BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

From 480 to 560 But Want Higher

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:11 pm
Thanked: 1 times

From 480 to 560 But Want Higher

by Cinji18 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 3:41 pm
I just finished the actual test and got a 560, which is an 80-point improvement from my first test. I actually don't feel depressed because of this improvement, but I need a higher score because I'm applying to UCLA(top choice), USC, UC Irvine, and Pepperdine(last choice). As you can probably see, I selected a wide range of schools.

I have a GPA of 3.4 with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Applied Math, and a minor in Japanese. I also have a masters degree in Aerospace Engineering. I figure with this academic record, it will balance out with the low GMAT score, and probably get me accepted to at least one of the schools I listed. However, I still want to give myself the best opportunity for UCLA.

The problem is I'm not sure where to go from here in my studies. I have been studying since mid-February. I have went through the three OG books twice each, some of the MGMAT books, PowerScore CR, and GMATFix OG Companion. I have retaken GMAT Prep so many times, I think I've seen every question (I scored from 660 to 760, except one which was 550). I've also taken full practice tests from Grockit's new CAT with scores ranging from 660 to 690. At this point, I feel like I've run out of resource.

One huge problem is my pacing. When the 5-minute timer appeared in the math section of the actual test, I had around 10 problems left in which I proceed to randomly guess until the last two problems. I scored a 42 in Quant. Having 10 problems left didn't surprise me because that happened during the practice exams, except I was scoring from 47 to 50. I tried going faster, but every time I do so, I lower my score because I feel rushed and I need to be calm. Somewhat strange result coming from a engineering and math major.

For Verbal, pacing again is a problem. If I skip and randomly guess the 3 questions for last RC passage, I would finish the verbal section in time. I scored a 25 in the Verbal. GMAT Prep gave me scores in the mid-30's. I had done a lot of prep in verbal, even hiring a tutor that specialized in verbal. I sincerely believe that I have made quite of a bit of improvement in this area, and yet...

My plan is to retake for the third and last time in early November. I'm not sure what else to do. If I don't get a 650, bye-bye UCLA.
Top
Source: — GMAT Strategy |
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1031
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:23 pm
Location: Malibu, CA
Thanked: 716 times
Followed by:255 members
GMAT Score:750

by Brian@VeritasPrep » Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:27 pm
Hey Cinji,

Congratulations on an 80-point improvement...while it's not quite what you hoped for it certainly represents some terrific progress and you should be proud of that!

Honestly, that kind of score with a pretty serious pacing problem is more encouraging than anything to me - it's not that you don't know what you're doing...it's just that you need to be able to do it faster.

A few questions for you:

1) Can you pinpoint any questions or question types that you know cost you significant time (more on the quant is what I'm asking...I'll get to verbal next)?

2) In your practice tests, were there any families of questions, question setups (e.g. rate problems), etc. that tended to cost you time?

3) On the verbal section, did you employ the guess-on-RC strategy? If so did that allow you to finish on time?

4) Did anything stand out on the verbal section that you didn't expect or felt unprepared for?

-______________________________________________________________

For pacing, I really believe that the easiest way to save time is simply to recognize concepts faster and get started earlier. I've typically seen that people waste time getting started on problems, and that hesitation also leads to second-guessing and stress. I'd recommend the following as a way to practice that:


1) Quick First Step Drill

-Start with a set of 10 quant problems and give yourself 30 seconds to get started on each, and move to the next question after 30 seconds. Have something written down for each problem...even if it's just having assigned variables or something that seems trivial.
-Go back and complete the set after you've done that first 30 seconds on each. See if you've made any mistakes in setting up problem,s and note which setups gave you trouble...you may need to slow down on those concepts, but you can work quickly through those that you set up quickly.
-Keep working this way every so often to get used to starting quickly, and to diagnose the kinds of mistakes you do make when you're setting things up quickly. You should save some time this way, and then even if you only have a few minutes for the last few problems, you're used to making determinations about information quickly so that you can get some really-educated guesses in.

2) Framework

For a set of 10 verbal questions, do the same kind of thing but maybe without the stopwatch - instead, read the question, jot down a category and the first logical step (e.g. "Strengthen CR - conclusion is last sentence" or "SC - modifier first"), then go to the next question. Go back and finish the set and see how well putting that quick category helped you to streamline your thinking up front. It should help you as you learn to identify what's important before you dive into reading.


If you're scoring as well as you already are even with some significant pacing problems, you can definitely get to that UCLA threshold, and the rest of your background sounds compelling. You can do this!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:11 pm
Thanked: 1 times

by Cinji18 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:21 pm
Brian@VeritasPrep wrote: A few questions for you:

1) Can you pinpoint any questions or question types that you know cost you significant time (more on the quant is what I'm asking...I'll get to verbal next)?

2) In your practice tests, were there any families of questions, question setups (e.g. rate problems), etc. that tended to cost you time?

3) On the verbal section, did you employ the guess-on-RC strategy? If so did that allow you to finish on time?

4) Did anything stand out on the verbal section that you didn't expect or felt unprepared for?
Thanks, Brian, for your kind and encouraging words.

First, let me answer those four questions you have for me:

1) and 2) The type of problems that tend to stop me in my tracks for a moment include divisibility and remainder problems, complicated absolute value problems, and probability problems. I have went through and did all the problems in the Veritas Probability book, in case you wanted to know. For geometry problems, I redraw the picture before I read the words. Sometimes I'm glad I do that; sometimes I feel like it's a waste of time. More on the general side, it takes me possibly longer than it should to read the word problems because I have to re-read to make sure I am interpreting the problem correctly, especially those with word definitions. I also tend to double check answers that I am not certain about; a lot of times, though, I end up giving the same answer anyway. There may be other problems, but I can't think of them right now.

3) I'm not sure what the guess-on-RC strategy references. I may know about it, but not under that name, so if you can elaborate, I can tell you, though I doubt I finish on time. Those take forever.

4) One thing I didn't expect was how much longer two of the RC passages were. They were longer than the ones I encountered in GMAT Prep. Unlike my first test, in which I did not understand or absorb anything I was reading, this time I felt I had a better grasp of the passages and questions. Nothing in particular stands out, but I'm sure if I see the questions a second time, I would probably correct 85% of the wrong answers the second time through. It happens a lot during practice; I answer it wrong the fist time, but correct the second time without checking the answer in between. I guess this doesn't help. One bad habit is I have a tendency to retrace back while I'm reading when I feel I'm uncertain about what I just read.

As you can probably tell I second-guess and doubt a lot, especially when I'm not fully confident about an answer. I often end up with two answers, one being the correct one, and selecting the wrong one of the two.

I have to say, though I felt more confident this time around and glad it's an 80-point improvement, but the 560 still is a bit disappointing.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1