580 actual(Q47,V23)... scored 740 and 700 in preps

[gmat_dec]

Guys , gave my gmat today . Was hoping for a 700. I guess i had every right to do so after getting 700 in my practise tests regularly. Never felt that exam was though. Maths had to guess on last few questions as I ran out of time . Got 47 still . English started off well and was sure of the first ten questions I answered.
Sentence corecton questions were not out of the box . They were easier than the ones on the forum . Was unsure about a Sc that at the end . Critical Reasoning was tough when you compare to OG or Manhattan , but still never felt I would land up with a score of 23 in verbal . Couldn't believe when I saw the score appear on the screen .The lowest score ever was in Kaplan ..a 580 . Since then have been scoring 33 - 40 in verbal . GMAT PREP got 41 in verbal and scored 740 . Given 5 Manhattan tests and scored consistently in 33-40 range. GMAT Prep 2 gave me a score of 35 in verbal

Knew verbal was my weekness , so from day one put in efforts to overcome it . Completed 1000 Sc doc twice . Made notes and used to refer them . For CR completed CR bible and Manhattan Cr book . I used 1000 CR for my preparation as used to do one set of LSAT Cr each day . For RC one set of 1000Rc each day . My accuracy had improved in RC and most of the times I would get 21 /24 right .

Dnt know how to go ahead with it now . I have lost all the confidence I had in myself . I had put in 8 months of hard work and I ended up with 580 .Any help with be greatly appreciated.

[ecor1]

Hey don't get dejected. You had scored well in practice CATs but not in actual test. Did you analyze the reasons for this? you have good quant score, sort the verbal part and attack the gmat once again.
all the best!
I am also on same boat, I got a 590 and am giving again in a month. I could find out where I have gone wrong in my first attempt, and working on those areas now.

[gmat_dec]

I am still not able to find out ,where i went wrong . I never felt that the RC which i encountered were harder than the GMAT prep .SC were straight forward.Had a tough time with CR but then even after taking that into consideration it shouldn't have made my score 23 . I had bleed 8 months for this thing. From day 1 I studied only verbal as knew would be able to tackle maths . Can someone please help me to sort this out,. What should be my next step?? Should I continue doing what i have been doing and expect things to change or should i modify my plan of studying??

[DanaJ]

Received a PM.

Usually when one approach does not yield the expected results, we change it. This is what I recommend to you. There are several things that you could do to improve your study habits:
- review stuff, even if you got it right. If you spent more than 2 min per quant or 1 min 45 per verbal question, then review it
- do not forget to time your practice. Remember: given enough time, anyone could get 100% hit rate on the GMAT
- use the correct resources: PowerScore CR Bible for CR and RC and MGMAT SC guide for SC. But don't ever just read! This is tip-heavy material, that you must review with a pen and paper at hand, taking notes and giving yourself enough time to properly absorb information
- read, read, read! I was surprised to see how well written and how much I enjoy Financial Times articles. They really build up your taste for more!


As there are some things you could do differently when you prep, there might be some reasons why this did not go as planned from the first try.

1. You did not time yourself when practicing, which means that you had trouble pacing on test day. Similarly, you did not exactly replicate test day conditions: you did not write the AWA, you used the "Pause" button. Your CAT scores might have been artificially inflated.

2. You were too stressed out about the GMAT and this stress translated into a below average performance. Dealing with stress is stressful! There isn't much I can say except know this: you're not the only one taking the test and your life does not depend on your performance. You can always retake, no one is going to die. I also suggest looking up info about stress management on the forum - I've seen a few articles, but can't really find any right now

3. You did not practice using enough official stuff.
I am usually very skeptical of the 1000 series. These documents are not from any reliable source, so your using them might have worked against you. Even Kaplan, an international test prep company with over 50 years of experience, has trouble nailing down the "GMAT-style" of questions in CR, IMHO. I would not expect documents floating on the Internet to do better!

Hope this helps a bit.

[gmat_dec]

thanks Dana J for your inputs .. Have gone through Powerscore Bible Once but then it doesn't have a number of problems for practicing . I guess my main problem is CR .. Had already completed Kaplan Premier Programing, OG11 and kaplan 800.Should I go through these materials once again or should i start with some other material such as LSAT tets for practicing CR ?? In case LSAT Tests , which one would be the best to refer ?? About Sc have completed Manhattan SC a number of times, which materials,except the ones mentioned above , can I refer for Sc.

[DanaJ]

IMHO, you're better off going for some LSAT tests - their question style is much closer to the real GMAT as compared to Kaplan. Here's two free sets. If you need explanations and such, go for the official LSAT Superprep book. It would also be a good idea to brush up on official material - but as I've said, avoid Kaplan, since IMHO they did not quite get the GMAT style in questions.