mmm...now what?

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la1214: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 30; Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; GMAT Score:700

by la1214 » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:00 pm

GMAT Experts,

I took a GMAT Prep 1(repeat) and scored a 690(Q:49, V:35). After I took the test for the first time, I closed it and never checked the questions for answers. I remember seeing a few repeats but din't know what the correct answers were.

I am 2 days away from the exam, not nervous or anything :roll: rather, would like to maximize my prep.
My weakness is RC. I am not able to see a marked improvement( spent about 4 hrs doing various passages)
Please recommend strategies to score that magic 700.

PS: Want to go part time.

Thanks,
Lavanya

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:00 pm

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Tue Mar 26, 2013 4:26 am

Verbal is obviously your focus... My constant advice to people a short time away from their exam is to review answer explanations. Prepare as if you had to tutor someone on what the correct answer is.

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:17 am

That is actually a pretty good idea to close the test without reviewing the answers so that when you took it again you were not sure what the answer was. It takes some willpower to not want to see what you missed and how and why!

This time however, I assume you are reviewing the answers? Figure out what you are doing wrong on the verbal side and see if you can make it simpler. I agree with everything Jim said, so I will add that on the verbal side you should be narrowing your focus to those things that matter and make it simpler rather than more complicated!

Examples of narrowing your focus:
on critical reasoning what is the conclusion and what is the evidence? Do not focus too much on the background information or "context".

For sentence correction, what are the differences between the answer choices? What is the essential word or phrase that helps you to make a decision? Focus on what can actually get you the correct answer - and that means eliminating answer choices for good reasons!

Of course Reading Comp is about focusing on the portion of the text that will get you the correct answer. So you often need to go back to the text and focus on that portion.

So narrow the focus on the verbal and keep it simple.

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la1214: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 30; Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; GMAT Score:700

by la1214 » Wed Mar 27, 2013 12:26 pm

Thank you David for the advice. I took GMAT PREP twice today and landed on the same 680(Q 49 V 31) score.
Last night, I was extremely anxious and ended up taking GMATPrep and scored a 650(Q:45 V:38)
I did not check my mistakes yet, but will do it in a bit. I am super exhausted.

I am unable to understand the fluctuation in the V and Q portions. How could i go from 31-38-33 on verbal and 48-45-49 on quant?

Thanks so much,
Lavanya

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Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:11 am

First of all, there is no real reason for your scores to be different if you take the exam back to back. Honestly, it is kind of a waste of energy. You learn when you review your mistakes. 3:30 hours of GMAT is enough for one day. Take an exam, go do something else, and come back to review the next couple of days.

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la1214: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 30; Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; GMAT Score:700

by la1214 » Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:34 am

I agree!

I took my GMAT a couple of days back and scored a 680( Q: 42 V 41). Honestly, I really dont know what happened.

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Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:10 am

Was that your real GMAT? Are you stumped with your quant score?

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la1214: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 30; Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; GMAT Score:700

by la1214 » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:56 am

That was my score- 680(q 42 v 41)!

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:01 pm

You scored really well on the verbal side. Your Quant seems much lower than it was on the practice tests.

That is a very good score (680) and can certainly work for most part time programs. Are you thinking of taking again to try to move that Quant up a bit and get the 700 that you mentioned before??

David

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la1214: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 30; Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:34 amFollowed by: 1 member; GMAT Score:700

by la1214 » Mon Apr 01, 2013 5:09 pm

Hello David,

My target schools are Anderson, Booth and Kellogg. Will my score work for these schools? Here is my profile-

30/f/India
Undergrad: Comp Sci Engg (graduated in top 5% of the class, GPA: 3.6)
Masters: Comp Sci( On a full scholarship at a private university, GPA: 3.3. Graduated in 1.2 years)
6+ years at a top investment bank as a business manager(COO's Office).Managed a multi million dollar budget.
Experience working with C-level management (budget presentations, resource planning etc)

Current Role:
Solutions Architect at a localization firm
Manage 10 heavy weight clients(Merck, Hilton,Bank of America, INTEL etc)
Responsible for architecting customized localization solutions and leading implementations

Extracurriculars
Played district level chess
Trained in Argentine Tango
Learning to play flamenco guitar
Avid board game fan(Acquire, Le Havre, Coloretto etc)B-)
Star Trek Fan (Love Spock)

Thanks,
Lavanya

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pmFollowed by: 512 members; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:09 pm

Let me consult some of the Admission Consultants here at Veritas and see if I can get you an expert opinion!

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