GMAT Strategy

I took GMAT for the third time on Jun 27th and I scored a poor 480 (Q43, V15). I felt prepared focused and weren't anxious. My other two past scores have been 480 (Q45, V13), and 460(Q40, V15). There have been a year between each test occasion so the numbers might not be directly comparable.

In the past, I might not have been best prepared for the verbal and mostly trusting my ear, but this time I felt much more prepared. However, I'm very disappointed with this score, and I will take the test again in a month. Please see the CAT results at the end of the post.

Frankly, I don't know what's the fix anymore I have tried to review my errors etc, but it all doesn't seem to have helped. One thing still skewed is my pacing. On verbal I usually have to random guess through the last 7-10 questions, and so I did now on my last attempt too. For instance there were a long RC passage among the these, and I just picked random answers. I assume all these guesses results in wrong answer. Do these consequtive wrong answers cause a severe penalty to my verbal scoring? On Quant, I usually random guess 5 questions at the end.

I write this post to hopefully get some advice and inputs concerning how to continue preparing, and what I should change? Is it crucial that I get the pacing right, to get away from this stagnated GMAT score?

My goal is to score 600, and I will start working the Kaplan Math, and Kaplan Verbal workbooks before taking the test again.

Thanks!!

bubbasour

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Official GMAT 2010-03-29 45 13 480
GMAT Prep 2012-01-26 44 25 580
GMAT Prep 2012-02-06 40 19 490
GMAT Simulator Set 1 2012-02-24 38 30 570
GMAT Simulator Set 1 2012-03-06 31 18 470
GMAT Simulator Set 1 2012-03-14 38 22 530
GMAT Simulator Set 1 2012-03-21 38 27 560
GMAT Simulator Set 1 2012-03-30 38 31 580
GMAT Simulator Set 2 2012-04-20 42 19 540
GMAT Simulator Set 2 2012-04-27 43 21 550
GMAT Simulator Set 2 2012-05-03 34 18 500
GMAT Simulator Set 2 2012-05-16 33 14 480
GMAT Prep 2012-05-22 43 29 600 (reattempt)
GMAT Prep 2012-05-25 49 27 640 (reattempt)
GMAT Simulator Set 2 2012-06-01 42 28 610
800 Score 2012-06-08 37 31 560
800 Score 2012-06-14 39 32 590
800 Score 2012-06-17 40 35 620
800 Score 2012-06-19 36 35 590
800 Score 2012-06-21 43 21 540
GMAT Prep 2012-06-23 42 23 540 (new generation gmatprep)

You have a decent quant score, so I'd recommend you spend your time focusing on verbal and just maintain your quant knowledge. I don't think it'll be advantageous for you to work through the Kaplan Math book.

Have you used any of the MGMAT books? The MGMAT SC book is considered one of the best, and sentence correction is typically viewed as one of the relatively easier ways to bring up your verbal score.

MGMAT also has a pacing chart that you'd really benefit from. Guessing on the last 7-10 questions is going to kill your score. You are penalized more heavily for getting a string of questions wrong in a row, so you definitely need to practice your pacing. How much time are you spending per question on average?

NextGreatLeader wrote: MGMAT also has a pacing chart that you'd really benefit from. Guessing on the last 7-10 questions is going to kill your score. You are penalized more heavily for getting a string of questions wrong in a row, so you definitely need to practice your pacing. How much time are you spending per question on average?

Hi NextGreatLeader! Thanks for your response!
Are you sure that too many errors in row at the end can cause a significant penalty?

I have attached a MGMAT CAT where I got a scaled verbal score of 25. MGMAT's verbal was however not as tough as the real GMAT so, the stats attached might be misleading. But I think reading and understanding CR passages, and evaluate answers (in addition to RC) steals a significant amount of time.

Do you have any suggestions on how I should improve my pacing? E.g. CR, should I do 20 problems a day? Should I read theory about different question types, how to eliminate wrong answers etc?

thanks a ton!

Read this article to better understand how a string of incorrect answers impacts your score and to get some more insight on pacing.
https://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/keeping-pace.cfm

Below is what Manhattan recommends for verbal questions. Practice a set of questions each day and try to stick to these time frames as closely as you can. After each problem set, go back and review every question. Be sure that you understand the correct and incorrect answers. Eventually you should start to see some patterns in the concepts being tested and in the areas that you are struggling with most. If you spend 30 minutes completing a problem set, then spend an hour reviewing that set.

Sentence Correction: 1 minute 15 seconds; max of 2 minutes
Critical Reasoning: 2 minutes; max of 2.5 minutes
Reading Comprehension: 2 to 3 minutes to read (depending upon length); 1 minute for general questions; 1.5 to 2 minutes for specific questions

Lastly, I do think that you should read some strategies about how to eliminate wrong answer choices. Even if you can only eliminate 1, 2, or 3 answers, you'll still have better odds than if you were to randomly guess. If you are a non-native English speaker, then it will help if you learn certain "tells." A tell is a certain word that you can look out for, such as contrast words (however, in contrast, despite, etc.) or extreme words (never, always, etc.).

Know your enemy first

GMAT penalizes you harshly for two things
- Consecutive mistakes.
- Leaving the questions unanswered.

So fix the timing issues and take a GMATPrep test. See how much you have improved. I hope you will do fine in verbal to achieve your target score. Follow a timing strategy. Check this brent's video for one of the timing strategy. Hope it helps !!

https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

sam2304 wrote: GMAT penalizes you harshly for two things
- Consecutive mistakes.

Hi Sam! Tons of thanks for your reply. The above, do you know whether this is stated anywhere by GMAC, or whether anyone tested this with GMATPrep software to figure out how it works?

Another thing that possibly can have skewed my CAT practice scores is whether other companies CAT tests actually pay attention to the above. I have random guessed through the last 5-10 questions on all CATs I have worked from different companies, but none of them seem to get cause the severe penalty that the actual algorithm does?