Would someone kindly assist??? 440 to 520....I want 640!!

Question

I just completed my GMAT exam and I scored a 520- Verbal was in the 20th percentile I believe. This is obviously an improvement of 440 which i scored back in December 2010. I have studied English Language as an A-Level and scored very well in the examination. More importantly, I am a native speaker yet I cannot seem to score well in this part of the examination. I originally thought Quant was my weakest part of the test but clearly this is no longer the case as I have had intense coaching. I have recently resigned from my job and took a combined total of 21, yes 21 practice examinations before the real thing. In the last eight examinations I didn't score below 600 and this was a combination of MGMAT and GMAT Prep. Please note that in no ways did i feel mentally exhausted prior to the trest. I actually think the exam practice overkill was probably a better way to improve my terrible nerves and exam technique. I also took a few Princeton exams prior to the real thing and focused solely on verbal. I was repeatedly hovering around the 26-28th scaled score region in verbal but i was almost convinced that this was not an accurate reflection of my abilities. I've been studying for the GMAT intensively over the past three months and I have also resigned from my post. Whilst I am in no ways in a state of panic, I am just desperate to overcome this mental hurdle, perform well in this examination and finally have the chance burn all my books for good. Your suggestions would be most appreciated. I should note the following:

I have the OG Guide 12th Edition and MGMAT 8 strategy guides. I would far prefer to stay away from the OG Guide as i feel as though i can recognise the answer choices before reading the question.

Test scores were as follows:

Test 1 410 GMAT Prep
Test 2 420 GMAT Prep
Test 3 450 GMAT Prep
Test 4 500 GMAT Prep
Test 5 460 GMAT Prep
Test 6 520 Manhattan
Test 7 510 GMAT prep
Test 8 580 Manhattan
Test 9 640 Manhattan
Test 10 530 Princeton Review
Test 11 490 GMAT Prep
Test 12 570 GMAT Prep
Test 13 550 GMAT Prep
Test 14 650 Manhattan
Test 15 630 Manhattan
Test 16 630 GMAT Prep
Test 17 600 GMAT Prep
Test 18 590 GMAT Prep
Test 19 650 GMAT Prep
Test 20 630 GMAT Prep
Test 21 600 GMAT Prep

Any advice guys so I can get 640??

Thanks,
Moe

Shoumik · Answer

I don't think your recent GMAT/MGMAT test scores would give you a true indication of where you currently stand. Obviously the questions were repeated which resulted in inflation of your marks.

Have you gone through the MGMAT Guides? The Official Guide?

More importantly, I don't think you have analyzed the mistakes you made on your prep tests thoroughly. This will definitely act as a barrier in achieving a 640+ score.

Take a few days break, analyze your mistakes and tackle your weakest areas and move on to stronger areas.

moealizadeh · Answer

Hi Mahtab,
Thanks for your response but i should note that in the event that I encountered any repeats, i chose to deliberately select the wrong answer choice. Verbal is a huge mental block of mine and I am simply unaware of how i can tackle this. I agree that the OG Guide should be the basis of all preliminary GMAT studies but as i said i am reluctant to use this material as I have reviewed the questions and answers a number of times. It would almost be a fruitless exercise if I restarted this strategy as I would recognise the answer instantaneously. Another issue I have with the OG guide is that the question pool is from the previous providor ETS and the majority of GMAT prep q's are from ACT. Personally, I feel that there is a marked difference in the tone and style of question whether this is in the verbal or quant sections.

Regarding my technique, I can categorically say that I reviewed my exams throughly but obviously not well enough.

What is the best strategy to undertake in order to boost my verbal score? I have been advised that reviewing LSAT questions would be an ideal starting point would you concur?

Thanks,
Moe

Shoumik · Answer

LSAT is great...and you should try OG12..I think they are from ACT...And sure you might know the correct answer to each OG question but can you give reasons as to why the other four answer choices are INCORRECT? That's where you will learn from. Making sure why each answer is wrong in each question and why the correct answer is actually correct.

You can download bunch of lsat tests from torrents or download 100 CR questions from Aristotle

You can download bunch of lsat tests from torrents or download 100 CR questions from Aristotle

moealizadeh · Answer

Hi Mahtab,
So i have just rebooked my test for the first week of september..... Does this leave me with enough time to improve my verbal score   I haven't started GMAT prep since my exam last friday....i will start again on Saturday. I'm trying to take a bit of a mini breather from the whole experience. Thanks.

Shoumik · Answer

Hey..Its not impossible to bring v23 to a v31..assuming that your quant score is at Q48 level. However, you have to really spend a lot of time in the next 30 days. You just simply have to read anything you can find, whether it be the economist, rc passages, lsat passages and get used to identifying or noting down the important points in rc.

Also you need to develop your own strategy to tackle CR questions. I am assuming these are your two weak areas? One way I shot up my CR accuracy is by going through powerscore CR bible and practicing questions from OG. Since you have already exhausted OG, you can try LSAT CR questions provided in aristotle website for free or even find them on gmatclub.

As for SC, focus on the most important topics such as: parallelism, modifiers, etc.

But I think September is still a bit too early. It is hard to expect a 100 point increase in a month but I have seen it happen before I believe. So good luck! =)

moealizadeh · Answer

So i got a 41 in quant and 23 in verbal..... I have booked the real thing for first week of september. You are right maybe one month is a bit too extreme but i believe that if i were to book the test two months from now there is every possibility that I will rest on my laurels. I'd rather work under pressure and then delay if need be. I am also waiting for Pearson Vue to give me a free test as there was a fire alarm on test date and all students were escorted out of the exam for half an hour. CR and RC are my main problem areas. SC i am absolutely fine in.

Shoumik · Answer

When you say you are fine in SC, what is your accuracy rate for SC questions in gmat prep CAT and OG review?

Also, start going through MGMAT quant guides and solve the og listed questions at the end of each chapter to test your knowledge. Keep using an error log and revisit the error log once a week. A 640 would mean you need to score around Q48 V30 so both your quant and verbal needs improvement. Your quant especially needs improvement so its wise to go through mgmat guides

Shoumik · Answer

You reset...

moealizadeh · Answer

Sorry for not responding sooner. My sentence correction is of a very high standard i.e. i will lose no more than 2-3 points on this section. The problem however is that at present, i rarely see the harder SC questions as my RC and CR is so utterly poor. I have taken a week off GMAT and i started again today. Test has now been booked for the 2nd September and this is my final shot no matter what happens. I know you said that it is asking alot to improve the score from a 520 to 640 in such a short period of time but i must say that i will happily and i mean happily settle for a 600-620. I feel utterly drained by this entire experience and whilst I am not giving up, i'm starting to feel very fed up of GMAT prepping. I was going to ask whether you think joining Knewton would be worthwhile? I've read alot about these guys and i have received conflicting feedback i.e. some say that it is good to brush up on the fundamentals and that I have nothing to loose because of its 50 point fee guarantee other meanwhile have told me that their CAT exams are pretty weak and that mixing their online classes/homework/cat tests and other material in such a short space of time might not work. To be honest, if I can see clear progress i will be prepared to extend my exam date my one or two weeks tops. I just feel as though I am at crossroads now. I have exhausted Manhattan GMAT and don't know where to turn next. Oh and one final thing...I contacted GMAC today and complained about Pearson Vue's test centre. Forgot to mention that there was a fire exam during my second AWA and all students were escorted out of the building for over 30 minutes. AWA had 23 mins remaining and when i returned the timer was around 18 minutes. I requested a free test and Pearson at present are refusing to budge. So i took it one step further and message one of the senior guys at GMAC. I CANNOT STAND THE SIGHT OF GMAT!!!!!!!!!

Shoumik · Answer

I actually don't know a whole lot about knewton courses but the 50 point deal seems like a great idea. I think you should just keep practicing and analyzing your mistakes and KNOW WHY EACH ANSWER CHOICE IS WRONG/RIGHT. It is important to analyze both the wrong and correct answer choices for CR and RC.

moealizadeh · Answer

one final q...how do i get my hands on this 1000 cr??

Shoumik · Answer

https://www.esnips.com/doc/f851c1f3-f7f7 ... 49c/1000CR Google my friend...

moealizadeh · Answer

Thanks so much....i really do appreciate all your help!!!

Shoumik · Answer

Glad to help! Keep trying and keep us updated. We will try our best to assist you

moealizadeh · Answer

Two things that have kept me going...... Rocky 4 training scene and GMAT Club!!! I'll come back in a weeks time and maybe you can advise whether i should extend test date...

openbox1 · Answer

RC is all about testing your ability to absorb the general meanings from texts that are written either very esoterically or with jargon specific terms.

One thing to help you, especially given that you are a native speaker is to go to the library. Go to periodical section. Take out a medical/law/physics paper (or surf the web for appropriate texts). Read just 2-3 paragraphs from any section. Can you summarize the main points of what you read after one try? Keep on doing until you can.

moealizadeh · Answer

Mahtab - Did my first GMAT prep exam in three weeks. I scored a 650 44 in quant and 35 Verbal. I should note that I deliberately selected the wrong answer on ANY verbal question that I recognised or knew the answer already. I am taking a Kaplan examination tomorrow. I have never attempted these so I am curious to see how I perform. I will keep you posted. Test date is on the 8th September! Best

moealizadeh · Answer

Guys,
I desperately need some inspiration. My exam is on the 8th September and i'm seriously starting to panic now. Why i cannot tell you, maybe it's a case that i'm doing this Godforsaken exam for the third time and my results have been poor to put it mildly. So a quick debrief. I have done 4 CAT exams since my last GMAT experience. I did a Gmat prep and scored a respectable 650. I then chose to purchase the Kaplan 6 CAT exams and i have thus far completed 3 of their CAT exams. My results are as follows:

Kaplan CAT Test 1: 580 Q37 V 28
Kaplan CAT Test 2: 560 Q35 V 28
Kaplan CAT Test 3: 550 Q 34 V 29

My quant is alot better than the scores above suggest. I got a 41 in my quant in the real thing yet these exams are giving me some funky results. I took these tests one after the other over three days. I know, a break would have been ideal but I want to build up my stamina before the real thing. My question is, are these tests are true reflection of the real exam or should i be bumping up these scores somewhat?? I'm totally confused and really starting to feel anxious..... PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Would someone kindly assist??? 440 to 520....I want 640!!

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