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I've been studying for 18 moths and cannot get above 550!

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I've been studying for 18 moths and cannot get above 550!

by Antocobb1 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 7:20 am
I have been studying the GMAT for 18 months and I cannot get above a 550 on the Manhattan GMAT CAT. The last time I took the actual / official exam was April 19, 2014 and scored a 520. One of my major issues I believe is that I am not answering any quant questions under one minute. Please help me break the 600 range on my official exam scheduled for July 2, 2014.

I beg for any help from the experts!
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by varung79 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:03 am
Hi Antocobb1

Looks like you need support from expert GMAT trainers.

Either register for a full length GMAT course with any test preparation company or hire a private tutor for any a specific area of improvement. By the way, How did you manage your time both in practice tests and in the real test? Which section did you perform well? What is your score breakup?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:32 am
Hang in there, Antocobb1

I suggest a systematic (even methodical) approach, in which you take the time to master each topic/concept (e.g., percents, ratios, assumption questions in critical reasoning, comparison questions in sentence correction, etc).

So, for each topic/concept, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it

To improve your quantitative score, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.). This means that, for each topic, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

While completing questions from the Official Guide (OG), you should you use an Error Log (aka Improvement Chart). You can find a free downloadable Improvement Chart here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log. This will help you identify and strengthen your weak areas.

As far as "not answering quant questions" sooner is concerned, I suggest that you spend A LOT of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps one should take when tackling math problems.

In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Finally, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by [email protected] » Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:57 am
Hi Antocobb1,

Many Test Takers find the GMAT to be challenging, partly because the GMAT doesn't quite "work" the same way as other tests that you've taken in the past (such as those in high school or college). Even with its quirks, it is standardized and predictable, so you can train to crush it.

When you scored 520, what were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections?

You say that you want to score above 600, but do you have a specific score goal in mind? When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by Antocobb1 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:36 pm
I have a tutor that I have been working with and the progress is hella slow. I have taken the GMAT course with Manhattan GMAT twice.

I used the rough timing guildlines below.

Quant - I should be at question 13 at 45 minutes left.
Quant - I should be at question 30 at 15 minutes left.
Verbal - I should be at question 15 at 45 minutes left.
Verbal - I should be at question 35 at 15 minutes left.

Test Date / Verbal / Quantitative / Total / Analytical Writing/ Integrated Reasoning.
19 April 2014 28 / 50% 32 / 28% 520 / 37% 4.0 / 21% 3 / 23%
22 February 2014 21 / 25% 27 / 17% 420 / 15% 4.0 / 21% 3 / 23%
01 June 2013 15 / 9% 20 / 8% 320 / 4% 4.0 / 21% 1 / 0%
varung79 wrote:Hi Antocobb1

Looks like you need support from expert GMAT trainers.

Either register for a full length GMAT course with any test preparation company or hire a private tutor for any a specific area of improvement. By the way, How did you manage your time both in practice tests and in the real test? Which section did you perform well? What is your score breakup?
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by Antocobb1 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:38 pm
Thanks so much Brent!
Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:Hang in there, Antocobb1

I suggest a systematic (even methodical) approach, in which you take the time to master each topic/concept (e.g., percents, ratios, assumption questions in critical reasoning, comparison questions in sentence correction, etc).

So, for each topic/concept, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it

To improve your quantitative score, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.). This means that, for each topic, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

While completing questions from the Official Guide (OG), you should you use an Error Log (aka Improvement Chart). You can find a free downloadable Improvement Chart here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log. This will help you identify and strengthen your weak areas.

As far as "not answering quant questions" sooner is concerned, I suggest that you spend A LOT of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps one should take when tackling math problems.

In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Finally, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent
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by Antocobb1 » Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:42 pm
Test Date / Verbal / Quantitative / Total / Analytical Writing/ Integrated Reasoning.
19 April 2014 28 / 50% 32 / 28% 520 / 37% 4.0 / 21% 3 / 23%

I want to at least achieve a 640.

I am planning to apply this year for the entering class of 2015.
[email protected] wrote:Hi Antocobb1,

Many Test Takers find the GMAT to be challenging, partly because the GMAT doesn't quite "work" the same way as other tests that you've taken in the past (such as those in high school or college). Even with its quirks, it is standardized and predictable, so you can train to crush it.

When you scored 520, what were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections?

You say that you want to score above 600, but do you have a specific score goal in mind? When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by [email protected] » Wed Jun 04, 2014 12:13 am
Hi Antocobb1,

Neither of your Scaled Scores is appreciably stronger than the other (even though the percentiles differ significantly), so you have ample opportunity to pick up points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

To take a 520 to a 640+, you're going to have to make sure that you know the content AND the various tactics to make answering questions easy and efficient. With these numbers, I don't think that 1 month is enough time for you to achieve this goal. Do you have the flexibility to push your Test Date back?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by Antocobb1 » Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:07 am
I do have the flexibility to push the exam back, however I strongly do not want to push the exam back.

I can spend 12 hours a week on studying and a little more time during some weeks to take CATs.

What do you recommend for my course of action?
[email protected] wrote:Hi Antocobb1,

Neither of your Scaled Scores is appreciably stronger than the other (even though the percentiles differ significantly), so you have ample opportunity to pick up points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

To take a 520 to a 640+, you're going to have to make sure that you know the content AND the various tactics to make answering questions easy and efficient. With these numbers, I don't think that 1 month is enough time for you to achieve this goal. Do you have the flexibility to push your Test Date back?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by [email protected] » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:25 am
Hi Antocobb1,

When it comes to study options for the GMAT, there are plenty to choose from (and each has helped a certain number of people to succeed). Unfortunately, there's no "magic option" that works perfectly for everyone, so I would advise taking a grounded view of what you've done so far. If your current approach/resources haven't gotten you the results that you're looking for, then you should change your plan and invest in some new resources.

You mentioned earlier that you were concerned that you couldn't answer any questions in under 1 minute. That's not too big of an issue, unless you have big overall pacing problems and have to guess on a bunch of questions at the end of the section just to finish. To that end, you have to make sure to answer ALL the questions, even if you're just guessing. Any unanswered questions are marked as "wrong" AND are then penalized. If pacing is an issue, then you have to examine the "mechanics" of how you're tackling questions. How often do you take notes? How quickly do you get to work? How many times do you reread a question before you take notes?

Since most GMAT questions are based on 3-5 "steps", you shouldn't try to do all 5 steps at once. Try doing 1 step at a time (that first step is usually taking notes) and go from there.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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