From 580 on 1st practice test, then plateau at 700, to 750

[vak3e]

750
Q49
V44
IR 7

Last month did official gmat and got 710, mainly due to dampened Quant.

Just a few helpful tips that others may not have shared along the way.

1. MGMAT says practice tests aren't the focus, which is true if your content knowledge is weak, but if you're aiming for a really high score you have to get the rhythm of the test down and become really good at managing timing. Doing sets of 10 timed problems is not the way to do this in my opinion--take practice tests LOTS of them. I took prob 15 or so! GMAT Club has really good collections of full length math sets -- I discovered this wayyyy too late unfortunately, and I'm confident that if I kept doing this, could have lifted score much higher.

2. Do other practice tests, MGMAT ones are nice but they have their limitations. Veritas, Kaplan, Gmatclub, they are all great. Also, their forums are very good, people respond fast, and you can submit OG questions to their forums. MGMAT forums are good too, but since you can't submit OG qs it limits the usefulness significantly.

3. TOP TIP****** SLOW DOWN AND READ THIS ************
Use your hands. Yes, that's right, use your freaking hands. Here's how:

When doing verbal...keep your left hand on the desk, and anytime you eliminate a Q, fold the corresponding finger back. This SAVES TIME b/c you NEVER doubt whether or not you eliminated a question or not or have to scan it again. Also it allows you to quickly get down to 2 or 3 qs TOPS, and then you can take time to reread them again...I do this on every single verbal q every single time, and when I discovered this, this alone boosted my score by like 20% or so due to flawless elimination and extra time. Eliminating things on paper is a total waste of time since you're actually 'multi-tasking' and switching focus, etc. etc.

Every seen Japanese girls taking picture? You can learn from them and improve your math score...EVERY SINGLE math problem, while starting, hold out your left hand with two fingers out (like J girls posing) and make sure you know the following two things b4 proceeding w/ the problem:
1. What kind of numbers are we dealing with? positive, non-zero, integer constraints, etc. etc.,
2. What is this problem really asking?

As you answer this, fold the fingers back...this is basically a checklist approach. If pilots use this to remember to lower wheels before landing, you can use it on the GMAT.

I cannot tell you how much this helped me and how many times both of these things saved me from traps. I realize my math score isn't exactly super awesome, but this helped me improve significantly very fast, and I know if I stayed w/ it for another month would be even better results.

4. WATCH THE CLA ELIMINATION VIDEOS FOR DS. They are good videos...helped a lot too with nuances of IR. Also, when doing DS i moved away from the AD/BCE grid b/c it's 'multi-tasking' in my mind (you're switching focus to draw that out, you have to 'know what AD/BCE means) and it wastes time. Instead, I do as following on my paper:

(write out problem, constraints, simplify stem etc.)
1. 2.
First simplify the Q stem, then work w/ (1) on the part of your paper below the 1. Then, either check or cross off the 1, then CIRCLE # 2, which reminds you to consider that statement exclusively w/ no statement carryover (again, this act of circling saved from traps countless times). Work with (2) in the 2 area. Then either check or x-out 2. (if both 1 and 2 are checked, it's D) If neither is checked, I draw a circle in the middle of 1. and 2., which stands for C, which I either circle (if answer is C) or x-out, which means it's E.

For some reason, this takes less brain power than AD/BCE and is much more intuitive. You don't have to believe me ... just try it for yourself...

5. Make a list of things you love about the GMAT, special types of problems, the act of skipping qs, whatever. This helps you enjoy what you do which means more parts of the mind engaged. Also, great way of handling stress when the test comes.

6. IR - the MGMAT IR tool is not very helpful in my opinion, if you're aiming for a top score. It basically teaches you how to read graphs. The most useful piece of advice is to not be afraid to skip a few Qs. That's definitely solid advice. if you want realistic IR training -- either OG IR products or Veritas will serve you well. It's becoming more and more important apparently, so I think it's good to prepare for it. Read up about it.

7. This may sound like advice you've prob heard from you father, but it's worth saying again -- don't multitask. When studying cut everything out, and actually I would even stop reading novels, (Definitely watching TV) or listening to music while you're not studying. Basically anything that creates significant mental disturbances. Things like Yoga and swimming are OK...haha...the reason is that it's a documented fact that while you're not studying, your mind is still processing at near-to-full horsepower, consolidating memories, and when you're listening to Limp Bizkit or Selina Gomez that may neutralize some of these effects!

Voilà...GL!

V

[emilek375]

hi,

I just took my first GMAT. Actually im very disappointed. I got a 520 and a 29 en Math and 32 on verbal.

I dont understand what happened to me. Y mi last prep test from de GMAC software i got 690, and I was feeling very confident because i can solve almost every math problem.

When the math section srtated i kind of blanked, the first 3 questions I knew how to solve them but could do it there, and this happened a lot. After many questions that I just could hit the right score I started to get desperate and tried to guess. I was not nervous, I actually thought that this was normal and that by the end of the test i would get a 600 or plus.

On the verbal part i actually think i got many of the SC right , but with the pressure of time y couldn't think in de CR and started guessing or just selecting the least extreme language or concussive question,

I need advise please, because im really disappointed and sad, and i don't want to give up the idea of an MBA in one top school.