I just Beat The GMAT!

Hello guys,

I gave my GMAT today and got a score of 550 (Q 48, V 20). I have no clue of how I ended up with a score of 20 in verbal. I wanted to break the 700 barrier but I ended up getting 150 points less than what I desired.

I started my preparation in mid of February and took a month off from work in May. From Feb to April I was studying 2 hours a day on weekdays and 6 hours during the weekends. During the month of May I spent more than 8 hours everyday.

Here are my scores from the mock tests

(1)GMAT PREP 1 - 600 (Q 44, v 28)
(2)Manhattan Test 1 - 600 (Q 45, v 29)
(3)Manhattan Test 2 - 660 (Q 44, V 36)
(4)Manhattan Test 3 - 630 (Q 45, V 32)
(5)Manhattan Test 4 - 680 (Q 48, V 34)
(6)Manhattan Test 5 - 720 (Q 48, V 40)(Some questions in verbal were repeated)
(7)Manhattan Test 6 - 710 (Q 48, V 39)
(8) Gmat Prep 2 - 650 (Q 49, V 31)

I was fairly disappointed after my gmat prep 2 test. Since I took a month off from work I decided to go ahead with my exam and was expecting a score between 630 and 670.

Actual GMAT 550 (Q 48, V 20). I was very calm during the exam and did not let the pressure get the better of me. I don't even have an idea of what went wrong during my verbal.

The books I followed

(1)OG 12th edition
(2)OG verbal review
(3)Manhattan SC guide.
(4) Manhattan Math guides
(5) Kaplan GMAT 2011 premier
(6) Kaplan 800
(7) Powerscore CR (I was not able to apply the rules I learned here on my final GMAT)

I want to give my GMAT again and break the 700 barrier. I have no idea of what I should be doing to beef up my verbal score to atleast 38.

I want to take my mind away from GMAT for a week and start studying again.
Guys, please suggest me what I should be doing to improve my verbal score. I want to take up a GMAT course. Is it possible to jump from a score of 550 to a score of 700+?
Can you guys suggest me any courses that can help me improve my verbal score to around 38.


Please advice. Thank You so much.

I have read that the real GMAT has a much harder verbal section than MGMAT, even though MGMAT reps claim that the underlying content is still the same.

My advice for you is this: Start reading LSAT literature and re-take the GMAT in 4-8 months after intensive LSAT study. At this point, I think that's your best bet, at least until MGMAT updates their verbal strategy guides.

Good luck.

Did you take essays during your practice tests? People used to say that probably the lack of stamina tends to a lower performance in the Verbal. Probably you can work on that. Your practice scores shows that you are already close to beating the score. Just brush up again and try practicing similar to the test conditions, you will definitely rock on your next attempt.

All the very best!!

I think Shankaran is right. May be due to lower stamina or did you get a panic attack or something during the test. Looks like you have done Quants fine but got behind on verbal.

Use MGMAT verbal guides, they are the best in GMAT prep. Read this article.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/01/ ... -gmat-plan

Hope it helped

hi acegmat
GMAT is testing two things together - causal reasoning and effectual reasoning. That's possibly the only impediment which allows for one's advancing on Quant and falling behind the Verbal.

As you know many Verbal section questions can be categorized as causal reasoning questions. Even with reading comprehension we get sometimes purely argumentative questions.

Data sufficiency, in contrast to the CR part of Verbal section, tests our ability of effectual reasoning, that is how good we are at assessing our resources and then planning solution.

Many causal reasoning questions ask us to set the goal(s) first - weaken, strengthen, underlying assumption types of questions. Then we go under risk of selecting the right choice for us based on pure logic.

The difference is obvious, look around yourself and note the facts from your daily activities. How often you're making selection of the best game plan among all available ones and this plan is being based on 1) either your own resources or resources of people you know, or 2) the sense of logic, i.e. your daily execution of activities to lead to certain goals assigned for yourself by teachers, instructors, parents, supervisors, etc.

The pathway to Business School is one's possession of excellent causal reasoning as such praised by AdComs. If you're good at effectual reasoning too, you can by-pass Business school and start thinking about your own business as entrepreneur.

My best advice to you would be - you've got to possess two types of the brain, although different types of the brain - causal reasoning (of CEO, pure executive setting goals and logically accomplishing them) and effectual reasoning (of Entrepreneur using all available resources to derive the solution). Try doing Critical Reasoning part along with may be one passage from Reading Comprehension with Data Sufficiency questions. Make the list of questions for yourself and sit doing them in random order. You can use flash cards with questions, or numbered tickets for each question pooled and selected randomly by yourself. I'm sure you will notice how quickly your brain gets near to its "retard" (sorry) capacity after doing some 15-20 questions. This is due to the switch between two types of the brain. It's very hard to implement this task, unless you either have good mental training or possess excellent brain processing capacities.

anyone wishes to discuss this topic further please pm me (it's a bit strategy and off-topic here, although there may be certain links with today's poster score factorization)

pemdas wrote:
My best advice to you would be - you've got to possess two types of the brain, although different types of the brain - causal reasoning (of CEO, pure executive setting goals and logically accomplishing them) and effectual reasoning (of Entrepreneur using all available resources to derive the solution). Try doing Critical Reasoning part along with may be one passage from Reading Comprehension with Data Sufficiency questions. Make the list of questions for yourself and sit doing them in random order. You can use flash cards with questions, or numbered tickets for each question pooled and selected randomly by yourself. I'm sure you will notice how quickly your brain gets near to its "retard" (sorry) capacity after doing some 15-20 questions. This is due to the switch between two types of the brain. It's very hard to implement this task, unless you either have good mental training or possess excellent brain processing capacities.

How to improve effectual reasoning??

by solving DS type of GMAT questions we can improve our effectual reasoning skills applicable to the test. Any further improvements here are linked to cognitive science.

cans wrote: How to improve effectual reasoning??

Thank u so much for your feedback guys.

@siva I already completed the MGMAT verbal guides. During my verbal exam I felt that the questions were of higher standard especially the SC's. Are there any materials that have the same standard as the actual gmat questions? Please let me know.

@pemdas thank u for your input.

Try doing Critical Reasoning part along with may be one passage from Reading Comprehension with Data Sufficiency questions. Make the list of questions for yourself and sit doing them in random order. You can use flash cards with questions, or numbered tickets for each question pooled and selected randomly by yourself. I'm sure you will notice how quickly your brain gets near to its "retard" (sorry) capacity after doing some 15-20 questions. This is due to the switch between two types of the brain. It's very hard to implement this task, unless you either have good mental training or possess excellent brain processing capacities.


Will this method help me increase my verbal score? Can you also let me know how do I improve SC score?
When solving the OG my accuracy rate is very close to 90% but I somehow failed to do well in my actual Gmat. I was also very calm during my verbal section and the last 2 mock tests I gave were with the essays.

Please advice. Thank You.

ace.gmat wrote: Will this method help me increase my verbal score?

i hope it will work

Can you also let me know how do I improve SC score?

Get the grammar flash book and review all rules. Then switch to MGMAT SC guide, the 3rd edition should be fine - every word there is valuable; read and apply each and every tip from MGMAT SC guide.

When solving the OG my accuracy rate is very close to 90% but I somehow failed to do well in my actual Gmat.

OG does not have CAT engine. The actual exam has one. In OG all questions are in linear function with their page number, question number and your correct/incorrect answer(s). In the actual exam it's all different, and there exists non-linear functional algorithm of scoring. How you could compare your correct/incorrect answers and the accuracy rate in OG with the real exam. It's very-very fallacious approach, and if any GMAT prep company does such rating of accuracy vs. actual exam score prediction, this is just waste of time and true deception.

I was also very calm during my verbal section and the last 2 mock tests I gave were with the essays.

The stance of being "calm" sounds vague. You mean you were not nervous, but then you need speed and must be a bit on nerves. Better to be "cold head" and "brisk" on exam.

I enjoy reading the posts on this forum but I rarely if ever post any messages myself. But this time I just wanted to share a couple of things. I sense that so many folks here put so much additional pressure on themselves to perform well on the test - it just seems excessive to say the least. It's intense!

8 hours a day for 30 days straight -- man that's beyond hardcore! Can you imagine working out in a gym for 8 hours a day for 30 days straight? You mind needs a break just as your body does. And looking at your practice scores -- its obvious you know the material. It comes down to backing your abilities and going out to the test center and attacking the test -- but not with all the extra pressure you seem to be putting on yourself. You got to breathe first!

Take a few days off...watch a few inspiring movies -- its a great way to get the juices flowing. Some suggestions in no particular order..Goodwill Hunting, Rudy, Dead Poets Society, Rocky and The pursuit of happyness...

You will figure it out..And remember -- at the end of the day -- GMAT is just another standardized test. It's like a boulder blocking the road to B-school. Just do your best to get it out of the way. Don't treat it with too much respect...its only a boulder. Of course respect the content and prepare as well as you can -- but I think it helps the psyche to treat these standardized tests with some disdain. You tune your mind to conquer it rather than be consumed by it!

ace.gmat wrote:Hello guys,

I gave my GMAT today and got a score of 550 (Q 48, V 20). I have no clue of how I ended up with a score of 20 in verbal. I wanted to break the 700 barrier but I ended up getting 150 points less than what I desired.

I started my preparation in mid of February and took a month off from work in May. From Feb to April I was studying 2 hours a day on weekdays and 6 hours during the weekends. During the month of May I spent more than 8 hours everyday.

Here are my scores from the mock tests

(1)GMAT PREP 1 - 600 (Q 44, v 28)
(2)Manhattan Test 1 - 600 (Q 45, v 29)
(3)Manhattan Test 2 - 660 (Q 44, V 36)
(4)Manhattan Test 3 - 630 (Q 45, V 32)
(5)Manhattan Test 4 - 680 (Q 48, V 34)
(6)Manhattan Test 5 - 720 (Q 48, V 40)(Some questions in verbal were repeated)
(7)Manhattan Test 6 - 710 (Q 48, V 39)
(8) Gmat Prep 2 - 650 (Q 49, V 31)

I was fairly disappointed after my gmat prep 2 test. Since I took a month off from work I decided to go ahead with my exam and was expecting a score between 630 and 670.

Actual GMAT 550 (Q 48, V 20). I was very calm during the exam and did not let the pressure get the better of me. I don't even have an idea of what went wrong during my verbal.

The books I followed

(1)OG 12th edition
(2)OG verbal review
(3)Manhattan SC guide.
(4) Manhattan Math guides
(5) Kaplan GMAT 2011 premier
(6) Kaplan 800
(7) Powerscore CR (I was not able to apply the rules I learned here on my final GMAT)

I want to give my GMAT again and break the 700 barrier. I have no idea of what I should be doing to beef up my verbal score to atleast 38.

I want to take my mind away from GMAT for a week and start studying again.
Guys, please suggest me what I should be doing to improve my verbal score. I want to take up a GMAT course. Is it possible to jump from a score of 550 to a score of 700+?
Can you guys suggest me any courses that can help me improve my verbal score to around 38.


Please advice. Thank You so much.

Here is my expereience...

I am very disappointed and sad to inform you that i appeared for GMAT today and scored pathetically.

Overall 610 Quant 48 Verbal 27

I never got this low score in any of my mock tests. The lowest i got was 640 in the Kaplan and 640 in MGMAT CAT 1, which i wrote without any prep. I scored 760 on GMATPrep1 and 710 on GMATPrep2. I reinstlled the software and scored 760 and 710 subsequently. I am not sure how i got this low score.
In all the OG verbal problems, my accuracy was consistently above 80%.

i think i got too tired by the prep and lost all my energy by the G day.

MGMAT CAT1 640
MGMAT CAT2 650
MGMAT CAT3 680
MGMAT CAT4 710
MGMAT CAT5 710
MGMAT CAT6 720
Kaplan CAT1 640
Kaplan CAT2 680
Kaplan online 690
GMATPrep1 760
GMATPrep2 710
GMATPrep1 reinstalled 760
GMATPrep2 reinstalled 710
Knewton diagnostic 680

I believe the sheer hard work done for the GMAT makes your brain dull. You need to be cheerful and happy when you write GMAT. I was not feeling happy and was bored from all the hard work and was stressed while writing GMAT. Change your mindset. Give yourself some break. Relax and then write GMAT.

@sss2534 thank u for the feedback. I will definitely keep this in my mind and will make sure I dont stress myself too much the next time.

What does (Q48,V20)signify?