2 months of prep lead to a disappointing 510! I need some Guidance.

Question

Hi Guys,

Today I gave my GMAT and it's a 510.

The Materials I used:

1. OG 2016 
2. MGMAT Foundations of Verbal 
3. MGMAT Sentence Correction
4. GMATPrep

How I studied.(This won't make sense,I'm sorry)

Took the initial Free GMATPrep tests and scored 320 during the last week of July and again a 380 during the mid week of August, During this time i was only focused on sentence correction, I got serious a little and postponed the exam to December from September, thinking i would have 3 months of solid prep.

I got the MGMAT foundations of verbal and studied some amount of it daily during my lunch hours during work, (15 minutes:EAT , 45 minutes:study).
Continued this for a month and noticed I still wasn't cutting it, so I took out the OG and started working out problems every day i managed to solve most of the questions at 60% accuracy (LOL it reflects on my score) so most of November went this way and I had finished with the OG problems, and then I retook the GMATprep tests on the last week before the GMAT exam, I realised I was screwed and there was no way to postpone or cancel the exam, so I ended up taking the exam.

The mistakes I think have made.

1. Being very careless 
2. Inconsistent preparation
3. Did not take enough MOCK tests
4. I DID NOT EVEN CANCEL THE EXAM SCORE TODAY!

Deep down I realised this EXAM is not that hard and just I have to get a solid strategy to beat it. Can you club members please help me out , I'm planning to take the EXAM again in January 3rd week, hoping to get at least a 650 -700 score. I have around 200$ left , If you guys want more inputs I'm happy to provide them.

Other factors(if needed):
Age :24
Work Ex: 2 years
Aspiring College: Rotterdam School of Management - MScBA.

Thanks in Advance.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ashandilya,

To start, raising a 320 to a 510 is a significant achievement. However, raising that score to a 650+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study (and your current timeline is about 7 weeks).

1) What are the application deadline(s) for the School(s) that you're considering? 
2) Are there any application Rounds after January?

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

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi Ashandilya,

I am sorry that the test day did not go as planned and it is good that you have identified some issues.
Before I give any advice, it would be helpful if you provide me the answers to the following questions:

1. Did you take the mock CATs including the AWA and IR sections?
2. Did you solve all the problems from the OG and the Verbal Review?
3. Did you complete both the sections? (There is a high penalty if you do not complete a section)
4. Did you go through all the concepts in the course?
5. What were your sectional scores?

You need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:

1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach

Since you have already studied by using a book heavy approach, I would urge you to change your strategy. Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of our course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.  Our course comes with a 50 pint of money back guarantee to and this shows our confidence in your course.

In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.

You need close to 3 months to prepare well for the GMAT. 
1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.com
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from the Official Guide

Ashandilya · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC : Yes, the College(RSM) has an admission deadline until May, but I've heard that, the sooner you apply the better also to add most Schools i have in mind have deadlines till may, so if i retake the exam in Jan, it should be fine

OptimusPrepJanielle  : to Answer your 5 questions
1. NO
2. Yes(OG) Verbal Review(I don't have this, what i do have is MGMAT Foundations in Verbal from which most of the questions have been solved )
3. I completed both the sections, I ran short of time in quant: so i guessed 7 and went to the last question , and guessed 4 RC questions in Verbal.
4. Yes
5. (36Q,25V)

vikram9634 · Answer

Hey buddy....
I also had the same problem...my first mock : 380
After one month:370
I used the same materials as you did...I was getting nowhere...then I decided to buy online courses and now my score is around 620 and I have 2 more months to GMAT.
I will suggest you to buy a online course because no matter which book you use it will not help you....

Sent from my Moto G (4) using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ashandilya,

All things being equal, if you have a strong OVERALL application, then it's generally better to apply for an earlier application Round than a later application Round. That having been said, you still need the strong overall application... and if you 'rush' to submit an application that is NOT strong, then you're not likely to receive an invite. While it's understandable why you're focused on the deadline(s) that you've noted, you have to remember the 'big picture goal': to get into your first choice School. You should think in terms of how best to make THAT goal happen, then plan accordingly (even if it means that you have to apply later on).

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

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Looking at your score, there is a clear lack of understanding of fundamentals in both the sections.
I would recommend you to opt for an online course and then revisit the fundamentals. Sometimes taking a course helps you understand certain things that you cannot understand on your own. Also, buy the Verbal review for additional official question

In addition, try to drill down deep on each problem type:

SC: The questions test various concepts such as S-V agreement, modifiers, parallelism etc. Find out what troubles you.
CR: There might be certain types of questions that are troubling you. May be Assumption, may be conclusion, inference etc.
You need to find that out and then practice them
RC: This again can be drilled down into different types of questions and also different topics. See what questions and topics trouble you the most and then practice accordingly.
Quants: Again try to break the questions in topics such as Algebra, Number system (very important), Geometry, PnC etc.

As an addition, start preparing an error log and keep a note of all the mistakes you made and the lessons you learnt from the problems. This will ensure you do not make the same mistake again.

2 months of prep lead to a disappointing 510! I need some Guidance.

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