4th attempt after 7 months - expert help needed

[vkb16]

Hi,

I was just tromped by the GMAT experience from sept 2008 to nov 2009. Yes! One whole year.

1st - dec 2008 - 530 - gave it very underprepared, and bcoz my test fee was gone anyways
2nd - may 2009 - 600 - was under immense stress personally, and thought if I cant nail it this time, Im never gonna get into a good school ; was shattered at 600 after studying for 7 hrs a day for 4 months - DEFINITE BURNOUT! gave up almost!

Nov 2009 - 670 - under pressure of deadlines crossing and was very relaxed while giving it. Was very very mentally drained, and didnt have enough stamina. Started concentrating on apps, but couldnt apply anywhere eventually bcoz of mental drainout, and personal issues

June 2010 - spoke with a consultant - said 4th attempt is worth a shot - Im very, Very mentally solid this time, very happy in life!
Gave a GMATPrep - voila! 710! - Still got the touch since I got most new questions in Quant, although RC in Verbal was the same as before. But Im def at 670+ level

My qs is.. where should I pick up the pieces? My weaknesses were Tough SCs and CR in particular. I dunno whether I can go up a lot in Quant, but ideally, doing better in Verbal will boost my points a lot!

Thanks

[vkb16]

bump!

[dv2020]

Hi,
We are in same boat. Mine will be the 4th attempt as well...only difference is that I am taking the 4th shot after a really long time(Jan 2008 was the last one and was really bad I got a 620 before that had a 700 in Feb 2006 and a 640 in Oct 2005). So, I am starting pretty fresh.
For eg. I have enrolled to the BTG 60 day course. The cobwebs will be gone in a few days and then will immerse in some really serious preparation.
One thing i know for sure is not to believe in GMAT prep results too much(for us multi-attempters). Use it only for extracting as many new qs you can from the software.
Also, in my case I have used up Kaplan, Princeton, MGMAT tests in earlier attempts so I won t read too much into the results I get using these softwares. I am planning for Veritas prep's tests this time.

Lets beat GMAT together!!!!

Cheers
dv2020

[gmatpill]

Hi dv2020,
Looks like you're exhausting every practice question/material you can get your hands on. I'd caution on overdoing that. Extra practice questions always helps, but if you find yourself reaching a plateau---I don't believe doing even more questions will help you. Try to identify why you are answering questions wrong. How is your thinking process different from someone else's? Discovering where you can improve in your thought process is more important than just doing thousands of practice questions.
Would encourage you to reassess if you continue to get stuck. Good luck!
Zeke

[dv2020]

Thanks a lot Zeke!!!
Its a much needed advice.
I have exhausted the material over a very long period and currently I am like a beginner. This time my strategy is to only concentrate on concepts given in the OG and eliminate my mistakes smartly.
As for taking real time test practice I believe that I should not be answering any question from my memory, which had happened with me earlier and I used to get skewed results. That's why I want to practice (real time) with a software I had never used earlier.
Please keep more advice coming. Will need a lot of that.
Cheers
dv2020

[vkb16]

lets do it dv2020!

[dv2020]

So buddy,
How are you going about it??
When are you planning to take the test??
All the best!!!
dv2020

[vkb16]

hmmm.... im gonna brush of the basics in 10 days, then do the OGs. 2-3 practice tests from MGMAT and GmatPrep every week. Should be enough.. aiming for august end...

Planning to take a few mgmat online classes, but still contemplating...