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Stuck around 600... How can I improve that??? I need 700+

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Stuck around 600... How can I improve that??? I need 700+

by niddy » Sun Nov 23, 2014 6:27 am
Hello everyone!

I've started studying on April this year, but since a month ago could not put much effort on it (I was still finishing a graduate course and had a long paper to write).

Since then, I guess I improved considerably. I only used The Princeton Review book and CATs.
My first CAT I took without knowing anything about the test and in my country we are not used to standardized tests, so I guess I improved more just getting used to the way the test must be taken.

Here are my scores:

1 - 480 - AWA: 1; IR: 1; Quant: 29; Verb: 28
2 - 600 - AWA: 3; IR: 2; Quant: 39; Verb: 34
3 - 520 - AWA: 4; IR: 4; Quant: 35; Verb: 27 (I was just too tired this day, specially on the verbal section)
4 - 590 - AWA: n/a; IR: 3; Quant: 38; Verb: 33

I know I have a problem with time. Sometimes I see a question I know how to solve, but it takes to much time. I know I have to learn how to let it go and guess. Mostly I have no time at the end and guess around 5,4 questions.

I've read the Princeton book entirely twice and I feel like I know how to solve most of the questions.
I guess I need to get some advanced material on Math, specially on Combinations, permutations, inequalities, exponents and properties of intergers.
On the Verbal I need to improve time (I keep rereading the questions I find too easy because I don't feel confident yet about my skills) and I need study Idioms (most on my mistakes are on that and Long Passages).

Should I get more books? Where can I find some advanced material?
Should I get a tutor?

I was thinking about getting the Veritas Prep material and the MGMAT. What do you suggest???

Thank you very much!!!
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by [email protected] » Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:22 am
Hi niddy,

Have you taken any of the CATs from mba.com? They're the Official CATs and I'd be curious to see how you perform on one (make sure to take the entire CAT, including the Essay and IR sections). You've made some nice progress so far, but it looks like your scores are starting to "level off." Since you admit to having already used your current study material more than once, you're going to need some new materials and new tactics to help you improve.

If you haven't done so yet, then you should plan to do a full question-by-question review of this last CAT. Make a list of every question that you got wrong and WHY you got them wrong. I bet you'll find that the biggest issue is silly/little mistakes (and not "hard" questions). You really have to fix those little mistakes before you worry too much about advanced material. Pacing problems are usually due to some other issue (e.g. how you approach questions, whether you take notes or not, etc.). You should also take a good look at any question that took you too long to answer and try to figure out WHY it took so long.

Additional books may or may not be the solution to your problem. The 700+ score is the 90th percentile, meaning that 90% of Test Takers CAN'T or WON'T do what it takes to score at that level. Heavy book-study is rarely enough to help someone score 700+. As such, you might need to invest in some online materials to help you score at a higher level.

1) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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Rich
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by BestGMATEliza » Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:21 pm
First of all, congrats on your progress so far! I would definitely recommend that you look into getting more strategy and content books. There are A LOT of quant rules to memorize and usually they can't all be covered in one book. I think both the Veritas and MGMAT strategy guides are good for this. Some places for advanced material include, Kaplan 800 and MGMAT advance quant, however, I would recommend waiting until you finish with the other strategy guides to work on those.
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by niddy » Mon Nov 24, 2014 4:37 am
Thank you, Rich!

I have not taken any CAT from MBA.com, but it is my next step this week.
I've already reviewed the CATs (except the last one) and you are right! Mostly I make some silly mistakes or use the wrong approach, taking me too long...

Yesterday I started reading the Quant Review book from GMAC and already found some new shortcuts and strategies (almost finished the lessons, but didn't reach the practice section). They were not available on the Princeton book.

I guess in my country we are used to different strategies at Math problems, some of them work better and some I have to abandon... Still learning which ones... :(

About your 2 last questions:

1) I plan on taking the GMAT by the end of January or February.
2) Planning to apply next year. My first deadline will be around the end of August. The most important (my first choice school) Round 1 deadline will be around October.

Thank u very much!
Niddy
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by niddy » Mon Nov 24, 2014 4:47 am
BestGMATEliza wrote:First of all, congrats on your progress so far! I would definitely recommend that you look into getting more strategy and content books. There are A LOT of quant rules to memorize and usually they can't all be covered in one book. I think both the Veritas and MGMAT strategy guides are good for this. Some places for advanced material include, Kaplan 800 and MGMAT advance quant, however, I would recommend waiting until you finish with the other strategy guides to work on those.
Eliza,
I've started reading the Quant Review book from GMAC yesterday (because it was easier to buy the e-book) and you are right: already found some very useful new strategies that are not covered by the Princeton book!!! I'm relieved by that!
I guess I'll read all the Official material from GMAC before getting any advanced material!

Thank you very much, Eliza!

Niddy
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by manyaabroadtpr » Mon Nov 24, 2014 5:38 am
niddy wrote:Hello everyone!

I've started studying on April this year, but since a month ago could not put much effort on it (I was still finishing a graduate course and had a long paper to write).

Since then, I guess I improved considerably. I only used The Princeton Review book and CATs.
My first CAT I took without knowing anything about the test and in my country we are not used to standardized tests, so I guess I improved more just getting used to the way the test must be taken.

Here are my scores:

1 - 480 - AWA: 1; IR: 1; Quant: 29; Verb: 28
2 - 600 - AWA: 3; IR: 2; Quant: 39; Verb: 34
3 - 520 - AWA: 4; IR: 4; Quant: 35; Verb: 27 (I was just too tired this day, specially on the verbal section)
4 - 590 - AWA: n/a; IR: 3; Quant: 38; Verb: 33

I know I have a problem with time. Sometimes I see a question I know how to solve, but it takes to much time. I know I have to learn how to let it go and guess. Mostly I have no time at the end and guess around 5,4 questions.

I've read the Princeton book entirely twice and I feel like I know how to solve most of the questions.
I guess I need to get some advanced material on Math, specially on Combinations, permutations, inequalities, exponents and properties of intergers.
On the Verbal I need to improve time (I keep rereading the questions I find too easy because I don't feel confident yet about my skills) and I need study Idioms (most on my mistakes are on that and Long Passages).

Should I get more books? Where can I find some advanced material?
Should I get a tutor?

I was thinking about getting the Veritas Prep material and the MGMAT. What do you suggest???

Thank you very much!!!
Hi,

You may or may not go for additional study material. However, what you must do is take as many CATs or mock tests as possible. Now, remember one thing. In GMAT preparation, more than taking a test, it is important how you analyze your performance in the same. Typically, if you spend 2 hours taking a test, spend at least 4-5 hours in analyzing it. Go through each and every question and try to identify better, smarter and a faster way to do it. Make a note of all the points and make sure you apply the same in the next test. If you do this consistently, you will see your score going up.

Also, here's something that you can try to improve your timing. Time your mock test for 2 hours. Spend 4-5 in analyzing it. After 2 days, take the same test again and now time it for only 1 hours. What we are trying to say is try to finish the same test in 1 hour. See, if you can challenge yourself to finish the same test after a few days in 45 mins. Try this for next few mock tests and if done well, we are sure this will improve your timing considerably.

Hope this helps. If there's anything specific, please do let us know and we would be happy to help. Wish you all the best.

#gmat coaching - www.manyagroup.com
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by [email protected] » Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:13 am
Hi Niddy,

With a Test Date in January/February, you still have plenty of time to continue studying - and since your applications aren't due until some time later, you have some room to reschedule if needed. If you can take an Official CAT sometime in the next week or so, then those scores will give us a much better sense of whether you're still improving or if you've plateau-ed.

In your review, you've recognized that silly mistakes are costing you a lot of points. Try focusing a bit more on the dealing with those issues (take more notes, label your work, don't do anything in your head, etc.) and your scores should improve.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by niddy » Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:01 am
manyaabroadtpr wrote:
niddy wrote:Hello everyone!

I've started studying on April this year, but since a month ago could not put much effort on it (I was still finishing a graduate course and had a long paper to write).

Since then, I guess I improved considerably. I only used The Princeton Review book and CATs.
My first CAT I took without knowing anything about the test and in my country we are not used to standardized tests, so I guess I improved more just getting used to the way the test must be taken.

Here are my scores:

1 - 480 - AWA: 1; IR: 1; Quant: 29; Verb: 28
2 - 600 - AWA: 3; IR: 2; Quant: 39; Verb: 34
3 - 520 - AWA: 4; IR: 4; Quant: 35; Verb: 27 (I was just too tired this day, specially on the verbal section)
4 - 590 - AWA: n/a; IR: 3; Quant: 38; Verb: 33

I know I have a problem with time. Sometimes I see a question I know how to solve, but it takes to much time. I know I have to learn how to let it go and guess. Mostly I have no time at the end and guess around 5,4 questions.

I've read the Princeton book entirely twice and I feel like I know how to solve most of the questions.
I guess I need to get some advanced material on Math, specially on Combinations, permutations, inequalities, exponents and properties of intergers.
On the Verbal I need to improve time (I keep rereading the questions I find too easy because I don't feel confident yet about my skills) and I need study Idioms (most on my mistakes are on that and Long Passages).

Should I get more books? Where can I find some advanced material?
Should I get a tutor?

I was thinking about getting the Veritas Prep material and the MGMAT. What do you suggest???

Thank you very much!!!
Hi,

You may or may not go for additional study material. However, what you must do is take as many CATs or mock tests as possible. Now, remember one thing. In GMAT preparation, more than taking a test, it is important how you analyze your performance in the same. Typically, if you spend 2 hours taking a test, spend at least 4-5 hours in analyzing it. Go through each and every question and try to identify better, smarter and a faster way to do it. Make a note of all the points and make sure you apply the same in the next test. If you do this consistently, you will see your score going up.

Also, here's something that you can try to improve your timing. Time your mock test for 2 hours. Spend 4-5 in analyzing it. After 2 days, take the same test again and now time it for only 1 hours. What we are trying to say is try to finish the same test in 1 hour. See, if you can challenge yourself to finish the same test after a few days in 45 mins. Try this for next few mock tests and if done well, we are sure this will improve your timing considerably.

Hope this helps. If there's anything specific, please do let us know and we would be happy to help. Wish you all the best.

#gmat coaching - www.manyagroup.com
I guess that sounds a good strategy for improving time. I think I saw a good resource with alarms on each question when I was starting my studies, but I cannot remember where. I found it was not good to apply this method in the beginning, but now would be great.
Do you know any resource like that to recommend?


Thank u a lot!
niddy
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by [email protected] » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:42 am
Hi niddy,

You have to be careful with that type of thinking. Many Test Takers believe that they should answer each Quant question in under 2 minutes (since there are 37 questions in 75 minutes and the average is about 2 mins/question). But certain questions actually require 3 minutes to solve and others can be solved in under 1 minute. Your goal should be more about efficiency - on each question, what can you DO to be better organized, to not have to reread the prompt over and over, to do whatever math is required in a faster way, etc.

Another thing to consider is that most GMAT questions can be approached in a variety of ways - it could be that "your way" of approaching the question is the "long way", so practicing other tactics might be what you need to focus on to fix your pacing problem.

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by niddy » Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:47 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi Niddy,

With a Test Date in January/February, you still have plenty of time to continue studying - and since your applications aren't due until some time later, you have some room to reschedule if needed. If you can take an Official CAT sometime in the next week or so, then those scores will give us a much better sense of whether you're still improving or if you've plateau-ed.

In your review, you've recognized that silly mistakes are costing you a lot of points. Try focusing a bit more on the dealing with those issues (take more notes, label your work, don't do anything in your head, etc.) and your scores should improve.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Hi, Rich!

I've just finished an Official CAT from MBA.com, I'm really stuck:600

This time I found much harder to pace!!!! Had to put any answer for the last 13 questions on the Quant!!! They were not educated guess, cause I didn't have time even for that and I just got one of them right.
I felt much better doing the Verbal this time. Strange, since I've been focusing on the Quant...

Scores were:
600 - IR 3 Quant: 35; Verbal: 38

And I do think I've written my best AWA so far, but was not scored...

I understand what you say about different amount of time for each question, because some of the questions I've been practicing I'm able to solve them in around 40 seconds, so that should leave more time to others.

What would you recommend me to work on the efficiency on Quant?
Since I have at least 3 months available for my prep, would you recommend taking more CATs, starting a strutured study through a course, finding a tutor or something else?

What would be a good material/resource to learn new tactics?

Thank u very, very, very much!!!
niddy
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by [email protected] » Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:26 pm
Hi niddy,

I've sent you a private message with some suggestions.

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by manyaabroadtpr » Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:36 pm
niddy wrote:
[email protected] wrote:Hi Niddy,

With a Test Date in January/February, you still have plenty of time to continue studying - and since your applications aren't due until some time later, you have some room to reschedule if needed. If you can take an Official CAT sometime in the next week or so, then those scores will give us a much better sense of whether you're still improving or if you've plateau-ed.

In your review, you've recognized that silly mistakes are costing you a lot of points. Try focusing a bit more on the dealing with those issues (take more notes, label your work, don't do anything in your head, etc.) and your scores should improve.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Hi, Rich!

I've just finished an Official CAT from MBA.com, I'm really stuck:600

This time I found much harder to pace!!!! Had to put any answer for the last 13 questions on the Quant!!! They were not educated guess, cause I didn't have time even for that and I just got one of them right.
I felt much better doing the Verbal this time. Strange, since I've been focusing on the Quant...

Scores were:
600 - IR 3 Quant: 35; Verbal: 38

And I do think I've written my best AWA so far, but was not scored...

I understand what you say about different amount of time for each question, because some of the questions I've been practicing I'm able to solve them in around 40 seconds, so that should leave more time to others.

What would you recommend me to work on the efficiency on Quant?
Since I have at least 3 months available for my prep, would you recommend taking more CATs, starting a strutured study through a course, finding a tutor or something else?

What would be a good material/resource to learn new tactics?

Thank u very, very, very much!!!
niddy
Hi Niddy,

Are you comfortable with all the basic concepts in quant. If you are not, then we would suggest you to identify the weaker areas and cover your basics. And if you are, then the best way to improve quant score is to practice as much as you can and never get tired of it. More than practicing, it is also important to constantly work at figuring out how to solve the same question better and faster. You should take a note of these points. We call this a strategy booklet and you should keep referring to it before every test. At your stage, the focus should not only be on understanding the question, basic concepts etc but also strategically, what is the best way to solve the same.

With 3 months more to go, you are on the right track. Don't burn out yourself, keep the focus intact and stay motivated.

You can consider either joining a coaching institute or finding a mentor/expert who can keep a check on how you are progressing and can keep advising you at all the stages.

Wish you the best for your gmat preparation and do keep us updated on your journey.
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by niddy » Thu Dec 11, 2014 5:33 am
Guys,

I have 2 questions about my GMAT study strategy.

1 - Should I keep taking regular CATs? I'm studying again the content with new tactics, and as I could see, it's still going to take me a month or so to cover everything (Quant & Verbal). I can feel improvement already, but should I keep taking full CATs weekly or just practice questions?
I find a bit strange to take a full CAT when in fact I've been studying only Quant and did nothing on the Verbal...

2 - I figured out I tend to make silly mistakes when I'm scratching the question at the end of the paper (when the sheet is ending). I never took the test, but I know we get a limited amount of scratch paper. Should I practice feeling more confident with the sheet ending or just go to the next sheet when it's finishing?

Thank u very much,
niddy
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by [email protected] » Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:51 am
Hi niddy,

Taking CATs at regular intervals is important (even if you have not mastered all of the material) because it's the only way to measure how well you handle everything within the context of the full Test. For example, you might be comfortable with all the various algebra subjects, but do you perform well after you've worked through the Essay and IR and as the algebra comes interspersed with other Quant categories. If you want to skip a CAT this week so that you can study more, then that's fine, but you should NOT avoid taking CATs for the reason you've described.

Most testing centers will give you a laminated series of pages and a marker to work with. At any point during your GMAT, you can ask for a new (clean) pad and the center staff will swap out the pad you were using with a fresh one. Some facilities outside of the US might still be using pencil and paper, but that tends to be a rarer situation. If you're curious about what materials your local center uses, then you should call and ask. If you think that you're running out of space on a sheet, then it would make sense to move to the next sheet (or the back of the sheet that you were on).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by niddy » Fri Dec 12, 2014 5:15 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi niddy,

Taking CATs at regular intervals is important (even if you have not mastered all of the material) because it's the only way to measure how well you handle everything within the context of the full Test. For example, you might be comfortable with all the various algebra subjects, but do you perform well after you've worked through the Essay and IR and as the algebra comes interspersed with other Quant categories. If you want to skip a CAT this week so that you can study more, then that's fine, but you should NOT avoid taking CATs for the reason you've described.

Most testing centers will give you a laminated series of pages and a marker to work with. At any point during your GMAT, you can ask for a new (clean) pad and the center staff will swap out the pad you were using with a fresh one. Some facilities outside of the US might still be using pencil and paper, but that tends to be a rarer situation. If you're curious about what materials your local center uses, then you should call and ask. If you think that you're running out of space on a sheet, then it would make sense to move to the next sheet (or the back of the sheet that you were on).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Thank you, Rich.

I've already skipped last week (also because I didn't have 4 consecutive hours to study).
This week I guess I'll take the first CAT I took (it was in April and I didn't do a proper review on it), so not to "waste" a new CAT.

I've called the testing center and they use the laminated ones here. I'm still trying to find where to buy those for practicing without paying a fortune on Amazon international shipping...

Thanks,
niddy
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