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

Redeem

Frustrated, Demotivated and discouraged.

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:33 am
Thanked: 4 times

Frustrated, Demotivated and discouraged.

by anin » Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:38 am
Hello all,

I'm really frustrated after taking my 4th practice test today. I've been preparing for the last 6 months and thought have covered the basics well. But I am consistently scoring in the 400s and 500s. Cant seem to progress any further. Is scoring high impossible for people like me ? Have been ignoring family and social life for the last few weeks. I feel that its all worthless, 'cos I dont see any improvement. Scores have been 30-35 in Quant and 23-29 in Verbal. When I see a score lower than my diagnostic test after months of preparation it is devastating. Wonder if its worth investing any more time on this.
I'm using MGMAT materials, OG 12 and beat the gmat / Gmatclub mainly for my prep, and supplementing with other materials for some basic stuff and for strategies. Also, maintaining an error log.
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. :cry:

Thanks.
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 » Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:56 pm
Hey Anin,

Wow, that's an attention-grabbing post title! Hopefully some of us in the community can be of help...

I'd say this - it sounds like you're putting a ton of time and effort into the "what you know" facet of the GMAT, but I don't see much evidence (and it's usually the case with particularly-motivated students) that you're putting as much effort into the twice-as-important "how you think" component.

I'd highly recommend that you go back to your most recent practice test or two and revisit the questions by asking yourself about your thought process on them:

-What was your first reaction to the question (did you make sense of it by determining what was being asked or what information was given?)

-What mistake did you make in answering incorrectly (are there patterns in your errors that you can fix quickly?)

-Did you spend too much or not enough time on certain questions?

-What types of concepts or skills did you tend to miss most often? Were your "I didn't know how" errors more common than your "I made a critical mistake" mistakes? (My hypothesis, incidentally, is "no")

Some self-analysis along these lines should do at least one of two things:

1) Alert you to some significant holes in your conceptual knowledge base and give you some emphasis on what to study

2) Show you some common thought process errors that you need to fix in order to capitalize on all of the things you already know how to do

If you're putting in the kind of time and effort that it sounds like you are, my sincere bet is that you're missing out on that second point, and now you just need to work on getting credit for all of the things you already know how to do. It isn't easy, necessarily, but ultimately I think it's more fun and pretty rewarding to fix those things. Best of luck!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:33 am
Thanked: 4 times

by anin » Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:40 pm
Hey Brian,

Thank you sooo much for your response and kind words. I greatly appreciate it. I'm going to apply each word from your response and work on it. You are right, what I'm missing is probably some self analysis. I will keep you updated on my progress. Thanks again for your help.
Top
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 » Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:46 pm
Thanks, Anin - glad that helped! Please do keep us all posted...like I said, the good news is that now your job is to get credit for all the hard work you've already done, so I think you'll see the progress a little more concretely!
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

Looking for GMAT practice questions? Try out the Veritas Prep Question Bank. Learn More.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1