I would really appreciate your advice! got 580 on gmat :-(

[ofedosova]

Hi everyone,

It is extremely interesting to read about different experience people had with GMAT. So far my own has not been too bright. A little bit about myself:

I am a non-native speaker. I have a Master's diploma in teaching Ukrainian Language and Literature. I have a 6 years experience working as an Executive Assitant in different companies (investment banking, construction). My first attempt on GMAT was a disaster. I prepared just for a couple of weeks and decided to take it just hoping for some luck However, with GMAT there is no luck ))) I got 420 feeling pretty shocked.

After 3 months of studying I approached the GMAT the second time - 560 (Q 42 V 26 AWA 4.5) . still not happy at all since I need 650 +. I decided to change my approach to studying completely. I was reading this wonderful forum a lot trying to understand how people struggle with GMAT. I have purchased all the possible books and tests. I have finished all the MGMAT books and tests, Kaplan Verbal, PowerScore SC and CR. My practice tests showed me that I have significantly improved my score and that I am ready for the real GMAT once again:

MGMAT : 680 (Q47 V36)
MGMAT: 670 (Q45 V36)
MGMAT: 670 (Q47 V34)
GMAT Prep 650 (Q 49 V 30)
GMAT Prep 660 (Q48 V 32)

Yesterday, I had my third official GMAT and scored 580 (Q 47 V 24). ..... I don't understand how it is possible this is the lowest score I have ever had on vebal. I think I have done everything with those materials available. Maybe I'm just a loser... At this point I can't even imagine taking a book on GMAT again. 3 months of working hard on GMAT and only 20 point improvement.

Guy, I would really appreciate your comments and advice. I really need them now.

Thank you,

Olga

[Osirus@VeritasPrep]

I experienced something similar. On my actual GMAT I got the lowest score that I had ever gotten in verbal. I think that the best verbal materials that I have encountered are the materials from Veritas. The main problem is that they don't sell their guides individually. For CR I would recommend going through the Powerscore CR bible again. This time make flash cards of important points. Do the same thing witht he SC books. When you go through your verbal excercises, try this. Instead of simply picking an answer, write out why each answer choice is incorrect, and why the correct answer is correct. With RC, for the correct answer, write the line number of the sentence or sentences that justify your correct answer. If you do this for a while, you should see improvement in your verbal score.

[jpjp]

You should keep trying. It seems your quant is on the right track, you may just not have had your A game that day. I bet with another crack at it, you'll be matching your practice Quant score. For verbal, it looks like your score dropped when you went took the GMATPrep CATs. I've been doing the MGMAT CATs, and noticed the style of writing on verbal is quite different than that of GMATPrep software questions, which has been causing me a bit of problems as well. I'd switch it up with the verbal practice questions and see if that helps. Perhaps taking non-MGMAT CATs and skipping the quant sections, and focusing on the Verbal sections only. Seeing different styles of writing and being able to adapt can only help you

Your score is especially discouraging to me though, because my CAT scores are almost identical to your scores. My exam is a few days away, so we'll see if I share the same fate.

[ofedosova]

You should keep trying. It seems your quant is on the right track, you may just not have had your A game that day. I bet with another crack at it, you'll be matching your practice Quant score. For verbal, it looks like your score dropped when you went took the GMATPrep CATs. I've been doing the MGMAT CATs, and noticed the style of writing on verbal is quite different than that of GMATPrep software questions, which has been causing me a bit of problems as well. I'd switch it up with the verbal practice questions and see if that helps. Perhaps taking non-MGMAT CATs and skipping the quant sections, and focusing on the Verbal sections only. Seeing different styles of writing and being able to adapt can only help you

Your score is especially discouraging to me though, because my CAT scores are almost identical to your scores. My exam is a few days away, so we'll see if I share the same fate.

Thank you very much for your advice & support! and oh god don't let my score discourage you! I really hope you will do great. The real GMAT verbal was very different and harder then MGMAT. So, unfortunately, I wasn't ready for that. Good luck to you, and please tell me how you've done

[KapTeacherEli]

Hi ofedosova,

Whenever I see a student scoring a hundred points less than his GMAT scores, I never ask about what and how they studied. Rather, I ask about how they were NOT studying. How much time did you have to yourself? When you were neither studying nor working, were you obsessing over the GMAT anyway? Were you sleeping full nights sleep the week before the GMAT?

If you want to beat the GMAT, it's important not just to prepare for the content of the test, but for the physical and psychological strain of three months of studying culminated in a 3.5 hour test. Sleep, food, exercise, and self confidence can make as much difference in your score as will 100 hours of studying.

Hope this helps, and let me know if I can answer any specific questions!

[ofedosova]

Hi ofedosova,

Whenever I see a student scoring a hundred points less than his GMAT scores, I never ask about what and how they studied. Rather, I ask about how they were NOT studying. How much time did you have to yourself? When you were neither studying nor working, were you obsessing over the GMAT anyway? Were you sleeping full nights sleep the week before the GMAT?

If you want to beat the GMAT, it's important not just to prepare for the content of the test, but for the physical and psychological strain of three months of studying culminated in a 3.5 hour test. Sleep, food, exercise, and self confidence can make as much difference in your score as will 100 hours of studying.

Hope this helps, and let me know if I can answer any specific questions!

Dear Eli,

Thank you very much for your reply and concern. Here are my answers to your questions: I think that I was obsessing over the GMAT a little bit. I excercise a lot and didn't have problems with sleep. However, the last couple of nights before the test I was doing math in my dreams and the last 2 weeks before the test I was basically studying up to 10 hours a day including weekends. I was very nervous on the test day. But after I've finished the essays I was feeling much more relaxed. But still the agitation was bothering me. I will take your advice because I decided to retake at the end of April again. Will be working on my verbal.

Maybe this time I will be more relaxed. I almost gave up..... so I have nothing to lose

Olga

[KapTeacherEli]

YOur dedication is commendable, but my experience is that studying 10 hours a day is ALWAYS wrong. This isn't a test where you can memorize the Kings of England and vomit them forth for a B- on the final; the GMAT tests understanding, and you don't want to settle for a B- regardless.

Aim for 20-30 hours a week. This is enough time for you to learn the GMAT backwards and forwards--especially with your previous studies.

On test day, and the days before, don't think about the GMAT itself. Rather, think about the work you've done. Think about your great scores on practice tests, your hard work, and the concepts that you couldn't do once upon a time but now understand like the back of your hand. Focusing on the positive, on your accomplishments, will go a long way towards improving your self-confidence and mental attitude.

Keep up the good work!

[jpjp]

You should keep trying. It seems your quant is on the right track, you may just not have had your A game that day. I bet with another crack at it, you'll be matching your practice Quant score. For verbal, it looks like your score dropped when you went took the GMATPrep CATs. I've been doing the MGMAT CATs, and noticed the style of writing on verbal is quite different than that of GMATPrep software questions, which has been causing me a bit of problems as well. I'd switch it up with the verbal practice questions and see if that helps. Perhaps taking non-MGMAT CATs and skipping the quant sections, and focusing on the Verbal sections only. Seeing different styles of writing and being able to adapt can only help you

Your score is especially discouraging to me though, because my CAT scores are almost identical to your scores. My exam is a few days away, so we'll see if I share the same fate.

Thank you very much for your advice & support! and oh god don't let my score discourage you! I really hope you will do great. The real GMAT verbal was very different and harder then MGMAT. So, unfortunately, I wasn't ready for that. Good luck to you, and please tell me how you've done

Back from the testing center, I got a 700 (47Q, 38V). Thanks for the support. I can only reciprocate and hope you do well on your next try. My advice is to take the GMATPrep exam, reset and do it again, reset do it again, and on and on. Your score might may a bit inflated because you'll see repeat questions, but it will serve two purposes. It will get you use to the look and language of the real thing, and it will ingrain in you certain question types since you're doing it over and over again, despite knowing the answer. I'm pretty sure you can do well, because as I said before, our practice scores are very similar.

[Osirus@VeritasPrep]

How is that possible? I got the exact same verbal/quant scores and got a 680

You should keep trying. It seems your quant is on the right track, you may just not have had your A game that day. I bet with another crack at it, you'll be matching your practice Quant score. For verbal, it looks like your score dropped when you went took the GMATPrep CATs. I've been doing the MGMAT CATs, and noticed the style of writing on verbal is quite different than that of GMATPrep software questions, which has been causing me a bit of problems as well. I'd switch it up with the verbal practice questions and see if that helps. Perhaps taking non-MGMAT CATs and skipping the quant sections, and focusing on the Verbal sections only. Seeing different styles of writing and being able to adapt can only help you

Your score is especially discouraging to me though, because my CAT scores are almost identical to your scores. My exam is a few days away, so we'll see if I share the same fate.

Thank you very much for your advice & support! and oh god don't let my score discourage you! I really hope you will do great. The real GMAT verbal was very different and harder then MGMAT. So, unfortunately, I wasn't ready for that. Good luck to you, and please tell me how you've done

Back from the testing center, I got a 700 (47Q, 38V). Thanks for the support. I can only reciprocate and hope you do well on your next try. My advice is to take the GMATPrep exam, reset and do it again, reset do it again, and on and on. Your score might may a bit inflated because you'll see repeat questions, but it will serve two purposes. It will get you use to the look and language of the real thing, and it will ingrain in you certain question types since you're doing it over and over again, despite knowing the answer. I'm pretty sure you can do well, because as I said before, our practice scores are very similar.

[jpjp]

How is that possible? I got the exact same verbal/quant scores and got a 680

I read somewhere that it's rounded, so perhaps you really got a 46.5Q and 37.5V? I dont know, but that kind of sucks.

[carrillo1228]

I agree with your point of doing it over and over, regardless of the fact that you have seen and answered the questions. On a previous exam I was taking, that's actually exactly what I did- repeatedly did the same types of questions, and by the third / fourth (even fifth for the much harder ones), I knew exactly how to approach them. One question to keep in mind when reviewing these problems is.... how can they throw me a curve ball? One question comes to mind from my assessment CAT

8^2 32^2 16^-4

Find the value...

Luckily here, they are all divisible by 2.... so I know I did this problem probably twice.... how can they trip you up here? By adding a base which is divisible by 3 and 5.

Just food for thought.........

You should keep trying. It seems your quant is on the right track, you may just not have had your A game that day. I bet with another crack at it, you'll be matching your practice Quant score. For verbal, it looks like your score dropped when you went took the GMATPrep CATs. I've been doing the MGMAT CATs, and noticed the style of writing on verbal is quite different than that of GMATPrep software questions, which has been causing me a bit of problems as well. I'd switch it up with the verbal practice questions and see if that helps. Perhaps taking non-MGMAT CATs and skipping the quant sections, and focusing on the Verbal sections only. Seeing different styles of writing and being able to adapt can only help you

Your score is especially discouraging to me though, because my CAT scores are almost identical to your scores. My exam is a few days away, so we'll see if I share the same fate.

Thank you very much for your advice & support! and oh god don't let my score discourage you! I really hope you will do great. The real GMAT verbal was very different and harder then MGMAT. So, unfortunately, I wasn't ready for that. Good luck to you, and please tell me how you've done

Back from the testing center, I got a 700 (47Q, 38V). Thanks for the support. I can only reciprocate and hope you do well on your next try. My advice is to take the GMATPrep exam, reset and do it again, reset do it again, and on and on. Your score might may a bit inflated because you'll see repeat questions, but it will serve two purposes. It will get you use to the look and language of the real thing, and it will ingrain in you certain question types since you're doing it over and over again, despite knowing the answer. I'm pretty sure you can do well, because as I said before, our practice scores are very similar.