Help needed after bad gmat score

Question

Hi guys,
I’m writing this post because I seriously need some help... I’ve been studying for the gmat super intensively for the last 11weeks, and got a very disappointing 600 today (Q46 V27). If only I would know what I did wrong... I know I missed a couple questions in Quant because when I came back from my break, the time was already running, and it took me some time to « settle down » and not rush questions, however for the verbal part I don’t understand the reason of such a BAD score. And it leaves me truly unmotivated to take the gmat again, as I don’t think it’s possible to improve in verbal... or at least no in a few months...

I went through all Manhattan prep books, Maggoosh online prep (all lessons watched), main OG guide, and additional Verbal OG book. I’ve been studying for more than 9hours a day for the last 10weeks. As I scored pretty well in the Quant part in my last practice tests, I decided to take 2hours of tutoring in verbal to help me see what I was doing wrong in RC and CR. I got kinda disappointed of the tutoring as I realised that it didn’t really help me and the only way for me to improve was to practice RC. I did all the very hard questions in RC and actually really improved. I’m not a native speaker but I’ve been studying in the Uk for the last two years so I’m pretty much fluent and I don’t understand why I’m scoring so bad in Verbal. The main goal of this post is to ask you guys your opinion. Is there a way to improve in Verbal? How can make my scores « vary » less?

I’m aiming for a 700+ but I’ve already put so much work so now I just don’t see anyway out... When I saw that 600 on the screen I just thought that all my work was just useless, and I was not rewarded for my hard work at all...

Here is the breakdown of the tests I’ve done:

590 Q37 V34 official practice 1
550 Q39 V27 official practice 2
600 Q40 V32 official practice 3
670 Q43 V39 (reset 2) 
620 Q48 V27 official practice 4
690 Q49 V35 (reset 1)
650 Q44 V36 Veritas prep 
660 Q44 V40 Kaplan practice test

The official practice 4 taken 2weeks ago really made me realise my weaknesses in Verbal. So in the last few weeks I focused a bit less on the Quant part and really put much effort into improving my verbal skills... however the V27 truly showed that I did not manage to improve at all....

Posted from my mobile device

Russ19 · Answer

You must have a better way to resolve verbal problems if you go through the video lessons of gmatninja: https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-nin ... l#p2396353

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Have you isolated which areas of Verbal you are slippery on? Boldfaced questions i.e.?

prateekchugh · Answer

In which area of verbal were you weak? 
Check the mistake again....Do not loose hope.

egmat · Answer

@Versado – I am sorry that you did not do well on the test. Note – there is a huge difference between a V27 (~50th percentile) and V40 (90th percentile). Since you scored in low 30s in your official tests and you were not rushed during the Verbal section, I recommend evaluating how you approach Verbal questions. For example:

1. Do you look for splits in SC as the primary approach? If such is the case, then you likely need to change how to approach questions.
2. Do you prethink in CR. Are you able to successfully do the same?
3. Lastly, do you know how to identify keywords, evaluate comparisons, take down notes, and write paragraph summaries in RC?

If you don’t do the above then you likely do not have the core skills required to ace the verbal section on the GMAT. You need to build those.

Take a look at the webinars below to get a preview of these methods.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Es-V_iUseX

Then take a look at how Arshita improved from V29 to V41 in a month. She prepared for 6 months using books and probably used the same methods that you used only to score a V29. She was able to improve to V41 once she changed her approach. See if her story resonates with you. Remember, you are smart enough to get there. You just need to be persistent.

Cheers!!

Rajat

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Versado73.

Scoring high in verbal takes a lot of practice. What you said about your prep seems to indicate that you studied verbal but didn't train that much in the fine art of arriving at correct answers.

To get stronger in verbal, you have to make sure you understand all the concepts, and then you have to practice UNTIMED, carefully analyzing every choice of every question you see.

In a sense each SC or SC answer choice is a question. So, learn to answer all five questions, by defining what each choice does and WHY EXACTY each choice is incorrect or correct.

For some more SC tips, you could read the following post:  GMAT Sentence Correction: 8 Essential Tips

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Versado73,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) When you came back from your break, how many minutes had already elapsed in your Quant section?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Versado73 · Answer

Thank you all for your help! I will watch the videos you've sent me... In fact I think I'm not very strong at Critical Reasoning... I will try to focus a couple of days on each section, rather than working on all three sections + practicing the Quant part....

EMPOWERgmatRichC

) When you came back from your break, how many minutes had already elapsed in your Quant section?
2) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

1) Just 1/2min had elapsed but I did not have time to organize my timing as learned with Manhattan Prep. In Quant, I know my weak areas and I believe some more practice should do. I need to practice on Percents, Overlapping sets, Combinatorics, and remainders.
2) I took the last 5mocks in the last two weeks before my exam. Maybe this was too intense and too last minute but I did see an improvement in my scores in doing so.
3) I'm planning to apply in the beginning of March (round 3). But of course, I would need a month or so for writing my essays, so i have one month left to ace the GMAT!

As I have already done a lot of practice, I would be really happy if you have any other tips to give me! I have taken a week off, haven't touched a single book, have digested my bad score

and I'm now ready to work really hard again!

As I have already done a lot of practice, I would be really happy if you have any other tips to give me! I have taken a week off, haven't touched a single book, have digested my bad score

and I'm now ready to work really hard again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Versado73,

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

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

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