I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi,

I attempted GMAT for the second time yesterday and scored a pathetic 610 (Q:47, V:28).
In my first attempt I got 640(Q:46, V:32, E:5.5). I don't know what went wrong in the exam.

I was scoring around 700 in almost all my practice tests. I have put in a lot of effort and time in preparing. And for my second attempt I put close to 90% of my time in Verbal preparation. I guess, I just don't do good on the verbal section for some reason.

These are the break-ups of all my practice tests:
MGMAT 1 Q:46 V:41 710
MGMAT 2 Q:47 V:41 720
GMAT Prep 1 Q:48 V:33 660 (with essays)
MGMAT 3 Q:48 V:34 680
MGMAT 4 Q:48 V:44 750
GMAT Prep 2 Q:47 V:35 680 (with essays)
GMAT Prep 1 - Retake Q:49 V:41 740 (with essays. 2 repeat verbal question)
Power Prep 1 Q:48 V:42 730
GMAT Prep 2 - Retake Q:47 V:36 680 (with essays. 1 repeat verbal question)

I used the following materials:
1) OG - 12
2) OG Verbal review
3) MGMAT SC Book
4) MGMAT Number Properties
5) Powerscore CR
6) Kaplan Verba l+ Quant workbook

I'm out of ideas and out of preparation material. And the very fact that I scored lower on my second attempt really frustrates me. I always manage to pull my lowest score on the actual test. I'm totally clueless.

This time on the actual exam I really struggled with the Quant Timing and I had just 10 mins left for the last 11 questions and I still managed to get 47. On the other hand, in verbal I was cruising and I was thinking I'm doing really well. But when I saw a score of 28, I was SHOCKED! I don't understand what's wrong. I'm totally saturated and I feel I can't study anymore. Moreover, I don't really know how to improve.

Did any of you guys face a similar situation?

Thanks for your time!

have you taken any time off?

Hi money9111,

Thanks for your reply. By "time off" do you mean if I took a break between first and second gmat attempt?

Yes I did. I gave my first GMAT in Nov, last year. Then I got really busy at work, and starting preparing again only in Feb end.

No I mean lately... like have you taken a day or two to not look at any GMAT material?

Take a week to two weeks off and then get back to it. If you studied the same way for the second attempt as you did for the first attempt, then you shouldn't have expected a different result. You need to study differently to get a different result. With verbal, what I have found that helps me is approaching it systematically. Just like you have a set routine with quant question types, you need to develop a set routine with how you answer each verbal question type. If you do this, you should improve consistency and improve your score. Good luck.

@money9111: Yes I am planning to take a break for a week or so.

@osirus0830: Yes, I have studied the same way as I did during my first attempt. I just increased the number of hours I put in and I made sure I read all the explanations in the OG - for correct and incorrect choices. I tried a new RC strategy - taking notes for each passage. I found that even though I lost some time, my accuracy improved greatly.

I am thinking of taking knewton online course(because it is the cheapest option and I saw good reviews on various forums). This will help me concentrate esp. when I am bored of studying on my own and will provide me with new preparation material, as I am out of questions.

Do you guys have any idea about knewton course? Any inputs?

Thanks for your help!

@ Rainmaker, I know exactly how you feel about the verbal section. Is English your native/1st language? Based on your quant/verbal difference, I assume you're either not native to English or you're an engineer/math/science guy who has sidelined English for as long as you can remember.

I fit into both categories described above. I attempted GMAT twice in the past 1 month. 1st attempt: 670 (Q:49, V31), 2nd attempt: 660 (Q:48, V33). I was shocked by the level of difficulty found in the verbal section both times. I believe the following are some of the root causes to many people who suffer the apparent verbal score stagnation that I have experienced.

1. RC: This is NOT something that one can build up over night, or in a month or two. This requires time and patience over an extended period of time to acquire. Unfortunately, this is the single most important skill that the real verbal section (RC, CR, and SC) demands. I have yet to find out a way to fundamentally improve my reading comprehension skills in terms of both speed and comprehension at the real GMAT level (for comparison purpose, the real GMAT's reading level and question difficulty are comparable to LSAT's) and time constraints. So any inputs on this subject would be appreciated.

2. Preparation materials for the verbal section. After going through most of the prep materials that are currently commercially available: MGMAT, Kaplan, Princeton Review, PowerScore, Manhattan Review, Veritas, OG, GMAT Prep, and GMAT Paper Test, I would like to state the inconvenient truth that none of those materials will adequately prepare you for the real exam in terms of the level of difficulty. NONE. GMAT Prep SC is the only tool that gets you fairly close to the real SC questions. The toughest OG CR problems may be somewhat representative of the easiest CR problems you'll find on the test if you're lucky.

3. SC: While MGMAT SC has been universally praised as the go-to book for SC, it is not the fundamental cure for those who do not have a firm grasp of the components and structures that make up a sentence. I believe this issue has been mentioned several times by posters on this site.

Anyhow, the above are my 2 cents after 7 months of full time struggle. Everyone comes from a different background, so the challenges that each of us faces are unique. I don't believe there's a tip or strategy that works for everyone, but until GMAC decides to publish truly representative OG materials or or some company decides to offer more customized curriculum than just a one size fits all approach based on numerous assumptions according the non-existent average GMAT taker, GMAT will be a unique struggle for many people for years to come.

Hey tallazndood,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Yes, I am an engineer/math/science guy and english is not my first language.

Are you planning to give GMAT again? I am thinking of enrolling in some prep course (knewton) as I don't know how to improve on my own.

rainmaker wrote: Are you planning to give GMAT again? I am thinking of enrolling in some prep course (knewton) as I don't know how to improve on my own.

All prep courses assume fundamental mastery of the English language. I have taken one myself (not with Newton), but found it practically useless. For people like us, prep courses provide little help, if any. I may attempt the GMAT again, but definitely taking my time to address my fundamental weakness and NOT jumping in for any "silver bullets".