Study and Strategy questions relating to the GMAT.
viv09
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Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
 

Motivation

by viv09 Tue Sep 06, 2011 11:58 pm

Hi,

I have been studying for my gmat for almost 2 months now, I have had a few breaks due to work.

I am done with my math & have to start my english review.

my mgmat scores are:
a) 580 (1st test)
b) 640 (after a month)

Now when I tried Gmat prep, my score was a mere 540,

I am totally shattered, I feel lost.

I reviewed most of the incorrect questions via Gmat Prep Quant forum

I have a close to 2 more months before I take my exam, is an improvement on the cards?

Need motivation & guidance please.
mirfan2
Course Students
 
Posts: 5
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Re: Motivation

by mirfan2 Wed Sep 07, 2011 11:18 am

Hang in there. I've been in the same boat for a while. It would be really helpful, if you can provide a breakdown of your verbal and quant score.
I plummeted down to 560 from a 680 on GMATprep test. I've put it behind me, did some introspection, targeted my weak areas : Geometry, Word Problems, Ratios and SC. I wasn't maintaining an error log (big mistake).When I looked at explanations for OG and MG questions I was just going thru the motions of reading them rather than trying to understand why I got the answer correct or incorrect in the first place.
I had to take a couple of steps back and to drill down on my weak areas and I devised a plan to hit them hard. Some fine tuning was required in my case and the improvements are clearly visible now.
viv09
Students
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
 

Re: Motivation

by viv09 Wed Sep 07, 2011 1:42 pm

Thanks Mirfan.

The basic problem is english.

In Math I know I have to improve in Number properties & probability.

In English it is mainly RC, SC and CR are managable.

Did you give your exam? or if not when is your date?
mirfan2
Course Students
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:23 pm
 

Re: Motivation

by mirfan2 Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:47 pm

I am taking the exam on Sep 23rd.
viv09
Students
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
 

Re: Motivation

by viv09 Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:31 pm

Good luck to you :)
StaceyKoprince
ManhattanGMAT Staff
 
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Location: Montreal
 

Re: Motivation

by StaceyKoprince Wed Sep 14, 2011 6:39 pm

Can you improve? Yes. You just have to make sure you're doing the right things in the right way - and you have to understand WHY you have the setbacks that you have.

Why did your score drop so much on GMATPrep? Did both sections drop, or was it mostly only one? Did you have any timing problems? That's one very common cause of score drops. Did you alter the testing conditions somehow? Eg, did you not do the essays on the "higher score" test but do the essays on the "lower score" test? Did you burn yourself out right before taking the lower test, or did you take it too early in the morning or too late at night or anything like that?

You can use this article to help you figure out why your score dropped so much:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

Then, come back here and tell us what you discovered. Once we know WHY this happened, we can figure out what to do about it.

Also, if you'd like to get more specific advice on content areas and what to do, use the below article to analyze a recent MGMAT CAT:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Note: if you discover through your first analysis (about the score drop) that the 640 test was inflated for some reason - you skipped the essays, and you paused the timer to give yourself more time or something like that - then you may want to take another CAT under 100% official conditions so that you're certain that you're getting good data.

Then you can come back here again and tell us what you found out in your second analysis (do these separately - don't put in one big post or it'll get too confusing). And we'll figure out where to go from there! :)
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep