Bombed the GMAT - 460 (Q 24) (V30) AWA -6.0 - Help Please

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I took the GMAT for the first time today and totally bombed it 460 (Q 24) (V30).

Background info - I'm a native English speaker although I've never been too good at grammar. I've also always had trouble with Math. I graduated about 4 years ago with a Business degree (High GPA) and have never done well on standardized tests...

How I prepared: I took the Kaplan Review Course a few years back and did not feel ready for the test then and thus postponed it until now (this was a big mistake).

Within the last few months I've spent some time studying for the GMAT by using the Official Guides (Orange & Green) and doing most problems but without really keeping track of what I was getting wrong and more importantly why.

Kaplan CATs – I took about six of these tests during the Kaplan Course and don't remember exactly what the scores were, but they ranged from 500 to 600.

GMAT Prep 1 - 540
GAMT Prep 2 - 430

I thought that the score of my second GMAT Prep was some kind of fluke and figured that I just needed to take the test once to see where I placed and unfortunately the second GMAT Prep was pretty accurate...

As you can imagine I'm devastated, but I'm D-ETERMINED to not let the GMAT beat me and have devised the following plan and ask that you please help out this poor soul and give me any tips, advice, feedback, comments you may have.

I’ve always dreamed of going to B-School and think that I have all the other pieces to get in and the only thing that really stands in my way is the GMAT…

Timing: I'm giving myself until the end of June to prepare (4.5 months) - My work schedule can be crazy sometimes so I'm hoping that this will provide some cushion when things at work get hectic.

Schedule: I'm making a schedule and will try my absolute best to stick to it; I'm trying to be realistic so I'm thinking I can study for 2 hours a day / 3 times during the week and 4 - 6 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Getting back to the basics - I'm going to order the Kaplan Math Review and Manhattan SC book to practice on two areas where I'm the weakest. And I'm going to get help when I need it this time when I don't understand concepts or struggle with formulas...

Practice smarter and under timed conditions - I'm going to start doing problems under timed conditions so I can build speed and accuracy, but I'm planning to do this after I've reviewed basic Math and feel more comfortable with the basics. Also, I'm going to use a spreadsheet to track my answers as well as what mistakes I'm making and I'm not going to directly jump to solutions, but try to work out the ones I get wrong...

Flashcards - I'm going to make flashcards over the next few months to help me keep track of what I'm doing wrong and to help me remember equations and other important things.

More Computer Tests - Since I've taken the GMAT Prep exams already I will need to get some other full length tests to practice with, could anyone provide any suggestions on what is the second best indicator next to GMAT Prep... Plus, I'm planning to retake both GMAT Preps in May / June as I will surely not remember the questions by then and since I scored so poorly on both of those tests that it should be okay to do so.... Any negatives with doing this?

I'm planning on applying for Fall 2009 and like everyone else dream of a 700+ score and still hope to achieve this.... even though I would be very happy with something in the high 600s. I've never been good at standardized tests, but WILL NOT use that as an excuse and so I'm asking for your help to make my dreams come true!

My sincere thanks....

D Terman :(
Last edited by D Terman on Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by parore26 » Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:35 am
The good news for you is that you can make up a lot of ground in Quantitative since your current scaled score is 24. I'd also suggest taking some college level mathematics at your local community college or university. Other than that your study plan sounds good and you've identified all areas that you need to work on. All I can say is best of luck and keep us informed of your progress.

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by dwilliam » Thu Feb 14, 2008 5:43 am
Hi D Terman,

You look like you have devised a good study plan. Have you considered any of the Manhattan Prep books, or even a class? Their approach is content based learning. I am enrolled in their 9 week class now and it is really good. There is a lot of work to stay on top of, but the instructors are great.
DWilliam

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by Luminary » Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:02 pm
Preparing for the LSAT RC and CR really helped my verbal score- I got 42 in verbal= 95th percentile

I completely studied the powerscore logical reasoning bible,
bought LSAT tests, practiced till I got an accuracy rate of around 90%...


GMAT verbal then seemed ridiculously easy and I enjoyed taking the test-- (710, Q-45, V42)

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Hi Everyone,

I'm on the final stretch... 12 for days until G-Day and I could use some advice. Thus, far I've followed my plan and my scores have improved, but I think in the days ahead I still have a chance to get into the upper 600's / 700 range and any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. As you can see below my scores have been all over the place, but I've pinpointed that quant is my area of weakness.

5/4 GMAT Prep1(#1) - 570
5/10 MGMAT1 - 580
5/17 MGMAT2 - 590
5/26 MGMAT3 - 670
5/25 GMAT Prep1(#2) - 660 (Q41, V41)
6/1 MGMAT4 - 600
6/3 Princeton 1 - 550
6/9 GMAT Prep2 (#1) - 610 (Q39, V39)
6/15 MGMAT5 - 640
6/10 PPREP1 - 630 (Q36, V41)

Right now I'm going over the GMAT Quant Review (Green Book) and hope to finish it this weekend if not early next week.

Then from Wednesday until the following Thursday I plan to do the following:

Take one test per day (Repeat GMATPreps, Power Prep#2, and Manhattan, Last Princeton if I have time) – How many times should I repeat GMATPrep?
Go over problems from the OG11 I got wrong to make sure I refresh on concepts and my common errors.
Take the GMAT Quant Focus tests that I’ve purchased (3 tests I plan to space out over a week)
Go over notes and Eric’s flashcards each night

The only additional Verbal work I plan to do from now until G-Day is the SC from the GMAT Verbal Book (Purple).

Like for many of you the GMAT has taken on a life of its own and I really can't wait for this to be over... I'm balancing my studying with some leisure time to ensure that I'm not burning myself out, but I'm remaining focus on my ultimate goal to get a good score to be able to apply confidently to the B-School of my choice and thus I’m asking for your help and guidance.

D Terman

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by hemanth28 » Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:44 am
Dude the 470 score which i scored was in the mock,when i started my preperation to keep track of my progress.
Coming to your question about how to improve --->> I see that you are very week on quant side.My concepts are really strong on quant. So i am not sure i can help you with that.
But one thing i can say is that if you have 2 months time ,practice is the only thing that can get someone through quant(especially for those who doesnt have much grip on quant).
But with 10 days left all you gotta do is keep yourself cool. [;)]
GMAT First take :- 680
Getting the guns ready for second shot !!!
https://beatenbygmat.blocked

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by Montreal06 » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:24 am
D-Terman - How did you end up scoring?

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by D Terman » Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:26 pm
D Terman here.....

I took the GMAT today and I got a 620 (Q34 - 40%, V41 - 92%) AWA 6.0, but I will not let this BEAT me.... I'm going to take about 6 more weeks to work on my Quant and I will give it one last try.... Does anyone have any advice for me, is 6 weeks enough time to bring up my quant score? I would really like to apply during R1 and want to do this while the info is still fresh in my mind.

My preliminary plan is to buy the other Manhattan books and make sure I'm solid in the fundamentals while only focusing the Sentence Correction on the Verbal Side as it is an area where I think I can still gain some ground.

Thanks to everyone and their support, wouldn't be at this point without you guys and will get to the next level (700+) because of you all.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

D Terman
Last edited by D Terman on Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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by wawatan » Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:57 am
hey dude congrats on the such large score increase for verbal! as for math i suggest to go to gmatclub.com and buy the challenges (heard from someone who got a 50Q that the challenges are very helpful) . these challenges resembles closer to the real thing than manhattan gmat math. it's only 75 bucks. well, can you give us any TIPS on how to IMPROVE VERBAL?????Theres alot of desperate people here in need of your advice!!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!!

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by D Terman » Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:17 am
For Verbal here is what I think helped.

Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning - Unfortunately, I think the only thing that helps is practice, practice, and some practice... To this day I can't tell you want any of the grammar rules, but enough practice makes you recognize common errors when it comes to the SC and allows you understand the thinking of the GMAT in terms of CR problems.

For Rreading Comprehension what I think helped me the most this time around was forcing myself to believe I was really interested in whatever topic was being discussed. This is not diffilcult to do if you just use your imagination... For example if I was reading about some galaxy or other space topic I would pretend that I was taking a space flight there and needed to know what was being discussed. This is corny I know, but it worked for me.

Also for RC, I wrote down qucik shorthand notes as I read through the passages... I never referred back to my notes, but it helped tremendously to have something written down.

I hope this helps!

Have 4th of July Everyone!

D Terman

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Help Please! Similar situation to D Terman

by stubmw » Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:15 pm
Hi All, D Terman,

I read your first post dated Feb/2008 and we could not be more a like in terms of our background and scores.

I too am a native English speaker and not really good on the grammer stuff, but ok in Math.

I took my first GMAT test at a local testing center in Dec/2007 and my score was 460 (V25, Q29).

I took the Princeton Review instructor lead course, but that did not help me enough I guess.

I am again back dreaming of going to B-School and I only need about a 620 to get in to the local B-School I have applied for. My GPA and job roles are enough to warrant an acceptance with a lower GMAT score.

I'm at the point where I don't know what to do. What books to study, how to study, etc.

I have about 3 months to take the exam again and hopefully get a score of 610-620.

The books I've used are the OG11 and the manual that was given to me by the Princeton Review.

I work full-time but do work from home a lot which allows me to spend an entire day on GMAT studying plus the weekends. I think I would have on average 3 full days a week to study and evenings are always free.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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by kish112 » Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:03 am
I just wanted to say Keep up the great work, I don't have any advice for you but it is great to see a determined person turn their score around. Congrats and I'm sure you'll end up where you want to be!

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by D Terman » Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:08 pm
Hi Everyone,

I'm seriously considering taking the VERITAS two day QUANT FOCUS course which is scheduled nicely about two weeks before GMAT round 3 and I was wondering if anyone has experience with this course.

Thanks all!

D Terman

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by danielbm » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:18 pm
Hello D-Terman!
I have read your post and I would like to congratulate you for the awesome improvement….from 460 to 620…is almost 200 points, I think is amazing…Congrats man.
Base on your history and your improvement I would like to hear your comments and suggestions regarding what I should do. I ask you please to read my post and I would appreciate in advance your inputs.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/defeated-bom ... 13993.html

Thanks

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by desiguy » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:51 pm
D terman......

Thats the spirit and all the best. I am sure this time you should get through. Dont worry too much about the result....just keep focussed on teh content.

I'll start studing for my 3rd round soon !!

good luck