Disappointed Just scored 430. What to do next?

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Disappointed Just scored 430. What to do next?

by toyo » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:20 am
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Hi , I just wrote GMAT and scored 430 with Quant 30 percentile and Verbal below 20. I am preparing for last 2 months and have completed the following :

1. OG10
2. Kaplan
3. Kaplan Verbal Workbook
4. Manhattan Sentence Correction.


I am really disappointed with my score. But I still have high spirit and wanna give GMAT again. My target score is 700. I think I am lacking strategy to shoot a question.

Please help me and suggest how to do well. I am ready to put 2-3 months or more if required.. But I really wanna do well.

Thanks in Advance







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by anujladha » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:58 am
Hey Toyo,

I am feeling the same way as you. I scored a dissappointing 440 in November 2008. My best suggestion perhaps would be to look at your greatest weakness, work on those or maybe even take a formalized course. I am planning on enrolling in an intense classroom course with Kaplan test prep. I am trying to get a 640.

Anuj
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by beatthegmat » Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:08 am
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't reach your target score. But it's still possible to turnaround your score in your second performance!

As Anuj wisely advised in the last post, I recommend a study strategy that rigorously examines your weaknesses. Take a look at the Beat The GMAT Blog and the GMAT Practice Grid to get a sense of this methodology in your prep.

Otherwise, if you do have some disposable income, it may not be a bad investment to look into a GMAT course or private tutoring as well.

Good luck!
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by VP_Jim » Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:52 pm
Just "doing" problems doesn't help. In other words, whether you work from one book or 20 books, your score won't go up unless you put in some serious work analyzing problems.

Aim for quality of studying over quantity. You should be spending at least 5 minutes per problem while studying. Try the problem, look at the answer, make sure you did the problem in the best possible way, analyze the wrong answers, find some sort of rule or takeaway from the problem, and then try the problem again in a week to make sure it stuck. Do this for problems you got wrong AND problems you got right.

When most people "do" a problem, they try the problem, look at the answer, say "oh, I get it now", and then move on. Don't let that be you!

And I agree with the above - if you can afford it, a prep course would be a great investment.
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by Wall.Street.Sweeper » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:34 pm
serious time needs to be spent to do well. think of the last video game that you bought and did well on, for me it was GT3 on PS3. When i first got that game I was horrible; i couldnt even get my B license to start racing to win cups, I would think "how is it even physically possible to win some of these races" but after 100s of hours of playing I was able to anticipate all the turns, when to give gas, when to let off, how to knock cars out, and how to cut lap times. The more you practice the better you will understand how to attack each question and work more efficiently, its all about giving it the necessary time, but make sure you spend your time wisely ;-)

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by VP_Jim » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:51 pm
Comparing the GMAT to PlayStation .... that's a new one!

But seriously, what you said is exactly right. At first, doing well on the GMAT seems impossible and overwhelming. But with enough work, it becomes second nature. How much work, however, will vary wildly among the population...
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