hello
I am new to this forum and looking for some help to conquer GMAT
I have already given GMAT twice and scored 580(q49 v21) and 650(q49 v30) respectively
my experience of recent attempt of GMAT was horrendous. firstly struggled with IR and then struggled with sc although my sectional percentile in SC CR and RC were 68,54,and 47.
please help how can i improve my verbal score to a V35 +
resources used :online : egmat and magoosh books: kaplan book,MGMATbooks,jeff sackman challenge set,veritas prep books,chilly hot gmat,Nirvana sc book and grockit book .i am running short on money so cant afford pricey online coaching or tutors
please help me how to go about with my retake,i am ready to learn from scratch
currently I am doing 1000sc after revising my notes and thinking to do 1000CR and 1000RC
please advise
urgent help required
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- oishik2910
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GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
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I think you're actually doing TOO MUCH! You've named 9 different resources, and you're talking about doing thousands more problems. What makes you think the next thousand is going to make a difference is the previous thousand didn't?
What's important is not how many problems or resources you've seen. It's HOW you're studying:
- are you keeping an Error Log to track the kinds of mistakes you make?
- are you REDOING problems you've done before and seeing if you get them right the 2nd time?
- are you deeply reviewing right answers as well as wrong answers?
You should not do a single new problem until you've done these things! Here's more information on how:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -problems/
What you need to do is rethink your approach, not do more problems. There are a tons of free resources out there (including this forum) that can help. For specific help on SC, start here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... orrection/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... orrection/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ap-part-1/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -tell-you/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ly-normal/
What's important is not how many problems or resources you've seen. It's HOW you're studying:
- are you keeping an Error Log to track the kinds of mistakes you make?
- are you REDOING problems you've done before and seeing if you get them right the 2nd time?
- are you deeply reviewing right answers as well as wrong answers?
You should not do a single new problem until you've done these things! Here's more information on how:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -problems/
What you need to do is rethink your approach, not do more problems. There are a tons of free resources out there (including this forum) that can help. For specific help on SC, start here:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... orrection/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... orrection/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ap-part-1/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -tell-you/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ly-normal/
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
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And here's an advice I wrote for students who want to study for as little $$ as possible:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-place-to- ... tml#786920
https://www.beatthegmat.com/a-place-to- ... tml#786920
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
- oishik2910
- Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2016 10:37 pm
thanks for the reply
1)my intent to do 1000 more is that i want to recognize the patters of questions that GMAT test : learning every possible way GMAT can twist the questions
2)for me error log is more of the idioms and take away from each and every question which i take note of and remember the error i got wrong and not to repeat the mistake
3) I generally avoid doing the question twice as while practicing it seems that i have already seen the question and kind of remember the answer to it not the whole question but partly (that gives me an undue advantage)
4)I try to review the wrong answer but i think that i am lacking something
although i know ,i have hardly ever applied the variance or other test in CR questions and just hit out at it in timed conditions .
I am really stuck at how should i improve
1)my intent to do 1000 more is that i want to recognize the patters of questions that GMAT test : learning every possible way GMAT can twist the questions
2)for me error log is more of the idioms and take away from each and every question which i take note of and remember the error i got wrong and not to repeat the mistake
3) I generally avoid doing the question twice as while practicing it seems that i have already seen the question and kind of remember the answer to it not the whole question but partly (that gives me an undue advantage)
4)I try to review the wrong answer but i think that i am lacking something
although i know ,i have hardly ever applied the variance or other test in CR questions and just hit out at it in timed conditions .
I am really stuck at how should i improve
GMAT/MBA Expert
- ceilidh.erickson
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 2095
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
- Thanked: 1443 times
- Followed by:247 members
Recognizing patterns and having a sense for the GMAT's style is definitely important! But it's not necessary to do 1000s of questions to get there. I would argue that you would have a better sense of these things by DEEPLY analyzing a few hundred questions, and ask yourself:1)my intent to do 1000 more is that i want to recognize the patters of questions that GMAT test : learning every possible way GMAT can twist the questions
- what traps are they setting?
- how might other students get this wrong?
- how do they disguise or encode information?
- could I write my own similar version of this problem?
Good! This is all important. For quant problems, I would add to your error log a column that specifies: "what can I change about my process to avoid this mistake in the future?"2)for me error log is more of the idioms and take away from each and every question which i take note of and remember the error i got wrong and not to repeat the mistake
If you see a question again 2 or 3 weeks later, it may feel familiar, but it's unlikely that you'll remember the exact solution path (unless you have an exceptionally keen memory). That familiarity is good - it helps you key in to traps, twists, important structures, etc.3) I generally avoid doing the question twice as while practicing it seems that i have already seen the question and kind of remember the answer to it not the whole question but partly (that gives me an undue advantage)
Redoing the question so many times that you memorize it won't help. But redoing it once a few weeks later (and maybe a 3rd time a few weeks after that) will help to solidify takeaways.
Think like a Test Writer! Why did they write *those* wrong answers, and in that way? What does that reveal about what traps they think students will fall for? What do the wrong answers you've picked reveal about *you*?4)I try to review the wrong answer but i think that i am lacking something
Another recommendation - don't do practice problem with the intent of getting them *right*! Do practice problems with the intent of practicing a particular skill. For example, practice using the Negation Test in Find the Assumption CRs. Don't even look to see whether you got it right or wrong! Just practice strengthening that muscle.
Good luck!
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education