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NEED ADVICE (Desperately)....How do I improve?

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NEED ADVICE (Desperately)....How do I improve?

by sumgb » Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:15 pm
Hello fellow GMATers,

I reappeared for my GMAT today (first attempt,Nov'10- 520 (Q44, V19)) and was very disappointed to see a score of 610 (Q49 V23). I desperately need advice on how to approach GMAT test.

Here are my notes -
First attempt 520 (Q44, V19) AWA 4.5

Prepared for around 2 months on and off. I was confident in quant however on test day I could not manage time well. I was OK (not confident) about my verbal but still went on with it.
Difficulties I faced in my first attempt prep and test:-
Prep:-
1. not solid. just went through OG12 and verbal concepts not thoroughly mastered
2. Took practice tests but never simulated real time conditions

Actual Test:-
1. First question (mind) barrier. Spent lot of time on first question on each section, took time to get into groove but when I did I ran out of time. Had to guess too many at the end just to complete the test.
2. Ran out of time on Quant. Panicked and that affected my verbal score as well.
3. Poor time management on both sections.

I did not study again for about 3.5~4 months. When I resumed I started with OG11. Completed OG11 (not timed - regret this). After finishing OG11, I moved onto OG12 (again not timed). By this time I was confident in Quant and my test scores ranged from low 600 to 700 on MGMAT tests and from 680 to 720 on GMATPrep.

Second attempt: prep and actual test, my notes-
Prep:-
1. I did OG10 (only SC), OG11, OG12, and verbal review 2nd edition (none timed :-( )
2. Took MGMAT practice tests - scores ranged from 610 to 700 (with last 2 tests 680 and 700) (a gap of 3 weeks between last MGMAT test and actual GMAT test)
3. Did MGMAT SC book for concepts I was weak on (comparisons and modifiers). Got myself familiarized with grammar concepts.
4. Did CR from OG. Got tips from BTG/GMATClub/Thursdays with Ron etc. I made sure I knew all types of questions on CR and approach to attack those.
5. I felt I was on a high when I took last couple of MGMAT tests and scored 680 and 700 but felt I could study more and push score beyond 700.
6. Practiced relaxing techniques found on forums and really calmed myself 2 weeks before the exam. But as the exam date approached I could not feel the "heat" and was really calm about the exam. This confused me and I could not figure out if I was in right frame of mind to take the exam (but went for it anyways).
7. After reviewing all my practice tests, I came up with my own timing strategy (for Quant and Verbal both) suitable for my capabilities. I even practiced that strategy on GMATPrep tests (1.5 week before the exam) and found it useful.

Test day:-
1. AWA was OK. didn't have any trouble. Took break after AWA.
2. Quant - I again faced "first question (mind) barrier"(even though I thought I was mentally all prepared :-( ). even though the first question was easy I double checked my answer before moving on. Time management was just OK. for last question I had around 45 seconds but could nail it. so I was happy with Quant performance.
3. Took break after Quant but the supervisor lady could not sign me in for 2 mins because of her carelessness and when I reached my computer I had already lost a minute from verbal section. Panicked but calmed myself and started.
4. Verbal - again, "first question (mind) barrier" simple SC question but took more than 3 mins to confirm answer. This percolated to remaining questions on verbal and my timing strategy went for a toss. mid way through verbal I realized I had lost my focus. I had only 10 mins left when I was question no. 32 :-( time management failed me and had to guess at the end. finally got only 23 on verbal :-(

Learning:-
*OG12 should have done with timer.
*Need to tackle my "first question barrier".
*Need to build up mental stamina and focus esp for verbal section.
*Effective time management is necessary esp for verbal.
*Quant - am quite OK. need little more effort on time management.

I put a lot of efforts in my second attempt especially on learning and reviewing my mistakes but I was very disappointed with my score today.

How do I proceed with my prep again? I would be very grateful if someone can guide me from here onward. I really really want to Beat The GMAT and score 720+ and "I know I can do it".

Please help...

~Please ignore my stupid grammatical mistakes in the write up above.~
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by wucvsGMAT » Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:31 pm
I am kinda in your shoes...verbal is an issue...For me RC and SC are problem areas...I think CR is better...I am going through MGMAT SC again in detail from cover to cover...Have set aside 1 full week to do so...I will also do OG questions...

So that is what I am doing...I hope this helps...I will keep you posted and will surely look forward to your plans and progress...
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by vivianef » Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:56 pm
First off, congrats on the great quant score! Sounds like you don't have to focus too much on that front, as far as grasping the concepts.

As far as preparing, go back and review your practice tests and examine EXACTLY what you are getting wrong on the verbal section. Is it Reading Comp? Sentence Correction? Critical Reasoning? If it's RC, are they they specific or general questions? If it's SC, is it a specific issue like parallel structure or pronouns? If it's CR, is it assumptions, strengthening questions, weakening questions? It's not enough to say, I need to improve my verbal. Get as specific as you can so that you can focus on the weak areas. You aren't weak at the entire verbal section, trust me.

Reading Comp basically falls into two major categories: General and Specific. A general question will ask you what is the main purpose of the article OR what is the author trying to depict OR what is the author's attitude, etc. For me, this was the part of the verbal section that tripped me up the most. I found the best way to approach a RC question, if you are having trouble with this section, is to write out a (very brief, full of abbreviations and arrows) outline of the passage as I read through it. Whenever you get to a new paragraph, note that break on to your outline. If you get to a transitional word like ALTHOUGH, HOWEVER, IN ADDITION, LATER, SOME ARGUE, BUT OTHERS SAY etc etc note that as well. These are important clues as to which direction the passage is going and how it is structured. If you are unsure what the correct answer is on a "what is the main purpose of this passage" question, go with the answer that relates to the greatest volume of the passage. This is usually the right answer. A lot of times the passage will be mostly about one thing, and then the final sentence will be an additional comment, and that comment will be one of the choices for the generic "main purpose" question. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. Make sure the main purpose of the passage relates to a lot of the passage, not just the last sentence or two. For specific questions, make sure you read a little above and a little below the specific statement the question is addressing. Sometimes there will be an option that is the exact opposite of what the passage says. This seems obvious but it is meant to trip you up if you don't read carefully. Make sure you understand and take the extra couple seconds to confirm you are not answering the opposite question.

Sentence Correction: about 80% of SC questions are testing the same 3 or 4 principals. I'm sure you know them. Match your subject/verb. Don't use they/their if it should be his/her/it. Be careful with parallel structure. If a sentence is convoluted, try taking out all the bs between the parenthesis and think about if it still sounds like a sentence. For example "The grass, which was maintained as a deep, vibrant green just as Alice remembered from her school days at the elementary school, Southbend Elementary, had just been cut in preparation for the pep rally" can quite simply, be cut down to "the grass had just been cut". That is still a sentence, right? And it still sounds grammatically correct. Don't let the mumbo-jumbo confuse you and make you think it's okay to write this sentence as "the grass...having just been cut." That IS NOT A SENTENCE and it is wrong. Those are typical tricks.

Critical Reasoning I don't have a lot of tricks or tips for this section, because it was pretty straightforward for me. If you are still having trouble, review your MGMAT book.

Next, address your timing. You should be spending 25 minutes on every 12-13 questions. WRITE THIS DOWN before you start your test. Hold yourself accountable to it, especially if you are in the middle third. If you are on question 16 and you only have 30 minutes left, YOU MUST ACCELERATE. You just have to. I gave myself a little leeway with the first 12 questions because they are more important, but after that, watch your time and keep it in mind throughout the whole test. And don't leave any question blank, ever.

All that being said, your troubles sound to me like a lot of mental focus/attitude issues more than anything else. I think you are getting in your head and letting the emotional side of the test knock you down. DON'T LET IT. You can do this. I was very nervous in the days leading up to my GMAT, but on the day I got there, I pushed that out of my mind. Before even going in and signing in, I blasted a pump-up song in my car and let it convince me that I was going to be AMAZING, I was going to KICK this test's ASS. It sounds horribly cliche and stupid, but you have to get in the positive mindset. After I finished the quant section and took break, I started worrying and getting down. Before I went in and started verbal, I pushed that thought and convinced myself, "forget that now. there is nothing you can do. don't think about it. there is a new challenge coming up and you are going to do great on that part. you need to go in there and focus on your verbal and you are going to do amazing in it". The GMAT is created in a way that the better you do, the harder it gets, and the harder it gets, the more frustrated you might get. Don't let it do this to you. Just pump yourself and forget the nerves in that moment.

Those are the things that worked for me. Hope this was some help. I'm sure you can do it. :)
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by sumgb » Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:16 pm
Thanks for the tips and motivation, vivianef.

I have resumed my studies again and scheduled next attempt in another 7 weeks. If I am not confident in verbal section by 6th week from today I will reschedule.
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