Not sure if I should continue with GMAT preparation

Question

I have been preparing for GMAT for more than 3 months now with a break of 3 weeks in the middle. I took the official mock 1.5 months back and got a 610 (Q49 , V24). I was highly disappointed with my score.

I prepared hard for Verbal, and took a mock on Princeton Review last week. Got a V27 and today I took a e-gmat mock and got a V28. To reach my target score I need a V35. Not able to find where exactly am going wrong, also if these mocks are accurate?

I just have a month's time to reach my goal!

Please help!

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider taking a fresh Official-Mock. If you feel your fundamentals are strong, working on your solving approach may help boost your score a bit. Had a 6-hour student who went from a v31 to a v40 on a retake in about 30 days. Perhaps work with a study buddy who is really strong on Verbal. You could help them with Quant in exchange.

5 Verbal tips

5 Verbal tips

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ynchopra.

It's good to see that your Verbal score has increased, and it may have increased more than those tests indicate it has because those scores may not be accurate.

To confirm your current level, you could take another official practice test to see where you stand.

However, if your Verbal score goal is significantly higher than you've been scoring so far, then it may not be worth using up a practice test because, even if the scores on those two recent tests are not 100 percent accurate, they are likely reliable enough to indicates that you need to prepare more.

Also,, you can tell how you're doing in Verbal by considering your practice accuracies. When you're ready to score in the upper 30s or 40s in Verbal, your medium accuracy will be at least 80 to 90 percent, and your hard accuracy will be at least around 70 percent.

To ensure that you're preparing for GMAT Verbal effectively, you could read the following post, which discusses in detail how to prepare for GMAT Verbal for best results.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

ynchopra · Answer

Thanks for the suggestions. Study buddy is something which wont work for me because of my weird schedule. I want to preserve my official mock for the end. Any other free accurate practice test I can take?

ynchopra · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep  Thanks for this!

I have been solving a variety of questions on GMAT club and have observed an accuracy of 50% for 700+ questions. I know this is not good but even though am doing a detailed analysis of the answers to know where I am going wrong, my accuracy is not increasing. For 600-700 level questions its around 66%.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

OK, so you need to address the issues (knowledge gaps, skills gaps, execution issues).

That post I shared has some ideas you can use.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ynchopra,

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 long has it been since you restarted your studies? During that time, how many hours have you typically studied each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) 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:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) 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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

EducationAisle · Answer

How exactly?

How have your official mock scores been?

ynchopra · Answer

Thanks for this. It is really helpful!

ynchopra · Answer

I have been solving questions on gmat club and have taken a pass at the Mahattan Prep Verbal guide

Scored a 610 in official mock 1.5 months back. V24 Q49

ynchopra · Answer

Studies:
1) How long has it been since you restarted your studies? During that time, how many hours have you typically studied each week?
 Around 3 months and have been studying around 10 hours a week.

2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
 Manhattan Prep verbal guide and solving questions on gmat club

3) 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)?
 its been more around 1.5 months since I took the first mock. Took my second and third mock very recently. Last 2 weeks. Have shared the scores with initial post.

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
 680+

5) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
 October for top MSBA schools

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ynchopra,

To start, since you plan to apply to some highly-competitive Schools, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement (and the more time that you have to implement those suggestions, the better). There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

I've also sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi ynchopra,

Although nonofficial practice tests may be useful, the official practice tests are the most likely to give you an accurate score estimate. How may have you taken (there are 6 official practice tests)?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ynchopra,

Out of curiosity, have you taken any official practice exams?

Not sure if I should continue with GMAT preparation

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