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Failed the GMAT for the 2nd time! :(

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Failed the GMAT for the 2nd time! :(

by cnayebyan » Sat Nov 24, 2012 5:23 pm
Hi everyone, I have never felt so depressed in my life and Im not sure how to go forward from here.

So the first time I took the test was exactly a year ago and I took the kaplan course twice and winged it even though I felt like the class didnt help much. got a bad score of 340! Q22 V15

After that I got a private tutor and studied up till now. I felt a dramatic difference in my confidence level and I was certain I was going to do a lot better this time around. I have taken numerous amounts of practice tests and never scored below 500. This time around I got a 350! which is pretty much the same thing! Q25 V15. I am so frustrated with myself i dont know what to do. I was so sure I would do well and that score is just beyond ridiculous.

If there is anything you can tell me that will make me feel better and not give up I would really appreciate it. I feel stupid that Ive studied for 2 years and put in thousands of dollars into this and no success. Where do I go from here? I dont want to give up.

Thank you
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:48 am
Hello,
I read your post and felt really bad for you so I thought I'd try to help you. To begin, what materials have you used? What has been your study method? Did you just take the Kaplan tests or did you take other ones as well? How much do you study a week?

If you just took the test take a break. But- you should still read magazine and newspaper articles everyday (nytimes.com or economist.com are two good sites)

Hang in there
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:48 am
Also, what are you taking the GMAT for?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:00 am
Don't be disheartened, cnayebyan

You won't be the first person to get a 350 score and then crush the GMAT after more studying. If you check BTG's "I Just Beat the GMAT" forum, you'll find several such stories.

Okay, where do we go from here. I suggest a systematic (even methodical) approach, in which you take the time to master each topic/concept (e.g., percents, ratios, assumption questions in critical reasoning, comparison questions in sentence correction, etc).

So, for each topic/concept, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

You should also use an Error Log (aka Improvement Chart) while completing questions from the Official Guide (OG). You can find a free downloadable Improvement Chart here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log. This will help you identify and strengthen your weak areas.

I also suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site, since they often model the steps you should be taking when answering question.

In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests.

If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Cheers,
Brent
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:02 am
You might also consider signing up for BTG's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
This will help keep your studies on track, and ensure that you cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Cheers,
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by cnayebyan » Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:12 pm
Thank you guys for your feedback I really appreciate it!

Dan- The materials that I have used so far are, most of the Manhatten books such as sentence corrections, Equations and inequalities, Word Translations, OG Guide 12th edition, Kaplan, And mostly a bunch of packets that my tutor sent me with step by step pieces of information for each type of question. My study method is to read the information and write down the important steps to remember and also do a bunch of practice problems. I guess I need to change the way I study. I have taken many practice tests, Kaplan Cats a long time ago, most recent tests gmatprep 1 and 2 many many times, manhatten practice test and few paper tests from my tutor. I used to study at least 5 hours a day every day...when I wasnt working, but now that I am working I dont have much time and energy so I study for about 3 hours a day on weekdays and all day weekends. At this point I feel so disgusted by this test and the questions..makes me sick to stare at another gmat question. To answer your last question I am taking this test to get into business school for the mba program at Pepperdine. I dont want a crazy 700 score .. ill be happy with 550. I feel like Ive done so much I dont know what more I can do. Thank you :)

Brent- You gave some awesome advice and I was actually thinking of just doing everything step by step and not move on until I know each section. I feel like the test always throws some questions that Ive never seen before and throws me off track. Ive been doing really well on answering most of the questions from the books correct and then the test comes and confuses me. but I was extremely nervous so I dont know if I just panicked or not. What would you say is the best book for practice questions for every topic? Thank you :)
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:22 pm
cnayebyan wrote: Brent- You gave some awesome advice and I was actually thinking of just doing everything step by step and not move on until I know each section. I feel like the test always throws some questions that Ive never seen before and throws me off track. Ive been doing really well on answering most of the questions from the books correct and then the test comes and confuses me. but I was extremely nervous so I dont know if I just panicked or not. What would you say is the best book for practice questions for every topic? Thank you :)
For practice questions, the best books are those with official (retired) GMAT questions.
- The Official Guide for GMAT Review (13th edition)
- The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review (2nd Edition)
- The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review (2nd Edition)

To find out which questions are related to which topics (geometry, stats, etc.) you can sign up for the 60-Day Study Guide. Each day a new topic is featured, and you are assigned practice questions from each of the above resources.

Alternatively, at the very bottom of each lesson module page at GMAT Prep Now (e.g.,: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-powers-and-roots) you will find all of the practice questions related to that one topic.

Cheers,
Brent
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by cnayebyan » Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:17 pm
Brent- I have signed up for the 60-day study guide but I do not have those books. I have spent so much money already and on a very tight budget...I dont know if I can afford to buy anything more. I have the OG Gmat review 12th edition.. would that work? As far as any other type of study method... what is your opinion on the GmatPill? just out of curiosity. Thank you very much.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:24 pm
cnayebyan wrote:Brent- I have signed up for the 60-day study guide but I do not have those books. I have spent so much money already and on a very tight budget...
Unfortunately, preparing for the GMAT will require some sort of investment. Having said that, the Study Guide was created for students with limited budgets. The GMAT Prep Now videos and the MGMAT books are each priced under $150. At $357, GMAT Pill costs more than the GMAT Prep Now videos and the MGMAT books combined.
cnayebyan wrote: I have the OG Gmat review 12th edition.. would that work?
This is a common question. For an answer, see this post: https://www.beatthegmat.com/day-5-queston-t146362.html

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by cnayebyan » Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:31 pm
I realize it takes money, but up till now I have spent over 3,000 on the gmat. taken kaplan $1,500, tutor $2000 and bought all the manhatten books. Just trying to see if i can use what I have.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Nov 25, 2012 4:34 pm
Sorry, I didn't realize you had already spent so much.
I can definitely understand your position.

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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Mon Nov 26, 2012 1:16 am
Hello again!
So, it sounds like your problem is a combination of problems. The first is probably that you were so stressed out on the day of the test that you had a hard time getting in the zone and focusing. Usually when people do 100 points worse than their practice tests its because they miss the subtle tricks that actual GMAT questions present or they forget how to relate the GMAT questions to what they've already learned. So the next time that you take the GMAT you're going to need to learn how to be calm and confident going into the test. For me, I liked to listen to music for at least 30 minutes before I took the test so that I would be in a good mood going into it.

Secondly, Brent is right. You need to go back over the basics. Re-read the Man books that you have. I also agree that you should get the OG verbal and OG math book, but you probably don't need the 13th edition OG because the questions from the OG 12 are still good and probably go along with the Manhattan books that you have (if you have the 4th edition). I would recommend you also get the Manhattan Foundations book. I know you don't want to spend any more money, but to get these three books it will only cost you about 70 dollars, which I think is the least you can spend. So, you should probably start out by
1) reading the foundations book and doing all of the problems
2) going back through the Manhattan books that you have and then doing the questions from the OG books. I would start with the one of the math books and the SC book at the same time. You should also try to do 2 GMAT reading passages everyday to build up your reading comprehension.
3) keeping all of your papers that you use to do questions on. After you do the questions you need to correct your answers. Highlight the steps that you had trouble with by putting a star by that step. Also, write down everything that you learned after reviewing the question so that when you review your work a second time you'll learn more.
4) reviewing all the problems that you go wrong from the last two years

Once you've done all of that it's time to take some more practice tests. Make sure you review the test after you're done.

So in general your strategy for math should be- 1) learn basic strategies 2) practice basics 3) review mistakes and learn your weaknesses 4) work on you weaknesses some more.

For the verbal section- I would use Manhattan's book for RC and SC but not CR. for the CR section I think you're actually better off not taking notes. I wrote about a general CR strategy here

https://www.standardizedtests.org/conten ... ng-section

Make sure that you really understand the CR passage before you try to answer the questions. If you don't understand what you just read the chances of you getting the right answer is small.

Cheers!
Dan
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by cnayebyan » Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:36 pm
Thank you for your feedback Dan! Really helpful. I took your advice and I just purchased the verbal and quantitative GMAT review. I have a lot of packets for the foundations for everything not sure if ill get the manhattan foundations books. I would like to target my weaknesses first and see what work I need to do. I sometimes feel like the GMAT always surprises me with things I've never seen. But just going to go through each topic one by one making sure it's mastered before moving on to the next topic. Since I've already read all of the manhattan books I don't want to waste time reading it again without knowing what my problem areas.
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:13 am
Re-reading the Manhattan books probably wouldn't be a waste of time. You would just go faster through the areas that you're already comfortable with and then go slower on the areas that you have problems with. Don't fall into the trap of studying multiple different books. Using some other books for foundations is fine, but a lot of books say the same thing but just in different ways. Thus, it's generally more efficient to just get good at one or two sets of books.

As for the seeing questions that you've never experience before that is half true. The GMAT has thousands of questions but the trick is to apply the strategies that you've been taught to the questions that you are seeing. When you see a question you need to think, "ok, what does this remind me of from the books I've read?" or "what do I know that could relate to this?". This part comes mostly with practice. Again, when you are doing questions make sure that you highlight the step s that you had problems with.

Cheers!
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by cnayebyan » Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:58 am
Thanks Dan. You are spot on. The GMAT does give u similar questions in many different ways..the hard part is know how to apply what I've learned. I will re-read all the manhattan books and write down everything and do a lot of practice problems. Hope third time will be my last time. One question..how long of studying do you think a person would need ? I don't want to study for too long an fail again. I'm just so much in shock how much time I've studied and the score that I received. I don't want that happening again. I was thinking 3-4 months? For about 25 to 30 hours a week?
Thank you!
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