Scored 530 on my first GMAT, need advice and way forward!

This topic has expert replies

harishbiyani: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: 28 Dec 2013

Scored 530 on my first GMAT, need advice and way forward!

by harishbiyani » Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:35 pm

Hi all,

I took my first GMAT 2 days ago and scored 530 (Q37, V26). Although I was highly disappointed I knew that I had not put much efforts to score 700+

Some of the mistake that I did while preparing for the GMAT and while taking the real exam:

1) Never gave mock tests, only gave a mock test before studying for GMAT on Gmat prep software and scored 450.
2) Did not solve official guide questions except for few. After reading concepts from Manhattan, I solved only the practice exercise questions that are available after every chapter.
3) I knew that my quants section on the real GMAT was going well, although In the last one minute I had 5 questions left and I marked them randomly. I think this is the main reason for my low Quant score.
4) My lack of practice in verbal made me realize that I was not doing well on the exam. Also, in last one minute I had 6 questions left which I marked randomly.

Guys, I think I will be able to improve my quant score but I am a bit concerned about verbal preparation.

I studied Sentence correction from Manhattan and made my own notes for Grammar rules. For CR, I took the E-gmat Course.

Now, for verbal should i again study the concepts from some other book or just keep practicing questions and keep analyzing them?

What should be my overall way forward for a 700+ GMAT score ?

Hope springs eternal

Previously, I was a member of beatthegmat community through my facebook account but made a new account due some disadvantages of the fb account.

Thanks,
Harish

Quote

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 15422; Joined: 08 Dec 2008; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; Followed by:1266 members; GMAT Score:770

by [email protected] » Sun Dec 29, 2013 7:21 am

Don't be disheartened, Harish. You aren't the first person to underestimate/under prepare for the GMAT.

So, where do we go from here? For both math and verbal prep, I suggest a systematic (even methodical) approach, in which you take the time to master each topic/concept (e.g., percents, ratios, assumption questions in critical reasoning, comparison questions in sentence correction, etc).

So, for each topic/concept, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

To help you focus on one topic at a time, you can use BTG's tagging feature. For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

You should also use an Error Log (aka Improvement Chart) while completing questions from the Official Guide (OG). You can find a free downloadable Improvement Chart here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log. This will help you identify and strengthen your weak areas.

I also suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site, since they often model the steps you should be taking when answering question.

In addition to learning the core concepts and GMAT-specific strategies, be sure to work on your endurance and test-taking skills (e.g., time management) by taking several practice tests. If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Finally, You might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent

A focused approach to GMAT mastery

Quote

[email protected]: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 234; Joined: 10 Jun 2011; Location: Bangalore; Thanked: 47 times; Followed by:60 members

by [email protected] » Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:05 am

Hi harish,

Over and above what Brent has mentioned, I have a simple 3-step strategy for improving GMAT Verbal scores:

Step 1: You seem to have been overly worried about the rules and not practiced enough. But good news is that you realize it

So maybe you should look at solving all the questions in OG and the Verbal review first. It is important that you spend time revising the questions. The strategy that I recommend is here:
https://www.crackverbal.com/nailed-it-mi ... crewed-it/

Step 2: For OG and Verbal Review, always google for a better explanation of the answers. The explanations in the OG can sometimes suck https://www.crackverbal.com/gmat-og-explanations/. Moreover the point is not to solve a particular question but to learn how you can learn something that can be applied to other questions. Focus on mitigating your weaknesses and consolidate your strengths. This is a crucial phase of your prep. Beatthegmat is a great resource to find expert posts on various topics (you know that already

)Just be careful not to digress from the topic - I see a lot of students wasting time over frivolous points.

Step 3: Pick the GMATPrep questions (again found in this forum) and try solving as many as possible. I am sure you should be able to solve atleast 100-200 in each topic i.e. SC, CR, RC. Make sure you understand the reason behind the correct choice well. Again solving without analysis is of no use. Once you are at that stage you will realize that a lot of GMAT questions really test you on 90% of the areas.

With the above 3 steps (each lasting a few weeks - so about a month and a half in all) I am sure you can get to the mid-30 raw score level.

Arun

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

Free Ebook on GMAT | GMAT Scoring, Study plan, top study mistakes etc
Download here: https://gmat.crackverbal.com/15-minute-gmat-guide

Good enough to get into Harvard? Or would be it ISB? Get a free profile report PDF mailed to you: https://applications.crackverbal.com/fre ... valuation/

Quote

harishbiyani: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: 28 Dec 2013

by harishbiyani » Tue Dec 31, 2013 3:00 am

Thank you! Brent and Arun. I will prepare for the GMAT keeping your suggestions in mind.
I am sure that with hard work, dedication and a good strategy I will be able to score 700+

One doubt that I have, and most confused with is, should I study the concepts for verbal again?
Or practice questions and analyze them?

If i should study the concepts for verbal again , than which book should I do it from?

Thanks,
Harish

Quote

[email protected]: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 234; Joined: 10 Jun 2011; Location: Bangalore; Thanked: 47 times; Followed by:60 members

by [email protected] » Wed Jan 01, 2014 8:28 pm

harishbiyani wrote: One doubt that I have, and most confused with is, should I study the concepts for verbal again?
Or practice questions and analyze them?
If i should study the concepts for verbal again , than which book should I do it from?

If you do the analysis mentioned above, you will be surprised to see/know how little theory/concepts you need to know and how much more is dependent on your technique/application/strategy. There is almost NO theory in RC, and very, very little in CR.

If you do want to quickly revise whatever you have used, please do so. Then get to hitting the questions. Practice is what will give you the required push.

Arun