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wheredidigowrong
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 05:04
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Hi there!

I took my first GMAT exam recently and got a disappointing 530. :oops: I have been preparing hard for 3 months now and I am still wondering if it was me who got such a score, the reason being, I scored around 670 in my last practice test.

I have exhausted all available good resources, MGMAT 8 books, OG 12, MGMAT 6 tests and G Prep tests. I am still wondering where did I go wrong? I would be much grateful to you if any one of you can advise me on how to go about it again.. I resorted to GMAT club as my last option as I am on the verge of making up my mind that I am not a GMAT material (Of course I am a doctor and not touched math for years). But please save me from going down on confidence, after all I was a good student all through :cry:

Any help much appreciated!

Thanks,

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Shoumik
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 05:19
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Hey. I was wondering what your splits are? I am assuming that Quant is your weaker spot?

I see that you mentioned you had exhausted MGMAT materials but I didn't see you mentioning that you exhausted official guide material. This could be one of the catastrophic error in your gmat prep. Another thing is that, one week prior to your test day, it is highly recommended that you practice some of the easy level questions from gmat just to freshen up your mind. Maybe you had not done that as well.

Improving from a 530 is possible. You just need to be consistent with your prep. Please take another gmat prep test and tell us your weaknesses so we can further help you achieve your desired score!

Thanks and cheer up...there are many debriefs on the forum where people started from as low as 450 and climbed to 650+ or even 700!

If quant is your weaker spot, it is easier than verbal to improve on so thats another plus! Don't give up...you can do it trust me!
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wheredidigowrong
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 10:08
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Hey Mahtab!

Thanks a ton for your prompt reply which comes as a ray of hope to this lost soul! I got a 530 with Q39, V25 and AWA 5.0. I still don't believe this because I hadn't seen below 580 on practice tests and I was getting at least a 32 on verbal. And the last G Prep was 670.

But I engrossed myself so much into MGMAT books that I forgot to finish OG 12 Guide. Another flaw is that I adopted an entirely different strategy in the actual test - always, I ran out of time on practice tests, but I was 'okay' with accuracy. But on the real test, I was left with minutes to spare. Hence, I feel I might have lost on accuracy.

Mahtab! If I am able to learn OG 10 and OG 12 in-and-out, will I be able to reach my target score of 650? I am clueless about my next step. I hope you will kindly direct me.

Thanks once again Mahtab!

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Shoumik
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 12:44
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Hey no problem...

Q39 and V25 indicate you need help in both quant and verbal. I hope you know the techniques for CR and RC. As for MGMAT, have you been doing the OG questions they recommend at the end of each chapter? I think thats what you should have done and if you gotten stuck in any question, go to google and search the question and you will find explanations (manhattangmat instructors provide the best ones!)

Yes you can exceed over even 700 if you truly understand each and every problem from OG12 review...When I say understand...you should know the concepts behind the right answer and why the other 4 answer choices are wrong. This is particularly important for Verbal.

I started off with Q41 in quant and got to Q47 in a month time and now at Q49 after another 2 weeks so you should be fine. You just need to be persistent and keep an error log because you will come across questions that you won't understand. Record the questions that you got wrong and analyze the question...even if it takes 1 hour to analyze one question, make sure you nail the concept in your head. One week later, refer back to those questions and see how much of the concept you remember and keep nailing it in your head and at one point you will understand it inside out.
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wheredidigowrong
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 21:15
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Mahtab! Thanks much for an inspiring reply. I shall follow your suggestion and see the result after a month. Meanwhile, I shall try to assess what went wrong in my actual exam :? .

All the best to you too. See you soon Mahtab :)
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 22:13
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I sympathize with you especially all that hard work. I also recommend some good OG studying it's the most realistic to what you'll see on the test. I even saw a REPEAT question from the OG on my test! Also, I liked to do the questions from the answer key so I could review the answers right after. Saves on flippin pages! Also highlighted the ones that were run so I could revisit, saved lots of admin time making a separate error log...I wish you success the next time. You've already done so much don't turn back now...hopefully the OG work will give you the feeling of an epiphany once you start to get their flow.

Good luck

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wheredidigowrong
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Where did I go wrong? 04 Aug 2011, 22:49
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Dear Lath2011,

Thanks for your kind words. The last 15 days before my exam, I just practised on MGMAT tests and G Prep tests. By then, it has been a month that I touched OG 12 - of course, I was unable to complete it :( . According to the posts by Mahtab and you, I feel this was my major mistake. I believe that the answer to the question still lingering in my mind, 'why din't I get at least a 600' would come from my regular and consistent practice with OG 12. I am done with all the MGMAT books, and currently not in a state of taking another course. Since I have exhausted G Prep, which standard validation should I rely upon once I am done practising OG guide?

I felt so dejected, but knowing that there are people who would raise an effort to help me, I feel I am budding once again!

Thank you for that :)
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Starting tomorrow, I plan to spend 4 hours early in the morning on a total of 100 questions per day from OG guide (20 each from PS, DS, CR, RC and SC). This way I will be able to finish OG 12 and OG 10 in a month. Of course I would brush up the concepts from MGMAT books simultaneously. The next month, I shall practice on adaptive tests. How good is this as a make-up plan for my case? Kindly comment.

Thanks!
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wheredidigowrong
Starting tomorrow, I plan to spend 4 hours early in the morning on a total of 100 questions per day from OG guide (20 each from PS, DS, CR, RC and SC). This way I will be able to finish OG 12 and OG 10 in a month. Of course I would brush up the concepts from MGMAT books simultaneously. The next month, I shall practice on adaptive tests. How good is this as a make-up plan for my case? Kindly comment.

Thanks!
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That is a great plan. Like I mentioned, analyze your mistakes. Its more important to analyze each question you get wrong in OG even if it takes 1 hour to understand a certain question. Don't force yourself into doing 100 questions a day, if at the end of the day you cannot analyze your mistakes. Remember, its not about quantity but quality.

I think OG 10 and OG 12 is great. These two resources, if practiced and analyzed properly, it should boost you to at least a 650. Once you are there and you feel that you have exhausted the OG material, you can either buy OG Quant and OG Verbal or you can try out MGMAT Club tests for Quant to boost your quant score.
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