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GMAT HELP NEEDED

by yjaber1992 » Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:17 pm
Hello everyone!

I came on this website before and there seems to be a lot of helpful people so here I go!!

Brief Summary:
I studied for 2-3 weeks last summer while working full-time for the GMAT and I managed to raise my GMAT prep from a 460 to a 610. Alas, on exam day I got a 570. I am a straight A student and I thought that would be enough for me to get in my masters but my prospective universities are very adamant that I improve my score.

Therefore, I booked my exam for the 24th of May. I have under a month now to improve my mark and I just wanted some advice. I took a GMAT prep exam (from the ones they provided) and I received a 560. Good news, I didn't really take a step backward. Bad News, I just finished my undergraduate and I'm burnt out after working full-time and taking a full course load. I'm under a lot of pressure to do well in this GMAT, so my motivation will hopefully kick back.


I don't have the resources to spend on extra classes like empower and such so I have to settle with these.

Resources:
Manhattan 13th edition (All Books)
Powerscore Bible: Critical Reasoning
OG13

Exam Date: May 24, 2014
GMAT Current Level: 560
GMAT Level Goal: 650+
Strengths: Quantitative - I definitely know I can brush up on my math skills in less than a week.
Weaknesses: Verbal - I am awful at RC and SC. I'm fairly reasonable in critical reasoning.


I hope someone on here can give me a quick response/guide on how to approach my exam. I am a quick learner, in math, but I'm sure that could be applied in verbal? Any help would be appreciated.
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by [email protected] » Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:16 pm
HI yjaber1992,

What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you took your Official GMAT (and your most recent practice CAT?)?

This Forum is a great place to learn some tactics and get answer to specific questions that are bothering you. You might need more prep time than you've set aside for yourself though. The 2-3 weeks of studying that you put in last year really wasn't enough for you to hit your goal, and it provides some reference that it might take you longer than you think you need to score 650+. Are you facing an application deadline?

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by yjaber1992 » Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:30 am
September 7 2014 Official GMAT: Quant = 46 and Verbal = 23
April 23 2014 Recent GMATPrep: Quant = 43 and Verbal = 25

Fortunately I didn't decline that badly, I realized that I need to refine on my Geometry and my Statistics.

My deadline is June 1st, but I'm rushed because the program might fill up. I decided to right it within a month of my last final exam. My consolation goal is to crack 600, but I'm aiming for 650+.

My only issue is that I work full-time while taking classes, so the 2-3 weeks was all I had before school started again. I'm in the same boat right now.
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by [email protected] » Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:23 pm
Hi yjaber1992,

The goal to crack 600 is modest (and doable) given your time constraints. To score 650+ though, you're going to have put some serious time in on the big point categories. Since you're performing at a pretty good level already in the Quant, your "big chunks" of missing points are in the Verbal section. While you could score 600 with a V23 or V25, you won't be able to score a 650 unless you pull your Verbal score up.

By your own admission, you have problems with both SC and RC. Those 2 categories represent LOTS of points; you'll have to attack those categories over the next few weeks. The good news is that you don't have to master either of them, but you do have to pick up enough points in these categories to hit your big goal. SCs are essentially about grammar/idiom knowledge and recognizing the patterns that the GMAT typically uses to test you on those rules. RC is about basic note-taking and knowing what you have to do to answer the handful of RC question types.

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by yjaber1992 » Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:37 pm
Thank you for your quick response. How do you suggest I target the RC and SC? Just doing problems in the OG and reading the Manhattan books?
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by [email protected] » Fri Apr 25, 2014 3:12 pm
Hi yjaber1992,

To consistently beat SCs, you need to know the various grammar rules that the GMAT will test, so some heavy content knowledge is a must (it's essentially the same as dealing with Geometry - you need to know the formulas to answer those questions; in SCs, you need to know the grammar). Trying to "feel" your way through an SC (or picking the answer that "sounds good") is NOT a good approach. For RC, you should expect to take notes (use whatever format for note taking your books show you and then practice). The OG can be used to test your skills and knowledge.

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by yjaber1992 » Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:45 pm
Thank you for your help Rich! I appreciate you taking the time to give me advice.

I'll probably focus 1-2 weeks on SC/RC alone, 1-2 weeks on everything else. Hopefully that'll boost my grade up to at least 600!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:26 pm
yjaber1992 wrote: How do you suggest I target the RC and SC? Just doing problems in the OG and reading the Manhattan books?
If you're interested, we have a free set of videos that cover all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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