Should I forget GMAT forever?

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Should I forget GMAT forever?

by gmat_mba » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:28 pm
I have used GMAT OG11 and Manhattan SC. Then I took GMATPrep Test1, 3 times as a practice in
three different days. Here what I got:
550 (Q43, V23)
550 (Q44, V22)
580 (Q43, V28)
By the way, my target score is 650. I feel stupid. What do you think?
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by VP_Jim » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:37 pm
Well, you haven't mentioned if you studied in between those tests. If you didn't study, it shouldn't surprise you that the score didn't change.

If you did put in a significant amount of studying and you haven't seen an improvement, that just means you're going about studying the wrong way. Can you be more specific regarding what you've done?
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by gmat_mba » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:47 pm
For GMAT OG11: I did all the math questions and 70% of each section of verbal problems. I created a list for problems that I missed. Then, I tried to figure out what my problem was. Later, I did redo all of the problems that I missed. I noticed that my problems are DS and CR.

Then I took GMATPrep Test1 three times. Each time, I found the solution of the questions that I missed and understood my problems. My problem is verbal (CR and RC)

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by wickely » Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:29 pm
What about taking a prep course? Sounds like it might help.

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by VP_Jim » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:54 pm
I agree that a prep course might be a good idea. Sometimes there is a ceiling that students hit when studying on their own.

Now, you said that you "did" the problems. The word "did" means many different things, depending on who you ask. Here's how to tell if you truly "did" a problem:

1. You know the category of the question (e.g., "Yes/No Data Sufficiency with Algebra and Plugging In")
2. You discovered the trick/strategy to attack the problem - note that this may not be the same way that the OG suggests you solve the problem
3. You know why every answer choice is wrong (for verbal) or why certain answer choices were included as traps, partial answers, etc. (for math)
4. You could do the question again tomorrow, without thinking about it, and get it right in less than a minute
5. You could change the numbers a bit (for math) and still get the question right
6. You could make up a similar question on your own
7. You could solve a similar question if presented later
8. You could explain to someone else how to solve the question, why your way of doing it is best, and why every answer choice is right or wrong.

Most people don't study this intensely, but it's the key to upping your score into the high 600s and 700s. That last point is one of my favorites - I felt like I reached GMAT enlightenment only after I started teaching, and truly had to break down every problem so that I could explain them to students. Pretend that you have to teach a prep class, and you're going to be expected to know how to do explain every problem in the OG, and preferably have some sort of trick or "lesson learned" from every problem.... that should keep you busy prepping for awhile!
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by VP_Jim » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:57 pm
One last thing: all that applies to questions you got wrong AND right. One of the biggest mistakes students make is getting a question right, patting themselves on the back, and moving on, without doing any sort of analysis or study. Maybe the way you did it wasn't the best way, or maybe the wrong answer choices have some interesting concepts in them that it would be valuable to learn. Don't assume that simply because you got the question right that you know what's going on, at least at the level it takes to truly "beat the GMAT".
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