GMAT practice score 600

[pooj306]

Hi All,

I have been preparing for the GMAT for the past 3 months, and took 3 practice tests recently with very disappointing scores:

GMAT prep test 1 (only quant and verbal) : 580 (Q39,V31)
MGMAT test 1 (only quant and verbal): 620 (Q37,V37)
MGMAT test 2(full test) : 600 (Q37,V35)

I studied intensively on the following weak sections:
Verbal SC, quant

I am very disappointed that I have failed to even get close to a 700. I have an engineering background which makes this score even more disappointing because I set really high expectations for myself (but I figured it was reasonable to expect 700+). I was planning to take the real GMAT in two weeks, but that was before I scored so low on the practice tests. I am trying to figure out the best plan of attack now, to reach a 700+, and how long my time frame to hit that score should be. Can someone guide me through this? I really appreciate any insight you can provide.

Preparation in the last 2.5 months involved: using all Manhattan strategy guides (quant and verbal); working through all official GMAT 13th edition questions and a little bit of Kaplan.

I am not sure how to go from here, since I feel I have prepared as best as I can.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm reading between the lines here, but does this mean that you spent several months prepping and only then took a practice test? (Several tests, all recently?)

That's part of the problem right there. This isn't an academic test (even though it feels like one!). It's a performance test. Your approach has been one that would work for an academic class in school, but that same approach doesn't work on something like the GMAT. It will help you get a little better, but it won't take you to a 700.

Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

I'm going to guess in general that you have timing issues (everybody does and that will be even more true of someone who has only recently taken their first exam). In addition to the timing articles linked in the above article, add this to your reading list:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

Read that second one after you read the In It To Win It article linked in the first article above.

Next, pay a HUGE amount of attention to the how to study / how to learn section in the first article linked above. This will help you to realize that a focus on learning content and doing a bunch of problems is not the right focus. Yes, you do have to learn the content and practice on problems, but you also have to learn the skills that the test is really testing: how to make decisions, how to set priorities, how to find flexible ways to get to solutions, etc.

You learn that by analyzing problems after you've finished them - you don't learn all that much simply by doing them. The "how to study" section (and the additional articles linked there) will help you learn how to do this.

I can't tell you how long that's all going to take, but given that you're about 100 points away from your goal, it's probably going to be at least a couple of months.

Note: from now on, ONLY take practice tests under 100% official conditions. It's a waste of time to take only the Q and V - because the real test will never let you take only the Q and V. The fact that you have to work on other stuff for an hour before you get to Q and V can then affect your performance on the two important sections... so you can't skip the earlier stuff. (That is, you can't if you want your practice test scores to reflect what might happen on the real test.)

After you've looked through those resources and gotten a better idea of how you need to study, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Take your time! Spend several days reading through the stuff I've linked and really understanding what this is going to take. Then formulate a plan and check that plan with us. :) That way, you'll know you're prepared this time to continue to figure out what you need to do and how you need to do it, so you'll know you're heading in the right direction.

Finally, just a note of encouragement. You did have to learn all of that content, so your earlier study was not a waste of time. Think of it this way: you've cleared one hurdle, or "level" of study. Now, you're moving to the second level. :)

[pooj306]

Hi Stacey,

Thank you so much for taking the time and giving me a detailed explanation on how to move forward. I read all the articles you have mentioned here, and the linked ones as well. I am first going to analyze my tests according to the downloadable guide. And then plan my study or test taking accordingly. You are right - I studied for 2.5 months before taking a bunch of practice tests, and it really hasn't helped. I was too apprehensive about taking the tests initially before brushing up on basics, but now I realize that it was probably not the correct approach. I think it would be a good idea to start from scratch, and hopefully I can improve my score.
Thanks again Stacey :)

-Pooja

[StaceyKoprince]

Once you set up your study plan, come back here and tell me about it. I'll tell you where I agree and where I disagree. :)

Also, take a look at this article I just wrote:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

[sophia.lin12345]

Also getting a similar score (620, 610 on both). I think what is making it difficult for me is that, first off, with the SAT (and even on the CPA exam), you could skip questions and come back to them later and there was generally enough time to do the problems. Plus they were more knowledge-based; if you had a strong foundation, you could practically breeze through most of the questions.

It's not the same for the GMAT. You can't come back to the questions later, even if you knew that if you had 10 minutes on the question, you could get the answer. It seems like you have to find a quick strategy that gets you the right answer in less than 2 minutes. It's so fast-paced!

[sophia.lin12345]

It sounds like I should do each question in a little over 2 minutes (3 max), but the timing is very intense-you barely have time to stop and think. I was thinking about setting "milestones," for ex. by 20 minutes I should have completed 10 questions. I was just wondering how everyone prepared for the intensity of doing 37 questions in 75 minutes or the integrated reasoning in 30 minutes?

[pooj306]

Hi Stacey,

After reading your response, I went back, analyzed my results and took a couple of more tests. I made an EXCEL file and categorized my performance in each category and sub-category. The entire analysis is too detailed to put down here, but I have a gist:

Quantitative:

Too slow and wrong:
Inequalities (algebra) - 83% wrong
Triangles and Diagonals(geometry) - 66.67% wrong
Rates and work (word problems) - 71.42% wrong

Too fast and wrong:
Formulas (algebra) - 50%wrong
Positives and negatives(number properties)-100%wrong

Verbal:

Too slow and wrong:
Weaken the argument(CR):43% wrong
Main idea(RC):50% wrong
Meaning(SC):60% wrong

Too fast and wrong:
Too little to analyze but mainly SC questions related to concision, quantity and pronouns.

Also, I realized that my SC is stronger than my CR and RC. I appear to get and answer SC questions in the 700-800 range most of the time. Whereas for CR, I seem to get the 650 range correct, and for RC it is the high 600s range.

Based on these results, I focused on the following areas for my next test (I did not do any verbal brushing up, just quant before this test):

Inequalities (algebra) - 83% wrong
Rates and work (word problems) - 71.42% wrong
Positives and negatives(number properties)-100%wrong

I scored a 640 with the following break-up:
Quant: 42
Verbal: 36

I was mildly happy to see my quant score go above 40 points, but not entirely so. Several of my answers were guesses, and I was pretty sure I was going to score lower than 600 until I saw my final score. I am still not happy with this of course. I got all my rates questions correct with this test, but I was too slow and guessed on 50% of the questions.
Most of the quant questions I got right were in the 600-700 range. My plan of attack now is:
Solve OG archer questions (the most difficult) from each quant sub-category. I think I need to improve overall in quant and not just a few sections.

Verbal:
I strongly feel that I can and should shoot for a higher verbal score. I am usually more confident with the verbal section, and with a little more prep, maybe I could up the score? I have brushed up and prepared in the following sections:
CR - weaken the conclusion
RC - Main idea

Before I take my next test tomorrow morning, I will be touching on all Quant topics, a few problems each from the OG.
Stacey, what do you think? Does my plan sound ok?

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, sophia - if you'd like to have an ongoing discussion related to your issues, please start your own thread. (It's easier to keep individual "cases" separate so that I don't mix up details from two different people.)

Also, check out these resources on time management; they'll answer the questions you were asking:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

pooj306, yes, I agree that you need to try to work across all topics. The GMAT rewards people who are pretty good at everything more than people who are excellent at only some things but really not good at others. This is within reason, though - there are certain topics or question sub-types that are more frequently tested than others.

Great job with your analysis - keep up the good work.

When you go for OG Archer questions, make sure that you are doing mixes, not just all the same type / sub-category. The real test will never give you three positive and negative questions in a row, nor will they tell you that you're about to get positive / negative questions. You've got to jump around and you've got to figure out for yourself what each new question is. Make your practice mimic this reality.

For CR, take a look at these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... g-problem/

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... n-problem/

For RC, main idea is also about making sure that you're reading appropriately. If you get too sucked into detail on the read-through, you're more likely to miss the main idea question.
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... p-passage/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -passages/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -passages/

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/09/ ... prehension

Good luck - as you need more resources, let me know. :)

[pooj306]

Great job with your analysis - keep up the good work.

Thanks Stacey :)

When you go for OG Archer questions, make sure that you are doing mixes, not just all the same type / sub-category.

This is exactly what I have been doing. I will mix questions from now on! What you said makes sense - that the real GMAT will never give two or three questions from the same category consecutively. I did what I did (practicing from the same sub-category) because I wanted to see if I could master it to some level.

Thanks for the CR and RC resources.

If you get too sucked into detail on the read-through, you're more likely to miss the main idea question.

Absolutely right. I got all my "detail" questions correct, and most of the "main idea" questions wrong!!! I have since browsed through the RC Manhattan book and used the techniques there on a few problems from OG to test, and I am better at getting the main idea now! I still need to see how I do on a mock CAT though.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post Stacey. I really appreciate it.

-Pooja

[StaceyKoprince]

You're very welcome - keep up the good work!