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I don't know where to even start.....570

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I don't know where to even start.....570

by transfer9858 » Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:33 pm
Hi everyone. I just got back from the testing center and I don't even know Here to begin.
I got a 570 41 quan 28 verbal.

Forget the fact that I scored so low, my lowest gmat prep score was a 630. The gmat prep a week before was a 670 I believe with a 48 quant and a 33 verbal. The lowest I ever got with quant was a 41 but that was like a month ago. The lowest I ever got on verbal was the 33 last week. I scored a 670 on the last 3 manhattan gmat tests and averaged a 650 on gmat prep. I know people sometimes get lower than expected and I said I would be fine for the first time if I got a 640 or somethin like that since I was so close to that but I mean how can I justify a 570 in any way ?

The quant- I want to say I got a string of bad cards but idk. The lowest I was scoring was really a 43 on mgmat. I got like 2 probability and 1 combinations question- stuff I'm not good at. Also found very weird stuff a lot diff from the gmat prep. I want to say I had a bad day but a bad day can't explain for such a big discrepancy...
I now know that there's no way I can apply to hbs 2+2 by this summer and have already put in 3 moths of full time study.

The verbal I have no clue what happened. I was able to tell by the sc that I as getting that I was doing terribly. I never got lower than a 33 which was my lowest mark. I started out on my diagnostic with a 35 verbal... Idk what went wrong.

I'm still really shocked. Not sure what to do at this point.
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by LIL » Sat May 05, 2012 3:23 am
Quick question -- you say that your "lowest gmat prep score was a 630." How many times did you go through GMAT Prep? If it was more than once (as in, you took each of the two tests only once), your score was likely artificially inflated since you probably saw certain problems multiple times.
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by pemdas » Sat May 05, 2012 12:18 pm
I would only repeat LIL's query about multiple retakes of GMAT Prep.
As for the next retake strategy, I would see more opportunities on your side in progressing your skill level on the following topics in the order given: counting, combination, permutation, probability, restricted permutations and complex probabilities. By answering to one or more questions from your presently weak domains you could increase your math scaled score by 3-4 points. The verbal section - concentrate on the Official Guide exclusively for the RC stuff; no other sources make the questions correctly suited per passages. CR section - practice assiduously by decoding the argument's structure and applying the negation test and elimination strategy for the weaken/strengthen and other types of questions accordingly. SC - stick to MGMAT strategy guide tips literally, i.e. letter by letter.

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by gmat_and_me » Sat May 05, 2012 7:44 pm
Hello,

There can be multiple ways to look at this score, but the most productive one
will be to understand that the breakup of your score presents a scope for lot
of improvement. A 46 in quant and above 36 in verbal should be achievable, given
sufficient time (please do not think that I'm estimating your score. It is
the base you should start with).

I know that I know neither your background nor your verbal/quant proficiency,
but I'm of the belief that if you do your work right, you can achieve your dream
score (whatever that might be).

Pick yourself up. Analyze your mistakes and weakness first and you will know what
to do.

HTH
transfer9858 wrote:Hi everyone. I just got back from the testing center and I don't even know Here to begin.
I got a 570 41 quan 28 verbal.

Forget the fact that I scored so low, my lowest gmat prep score was a 630. The gmat prep a week before was a 670 I believe with a 48 quant and a 33 verbal. The lowest I ever got with quant was a 41 but that was like a month ago. The lowest I ever got on verbal was the 33 last week. I scored a 670 on the last 3 manhattan gmat tests and averaged a 650 on gmat prep. I know people sometimes get lower than expected and I said I would be fine for the first time if I got a 640 or somethin like that since I was so close to that but I mean how can I justify a 570 in any way ?

The quant- I want to say I got a string of bad cards but idk. The lowest I was scoring was really a 43 on mgmat. I got like 2 probability and 1 combinations question- stuff I'm not good at. Also found very weird stuff a lot diff from the gmat prep. I want to say I had a bad day but a bad day can't explain for such a big discrepancy...
I now know that there's no way I can apply to hbs 2+2 by this summer and have already put in 3 moths of full time study.

The verbal I have no clue what happened. I was able to tell by the sc that I as getting that I was doing terribly. I never got lower than a 33 which was my lowest mark. I started out on my diagnostic with a 35 verbal... Idk what went wrong.

I'm still really shocked. Not sure what to do at this point.
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by transfer9858 » Sun May 06, 2012 12:27 pm
Thanks for the tips...

I did take the gmat prep a couple of times but the 630 was the lowest... I am not sure what happened and hoping I just had a bad day. I know verbal I underestimated so that is my main concentration now. Since the test, I have been studying and my scores, taken once a week have been the following


Mmgat1- 700 47 38

Mgmat 2 -710 47 40

PowerPrep-660- 47 35. I only got 7 wrong here in math and 11 wrong in the verbal. I feel like this score is deflated for some reason by a little.

Tomorrow I am going to take the first Gmat Prep since before my last official test. My next test is May 24th.

I know I am capable of at least a 47 in Quant- On the test day, I knew quant wasn't going well. I think I just had a bad set of questions thats focused on my weaknesses along with bad timing which really can explain the 41. The verbal is unacceptable though. So my main focus has been improving speed and accuracy of SC, so I'll be able to spend more time on the RC. CR is not a problem. I might get one or 2 wrong because the wording is difficult but this is my best section. RC and SC I just make a few mistakes here and there and it always ends up being a lot. Trying to cut these mistakes down to a soid 8 wrong. I am hoping to get a 47 on the test and a 38 verbal to get that 700.

As for my weak areas in quant- going into the last test I didn't know how to do basic combinations or sequences- I had a total of 2 or 3 on my test. I have been focusing on these and am very comfortable with them now.
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by gmat_and_me » Sun May 06, 2012 5:41 pm
I have a feeling that you are rushing things here. You need to ask yourself
whether the next GMAT test day presents enough time to work on your areas
of weakness and strengthen them. If you think that time is enough, then OK.
Otherwise you probably should draw up a plan before selecting next test day.

While it must be OK to have multiple attempts, it is better if you get to
your score with as many minimal attempts as possible.

Another point that I would like to make here is about covering all the areas
(including probability/permutation/combination). Simple problems can come
from all the areas and you will not be served well if you miss out on those.
My suggestion will be to get to a level where you can solve at least simple
problems from these areas (and that requires some effort and time...).


Just my 2 cents.

All the best.

HTH
transfer9858 wrote:Thanks for the tips...

I did take the gmat prep a couple of times but the 630 was the lowest... I am not sure what happened and hoping I just had a bad day. I know verbal I underestimated so that is my main concentration now. Since the test, I have been studying and my scores, taken once a week have been the following


Mmgat1- 700 47 38

Mgmat 2 -710 47 40

PowerPrep-660- 47 35. I only got 7 wrong here in math and 11 wrong in the verbal. I feel like this score is deflated for some reason by a little.

Tomorrow I am going to take the first Gmat Prep since before my last official test. My next test is May 24th.

I know I am capable of at least a 47 in Quant- On the test day, I knew quant wasn't going well. I think I just had a bad set of questions thats focused on my weaknesses along with bad timing which really can explain the 41. The verbal is unacceptable though. So my main focus has been improving speed and accuracy of SC, so I'll be able to spend more time on the RC. CR is not a problem. I might get one or 2 wrong because the wording is difficult but this is my best section. RC and SC I just make a few mistakes here and there and it always ends up being a lot. Trying to cut these mistakes down to a soid 8 wrong. I am hoping to get a 47 on the test and a 38 verbal to get that 700.

As for my weak areas in quant- going into the last test I didn't know how to do basic combinations or sequences- I had a total of 2 or 3 on my test. I have been focusing on these and am very comfortable with them now.
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by transfer9858 » Mon May 07, 2012 6:13 am
^ Ya so I have covered the basics of those now and am very comfortable with them. I have scored a 47 on the last 3 practice tests and feel I have more or less reached my limit with quant. Yes if I spent another 2 or 3 months I am sure maybe I can bring it up a point or two but you also have to be realistic. I'm not going to get a 50 or 51 and I'm fine with that. The problem is verbal. It isin't one area that seems to be getting me down. I seem to always get a couple wrong in each section. For example, If i get a very hard economics passage those usually give me a lot of trouble. I don't think I am rushing at all by taking the test since. I feel spreading it out has helped material to sink in and become second nature. I am hoping with practice I will be able to get the verbal mistakes down to 5-8 range as opposed to 9-14 which is where I was at during my last test.
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by pemdas » Mon May 07, 2012 2:15 pm
@transfer, as far as your main concern is the verbal section and you neglect the other fellows' advices, although sincere and useful ones, to analyze the stuff by repeating basics, be it known to you that no practice will make any betterment in the verbal either ...

Reading comprehension or Critical reasoning parts of the test you face, i.e. GMAT will require your change in thinking way. E.g., if your frequent mistakes are related to the inference type of questions and/or you answer correctly the detail questions, have good accuracy in the main idea questions, then something needs to be improved with your thinking over pieces of information you absorb while reading.

Inference is a guess, but guess based on the evidence. The evidence will be words that mean certain events described in passage. To understand what events are talked about you need to recognize words and be familiar with their core meaning. You don't need to create events in your brain or rely on your feelings, experiences - you need to read words and get the events talked by author. Then like in Critical reasoning section you have to test (apply negation test) the introduced inference answer choices and match each choice with the paragraph(s) or statement(s) contained in passage to see possibility of any contradiction(s) between the facts (words) and inference choice (correct one- you want to pick) proposed. Let's call the inference just CONCLUSION and work with this further.

Strategy for tackling main idea question types is described in MGMAT RC guide too. You have to read for the "big picture" and catch essence of the passage.

The detail question types are the easiest ones , because the answers will be the same restated expressions found in passage you read.

Success in Critical reasoning is dependent on your ability to absorb the literal meaning of words in arguments judiciously. The same strategy as with Reading comprehension, plus you can apply reasoning and logical tests and use pivotal words, decode the argument structure (my views are partly shared in the previous post)

gl
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by transfer9858 » Tue May 08, 2012 6:01 am
^ Great advice but I said I don't have trouble with CR or RC?
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by Jim@StratusPrep » Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:55 pm
I think the last comment is an important one for all GMAT test takers to think about... If you are scoring low, but you don't feel that you have to improve in certain areas, you probably are not assessing your skills properly. Best thing you can do is swallow your pride when taking this exam.
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