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crushed with a 580!!! Need advice

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crushed with a 580!!! Need advice

by sakshiu20 » Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:55 pm
Hi all

After preparing for almost four months and getting scores in range of 650-690 in my mock tests, i thought i was prepared to battle gmat.I had bought the manhattan cat tes series and had scored above 650 in each of the tests.

In quant section i got scores ranging from 45-49 but ensglish scores were consistent. I got 35 in english section in each cat test. Based on my prep and my scores in mock tests i was expecting to get a score above 650 in the real test.But when at the end of the test i saw my score i went into a shock.A score of 580 popped in front of me.I scored 45 in quant and 25 in english.I dont know where i went wrong as when i was giving my answers i thought that i was marking right and expected a score above 650.

I have decided to retake the gmat test but this time with more discipline and a strategy.Please help me in formulating a strategy with which i can achieve my goal.I would really appreciate it if you could take me through the study plan that you followed in the months of your preparation.The books that i used were

1. 12th edition OG
2. Manhattan verbal workout for english.
3. i had also bought veritas material for both the sections.
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by karanrulz4ever » Wed Oct 27, 2010 9:41 pm
I am assuming that your mock tests were GMATPrep tests where you scored in 650-690 range. If yes, then you surely are in that category and unfortunately, you had a bad day on the test-day.
I'll advice just taking your mind away from GMAT for a week or so. Then slowly start your prep and preferably start with the OG. Believe me, OG-12 is the best book on GMAT you can find. Looking at your score, you seem to be quiet good in Math but are lagging a bit in verbal. If SC is your weakness, then go through the MGMAT SC guide.I guess the 2nd and 3rd editions are freely available on the net while the latest one is not.
For CR go through the Powerscore bible. It is a very exhaustive book and good one too. Even the previous editions of this book are freely available on the net.
For RC, follow the pattern which suits you best. Dont just follow what someone else is doing successfully in RC.
It might also have been the case that you were mentally exhausted by the time you came across verbal. So I would advice you to give the GMATPrep tests with the AWA as many times as possible. Donot worry about repetitive questions. I gave the GMATPrep test for the 9th time I presume and still it nearly mirrored my actual test score.
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by msrrautela » Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:01 pm
I think that the GMAT Is as equally an exam that tests your nerves as it is an exam that tests your knowledge. So even though you may know how to tackle a particular type of questions,but when you'd have to attempt the same set of questions under time constraints then you end up making silly mistakes.

What one should focus on is that why is he's making silly mistakes ;how can those silly mistakes be avoided .
What I have observed after taking quite a few practice tests is that many times anxiety gets the better out of you and you should know how to maintain the exam temperament .
Going by the reference material you have listed,I think that you should have practiced more .
Here are my suggestions .
OG12,OG10,OG11. I personally feel that OG10 has the best questions among all three OGs.

SC- OGs.MGMAT SC Guide, Aristotle SC Grail .
CR- The initial 24 tests of the 1000 CR document and if you want PowerScore Bible
RC - OG RCs , RC99

For SC,all the concepts should be there in your unconscious mind not only in your conscious mind and they should be as good as your natural reflexes are . As Sigmund Freud said "You conscious mind can cheat you but your unconscious can never do so" .
Hope that helps and keep as updated about your progress.
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by sakshiu20 » Sun Oct 31, 2010 10:30 pm
Thanks a lot for your help. My target score is 700+ and yes i was getting 650-690 in my gmat prep tests. I even got 750 in one gmatprep but it was a repeated test so there were many queations i already knew answers to.I thought my score was inflated and thats when i stopped repeating gmat prep tests.
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by odannyboi » Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:16 pm
Verbal is very unforgiving on this exam... if you want a good score (upper 30's to mid 40s) you need to get less than 8 wrong and perhaps you can't get more than 2 in a row wrong (i've read somewhere).

Quant seems to be easier for some reason... sometimes I think I do bad but get mid 40s... when i think i did great on verbal I get low 30s.. and I'm a native speaker!
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by kvcpk » Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:04 pm
Hi,

I think you are in much the same boat as many other non-native speakers are in.
Let me put in my views on Verbal Prep, Probably, these could help you out. I answered a similar query in another thread. So I will use of some of that info in here too.

Believe me, I spent 3 months of preparation with out right approach and always was wondering why my score never crossed 30. After Lot of analysis, I recommend the following:
CR - Powerscore for theory and Veritas Prep for practice problems.
There are certain standard patterns found normally. Once you practice these patterns, the hit ratio increases.

RC - Veritas Prep book is good for theory and practice. You can try your hand on some LSAT passages also for more practice.
Only trick here is : PRACTICE. some of the CR approaches will help here. You can watch a couple of the Thursdays with Ron videos which discuss the main point and purpose questions. these will help.

Next comes the tricky section: SC

Reason I say its tricky is because, it takes constant & continuous practice to master. and once mastered, it can turn out to be easily high scoring section. If you dont master it, no matter how many tests we take, we cant find distinct improvement.

I started with some notes on Web and forums. As adviced by many, I bought the Manhattan GMAT SC book. This book is a very good one. But, I dont think it addresses naive readers precisely. I had troubles going through it because, loads of information is presented, leaving less scope to hold anything at the back of mind. I felt happy when I read the book. But I was unable to apply my learning at the right place. I think this is the exact point where MGMAT SC fails to make presence.

Then I was adviced by a fellow BTG member (gmatmachoman) to join e-GMAT.com
I joined for free and had a look at the free preview files. I was very much impressed by the illustrative way of learning with flash presentations all through the course. I was able to retain much information because the course is illustrative style. I was amazed to find all the concepts that I learnt till then in a single place. It took me 3 months to prepare some notes and I found all of it right there. So, without wasting much time I got the full access to the course.

Here is my analysis. The main Plus points of E-Gmat course:
1. The course provides a standard process to approach SC questions. I couldnt find such comprehensive approach in any other materials.
2. Amazingly quick responses to queries. There is a questions section for each of the subject modules. We can post the queries there. I posted around 20 till now, and for all of them I got response under 12 hours. I wonder in what timezone e-gmat works.
3. There are a set of application files which can be used for non-timed practice. these have a detailed explanation of the approach that needs to be followed to attack SC.
4. There is a set of 200+ questions for timed practice. All new & fresh questions. Highly recommended for practice.
5. Concept Map - which shows the list of concepts you have mastered and which are yet to be mastered.
6. Very Crisp videos without loading too much information. Easy to access user interface.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need further information.

Cheers!!
"Once you start working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."
Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275BC)
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by gmatmachoman » Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:25 am
I second on praveen's approach !!

e-gmat is certainly a good source( resource) for SC prep and finetuning.

Even u can use Grockit for finetuning.


Click to see our work /R&D on GMAT prep. Request you to post some data points so that we shall arrive at a Bigger picture.
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by gmatmachoman » Wed Nov 03, 2010 9:57 am
kvcpk wrote:Hi,

I.

Then I was adviced by a fellow BTG member (gmatmachoman) to join e-GMAT.com
I joined for free and had a look at the free preview files. I was very much impressed by the illustrative way of learning with flash presentations all through the course. I was able to retain much information because the course is illustrative style. I was amazed to find all the concepts that I learnt till then in a single place. It took me 3 months to prepare some notes and I found all of it right there. So, without wasting much time I got the full access to the course.

Here is my analysis. The main Plus points of E-Gmat course:


1. The course provides a standard process to approach SC questions. I couldnt find such comprehensive approach in any other materials.
2. Amazingly quick responses to queries. There is a questions section for each of the subject modules. We can post the queries there. I posted around 20 till now, and for all of them I got response under 12 hours. I wonder in what timezone e-gmat works.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you need further information.

Cheers!!
Bro,
They work from US timezone only . But the response is becox of diligence of rajat & Payal & their team.

I should also second on this. Becox when ever I used to raise a flag, i used to get a greater speedier response frm Payal/Rajat.

Even the R&D that we did on algorithm is seeded from fields of e-gmat team.

Nice work !! Even though i was offered to take free- trial of their application, i was thrilled by the application's capacities.

Just Awesome!!

I heard they r soon gonna hit the market with specialised modules in quants too...
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