[Seeking Advice] What should I do

Question

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OmManiPadmeHbs,

While it certainly might appear that your scores have been declining, the reality is that your performances are almost exactly the same (+- a couple of Scale points). GMAT has publicly stated that a Test Taker's Official Score is within +/- 30 points of actual ability, and your scores are all within range of a 670/680. This is all meant to say that it appears that you're performing fairly consistently on the Official GMAT - you do certain things consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

"Your way" of dealing with Test Day will likely continue to earn you a score in this range, so to raise your score, you'll have to make some big adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Test. In that same way, you've likely developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits'). Thankfully, you have plenty of time before you plan to apply to School, but since you're in GMAT 'mode' right now, it would make sense to continue studying and retest sooner rather than later.

1) Can you list all of the study materials you've used so far (and how long you've used each)?

On this most recent attempt at the GMAT...

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
6) Did you finish any sections early?
7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?

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

OmManiPadmeHbs · Answer

Hey Rich,

Thank you for your response.

I certainly hope that I can raise my range to a safe 760 range. 
In terms of timing, I hope I can squeeze in at least an hour and a half every day. But January will be quite tricky given my work and flight schedule. 
Any tips on balancing studying while on a 6-hour commute?

1) Can you list all of the study materials you've used so far (and how long you've used each)?

OG13th - solved primary Verbal focusing on SC and CR. 
OG 2016 - solved a handful of new questions. 
Verbal Review, Quant Review 2nd edition - solved a handful of challenging questions. 
Verbal Review, Quant Review 2016 - solved a handful of new questions.
GMAT Prep CAT - solved twice
GMAT Prep question documents - solved SC and CR to get use to
GMAT Club Test - solved 2 Quants but decided to focus in Verbal
CR Bible - went through first 3 chapters and weaken, strengthen, assumption, and casualty chapters
Manhattan CAT - solved 2, I personally didn't want to solve too many non-official questions
Manhattan SC - skimmed for review
Magoosh - watched nearly all videos and solved 200 questions on both quant and verbal
EMPOWERgmat - downloaded Verbal Score Booster and followed the steps. Skipping MGMT CATs

1) What did you do in the 3 days before your GMAT?
D-3: studied at home all day, went through GMAT Prep CR and 700+ SC questions
D-2: dentist appointment in the afternoon, headed to the library, started making my CR and RC guide using EMPOWER's format, felt I was ready
D-1: drove to test center with family, went to Costco, reviewed till 6PM, slept by 9:30PM
Went to sleep after listening to final day podcast from EMPOWER

2) How did you sleep the night before your Test?
A total of 8 hours but I woke up in the middle of the night around 3:30am once

3) How long was the ride to the Test Center from your home?
20 minutes. My family drove me to avoid additional stress on parking in DC

4) Were there any distractions at the facility or during the Test?
Thankfully, none this time. I put on both the ear plugs and the noise cancelling headsets.

5) What did you do during the two 8-minute breaks?
First break - water, one Godiva, run to the restroom, smile in the mirror (6 minutes)
Second break - water, two Godiva, run to the restroom (back in 2 minutes)

6) Did you finish any sections early?
I finished Verbal early for the first time - 15 second remaining

7) Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on questions just to finish on time)?
I found myself rushing through Quant and had to guess 4 towards the end. 
I think I spent too much time on the first 10. 
I tried to do 10 questions (50 min remaining), 20 questions (30 min remaining), 30 questions (10 min remaining)

I want to be a GMAT assassin too!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OmManiPadmeHbs,

From what you've described, there are a couple of 'red flags' with how you were preparing:

1) You took a 'book heavy' study approach. Many Test Takers who study in this way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular scoring level. From a 'mechanical' standpoint, no book (or series of books) can properly prepare you to take the Official GMAT on a computer. You were used to working in a certain way and that way did not 'match up' with how you were forced to work on Test Day.

2) It's tough to gauge exactly the volume of work that you did during the last 3 days before your Official GMAT, but it sounds like you did too much (and you may have experienced some 'burn out' right before Test Day).

3) Having to guess on 4 questions at the end of the Quant section likely means that you had to rush through a handful of question and THEN you had to guess on 4 questions. This could help to explain the slight drop in your Quant score.

Thankfully, all of this can be properly dealt with AND you CAN train to raise your Verbal Scaled Score as well. Can you PM me (or email me) with the name on your EMPOWERgmat Account? I'd like to check on the work that you've done so far.

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

OmManiPadmeHbs · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your response.

I sent you an e-mail with my full name. Looking forward to becoming a GMAT assassin!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi OmManiPadmeHbs,

Based on the work that you did, you appear to have rushed through certain sections of the Study Plan and you didn't completely follow the order the Modules. If you're going to deviate from the overall Study Plan by not using it as it was intended, then the results are likely to be less than ideal. You clearly have the necessary intelligence to be scoring at a higher level, but 'your way' of studying (and responding to GMAT questions) has gotten you 'stuck' at this particular score level - over the course of several months of study, you're also likely developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to 'fix' (and replace with new 'good habits'). To raise your score to your 760+ goal, you're going to have to commit to making the necessary changes to how you deal with the Verbal section.

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

OmManiPadmeHbs · Answer

Rich,

I appreciate your advice. I will spend the week reflecting on the bad habits I unknowingly kept and begin to cultivate great habits. I plan to revisit the Verbal Score Booster and solidify my understanding.

Hoping to return with great news,
Om

[Seeking Advice] What should I do

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