GMAT Strategy

Hello friends,

I just came in after giving my GMAT for third time and score 620.
I am trying to beat this beast from last over 15 months. I have done everything possible I can do to study and ace this test. However, I have been only disappointed all these three time I appeared for my exam.

Here something about me.
I am 27 yrs old male engineer, Indian having 5.0+ years of experience in IT industries. Now I have came to USA on my H1B but I am not at all interested in IT field rather rather from very beginning of my career I felt I am stuck in very wrong place but I always wanted to come out of it and MBA from very good (maybe, TOP 25) college is what I always used to dream. I appeared say 3-4 time for all Indian MBA entrance exams while I was in India but some how I could break 90% barrier the best I achieved was 85%tile for CAT exam in India. Then looking at the experience I have gained I shifted my horizon from domestic to International MBA. I somehow always had this believe that what is happened... It’s for good... so thinking positive I started my prep for GMAT. Frankly speaking when I start with it I really felt the level was far easy than all other Indian MBA entrance test and it’s true to some extent. And then I set a target of 700+ for myself because I know I belong to very competitive bracket being MALE, INDIAN, IT, 5.0 YRS EXP, I have very typical profile which is identical to about every 3 out 5 MBA applicant. So I have to score 700+ if I need to do my MBA in any of TOP 25 schools with good scholarship etc.

My career interest in Human Resource and General Management. So my dream schools are
Cornell, USA
Indian business School, India
Thunderbird, USA
INSEAD, Singapore

Most of all these school need 700+ score(I guess)

So my question is:-
Considering my situation and the fact that I want to come out of IT industries without compromising on monetary and Value education. Should I try for my 4th GMAT attempt with an intension of 700+ or I should apply with this 620 score???

Now,
If I analyzed my performance in all these test section wise
610(46Q, 28V)
600(50Q, 21V)
620(48Q, 27V)

I can conclude that even tough I am good in Quant my verbal need heavy improvement by at least 8-10 point. So even in my worst day if I happen to score 46 in quant scoring about 38-40 in verbal can ensure me good GMAT score. But I hardly find anything is left for me on verbal front as I have done:-

Princeton
Kaplan Premiere Edition
Kaplan Verbal book
Kaplan 800
OG10
OG11
Official Verbal Review
Official Quant Review
Manhattan all 8 book (Including latest edition of SC book)
LSAT for RC only
IMS, a coaching class in India, notes

And I have also given almost the entire available test from
Princeton
Kaplan
Manhattan
Verities
800Score

I know I am working TOO hard crack this not so hard exam for few of you. But I have this FIRM believe that I can beat this beast and score 700+

I don’t know where and what is lacking in my prep. I am studying for literally whole day just thinking of GMAT, GMAT and only GMAT. Few of you may say that this is madness but I believe it passion, it is believe that you have on yourself, it more of faith, its more of proving yourself something.

So friends, Eric, VIP_JIM, STACY, STUART, RON, IAN, Parallel_chase, ngufo, Logitech, Cramya and all other who are reading my mail. Please suggest me what should be my next course of action. I am playing with idea of giving my GMAT one more last time with an intension of scoring at least 38-40. So I want to know

It is good that I should take it one more time?
How difficult it would be for guy scoring 21, 27 and 28 in verbal in his last 3 attempt to score 38-40 in verbal?
What kind of plan should be in place?
Is one month will be sufficient considering that I can devote 2-3 hrs daily?

Please advice me. Whenever my morale got down I come to this forum and get inspiration now please help me. I don’t want to be stupid who is running for something without taking right advice. So friend please help me by suggesting me right path/Strategy?

Sorry for long post, I hope I explained my position satifactory!!!

Hello, I am by far not an expert in the GMAT as I have never even taken one CAT yet. Hell, I haven't even been studying for a month! Reading your thread shows that you have GREAT determination and faith in your abilities, which is very important in obtaining your desired 700+ score. Your quant. seems to be exceptionally good! But it seems as if your English needs a little boost. Have you tried to take some time off to read newspapers and magazines, like Business Week or Time? I know that reading is a great way to boost your sense of what sounds right, increase your reading speed and comprehend difficult topics, as you have encountered on the GMAT. This is difficult for even native speakers so your scores are not bad for a non-native. But increasing your verbal by 10 points in a month may be a little tough. Why don't you take some time off to immerse yourself in reading? After a few months, get back to studying the verbal portion of the GMAT and you'll surely see that it has made a marked improvement on your verbal score.

Hi there!

I have read your post and think I should tell you that - you should do GMAT once more - after your verbal will be improved- INSEAD looks good on candidates who have high Quant but low Verbal, if they retake the test and show good Verbal then.
So Bon Courage!!

I should pass my test in two days..scared
Didnt have time to prepare, so likely I'll retake it..

awesomeusername wrote:Hello, I am by far not an expert in the GMAT as I have never even taken one CAT yet. Hell, I haven't even been studying for a month! Reading your thread shows that you have GREAT determination and faith in your abilities, which is very important in obtaining your desired 700+ score. Your quant. seems to be exceptionally good! But it seems as if your English needs a little boost. Have you tried to take some time off to read newspapers and magazines, like Business Week or Time? I know that reading is a great way to boost your sense of what sounds right, increase your reading speed and comprehend difficult topics, as you have encountered on the GMAT. This is difficult for even native speakers so your scores are not bad for a non-native. But increasing your verbal by 10 points in a month may be a little tough. Why don't you take some time off to immerse yourself in reading? After a few months, get back to studying the verbal portion of the GMAT and you'll surely see that it has made a marked improvement on your verbal score.

Thanks for ur advice friend.. I know that I need to concentrate more on verbal and one way can be rreading newspaper and magazine but still I dont want to delay the test again by more than a month or so as thing are very fresh in my miind and I want to maintain my present momentum and give the exam with same. So what I am looking fo very objective kind of advice... nevertheless, ur advice has a valid point and I will take care

yozhig wrote:Hi there!

I have read your post and think I should tell you that - you should do GMAT once more - after your verbal will be improved- INSEAD looks good on candidates who have high Quant but low Verbal, if they retake the test and show good Verbal then.
So Bon Courage!!

I should pass my test in two days..scared
Didnt have time to prepare, so likely I'll retake it..

Thanks yozhig,

That was really encouraging thing... Can u divulge some more on it, if poss... I believe u have ur exam in 2day u just first concentrate on it fist and let me know if need any info from me... it seem now I have become GMAT veteran.. no wonder by giving test like dis any one will become .. just kidding

Dude ... believe you me, I know exactly the situation you are in. I am biting my tongue hard to not digress from the real topic but you have touched upon some sore spots here.

Anyways, I am going to lay it out for you in bullet form. Alot of these thoughts are acquired by reading posts on thsi forum:

1. You will get alot of valuable free advice on this forum, you will have to decide whats best for you.

2. GMAT is simply standardized test and you should not let it affect you personally in any way.

3. To start off with , you have written GMAT 3 times with little to no significant variance in your scores. Talking to representatives from a lot of business schools it was clear that they dont mind people taking GMAT x number of times but they woudl like to see a positive progression in scores.

Or else they cant help but wonder that is person just trying his luck or is he actually taking a moment to step back , look at his previous scores, formulating a new strategy of going forward.

So questions to ask yourself are, what did you do different each time before retaking the test?? Have you identified/pinpointed your weaknesses??

4. To be honest 630 is really not that bad of a score. Yes it would be great to join the 700+ club (and believe you me, i m one of the biggest wannabe's when it comes to joining the 700+ club). But it would also be great if every engg is an IITian and every MBA is from IIM-A. What I woudl strongly suggest is to evaluate your other qualifications. You said you belong to a tough pool of applicants. Do you think if you get a score of 730, you would be out of that pool. I dont think so. If you have great extra curricular and you can show the adcoms a progressive leadership/entreprenuerial qualities, you would be a competetive candidate for any school with your current GMAT score.

5. Last but not the least, its very important for you to realize what exactly are you looking to get out of thsi degree. Again going back to the previous point. It would be great if we all could walk into Wharton/LBS/Insead but thats never the case. You said now you realize that you should have never gone in the IT industry, all i m trying to say is , make a conscious decision while selecting the school so that you dont repeat the same mistake as you did while selecting IT as your career choice.

Finally ... what i have said above can be (mis)interpreted in a lot of ways. I have no interest in de-moralizing you. I am just trying to give you a different perspective.

Good luck.
-A

Thanks Anshul for ur different perpective ... But still I have a feeling that I can achieve 700 but it just a matter of pushing my verbal by 8-10 point more.. and considering that I know now most of verbal stuff I am confident that thing should work on my ways. But what i really need is good strategy, which i am expecting from this foum.. but unfortunately my post has nor been responded by GMAT GURUS yet.. Friends I am still waiting for all ur suggestion/ advice.. please help

Anshul has some very good points.

If you really want to retake, however, I would highly discourage you from rushing into a new test in a month (Now, take this with a grain of salt as I don't know your learning skills or anything about you for that matter... and I am just another guy on this board, just like you ).

My personal impression from your verbal scores is that you have significant problems in that area and I think it would be foolish to shoot for a 10 point improvement in verbal in a month (quant maybe, if you just need to refresh concepts .. but verbal is much tougher to improve on).

I would take a few months to read books .. perhaps take an appropriate English grammar / style class .. or a GMAT prep class (if you have not already done so). You can break 700 .. but you cannot rely on a belief that you can do it .. you have to prove it to yourself in practice tests (the accurate ones .. GMATprep / MGMAT) prior to taking the next official test.

Getting lucky is great (hell I got extremely lucky). But relying on luck or hope is not a good thing .. especially in a situation where you need to show improvement if you take the test again (further to Anshul's point)

Good Luck.

Guru-G wrote:

yozhig wrote:Hi there!

I have read your post and think I should tell you that - you should do GMAT once more - after your verbal will be improved- INSEAD looks good on candidates who have high Quant but low Verbal, if they retake the test and show good Verbal then.
So Bon Courage!!

I should pass my test in two days..scared
Didnt have time to prepare, so likely I'll retake it..

Thanks yozhig,

That was really encouraging thing... Can u divulge some more on it, if poss... I believe u have ur exam in 2day u just first concentrate on it fist and let me know if need any info from me... it seem now I have become GMAT veteran.. no wonder by giving test like dis any one will become .. just kidding

Well Guru..
I was beaten up today - 610:(
English is my problem too..

About INSEAD - I was there and asked about such possibility - high quant and low verbal. So they said it is possible to be accepted if verbal will improve up to 70% (I guess something about 38). Not a lot of information:)

Good luck to you, if you will re-take the test. I am not sure for the moment - very disappointed.

I would stay away from GMAT for a while and work on my fundamentals. Read Read and Read!

You need to recover and revise your study method and habits. If you will not do anything different for the next round, your school will be exactly the same. One year is not an end of the world. Instead of applying in brutal R3, study for another 4-5 months and apply at R1 for 2010.

Hi Guru,

I know how you would have felt because i have also been beaten by the GMAT twice. My scores are 620 --> 580.
Please dont be impulsive. It may sound weird but you are feeling exactly the same as i felt after my second attempt.
After scoring 740-770 in Gmatpreps, i was in the shock of my life when the score dropped from the first attempt. I also thought of giving it again in one month as everything was fresh. But no. Please dont run after it. You will get it when destined.
Meanwhile, as you stated you had been studying for 15 months for GMAT, please give yourself a much required 2 may be 3 weeks off. Forget it for some time. Relax, spend some time with yourself. Meanwhile, also start some reading as suggested by fellow members. After that you will see that your mind is very fresh and charged again. I dont think that by giving a break you will forget the concepts or will miss the questions. I think in this way, you will be more positive. I was also away from this forum for nearly 2 months now.

I am in no way de motivating you. As you are already in US you have all the resources available. I got hold of a December issue of The Economist. It uses the same language as asked in GMAT. I mean American English. By reading those magazines or newspapers, look for the syntax they use. By this, you will start recognizing the patterns and can spot the mistakes better.

All the Best for your next attempt. Dont rush for it!!!! I know you will surely do it. Next time want to see your post on this thread with a 770!!!!

Good luck mate!!!!!
Cheers!!!!

Rajiv

jimmiejaz wrote:Hi Guru,

I know how you would have felt because i have also been beaten by the GMAT twice. My scores are 620 --> 580.
Please dont be impulsive. It may sound weird but you are feeling exactly the same as i felt after my second attempt.
After scoring 740-770 in Gmatpreps, i was in the shock of my life when the score dropped from the first attempt. I also thought of giving it again in one month as everything was fresh. But no. Please dont run after it. You will get it when destined.
Meanwhile, as you stated you had been studying for 15 months for GMAT, please give yourself a much required 2 may be 3 weeks off. Forget it for some time. Relax, spend some time with yourself. Meanwhile, also start some reading as suggested by fellow members. After that you will see that your mind is very fresh and charged again. I dont think that by giving a break you will forget the concepts or will miss the questions. I think in this way, you will be more positive. I was also away from this forum for nearly 2 months now.

I am in no way de motivating you. As you are already in US you have all the resources available. I got hold of a December issue of The Economist. It uses the same language as asked in GMAT. I mean American English. By reading those magazines or newspapers, look for the syntax they use. By this, you will start recognizing the patterns and can spot the mistakes better.

All the Best for your next attempt. Dont rush for it!!!! I know you will surely do it. Next time want to see your post on this thread with a 770!!!!

Good luck mate!!!!!
Cheers!!!!

Rajiv

Thanks Rajiv for ur kind and encouraging word. I really appriciate it. Now the thing is even if I decide to stay away from the book then as u said I still have this fear of forgetting which I dont want. I am thinking if I have reached till here a liitle push and right guidance can definately do wonder for me and I know man i have a capability to reach 700 and I am also ready to give it what ever it takesbut I have to cross that 700. No please I am not yet frustated I can still run for this Marathon but what I am asking with all great and bright mind here to provide me or guide me in my marathon and I promise I wiil achieve.. I know my problem is thinking fast in given time limit. If I can work on each and every problem untimely than I can solve almost 90% of the question correctly so what is lacking in my case is thinking fast/ efficient/ understanding q's and problems within the given time limit of 2 minute and I believe my fundas are quite Ok. As I have read
PowerScore for CR
Solve LSAT book for RC
Read New Manhattan (Oct 2008 edition) for SC which cover nicely almost every concept from OG10-11

So my request to you all that What I should do from here on??

logitech wrote:I would stay away from GMAT for a while and work on my fundamentals. Read Read and Read!

You need to recover and revise your study method and habits. If you will not do anything different for the next round, your school will be exactly the same. One year is not an end of the world. Instead of applying in brutal R3, study for another 4-5 months and apply at R1 for 2010.

LGTCH.
As usual u are very helpful and have empathy toward all aspirant and I really appreciate all ur kind advice but this break thing I really didn't like as I am as charged up as I was 15 month ago and I know I can beat this beast GMAT.
Here is what I am panning to do..
1)Solve all the official question only under the time limit of 75 min on everyday basis
2) Go though most of the GMATprep question posted on this and other forum so that I can understand different way of soving a single problem.
3) Analyzed after solving each and every RC/SC/CR question along with their option as y correct is correct and other are wrong
4) Read almost for an hour atleast .. stuff like FT etc
5) During this whole month I am planning to study 3 hour everyday + 1 hour of reading and then during weekend I will take mock test from MGMAT. Also i will be solving 800 score test but only its verbal section

Yes, when I say all the official q's then I mean question from OG11, OG10, Verbal & Quant review, 9 paper test from GMAC, GMAT Focus q's, possibly dig out most of the GMATprep q's from this forum and other forum as well.
And this whole month 90% of the time will be dedicated to verbal and 15% to quant

Moderator, GMAT instructor, Friends, please evaluate my this plan and let me know ur view on it

Guru G you have a great fighting spirit really appreciate that. Being a non-native speaker I know how difficult it is to improve the verbal score.
Youll have to HAVE TO work on those grammar fundamentals. To improve your SC I would recommend you use the high school grammar book published by Wren and Martin. (Its a masterpiece)

https://www.amazon.com/High-School-Engli ... D1WCXAJFYN

It covers each and every grammar topic covered in GMAT SC and it has chapters on different types of errors such as SV agreement, modifiers etc. Spend 1 month on this book and then do the new MGMAT SC Guide and youll see a significant improvement in your SC accuracy.

For CR, since youve already dont the Powerscore CR Bible, Id also suggest you solve some LSAT CR, first in untimed and then when you get the hang of them try doing them under timed conditions. They are a great great practice and GMAT CRs will look like a walk in the clouds after youve mastered them.

Im re-quoting a tip from this guy who improved his verbal score from 23->40 I think youll find it useful. (I hope he wouldnt mind me posting it here)

OK well let me tell you what I did different to go from V 23 on my first GMAT to V 40 on my second. Keep in mind I think I could've done a lot better too, I had 15 mins for last 2 questions so kinda fucked up on my time management.


This time I realized that people are simply lazy and Smile. Period. Everyone loves practicing SC and sometimes CR but NEVER RC. That's what I did different this time, I k!IIed myself doing CR and RC, I overdid it almost.

When you're doing RC and CR when you're practicing, go through and eliminate every wrong answer. Give a convincing story for why each is wrong. Do this instead of simply finding a good fit and moving on. On test day it will make things a lot easier.

For CR and RC I found that doing LSAT material really helps. RC on the LSAT are very, VERY long and full of info so you'll be relieved when you get back on the GMAT train.

OH BTW! when I did my verbal I had enough time to read every passage twice, why? because I had gotten used to insanely long LSAT passages.

And of course do not forget to read Stacey Koprince and Ron Purewal's legendary SC explanations posted in this forum. Definitely go through them as well.
Just to add a verbal tip:

While doing a SC question ALWAYS look out for a grammatical (or style) error while eliminating an option. Dont just strike out an option just because it 'doesnt sound right' This method is time consuming initially but itll train your mind to think in the right direction and also itll make your SC posts in this forum look much cooler (option A is incorrect because it violates the appositives rule )

Use the same rule for CR and RC. Eliminate an option only if you have a valid reason to eliminate it not because 'I feel its incorrect'.

So my friend good luck with your prep and go kill that monster. Itll be a tough fight ahead but then a tough competition is what makes a fight more interesting and the win more sweeter.

Well, your profile and score matches with mine:
5Y+ exp, IT background, Given GMAT 5 times, last 3 scores were 610, 600 and 620...

But i would write the scary devil again and this time i will scare it.

My personal advice:


1)relax for 2-3 weeks, don't touch GMAT, read lot of quality english.
2)The gap between your next exam date and the current one should atleast be 2-3 months.
3) you don't seem to have a problem with accuracy(again my case), i guess, your test taking stratergy is not good. Improve your test taking stratergy...How? ..this you have to figure out.
Before taking GMAT again, make sure tto get 730+ in standardised tests(manhatten, GMATprep)
4) you can definetely do it.

Best of Luck.