GMAT Strategy

Hello,

I have given gmat in 2011 a year out of college. I scored 710 (Q51, V34) AWA 6 with barely any preparation. Had just solved the Kaplan Advanced 800. But I feel that I should improve my verbal score and give it my best shot.

I am aiming to improve my verbal score drastically(Minimum 40+). Have been preparing for over a month now. Feel much more confident with verbal. Have properly read Manhattan SC guide, Powerscore CR & loads of online content. Practiced OG and still continuing practicing other resources.
However the practice tests I have taken are not really helping me understand if I should take a date to give gmat again. Here are my practice test scores with Split

In chronological order:
MGMAT 1 - 640 (Q45, V33) - [Base Test]
MGMAT 2 - 650 (Q43, V36)
MGMAT 3- 680 (Q45, V 37)
GMATPrep 1 - 710 (Q50, V36)
MGMAT 4 - 730 (Q45, V45)
KapTest 1 - 730 (Q51, V38) **** [Quant - made 12 mistakes]
KapTest 2 - 750 (Q51, V35) **** [Quant - made 5 mistakes, didn't submit last answer] [Despite a lower verbal score I wonder how I got a better overall score]

As you can see my verbal scores are all over the place. What do you suggest? I am not sure what scores to trust. Should I be happy or should I be demoralized that my verbal scores are not doing that great. I make around 2-4 errors in sentence correction, but falter with CR & specially RC. Has anyone been in a similar state. Some tips would be great. I wanted to judge if I can score above V38/V40 consistently in these tests, so I can be more confident in scheduling a re-test. But what should one make out of the splits? I am very confused if the risk is worth it? Any recommendations to get a fair assessment of one's verbal abilities?

Additionally, I find Manhattan Quant extremely time consuming compared to what I gave in the actual test and other tests that I have taken. Is that something to worry?

Hi rockitzza,

I'm curious to know if you're currently using any additional resources. You've taken a practice-exam-heavy approach, so I'm wondering if it's time to invest in resources that will teach you test taking strategies you currently are not familiar with. The good news is that each of your practice scores jumped a bit after each attempt, so it seems to me as if learning a few new strategies (not just continuing to plug away at practice questions and concept reviews) might help you get to where you need to be.

Best,
Rich

Rich@EconomistGMAT wrote:Hi rockitzza,

I'm curious to know if you're currently using any additional resources. You've taken a practice-exam-heavy approach, so I'm wondering if it's time to invest in resources that will teach you test taking strategies you currently are not familiar with. The good news is that each of your practice scores jumped a bit after each attempt, so it seems to me as if learning a few new strategies (not just continuing to plug away at practice questions and concept reviews) might help you get to where you need to be.

Best,
Rich

Thank you so much Rich for your response. I have tried to properly assimilate Manhattan SC guide & Powerscore CR. Other than these I have used OG questions for verbal. I have read a lot of sporadic tips on the internet. And finally I try and analyze the tests I take to figure out weak areas and work on that for a week before I take another test. These are all the resources that I have used. I will be using Kaplan Premier to continue practice in the coming days, post which I plan to use GMAT verbal review and finish off Advance 800 before the test.
What would you suggest for me to improve further in CR & RC. I see both sections quite similarly but my accuracy is unpredictable. During practice, I am able to almost always narrow down to two choices one which is correct, but then that leaves me with a 50:50 chance of getting it right.

As others have mentioned, you simply cannot put faith in any private company's scores. The true value of a CAT isn't in the score it churns out anyway, but in the way in which you're allowed to flex your strategy muscles within test-like conditions and subsequently analyze each incorrect questions in-depth to learn about what you need to adjust or study to move forward.

Here's the score we can trust: GMATPrep 1 - 710 (Q50, V36)

When I work with students, I don't recommend they take the actual exam until they consistently score at least 20 points higher on multiple official CATs. So, for example, if you knew you HAD to get a 700, then you'd want to get a 720 on at least two GMATPreps (and a couple private company's as well would be great!). Remember: on Test Day your score is MUCH more likely to drop slightly than gain. It's really nice to have that "cushion."

Since you're making CR and RC mistakes on the Verbal side, you may need to examine HOW you're approaching these questions. The one thing you can't really get from GMAT books is a rock-solid strategy. You may want to consider doing a few sessions with a tutor to make sure that's in good shape for CR and RC. Can you list out your steps for doing each type of problem?

For RC, for example:

Proper RC Strategy

Step 1 - Read the Passage -> Do a Passage Map! (find the function of every paragraph, the purpose, and the author's POV as you read, and write them down!!)

Step 2 - Rephrase the Question (dumb it down in your own words)

Step 3 - Write Down a Prediction (Go Back to the Passage if you need to!)

Step 4 - Eliminate 3 Choices (Use "+", "-"", and "?" Symbols to record your first impressions, eliminate any "-" and re-examine the "?" until you are down to 2 choices)

Step 5 - Carefully Compare the "Final Two"

Questions to Ask:

- Does the Wrong Answer Use Unnecessary Extreme Language?

- Is the Wrong Answer Outside the Scope of the Passage?

- Is the Wrong Answer Not Specifically Answering THIS Question?

- Can I Rephrase the Wrong Answer to Make It More Understandably Incorrect?

You can see more of what I mean by RC strategy on my blog: https://gmatrockstar.com/tag/gmat-reading-comprehension/

Hope this gives you some food for thought!

Best,
Vivian

P.S. This is in no way official and I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but some clever folks at GMAT Club have made a score calculator based on your CAT scores for different companies. You might enjoy tinkering with it: https://gmatclub.com/gmat-score-calculator/