apply 1st round this year

Analysis of my yesterday's CAT:

——————————
560 ( Q43, V25)
GmatPrep analysis :Quant - PS 39, DS47, Arith - 42, Algebra/geo - 44 
Avg time PS : 2:23
Avg time: algebra/geometry 2:26

Wrong : 4,7,9,10,15,16, 18,19,20,22,23,27,30,32,35,36,37
Timing issue : On Q20 - 18mins left

Questions guessed / don’t know how to do: 
Q4 (Probability) 
Q7 (Geometry) 
Q9 (word problem - didn’t understand problem)
Q10(Probability) -PS
Q15(Stats) - DS
Q16(Stats) - PS
Q18(Number properties - find n’th term) - DS
Q20(Probability) - DS
Q21(rate prob - guessed to save time)
Q22(ratio) - PS
Q23(rate prob - guessed to save time /wrong)- DS
Q27(interest rate - guessed to save time /wrong) - DS
Q30(find area- guessed to save time/wrong) - PS
Q32( Sum sequence - guessed to save time/rush)
Q33(find stocks - guessed to save time/rush) - DS
Q34(remainder - guessed to save time/rush) - DS
Q35(consecutive int. - guessed to save time/rush) - PS
Q36(interest rate- guessed to save time/rush) - PS
Q37(number property- guessed to save time/rush) PS
 
Knew but took way more time:
Q5 (arith.)
Q7 (Geometry/ got wrong)
Q11(Number properties- took way much time)
Q14( Number properties- took way much time)
Q19(Overlapping sets- - took way much time & got wrong)

Area not too confident : Probability, Stats, Number property - nth number, Geometry

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Verbal-
GmatPrep analysis : CR-31, RC-24, SC-21
Wrong: 1,3,5,6,9,12,18,20,21,28,29,30,31,32,37,38,41

Didn’t know /other issue:
Q6 - CR -(weaken- took more time- guessed to move on)
Q9 - RC - (inference - guessed)
Q12 - RC - (detail- rushed)
Q18 - SC - (confused on the tense supposed to be used)
Q20 - SC -(wasn’t sure of the …because,although construction)
Q21- RC - (detail - rushed)
Q28 - CR- (weaken - didn’t read the initial part of question stem for important detail)
Q30 - RC - (if true type - simply chose one - couldn’t decide the correct one)
Q32 - RC - (assertion - wasn’t sure)
Q37 - SC - (wasn’t familiar with the particular structure)
Q41 - SC - (rushed)

Silly mistake:
Q1 - SC - (didn’t read to understand meaning properly- rushed)
Q3 - CR - (strengthen - misread the answer choice)
Q5 - SC - (didn’t reread the sentence with the picked answer choice if it made sense)
Q29 - SC - (didn’t understand the actual meaning - rushed)
Q31 - RC - (main idea - missed between finalized 2 choices)
Q38 - SC - (singular /plural issue)
————————

Thank you

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi getbetter,

You've done some fantastic analysis here.

Your issues come down to a couple of key aspects:

1) It looks like there are too many areas in which you just don't know enough about the content and tactics involved to answer the question in a reasonable amount of time.
2) Your pacing problem in the 'first half' of the Quant section is making it difficult to pick up points in the 'second half' of the section.

From the resources that you've used and these score results, it looks like you've attempted to teach yourself how to approach the GMAT - "your way" of doing things has gotten you 'stuck' at this scoring level.

Although you didn't state your exact score goal, if it's to score in the high-600s or 700s, then you're going to additional study time and likely some new resources. You can take your GMAT in 3 weeks as planned OR you can pay the $50 rescheduling fee and push it back. Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once, so there's no harm in doing so (so you can take the GMAT in 3 weeks, if you like, you just won't be ready to score at a really high level in that time).

Do you have the flexibility to push your Test Date back?

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

getbetter · Answer

Hi Rich, Thanks for the reply. I'm flexible with the date and wish to apply this year. I would like hit 700 - 720. At the same time I want to make sure I don't drag the study process too long. 1. When do you think roughly the score would improve and I could take the test?

(Planning to put in 8hrs a day for next 3 weeks) 2. I was wondering should I focus just 3-4 areas first or attack all of them at once in chunks? Thanks for the help

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi getbetter,

Planning to put in 8 hours a day non-stop until Test Day is NOT a good idea. At that rate, you're more likely to 'burn out' than actually improve. The goal to raise your score 140+ points in 3 weeks is just not practical.

Since it sounds like you've got some flexibility in your schedule, I would suggest that you push back your Test Date at least a month and invest in some new computer-based resources that focus on the tactics that you need to pick up points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

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

getbetter · Answer

Hi Rich,

Some additional info: I actually did attend the Veritas Prep classes and also went through their videos. Looks like it didn't work for me.
Also did own studying of the mgmat books.

How many hours a day do you think is optimal for the preparation?

I'll start comparing the online resources as per your advise.

Thank you

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi getbetter,

I don't know you well enough to tell you what YOUR optimal amount of study (per day) is, but doing 8 hours a day for 3 weeks would be 168 hours, which is more time than many Test Takers spend in TOTAL during their studies.

If you're comfortable pushing back your Test Date a month, then I would suggest that you use the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster Study Plan - most of our clients finish that Plan in less than 2 months (and if you have as much free time as your post suggests, then you would probably need less time than average).

However you choose to proceed, you have to consciously make adjustments to how you "see" (and respond to) the GMAT. If you're just going to do practice problems in the same ways as before, then your score is not likely to improve.

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

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi getbetter,

It's important to review your mistakes after taking the mock tests. Many people only focus on the score that comes out of it rather than the process. After each test, go over the questions that you missed and find out why. If there are areas that you consistently miss, take some time to focus on those topic areas.

Based on the results you've shared, you would benefit from review of: statistics and probability, ratios, geometry, number properties, and maybe for critical reasoning you can practice more strengthen/weaken questions. Those are some of the most common types of CR questions so it's good to get a handle on those. Straight guessing due to time constraints or frustration rarely works. Do your best to make educated guesses and use process of elimination as often as possible in these cases. Finally, take your time to read the SC sentences carefully, and also to reread the sentence with your answer choice to make sure it fits.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

RichEconomistGMAT · Answer

Hi getbetter,

Spending that many hours on your GMAT prep will actually be more counterproductive than anything. You've already taken the time to walk through your problem areas with Rich, which should help you focus your study plan on those areas. As you continue to improve, you'll likely need to spend LESS time as you grow more comfortable with the material.

After 168 hours of prep, I'd be very concerned about test-prep burnout. We wrote about this recently, how to avoid it and how to be just as productive with less time, which you can check out here: https://bit.ly/1QXj1g8

Best of luck,
Rich

getbetter · Answer

Thanks Janielle & Rich for the good advise.

I've started to review the CAT questions and will work on the weak areas. I'll change the schedule to 4-5hrs study time daily and 1 day in a week break.

Thank you

Stuck on 560 - Q43 - V25

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