I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi,

Background

1st Time - 490 (Q 31 V 27)
2nd - 530 (Q 36 V 25)
3rd - 590 (Q 40 V 31)

The first two attempts I was hitting 660 easy on GMAT prep

Second attempt was never below a 670 ON MGMAT - highest was 710. Quant score between 42 - 46. Verbal hovered around 36 - 41.

Third time - took a month off - no studies, no practice and took the test.

I DON'T know what I am doing wrong. But I suspect it is test centre anxiety that is the problem.

But I don't want to give the test again without studying. I have used all possible official materials and trust me have memorized most of concepts in OG 12 (I know the answer after reading the question). What materials should I use and How should I go ABOUT studying again? Looking for ideas here guys, please do share your thought with me. My target score is 650 - 680.

Your story resembles pretty much mine and even your scores on the first three attempts are quite similar to what I got on my first three attempts.

boomboom wrote:Hi,
Third time - took a month off - no studies, no practice and took the test. [/quote[

I wonder why did you NOT study for the third attempt ? I mean, yeah, one needs to maintain his calm but then also you need to ensure that you are closing all the gaps and you are sufficiently prepared. One of the ten points ,as you'll read in my post, is - Do NOT re-take the GMAT until and unless you're sufficiently prepared to get your desired score.
One more thing ,you said

I DON'T know what I am doing wrong. But I suspect it is test centre anxiety that is the problem.

Test anxiety may be a reason ,but at the same time just retrospect and ask yourself could there be possibly other reasons ? Were my concepts sufficiently strong . Granted that you were doing well on the Mock Test but how the question is how consistently were doing well on the practice tests.

But I don't want to give the test again without studying. I have used all possible official materials and trust me have memorized most of concepts in OG 12 (I know the answer after reading the question). What materials should I use and How should I go ABOUT studying again? Looking for ideas here guys, please do share your thought with me. My target score is 650 - 680.

To be able to suggest some remedial measures, you need to provide more details such as.
->What was strategy while preparing for the firs three attempts ?
->What was approach while tackling questions ?
->Which books did you use ?
->How many hours and how many months did you prepare for each of the attempts ?
->When do you plan to take the GMAT again ?
I think that the answers to the questions above will help the members here to suggest you some specific and implementable solution.

]

To be able to suggest some remedial measures, you need to provide more details such as.
->What was strategy while preparing for the firs three attempts ?
->What was approach while tackling questions ?
->Which books did you use ?
->How many hours and how many months did you prepare for each of the attempts ?
->When do you plan to take the GMAT again ?
I think that the answers to the questions above will help the members here to suggest you some specific and implementable solution.[/quote]

Thanks for your response. I read your story truly inspirational!!!

Strategy for 1st two attempts

Completed OGs twice,

For verbal

Used all three manhattan guides. Did all the OGs (10, 11, 12 and verbal additional blue book). Kept an error log and focussed on my mistakes.

For Math

Kaplan math workbook, Nova math workbook, OG 12 and some MGMAT questions. Kept error log but probably did not focus that much on weak areas. I do not even know what I am good at or bad at. I am bad at rectifying my errors and spotting my weakness with math!

Timeline - 3 month gap between 1st two - 1 month for the 3rd!

Plan to take the GMAT in April! Look forward to your thoughts!

Test anxiety is real. I regularly see students who perform strongly in class or in tutoring sessions and then stumble when taking the test. In the end there are two factors in operation: 1) do you know the material, and 2) can you access/use it.

Try a different approach to reviewing questions. Use a book that explains the answers and how to get there. Don't worry about timing when you take the test, but record in detail what your thoughts were and what steps you took to tackle the problems. Then compare your approach to the one in the book. Try to identify the point at which your approach differs from the one in the book. This may help you understand how you are answering questions. To the extent your approach is different from the book's you may find something that is leading you to errors. Look for the point at which you get off track and see whether that is something consistent that can be corrected. Also, be sure to analyze your correct answers as well as your incorrect ones. While the test never knows how you got there, only what answer you gave, "getting there" consistently and in the write fashion is crucial to getting the score you want.

Under test conditions, being sure of your approach, not just your answers, should help alleviate your anxiety.