Which course to choose?

Question

Hi guys!

I am planning to give my GMAT in a month. I am struggling in Verbal a lot and I am not able to get beyond the score of 40 in Verbal. (Scoring 37-39 right now). In quant, I am getting 45-46 on Manhattan and 48-49 on GMATPrep. I got a score of 680 in my last Manhattan Mock and 700 on my GMATPrep.

I have used the 12 book set of Manhattan to prepare along with OG.

Thanks a lot for your help!

adkikani · Answer

Ayan167

I believe egmat is good for verbal. You may even avail free trial to know if it suits your needs.

cxa0897 · Answer

Between the OG and manhattan set you should have everything you need to get above a 40. You may not be studying correctly though.

Are you keeping an error log? Are you finding certain types of questions that you struggle with? You need to get really specific on this. Saying I'm not good at sentence correction isn't adequate. You need to able to narrow it down to verb agreement, idioms, etc. If you can get it down to that level, you can really focus on what is causing trouble and avoid wasting time on things you already know.

Ayan167 · Answer

Thank you for your reply.

I have kept an error log, but yes, I have not narrowed down to specific topics. Also, I have already worked twice on all OG SC problems. I have also read the Manhattan SC book twice already. I definitely think there is a problem in my strategy but am unable to identify that. Any good sources which are similar to OG in terms of difficulty as a well as type of errors? 
Please let me know how to go about this, very clueless about how to proceed from here.. Thanks!

cxa0897 · Answer

Magoosh and veritas are the two programs I used and thought they prepared me well. You can get some free videos on youtube from them. There are also tons of resources and sample problems in the verbal section of the forum if you want something new

GMATPill · Answer

Each course takes a slightly different approach and each person can have a different learning style.

See if these sample videos are helpful to you:

SC: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... ythons.mp4

CR: https://www.gmatpill.com/criticalreasoni ... Estate.mp4

https://www.gmatpill.com

sukanyar · Answer

I just happened to read your post and had to re-read it.

37-39 would definitely not be called "struggling" in Verbal. I would be really happy if I score in that range in the exam; and I am sure most other would be too:).

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ayan167,

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 have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Ayan167 · Answer

Thank you for your reply, Rich!

1) I have studied for 1.5-2 months with work and had taken 2 weeks off also in this period.
2) I have used the set of 10 Manhattan Strategy guides for my preparation (Along with OG). I have read their SC material twice already. I have also attempted all the SC questions from the OG twice.
3) All of the following CATs have been taken during the last 2 weeks-

Manhattan CAT 5: 680 - Q44 V38
GMAT Prep 5: 720 - Q50 V38
GMAT Prep 4: 700 - Q48 V37

4) My target score is 760
5) I am planning to apply only to NUS this time as I think I would stand a better chance next year when I am applying early and I would have 1 more year of work experience (Currently I have a total work experience of 3 years and 2 months) 
6) I would apply to Columbia, NYU, Wharton, Yale, Cornell, NUS, LBS, INSEAD, HEC Paris and Kellogg next year.

Thanks a lot for spending time on my query.

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi Ayan167. Your score in verbal is already very good. For additional practice you can use e-gmat Scholaranium. It is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas. You can also try out the MGMAT guides they are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Further taking multiple mocks might help. I would encourage you to buy the GMATPRPE EP1 and EP2. They are one of the most accurate indicators for your GMAT performance. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have a good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practice tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase the verbal review and GMATPREP QP 1 for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html Hope this helps. All the best.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ayan167,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've put in less than 2 months of study, then you might naturally improve as you continue to put in the proper practice and hone your skills. That having been said, I have a few questions about how you've taken your CATs:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?

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

Ayan167 · Answer

Thanks for your reply again Rich and for spending a lot of your time on my query.

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?  No, I didn't do the Essays or the IR but I got a score of 8 on IR in the main GMAT exam. I have always followed the order -> Verbal - Quant - IR - AWA as I did during the main exam.
I got a 680 in my main GMAT (Q49 and V34) as I lost 10 minutes in my Verbal section and panicked a lot because of that. I have been given another free attempt by GMAC.  
2) Did you take them at home?  I took one at office (with no disturbance; sat in a meeting room). 
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as when you plan to take your Official GMAT?  Yes, I gave all my mocks at the same time. 
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?  Not in the most recent ones(the ones listed), though in the initial ones I paused a little. 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE (re: in an online forum or in a practice set)?  No, all the questions were new and I have never taken the same CAT twice.

I have had an accuracy of 90%+ while attempting the RC and CR questions in the O(but a mere 60% in the SC section) and I generally take lesser time than the average per question. However, while giving the exam I focus too much of time and my mind automatically starts computing how much time I have spent per question and how much time on average is left per question. I sometimes brisk though questions because of this.

Is there somewhere I am going wrong in my prep?

Thanks again for taking time out of your schedule and addressing my queries!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ayan167,

If you truly lost 10 minutes in the Verbal section on the Official GMAT, then that extra/missing time could certainly have impacted how you performed (and thus - your end score result). At higher-and-higher score levels, the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes. At your level, you don't have any big 'weak spots', so you really have to nitpick WHY you're getting questions wrong. In the Verbal section, how often do you 'narrow the answers down to 2 choices' but still get the question wrong? In those situations, you're really close to getting the correct answer, but you still 'miss' something in the end. Defining those little 'misses' - so that you can avoid making them again on similar questions - could ultimately be the last thing you need to fix before scoring into the mid-700s (or higher).

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

Ayan167 · Answer

Thanks a lot Rich. That's exactly the problem I have; I am always able to narrow the options down to 2 choices but sometimes struggle in deciding between them. I will work on this and share the results with you. Thanks again for spending so much time on my query and for suggesting this excellent strategy!

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