Just got beat =( 680 Q49 V35

[wonderland130]

I just took the gmat this morning and was quite dissappointed with my score especially the verbal. i was getting 38-40 on the practice tests and I ended up getting a 35.

I felt excellent during the exam too but I guess the results were much lower than anticipated. What would you suggest would be the best verbal drill to practice/learn until the next time I take it? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[canada_sms]

When you say you were getting 38-40 I assume you mean on GMAT Prep?

A lot of people are saying that the GMAT Verbal section has gotten harder over the past year. I'm not sure whether there is any truth to this rumor but I went from V46,47 on GMAT Prep tests to V42 on the real thing.

When you took your practice CATs, did you skip the essay writing component or did you do the full 4 hours. A lot of people who don't go through writing the essays discover that they have a stamina problem and tend to fade on the verbal section due to fatigue.

Do you have any specific verbal weaknesses based on your practice results? Have you taken any of the Manhattan CATs? The Manhattan CATs are good because you can run analytics on your past tests to discover weak areas. For example, I was able to discover that I was having issues with modifiers and countable nouns in SC and boldface problems in CR.

[mjjking]

GMATPrep isn't easier than real gmat. That's some misconception! If you score high on gmatprep you can expect quite though questions there as well!
Also, taking the essays during practice may mean or not mean anything, it really depends on the person and how well he/she can cope with stress. Especially because AWA doesn't require that much of a mental effort!