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Stuck at 620; Considered giving up

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Stuck at 620; Considered giving up

by stockone50 » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:38 am
Hey guys,

I've been reading the posts on here for a while and now feel thats its time for me to seek encouragement and advice from the community. I've been studying since early April and ramping up studying since end of May. Since mid-May, I've been studying every weekday for 2 hours and Sat/Sun 5 hours each. I wasted money on a tutor that got me no improvement, but found someone that 5 sessions ago who I am learning from. However, my CAT scores are as follows:

4/28/2011Manhattan CAT #1: 620 (43Q, cant remember verbal but somewhere in 30s)
5/10/2011 GMAT Prep CAT #1: 610 (both Q and V below 40)
5/17/2011 GMAT Prep CAT #2 (just Quant): 43Q
6/8/2011 Manhattan CAT #2 (just Quant): 42Q

As I was taking the most recent Quant section on Manhattan CAT #2, I was feeling more confident but obviously results didn't show much improvement. I need to score 700+ and have until Aug 10 to achieve that. I don't want to give up, and have decided to keep going

I need your help. Can you advise on what I should do to be more efficient with my study time? I've gone through OG12 (am re doing verbal questions), 75% through OG Quant review, just finished GMAT Pill Sentence correction videos and will begin problems.

Should I purchase another GMAT Pill product? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from those who have been in my position. Thanks
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by Kavita_Singh » Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:51 am
Hi There


There are various ways you can use to practise for your GMAT. It could be combination of online classes, coaching institutes, practise books and even smart phone applications. Having this combination will be giving you access to different styles and it won't be monotonous for you.
How much time you should study depends on your capability. There is no one answer to that. Probably practising the tests will help you gauge your performance and you would know if you are satisfied with your score or not.

If not you can devote more time for GMAT preparation.
Thanks!
Kavita Singh
FutureWorks Consulting
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by arun@crackverbal » Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:57 am
Hi Stockone,

I feel your pain!

What is interesting about your post is that though you have mentioned that you have a problem, and how you have tried fixing it - you have not mentioned what the problem is.

Take out sometime and sit to review your performance. There are a few things that could go wrong when you are not able to score high:

1. Lack of theory/formula. I suspect this is NOT your problem however making sure this covered (like the tech-support guy who asks you if your computer is plugged in when you report that its not booting up! :P). However ensure you are covering your bases by doing all topics in Quant including the ones such as standard deviation, probability etc.

2. Lack of application. This is pretty much when you try to solve questions using "brute force". If you are consistently falling short in a particular area then you should see if there is a better way of solving it. Your tutor should be able to help here. Typically you should be knowing some basic Quant hacks such as yes/no v/s value DS questions, plugging in values, working in reverse, guesstimating etc.

3. Lack of mental stamina or strategy. Are you making more mistakes only while taking the test, or is it a problem that surfaces while you are solving independent questions as well. Also are you getting tired easily during the test (which might explain more for Verbal than Quant)? And finally are you able to manage time well? Maybe your theory, application etc are rock-solid but you are just taking way too much to solve the questions.

There is an answer to every problem but for that you have to first identify the problem :)

HTH,

Arun
Founder of CrackVerbal - India's fastest growing GMAT Prepration and MBA Admissions Consulting Company. https://gmat.crackverbal.com

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by wayofjungle » Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:23 am
Yes I agree with Arun, and I would like to add that perhaps you should develop a new approach to your practice sessions. I previously stormed through a ton of books and realized I didn't retain much after months of practice. Now I am spending almost 4 hours on just doing 20 problems, 10 SC and 10 DS. On every question I write down: what was the concept, was there any trap, and what is my takeaway. Also previously I was very focused on whether I got the practice question right or wrong, now I could care less and almost want to get it wrong so that I can develop a new takeaway. You have to see what works for you, but so far for me 10 questions more helpful than 30.
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