2nd time, same history 600's

[fercho81]

I just got back from taking the GMAT for the second time. I got a 610, V33 Q42. Regardless to say, I'm very disappointed about my score.

I took the first GMAT on April of this year and I scored exactly as I scored on my GMATPrep, 630, V35 and Q41. This time around I was scoring around 700-720 on the first times I took GMATPrep, so I was hoping for that but it didn't happen.
One thing I can tell you is that the GMAT I took today was much harder than the one I took in April. In the one in April I knew my limitations and I knew the subjects I didn't know, so I didn't run out of time, I felt like I leveled at 630 exactly where I felt comfortable. This time around from the first question the test seemed harder, ran out of time and it felt like a constant fight (I thought I was doing good because I felt challenged)
To be frank the questions felt harder, similar to the MGMAT questions rather than to the OG or GMATPrep.
I studied 2 months for this test and I covered all the subjects and harder questions that I missed on the first try. When I saw my score I was very surprised to say the least. I'm not giving up of course; I'm going to continue to study for the third and last try.

I used: The MGMAT Quant books, MGMAT question banks (the ones that come with the book online), EZ solutions advanced math workbook and the OG11 & 12.

My question is, what else can I do? I'm definitely going to study harder for verbal, probably buy the MGMAT books for verbal, and for quant I will do the MGMAT tests.

Could someone suggest other math and verbal materials that could help me? At this point, I don't know what other materials I could purchase and I don't want to use the same ones because I will remember the answers.

I appreciate all of your help and hopefully soon I will be able to post an score over 650.

[brandonsun]

My question is, what else can I do? I'm definitely going to study harder for verbal, probably buy the MGMAT books for verbal, and for quant I will do the MGMAT tests.

The answer is simple - work harder. You mentioned that you studied for two months, eh? I studied for four and backed up my determination for a high score with a commitment to excellence. Let's say the average GMAT score is 500. With two months of studying, you improved your score to 610, which is 110 above par. If you doubled your two months and devoted four, your dedication could double your reward with a 220 above par performance for a composite of 720.

At the same time, really attempt to work smarter. Analyze your errors (especially in verbal) to understand where the errors are. Someone once taught me that English is a language based on order. Unlike languages, the order of the diction and the emphasis with respect to sentence structure could completely alter the meaning of a sentence. For example, "dog's eye" places the meaning on the dog whereas "eye of the dog" places the emphasis on the eye. Sentence correction is a understanding a logic and you have to view every question on a completely different plane. Critical reasoning is a dance around the argument. Focus on the argument, which you should be able to summarize into eight words or less, and find only answer that either weakens, strengthens or elaborates on the argument... For example, your argument is "I studied for three months, I should have beat the GMAT." A counter argument on why you didn't beat the GMAT could be, "three months is not enough, unless you study for more, you won't beat the GMAT." Reading comprehension is based on understanding each reading section. There is no advice other than read. I probably read 50-70 reading sections for practice. It is funny - the materials I used were so bad that the questions and answers were not logical so I didn't even bother doing the questions and just read. But if you're like me, just read, read and enjoy!

Study for two or three more months and give it another go. Best of luck to you!

[ogbeni]

fercho81,

Verbal is your weak point. In Verbal, where are you strong, where are you weak, and where are you average?Also note that there are 2 factors for success.
1. Hit rate/accuracy
2. Pacing

To do well, you need to be good at both. If most peple had more time, their accuracy/hit rate would be a lot higher.

So with that in mind, how do you fare in the folling
1. CR
2. RC
3. SC

Give some feedback and the goodfolks here on BTG will give you excellent suggestions on how you can slay the GMAT dragon.

[fercho81]

To be frank, I concentrated more in studying Quant. I only studied verbal by doing the OG 11 & 12 and by learning from the explanations in the book. I haven't studied from Kaplan or MGMAT books for verbal, but I will this time around.

I consider myself good at sentence correction and I thought that I was good at RC and CR but I think I just thought that because I was used to the questions in the OG, in other words, I started to remember the answers. I read a lot so I don't have a problem understanding the RC or CR, but I think I could benefit from more structure and explanations.

BTW, do you know where I could find the 1000 SC with answers? I think that would be good practice.

Also, in hindsight, when I took the test I should have skipped difficult questions. Towards the end I had to guess the last 4 and that is just not right. Do you know any good strategies for guessing? I read Logitech's blog and he said that you should guess on the first 20 questions but after that you should try to fight it out.

So for quant I'm running out of materials to use for practice, could you recommend some? Thanks a lot for your help.

[ogbeni]

fercho81,

Verbal is really key to raising your score. That's where you need to focus your energy. Guessing on the 1st 20 questions doesn't sound wise!!!! Why don't you practice upping your pace between now and the retake date?

My thoughts remain the same for Quant. Keep doing what you did.If you need practice material for Quant, take the GMAT Challenge Tests from GMATClub. You'd have to pay for it though: https://gmatclub.com/tests