GMAT has shellacked me 3x ... Any advice?

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Bluejaysfan: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:57 pm

by Bluejaysfan » Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:10 am

Hi Everyone,

I've written the test 3 times on June/11, June/12 and June13 without success. The first two attempts I didn't really focus on verbal as I ran out of time studying, but got

Test 1 - 430 Q33 V19 6.0/6.0 Essays
Test 2 - 450 Q34 V19 6.0/6.0 Essays

The third time I put a significant time to study for the verbal section. I bought all 9 paper tests from GMAC and could nail 13-14/15 critical reasoning per test within the time frame and I also completed Kaplan GMAT Premier.

Test 3 - 400 Q27 V19 [not sure about essay/IR as I wrote it last week]

I have one more chance in 7 weeks to submit my GMAT marks for an MBA school. I am a 24 year old male with a Bachelor of Commerce from Ontario. I have a 3.5 average over the last 2 years and a 4.0 in the last year of study.

My profs have suggested e-mailing GMAC for medical reasons as I get very tired looking at the computer for 4 hours at a time and hate not being able to cross out the answers as I go. These scores do not reflect my ability.

I'm just looking for help as I'm pretty depressed and disappointed as I spent the last 3 weeks in the library everyday and also racked up $15.00/day in parking

I'm only looking for a 550 with a minium of Q30 V26 to get into my program....

Any suggestions?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — I just Beat The GMAT! | Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:10 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:01 am

To get a 550+ score in the next 7 weeks, I suggest that you first focus on concepts that have the greatest return on investment (ROI). These are concepts that are tested frequently and require the least amount of time to learn. In my opinion, these concepts are:
- Sentence Correction
- Data Sufficiency strategies
- Percent
- Integer Properties
- Powers/roots
- Algebra
- Geometry

I say all of this because I see a lot of students spending far too much time agonizing over concepts like Probability and Counting, when these concepts are seldom tested.

Your CR skills sound solid, so you probably don't need any extra work there. On the RC side of things, we have a free set of videos that cover all sorts of Reading Comprehension strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... prehension

IMPORTANT: In addition to studying the high ROI concepts, be sure to take several official practice tests in order to perfect your time management skills and build your endurance.

Cheers,
Brent

PS: Go Jays

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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Bluejaysfan: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:57 pm

by Bluejaysfan » Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:39 am

Thanks, Brent.

Can we connect over e-mail as I've been using the GMAT Prepnow software, but I don't think I'm using the software as well as I should be.

I believe I've nailed percent increase/decrease, power/roots, algebra and geometry very well as I've done the Kaplan math workbook Eighth Edition inside-out. I don't think I did as well on CR on the actual GMAT as I found the time very compressed (maybe because I didn't organize my RC as well as I should've and got lost in the sentences). I find that sentence correction is very challenging on the computer versus a paper based copy and I always tend to hover over 1-2 answers.

I'm possibly looking for a tutor in Dartmouth, NS if you have any suggestions.

1/ Is there a maximum amount of hours I should put in per day before I go tire myself out ideally?
2/ What practice tests do you suggest taking as I know about every company offers them?

Thanks for all the input,

jays are going for 8 today!

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GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:51 am

I just PM'ed you my response.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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yepgirlnope: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 7; Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:08 amFollowed by: 6 members; Thanked: 4 times

by yepgirlnope » Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:12 am

I understand the frustration with not being able to cross out answers. For verbal, I found it helpful to make a grid on the noteboard that had A B C D E down the first column, and when you encounter a tricky question, use that to "cross off" answers you know are incorrect.

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