Advice needed , please

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the nona: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 53; Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:20 pmFollowed by: 2 members

by the nona » Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:15 pm

I took the gmat just today , the 13th and was shocked by a 540 despite I aimed at a minimum of 650 - 700 and studied for 3 months . Intending to retake after 4-6 weeks , I am in urgent need of your valued advice . What shall I do ? I have to mention that I identify and categorize 80-90% of the questions I see , and for most of them (saying 70-80 %) I can strategize the required approach.

Thanks

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:15 pm

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Tommy Wallach: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 451; Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:58 amFollowed by: 120 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 188 times; GMAT Score:770

by Tommy Wallach » Wed Feb 13, 2013 7:40 pm

Hey Nona,

Had you taken practice tests? The amount of study is slightly irrelevant if you never took any practice tests (so you don't know where you started). Also, you say you studied for 3 months, but studying for 3 months without taking any practice tests is a very bad idea.

Of course, it's possible you did take practice tests, but then I'm not sure why you were shocked by the 540 (you didn't say in your posting that you'd been scoring above that in your practice tests).

All that being said, it isn't possible to correctly identify 90% of questions, and know the strategy for 80%, and still get a 540. It could be that you're incorrectly strategizing, in which case that's something you could focus on.

If you have a practice test with MGMAT, I could look at it and give more specific advice. Taking a first test on our site is free, so maybe do that, then let me know (you can give me your full name by PM, if you'd like, though I'll post my thoughts as part of this thread).

Good luck!

-t

Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT

If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!

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the nona: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 53; Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:20 pmFollowed by: 2 members

by the nona » Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:21 am

Tommy Wallach wrote:Hey Nona,

Had you taken practice tests? The amount of study is slightly irrelevant if you never took any practice tests (so you don't know where you started). Also, you say you studied for 3 months, but studying for 3 months without taking any practice tests is a very bad idea.

Of course, it's possible you did take practice tests, but then I'm not sure why you were shocked by the 540 (you didn't say in your posting that you'd been scoring above that in your practice tests).

All that being said, it isn't possible to correctly identify 90% of questions, and know the strategy for 80%, and still get a 540. It could be that you're incorrectly strategizing, in which case that's something you could focus on.

If you have a practice test with MGMAT, I could look at it and give more specific advice. Taking a first test on our site is free, so maybe do that, then let me know (you can give me your full name by PM, if you'd like, though I'll post my thoughts as part of this thread).

Good luck!

-t

Hi Tommy ,

I took the free Manhattan test already on Jan the 7th scoring 560 with many careless mistakes (finished quant very early) and under the stress of a family emergency the day before.This was the 1st CAT I took .My three other , including the 2 GMAT Prep.tests , were at distant intervals from each other but there was improvement especially that I already worked on the weaknesses indicated by my first assessment report and could observe the difference while tackling the OG problems .

Yes , I sometimes discover that there are easier strategies to the problem than mine , or at least less time consuming , but not always do they make me comfortable to apply instead.

Thanks again for your valued advice , I will send you my name in a private message.

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:16 am

You say that you made several careless mistakes on your practice test, but it's sounds like you're brushing that off as a product of circumstance. Some of it may be a question of circumstance, of course - stress takes a heavy toll on scores. But the worst mistake a student can make is brushing off careless errors as insignificant! Careless errors are the #1 cause of score drops. You could know all of the complex concepts in the world, but if you're making arithmetic mistakes, you'll get those questions wrong every time.

You need to identify the kinds of errors you're making, and track patterns in your errors. Only then can you start to fix them. Here's an article about how:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -studying/

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Tommy Wallach: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 451; Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:58 amFollowed by: 120 members; Location: New York City; Thanked: 188 times; GMAT Score:770

by Tommy Wallach » Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:34 pm

Hey Nona,

Agreed with Ceilidh. Also, if you got a 560 on a practice test, 540 is well within the range of a normal score, so it doesn't make too much sense to be surprised.

Anyway, the last thing I'll say is that you mentioned that you often see there are better/more efficient methods, but you aren't comfortable with them. In case it isn't obvious, you have to become comfortable with them! You can't simply write them off and keep doing stuff the way you're used to doing it! : )

-t

Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT

If you found this posting mega-helpful, feel free to thank and/or follow me!

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the nona: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 53; Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:20 pmFollowed by: 2 members

ist

by the nona » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:55 am

Tommy Wallach wrote:Hey Nona,
If you have a practice test with MGMAT, I could look at it and give more specific advice. Taking a first test on our site is free, so maybe do that, then let me know (you can give me your full name by PM, if you'd like, though I'll post my thoughts as part of this thread).

Good luck!

-t

Hi Tommy ... I purchased the MGMAT CATs , relaxed for 2 weeks ,and dedicated he last few days for SC alone . Do you mind having a look and giving me some advice as you have kindly promised? I will send my full name in a PM as agreed.

Thanks in advance.

P.S: I had a few careless mistakes in verbal

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