Study and Strategy questions relating to the GMAT.
herman2210
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IMPROVE SCORE FROM 550 PRACTICE TEST TO 700 IN REAL TEST

by herman2210 Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:08 pm

Dear Manhattan instructors,

Im not a native english speaker, preparing for the GMAT test. Ive been studying for the about 4 months, without seing any advance in my score. In practice test I got 530,550,540, and I need a 700+ score. I need help!! I dont know how to improve my score. I just have a month to prepare to the real exam. Please review how I have been study and tell me what I have to do to get that 700+ Thanks:
Study Material: Manhattan gmat 8 guides 4th edition, Gmat prep software(including the pack with extra questions), OG 12th, 2nd, 13th, CR Bible.
Schedule for study: Usually in the early morning(4-5am) weekdays and sundays almost all day. But the last 2 month for my job I havent study enough, some weeks I have study just one day only 2 hours.
Quant:(Q27-36 score), I need 45+. I feel that Im good in math and generally I understand all the concepts and get right in both DS and PS in practice questions.
Strengths: Number properties, Equations in 500-600 question types, but I get lost in more difficult questions.
Weakeness: Word Problems, Statistics, Probabilidates. Some hard FDPs questions, Geometry( I used to be good, but I dont know why I get wrong almost all questions)
IR: Average of 5/12 correct answers. Im good in MSR and Two part analysis, but I have problems to understand graphs and tables.
Verbal:(V25-29 score) It is weird, because I love more the verbal section than the quant section. Im stuck in 45-53 percentile!! I do well in practice questions, even the harder questions, but I get only V25 to V29 in practice exams.
SC Ive studied the SC mgmat guide like 5 times! I understand the rules, but in practice exams I get confuse with pronouns, meaning, understand what is the subject and the verb and consequently the parallelism. Often get confuse with whether, if, each, by far...
RC Similar to SC, in RC I understand the strategy and I do well in practice questions, but in practice exams get a lot of wrong answers. I Love science, good to understand the structure and the primary purpose, but sometimes I get lost for timing and specific questions. In business my perfomance is balanced, sometimes I get incorrect answers in both, general and specific questions. I dont like social, I really hate it, and this is my weakest point. Another thing is that I running out of practice questions, I practiced all the OG and Gmatprep questions to the point I know the passages by heart.
CR I used to be excellent in CR!! I was actually better in this section than in any of the gmat, but now I have problems to understand the arguments in harder question in less than 2 min. I practice CR Bilble and I do well in practice questions, but in real exam I blow it!! Similar to RC I run out of practice questions.
AWA I havent practice no a single essay to practice to real exam. :(

I really need a study plan to improve my score, I love the gmat, I feel the I could have a better score, but I know what to do and how to study.

Thanks a lot!!
StaceyKoprince
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Re: IMPROVE SCORE FROM 550 PRACTICE TEST TO 700 IN REAL TEST

by StaceyKoprince Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:16 pm

I'm sorry the exam is giving you trouble.

First, if you can, forget about this:
I just have a month to prepare to the real exam.


Take the time that you need to get yourself into the score range that you want. Then take the test. You can't rush / force this. 150 points in a month is a lot.

But the last 2 month for my job I havent study enough, some weeks I have study just one day only 2 hours.


You'll need to be able to commit to 10 to 15 hours (minimum) of study every week for (minimum) 2 months in order to achieve a 700+ score. If that's not possible at this point in your career / life, then postpone this until a time that you can devote the necessary energy to studying.

Another thing is that I running out of practice questions, I practiced all the OG and Gmatprep questions to the point I know the passages by heart.


Knowing the answers doesn't necessarily mean that you actually learned what you needed to learn. You also mention timing problems in some areas. These, plus a couple of other comments, lead me to believe that you haven't got the right mindset in place when studying for the GMAT.

Here's what you're trying to do on this test:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Is that how you're approaching the test? Is your focus on making the best decisions possible, NOT on trying to get everything right?

Here's HOW to study - have you been studying in this way?
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

After you've read the above two articles, explain to me why I said that knowing the right answers to the OG questions doesn't necessarily mean that you have learned what you should have learned from those questions. How could you still have more to learn even after you know the right answer, and even how to get to the right answer?

Take a look at these for time management:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

Now that you have read / thought through ALL of that, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Figure out what you think you should do based on that analysis (and everything else you learned above). Then come back here and tell us; 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!)
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep