GMAT Strategy

Hey folks, I need some advice here…. Much appreciated

I wrote gmat in Sept got a 590, then wrote it again just past Monday and got 550 (Q 47/V21).

Here are a few things I did the second time around:

Took Kaplan Classroom course from Dec 08 to Feb 09-
- 620 Evaluation Test
- The rest of the tests 650, 660, 690, 580, 650, 710
- 580 - Kaplan Ultimate Practice test- (I was VERY nervous during this test)

After the Ultimate Practice Test, I delayed GMAT test from March to April 20th, during this time I focused on all my weaknesses which were: SC, RC, CR- Verbal.

SC: Studied Manhattan SC Guide- SC scored increased from 60% to 85-95%
CR: Studied CR Bible- Felt more confident and CR Score increased by 10%
RC: Just learned to read the passage well the first time, look for critical words such as yet, however, moreover, etc… Improved from 50% to 70% (challenging area)

I also went through OG11 completely

My GMATPREP test scored 2 weeks prior to test range from 640 to 750.
Manhattan GMAT CAT: 640

Night leading to the test day: I couldn’t sleep at all, my mind was buzzing, fell asleep at 4am, woke up at 930am, wrote the test at 12pm. I was very exhausted for sure.

I wasn’t nervous at all this time around, simply because I felt confident about my knowledge of the material and my high practice scores were a clear indication.

My plan moving forward:

Contributing factors to my low score:
- Lack of sleep
- Focus on tough math questions- DS (number properties)
- SC- Review Manhattan gmat
- CR- Review CR Bible
- Review every single question in OG 11 and OG 12- Review why every single answer is wrong and why every single answer is right.


I’m taking 2 weeks off, dedicate about 80 hours in month of May, and write gmat for the last time in first week of June.

What do you all thing of my strategy to score 700+? I’m also entertaining the idea of getting a tutor for a few sessions to maybe pin point my weakness quicker and customize a strategy that works for me?

Thanks
E.

I would definitely agree with going with a tutor especially on the verbal section to get a better understanding of your issues. Its surprising that even after a gradual increase in your verbal performance your actual score decrease. I feel so sorry.

But dont loose hope, you have an excellent Quant score. Keep hitting the same numbers in quant and constantly work on your verbal. Another tip - try actively reading the NY times and the Economist online. While reading try to point the pronouns like it, they, etc and try to match them with their respective antecedents. Also try to understand the verb tense usage in the articles. Why "had been", why the future tense ? etc. This would not only help you to develop your SC skills but will also help you with the RC..

Good luck my friend and would like to read your debriefing of a wonderful 7xx score in a month's time!!!

Thanks Dude,
I'll keep you guys up-to-date.

E.