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Need Advice got only 390 (Q35 and V12)

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Need Advice got only 390 (Q35 and V12)

by Aanandaraman » Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:07 pm
Hi Guys,

I need your advise, I got my AWA score as 5 but my verbal score is below par. When i take practice test i score around 20 -25 in verbal and 40+ in quants. I wrote my exam thinking i will get a score range of above 600 but i ended up with 390 :( :( :( I really wanna give it another shot and score more. I reviewed my verbal practice test scores and i have gone wrong in sentence correction and CR. RC if i understand the passage to an extent i getting all the answers right. Advise me on how to score more in verbal.

Thanks & Regards,
Aanand
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by [email protected] » Wed Nov 20, 2013 1:23 am
Hi aanandaraman,

That type of drop in Score and Score Range usually means that you're "guessing" more often than you should be (you might also be going straight to the answers without predicting what the correct answer is). There might have also been some inconsistency in how you practiced.

If you can answer a few questions, then I'll be happy to offer some suggestions:

1) What materials did you use to study/practice?
2) What were your practice CAT scores? Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (or did you skip the Essay and/or IR sections)?
3) You said that you thought you could score above 600, but is that your goal? Or is your goal something else?
4) What school(s) are you planning to apply to?

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by Aanandaraman » Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:49 pm
Hi Rich,

Answering to your questions.

1) I studied my course materials given from my GMAT courses and practised Manhattan test.

2) I wrote my entire course. Every time i complete in verbal section i will have 10-15 min left.

3) I wanted to a get a score of 700+ to get into a well reputed institute with a scholarship.

4) I am planning to apply for schools in Asia region to be more specific i want to get into NUS.

Yeah you are write i might guess answers on few occasions and not sure of the answer. I know the score i got is the shocker and i wanna take my exam again within December 25th so that i can apply before the deadline. I know that if i concentrate hard i can score much better all i want is a better guidance or even may be a right guidance to achieve that score.

Thanks & Regards,
Aanand
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by [email protected] » Wed Nov 20, 2013 11:28 pm
Hi aanandaraman,

If you could answer a few more questions, then that would be helpful:

1) What were your scores on EACH of your practice CAT tests (please include the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
2) Did you write the Essay and do the IR section on EVERY CAT test?
3) Can you push your GMAT back (after December 25th) if needed?

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by Aanandaraman » Fri Nov 22, 2013 9:51 am
Hi Rich,

Yes i can push it back till Dec 25th but not more than that :( as my application deadline ends by Dec31st.

Answering to your question below: I wrote 4 practice test 2 from manhattan and 2 from GMAT prep.

Manhattan 1 -> Q 30 and V 25

Manhattan 2 -> Q 35 and V 20

GMAT Prep 1 -> Q 40 and V 25

GMAT prep 2 -> Q 35 and V 30

I wrote my Essay question and did not write IR section.

Thanks & Regards,
Aanand
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by [email protected] » Fri Nov 22, 2013 4:51 pm
Hi Aanand,

Your practice Test Scores seem to fluctuate, which means its going to be tough to isolate your specific problems. Here are some points worth noting:

1) Skipping the IR section creates an unrealistic practice Test scenario. Those score results don't accurately indicate your ability because you didn't take the entire test, so you didn't have to deal with being tired nor did you have to deal with that fatigue at the END of the Test (when you're in the middle of the Verbal section).

2) Your Quant and Verbal Scores seem to "swing", which means that you're not consistent in HOW you answer questions. This likely means that you're doing too much work "in your head" and not taking enough notes. While you're probably decent at most "math" questions, you're missing too many (and likely a lot of DS questions) and you're "guessing" too much on the Verbal section.

3) The only score that you have that accurately measures how you perform on the ENTIRE GMAT is the 390. We need another full-length score to measure your ability. If you can take another practice CAT sometime soon and post your results, THOSE scores will provide some much needed information on what you should focus on.

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by Aanandaraman » Sat Nov 23, 2013 4:29 am
Hi Rich,

I have noted the points you mentioned. I will take a full length test including IR and Essay and will post my score in a week.

Please advise on how to approach verbal section and DS problems.

Thanks & Regards,
Aanand
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by VivianKerr » Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:10 pm
Hi Aanand,

I think there's 3 major things you need to do to move forward with your Verbal (I actually don't suggest another PT at this time):

1) Know your weaknesses. Do you know which type of Sentence Correction concepts you get wrong the most often? What about RC passages you tend to miss? What CR question-type is your strongest? weakest? I'd suggest keeping an Error Log -- go back and review your incorrect questions, adding them to an Excel spreadsheet so you can get a great overview of what you're getting wrong, why you're missing them, and what your next steps should be.

2) Get specific with your strategies. Do you know how to tackle completely underlined Sentence Correction? HOW are you adjusting your strategy based on the type of CR question you're looking at? What do you write down on your scratch pad as you read RC to help you make predictions and gain high accuracy? My guess is you really don't have strong, effective strategies --- this is what really separates the 700+ test-taker. KNOWING the exam, but also KNOWING how to rock its specifics.

3) Start making predictions for CR and RC. This is the most important thing you could be doing for yourself -- coming up with your own idea for what the correct answer should be and writing it down on your yellow scratch pad BEFORE reading through the answer choices. You've got to trust that you understand the argument or passage enough to instinctively know what should be the correct answer. Don't worry about making it perfect - just get something down on paper! If you only think of your prediction but don't write it down, you risk forgetting it or twisting it to fit the answer choices.

Good luck!
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