I have been studying since mid-February, and haven't seen any improvement in my GMAT practice scores at all. I read up the PowerScore CR Bible and MGMAT SC, and completely and reviewed all the problems in OG 12, OG Quant, and OG Verbal. I hired a tutor to help me in the verbal, especially for CR and RC. I tried out a couple of math tutors, too, but none are good nor available. Actually, I consider math my strength, at least better than verbal.
My routine? I do 20 problems from each question type one day, then spend the next day or two reviewing all the problems. When I review, I make sure I understand the explanation. If I don't, I either go on this forum or google it.
My scores are:
(2/21/2010) Kaplan Non-CAT: 560 (Q36, V34)
(3/--/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 460
(4/19/2010) Manhattan CAT: 600 (Q44, V30)
(7/4/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 600 (Q45, V27)
(7/5/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 570 (Q42, V27)
A few things I noted:
1) Unlike the pacing on the earlier tests, in which I ran out of time, the pacing on the last two tests were better. By the time I reach the second to the last problem, I had about 6 minutes left, so I was able to spend more time on the last two.
2) I thought I understand the math problems better than I did in the beginning of this whole journey. For some reason, however, I still run into the same problem; I get the problems wrong the fist time, then correct the second time without reviewing the answers first.
3) Because I was weaker in CR and RC in the verbal section, I concentrated more on CR and RC, and improved my understanding of the passages in those questions, but again, time got the better of me on the test, and any progress seems to have gone down the drain.
4) Because I did concentrate on CR and RC, I forgot some of the SC grammar rules that I studied in the beginning. I studied SC less than the others. I did complete all the SC questions in the OG 12 and OG Verbal though.
What will I be doing here on out? Well, I'm taking the real GMAT on Wednesday, July 7th, but I plan on taking a second one anyway, this one will be more like a pre-GMAT just to get the feel and experience. The second one is planned for September. After this first test, I plan on reviewing and studying up on the SC again but more thoroughly. As for the math, the plan is to redo all the problems again in OG 12 and OG Quant accompanied with GMATFix OG Companion. And finally, take at least two practice tests a week.
Other than that, I don't know what else to do. If all this doesn't work, I may have to apply to a 2nd or 3rd-tier school, which sucks because I'm aiming for UCLA.
Any suggestions?
Cin
My routine? I do 20 problems from each question type one day, then spend the next day or two reviewing all the problems. When I review, I make sure I understand the explanation. If I don't, I either go on this forum or google it.
My scores are:
(2/21/2010) Kaplan Non-CAT: 560 (Q36, V34)
(3/--/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 460
(4/19/2010) Manhattan CAT: 600 (Q44, V30)
(7/4/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 600 (Q45, V27)
(7/5/2010) GMATPrep CAT: 570 (Q42, V27)
A few things I noted:
1) Unlike the pacing on the earlier tests, in which I ran out of time, the pacing on the last two tests were better. By the time I reach the second to the last problem, I had about 6 minutes left, so I was able to spend more time on the last two.
2) I thought I understand the math problems better than I did in the beginning of this whole journey. For some reason, however, I still run into the same problem; I get the problems wrong the fist time, then correct the second time without reviewing the answers first.
3) Because I was weaker in CR and RC in the verbal section, I concentrated more on CR and RC, and improved my understanding of the passages in those questions, but again, time got the better of me on the test, and any progress seems to have gone down the drain.
4) Because I did concentrate on CR and RC, I forgot some of the SC grammar rules that I studied in the beginning. I studied SC less than the others. I did complete all the SC questions in the OG 12 and OG Verbal though.
What will I be doing here on out? Well, I'm taking the real GMAT on Wednesday, July 7th, but I plan on taking a second one anyway, this one will be more like a pre-GMAT just to get the feel and experience. The second one is planned for September. After this first test, I plan on reviewing and studying up on the SC again but more thoroughly. As for the math, the plan is to redo all the problems again in OG 12 and OG Quant accompanied with GMATFix OG Companion. And finally, take at least two practice tests a week.
Other than that, I don't know what else to do. If all this doesn't work, I may have to apply to a 2nd or 3rd-tier school, which sucks because I'm aiming for UCLA.
Any suggestions?
Cin
