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Scoring 400-500 consistently. Need guidance to improve

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Scoring 400-500 consistently. Need guidance to improve

by BryanBTGMAT » Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:37 pm
I have been preparing for the the GMAT for about 2 months now and have not seen as much improvement as I would have like at this stage in my prep.

I signed up for tutoring with The Princeton Review (TPR) and for about 8 sessions. Tutoring helped me understand the structure of the test, how to approach the various questions and remember many math and english concepts that I had forgotten or was rusty on.

Here are my practice test scores since the beginning of my prep

Online GMAC practice: 420

TPR Practice 1: 390 (V20 Q24)

TPR Practice 2: 390 (V22 Q22)

TPR Practice 3: 410 (V9 Q38)

TPR Practice 4: 500 (V31 Q29)

TPR Practice 5: 440 (V9 Q42)

TPR Practice 6: 570 (V32 Q37)

1st Real GMAT: 390 (V19 Q25)

TPR Practice 7: 490 (V24 Q35)

TPR Practice 8: 490 (V25 Q33)


My current study approach has been the following:

Time
Weeknights 2 hours / night
Weekends 1 day for a practice test and the other day 3-4hour studying

Materials
I have been following the TPR content which does utilize OG 13th ed.
Verbal and Quant Books from TPR
Online Drills and Tests
Flashcards (dont review as much as I should, probably once / week)
2 Iphone apps - GMAT related (Beat the Gmat Flashcards and Prep game - timed math problems)

Studying
reading review and practice problem review of verbal quant concepts
questions from OG, verbal, quant
drills of verbal, quant
review problems I get wrong during practice exams.

So with this I still am not seeing the improvement and quite honestly I am beginning to lose the desire to study since I am not seeing the improvement. I certainly feel more confident with the material but I just haven't seen the score results increase.

Please provide some guidance. Thank you
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by NextGreatLeader » Thu Sep 13, 2012 6:28 am
Bryan,
It can be extremely frustrating to not see clear evidence of meaningful progress in our practice tests. However, don't give up. You just need to change your approach.

I think you're taking too many practice tests and not spending enough time reviewing. You should be reviewing every question, not just the ones that you got wrong.

Also, you should be spending 2-3 times as long reviewing as you spend solving the actual question. For each question, make sure you fully analyze why you got the question right or wrong, then think about what other way you could have solved the problem. The actual solutions aren't as important as understanding the skill being tested; afterall, you'll never see that exact same problem on the official exam. Use these forums to see how other people would have solved the problem. The OG explanations often aren't very helpful.

While reviewing the problems, take note of which question types and skill areas give you the most trouble. Maybe you tend to get geometry problem solving right, but struggle more with data sufficiency involving number properties. Whatever it may be, take the time to figure out what areas need the most improvement. From there, you can target your weaknesses.

Good luck!
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by Bara » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:03 am
I second what NGL says. It's imperative that you catalogue what you're getting right and wrong, as well as their relative difficulty. You also need to look at where your score goal is - for real, not 'I want an 800' goal. Then calculate how many more right you'd need to get to that goal.

WRT 'where' you're scoring, you're likely only getting the foundational type questions correct - - not breaking beyond that. So you might want to take a two tier approach - - look at the questions you're getting correct - - then isolate a more difficult question that tackles the same 'skill sets.' See if you're able to slowly move the 'range' of questions you get correct within your strength points (and here is hoping your strength points are the highest yield question types...).

In terms of the questions you're answering incorrectly, you might need to audit down further - - are they hybrid? singular? And get help in identifying 'what' and 'how' it is you're getting them wrong. If it sounds like you're needing to do sleuthing - - you do. It might be you need to up your game and work with one-on-one experts - - obviously there is a premium for this kind of service - - but you'd move through the process a lot quicker if someone is able identify who you are on the test and what you need to do to improve. And improve quickly. Or as quickly as possible.

Also look at your performance and the conditions in which you scored: how did that 570 happen? Your verbal ranges from 9 to 32 and Math, 22 - 38 - - what would it take, just for starters, for you to get a 32 and 38?

Good luck!
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by HalifaxGuy » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:27 am
Hi,

I am goign through the same problem. I have my GMAT in a few days. My test scores are dismal. I think my initial strategy was to do as many practice problems as possible. That really hasnt worked. for my second attempt, I will have to rethink my strategy.
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by Bara » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:43 am
Hallifax - - are you going into battle without armor and weapons? Many if not most of our clients take the GMAT twice - - it IS one of the strategies we impart.

While the Olympic Games are recently over - - you might want to learn from olympic athletes - - how do they go into their 'test.' Skills development, self evaluation, practice, strategy and mindset.

When you have all these things in place - - you're Golden!
Bara Sapir, MA, CHt, CNLP
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:29 am
HalifaxGuy wrote:Hi,

I am goign through the same problem. I have my GMAT in a few days. My test scores are dismal. I think my initial strategy was to do as many practice problems as possible. That really hasnt worked. for my second attempt, I will have to rethink my strategy.
The GMAT is a very clever test. The test-makers spend a lot of time creating questions that can be solved using multiple approaches, and you will be rewarded (score-wise and time-wise) by finding the fastest approaches.

For this reason, you must learn GMAT-specific strategies before taking this test. Tackling practice questions is fine, but it should be part II of your preparation.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by BryanBTGMAT » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:15 am
Thanks everyone for the feedback! I do agree that the official guide solutions are not always the best. Is there a source (forum/ online / text) where you can learn alternative solutions to OG problems?

Thanks again!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:18 am
BryanBTGMAT wrote:Thanks everyone for the feedback! I do agree that the official guide solutions are not always the best. Is there a source (forum/ online / text) where you can learn alternative solutions to OG problems?

Thanks again!
On this site (Beat The GMAT), you'll find every OG question (and more) discussed at great length.
Either post a question, or conduct a search. In most cases, each question has been discussed in at least 5 different threads.

Cheers,
Brent
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