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Stuck In Mediocrity!!! Scoring 470 on GMATPrep Practice CATs

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Stuck In Mediocrity!!! Scoring 470 on GMATPrep Practice CATs

by bizkit_3k » Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:37 am
I've been going through a very frustrating time with prepping for this test, I have taken a variety of practice tests and have been struggling severely despite going through some of the prep materials.

GMATPrep (7-1-10): 470 27Q 27V
GMATPrep (6-28-10): 470 30Q 25V
Kaplan (A Very Long Time Ago): 520 22Q 37V
Kaplan (A Very Long Tima Ago): 480 30Q 25V

I seem to always be answering questions wrong even though I feel that I did things completely and correctly. I'm not quite sure what to do next, I plan on taking another Kaplan practice followed by another revisit to the GMATPrep, I do have the OG, but I'll have to admit I think I'm in the wrong question bank because I continually answer those right. I'm looking to getting into a Sports MBA program, so I'm not going to the most pretigious Universities but I'm not going to a slouch of a school either. I'm figuring the target score is around 600 to make sure I get in or at least maybe be eligible for a graduate assistantship...which is probably even further away then a 600 score. Anywho, any advice and guidance would really be much appreciated!
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by InkyBinky » Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:29 pm
If you took the GMAT Prep tests 3 days apart, I wouldn't expect any improvement either. I've been studying for a couple weeks now and, so far, have seen no improvement at all. But I feel that the MGMAT books offer some really good strategies and I hope that after going through a couple of their books, that I will see at least a modest improvement. Good luck.
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by uwhusky » Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:47 pm
Base on your post, it appears that you're focusing only on taking the test and less on getting the grasp of the content. If you're always getting the questions wrong when you think you have approached it correctly, then clearly the issue lies in your approach and understanding of the questions.

My suggestion is to drop the idea of taking more CATs, pick up some foundation books and learn the theories. I can assure you that without sufficient grasp on the various theories in the topics, taking more CATs won't increase your score.
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:55 pm
From what you wrote, it sounds like you think you're doing most of the work right and still getting questions wrong. I'd advise you to analyze your mistakes along a couple of lines. I suspect that your mistakes are probably in:

First 30 seconds
-Did you set the equations up correctly?
-Did you correctly identify what the question was asking for?
-Did you make any incorrect assumptions up front that led you down the wrong path?

Last 30 seconds
-Did you answer the right question (if it asked for y, did you give them x?)?
-Did you put your final answer in the correct units?
-Did you finish all necessary steps? (A popular mistake is to leave the question one step short)
-Did you double-check for any known problem areas (making assumptions, forgetting to consider unique numbers, etc.)?

If you think you're doing most of the work right but getting questions wrong, I'd check the above lists to see if you can find a pattern or two regarding your mistakes. If you're simply aware of where you tend to go astray, you can check against that on the test to minimize those mistakes and keep all of those points that you've rightfully earned!

Best of luck with your goals of a career in sports! It can certainly be a lot of fun - I've been back and forth a bunch this week with my friends who work for the New Jersey Nets...just an incredibly exciting week for them to be involved in this whole free agency sweepstakes!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
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by bizkit_3k » Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:08 pm
A lot of people who take the GMAT are really stressed about time, but I'm taking my practice tests at a really fast rate, and I'm probably making mistakes because of it, but even as I slow down and try to think through questions I almost feel lost. Now I do have a Kaplan book and a Princeton Review book, I find the Princeton book not quite adequate to my liking, but I feel the Kaplan books is very nice, however, I seem to have a hard time retaining the concepts because I return to falling in the usual GMAT traps. What's the best way to bring theory and questions answering together?
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by uwhusky » Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:11 pm
You should provide more information on what you are struggling with, so others might be able to provide better suggestions.
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by bizkit_3k » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:00 pm
I'm really having an extremely hard time with data sufficiency more then anything else.
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by uwhusky » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:07 pm
I don't think you fully understand what you are struggling with. What is it about data sufficiency are you struggling with, is it the way to break down the question, or how to determine if the information given in the data is sufficient? In addition, if you aren't familiar with the algebra, it won't matter that you have mastered how data sufficiency questions are written, because you won't be able to figure out the difference between whether to choose B or C.

It'll be very hard for anyone to provide adequate help to you if you cannot figure out exactly what it is that you are struggling with. The more specific you are with things you do not understand, the better someone can provide strategies to tackle them.
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