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370, 420, 500, 480 - Scores after a month of preps :-(

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370, 420, 500, 480 - Scores after a month of preps :-(

by devajyothi2000 » Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:49 am
Hello beat-the-gmatters,
Very very depressed after scoring such lousy marks. Need help from you all.

My test scores are as follows:-
Kap Diagnostic : Q13, V1, 370 on July, 2008
Barron's CAT : Q25, V9, 420 on 27-JUL-08
Kap Paper Test : Q34, V16, 420 on 15-AUG-08
GMAT Prep 1 : Q31, V25, 480 on 17-AUG-08

My prep material includes:-
1. Kap Premier 2008
2. Kap Math WB
3. OG11
4. MGMAT SC
5. Kap 800

My prep effort:-
1. Weekdays - 2 hrs Max
2. Weekend (that is just sunday for me) - 6 hrs Max

I did SW on my tests with these results:-
1. Quant Weaknesses - work pb, rate pb, probability, mixture pb, std. deviation pb.
2. Verbal Weaknesses - RC (12-14 mins per RC, though i almost get all questions right), CR (More or less okay), SC (Extremely weak)

I'm an IT guy (so profile wise very common) so in order to crack through good univ I need to get atleast 720 types. Please help me out.

Regards,
DJ.
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by mayonnai5e » Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:48 am
I cannot provide much advice at this point because you have not given us very much information about your study plan. However, scores in the 400s suggests that there are fundamental basics that you are not sufficient in and/or you have a big problem with timing.

At that level, I suggest working through the Kaplan 2008, Kaplan Math WB (and maybe get the Kaplan Verbal WB as well) and also the MGMAT SC book. Do not go into the Kaplan 800 and OG11 material just yet as they are probably too advanced. If you want to use the OG11, study just the first 50 problems of each section (the easy questions). I suggest using the MGMAT cats, which you get with your SC book and maybe buying the PR Crack The GMAT book, which will give you access to the PR cats as well. Stop using the Kaplan cats because they are not very good. The PR book is also a very good basics book.

Essentially, my suggestion is to curb your ambition right now and take it slow with the basics/fundamentals. You cannot hit 700 if you cannot get every single 400+ question right and every single 500+ question right.

Also, when studying the fundamentals you do not need to time yourself yet. When you have mastered the basics then you should start timing yourself on practice. When you start scoring in the mid/upper-500s on your practice cats, you should be in the medium difficulty range.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-blog-erro ... t4899.html
550 =\ ...560 =\... 650 =) ...570 =( ...540 =*( ...680 =P ... 670 =T ...=T... 650 =T ...700 =) ..690 =) ...710 =D ...GMAT 720 DING!! ;D

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Re: 370, 420, 500, 480 - Scores after a month of preps :-(

by devajyothi2000 » Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:48 pm
Thanx a lot mayonnai5e.

True, I'm also feeling the same. Somewhere the fundamentals is not in place and I have big time problem with timings. Whenever I see that clock ticking, I try to speed up and get almost all answers wrong. Somehow, I panic a lot in timed situations.

I had been doing good in my Kap 2008 questions and OG11 questions (First 50 completed). But after those exams, my confidence level have gone down tremendously.

I have scheduled myself for Oct 15th. Please suggest how to go about it.

Regards,
DJ.
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by mayonnai5e » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:54 am
You need to take it one step at a time especially if you are having problems with timing. Start with just learning the basics, as I have recommended, then progress to medium difficulty questions under timed conditions. Time yourself one problem at a time initially (2 minutes each) just to get a feel for what 2 minutes feels like under pressure. After doing dozens of these 2 minute tests of each topical area, expand it to 10 minute sets (of 5 questions) then 20 minute sets (of 10 questions). This exercise will help you set your internal clock.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-blog-erro ... t4899.html
550 =\ ...560 =\... 650 =) ...570 =( ...540 =*( ...680 =P ... 670 =T ...=T... 650 =T ...700 =) ..690 =) ...710 =D ...GMAT 720 DING!! ;D

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Thanx a lot

by devajyothi2000 » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:08 pm
mayonnai5e wrote:You need to take it one step at a time especially if you are having problems with timing. Start with just learning the basics, as I have recommended, then progress to medium difficulty questions under timed conditions. Time yourself one problem at a time initially (2 minutes each) just to get a feel for what 2 minutes feels like under pressure. After doing dozens of these 2 minute tests of each topical area, expand it to 10 minute sets (of 5 questions) then 20 minute sets (of 10 questions). This exercise will help you set your internal clock.
Thanx a lot friend. I have to focus myself on the basics. Will be starting my OG11 under 2 mins strategy from today. Will update you soon.
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by VP_Jim » Mon Aug 18, 2008 7:47 pm
To be honest, you should be encouraged. You've gone up over 100 points in one month - I've been teaching prep courses for three years and it's a rare student who goes up that much in that short of a time. So, good work!

As stated above, my experience with students scoring in the 400s is that they lack fundamental skills. My advice is to take some time away from the GMAT and concentrate on getting better at basic math. Buy yourself a NON-GMAT math workbook to practice.

Good luck!
Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep
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