Got badly beaten by GMAT

[aimingfor800]

Hi,

I took the GMAT today, and I completely messed it up.
Got a 47 in Quant and just 20 in Verbal.My total score is just 550 !
I am really disappointed and dejected.
I have been putting dedicated efforts since the past 4 months.
My scores in the GmatPrep tests were in the range of 660-700. I took atleast 6 tests in 10 days before the exam..
My analysis after the final GMAT was:-
-I failed to read and comprehend under pressure.I did RCs very badly..Similar was my predicament with CR...I am a slow reader, hence take longer time reading passages and can't remember the structure on head...I took a test on dyslexia and it shows that I'm slightly dyslexic...
-My time management was poor.I ran short of time in the Verbal section, as a result of which, I had to guess in a lot of places in the Verbal section.Even in Quant, my time management was not that good, but was definitely better than in Verbal.
-My performance in the Quant Section was also below average. I have been scoring in the range of 48-49 in the preparatory tests.
-I did a few of silly mistakes in Quant and lacked patience.
-I was also not very confident while answering the Verbal questions.
From my score, it is quite evident that I need to concentrate more on improving my Verbal skills.
Please suggest me ways to improve my score.

Currently I am in a state of shock and disbelief...I desperately need help and would really appreciate positive criticism and suggestions.

Planning to retake the GMAT in Feb-March 2012.

[throughmba]

You had a bad day for certain. I must tell you that nothing is lost at all.

Brace yourself for next go. I would like to suggest you a few tips best on your obeservation.

1. Go back in practice mode with training for accuracy. Confidence is your main problem. In your mind you believe that you are under prepared. The fact is that its true. You need to sit on each topic for better mastery. Take an honest gauge of your distance and then with milestones for completion.

I took atleast 6 tests in 10 days before the exam

No tests in last week.

Slow reading is not at all a problem, accuracy is. Be confident to be accurate and for confidence read more, practice more.

Best of Luck

[aimingfor800]

Hi,

How best can I prepare for RCs and CR...I felt RCs in real GMAT were way too difficult compared to those in GMATPrep or OG 12...I tend to lose track when the passage changes track for example when words like however appear...

[ronaldramlan]

Hi,

How best can I prepare for RCs and CR...I felt RCs in real GMAT were way too difficult compared to those in GMATPrep or OG 12...I tend to lose track when the passage changes track for example when words like however appear...

Hello,

You may want to look at my post here ... https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-660-qua ... tml#398833

You have done a good job identifying your weaknesses, RC and CR. For CR, you need to make sure that you grasp the whole concepts and strategy on how to tackle many different types of CR (assumption, strengthen, weaken, inference, boldface, etc). If you can tell which question types that you are struggling more, I can probably tell more how you should approach them. Otherwise, I can only say that for any question types other than the Inference, you need to be able to quickly identify the conclusion and the evidence as doing so will help you quickly find the potentially correct answer. Note that I use the word "potentially" because unless you can be sure that the rest of the answer choices are wrong, you can never be certain that the answer you pick is correct. I know that this sounds time consuming, but believe me, the questions on the real GMAT test are full with tricks and traps that you could simply fall into if you rushed on clicking the seemingly correct answer.

Regarding RC, I just finished replying one similar post. You can find it here ... https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-620-q-4 ... tml#410960

I hope this helps, but if you still have further questions, let me know.

[aimingfor800]

Thanks, for your inputs...I believe that with CRs though I can identify the premise and conclusion perfectly, I still can't use the process of elimination to eliminate wrong answers...

And with RCs, though I take notes, I tend to get confused when there are multiple people saying multiple things that are closely related...Also,I find it difficult to identify the main point of the passage.

Need help with the above please...

[bblast]

And with RCs, though I take notes, I tend to get confused when there are multiple people saying multiple things that are closely related...Also,I find it difficult to identify the main point of the passage.
.

Go through my RC post{link in my signature}. Dont miss out Brent's free RC videos as well. Might be some help.

[ronaldramlan]

Thanks, for your inputs...I believe that with CRs though I can identify the premise and conclusion perfectly, I still can't use the process of elimination to eliminate wrong answers...

And with RCs, though I take notes, I tend to get confused when there are multiple people saying multiple things that are closely related...Also,I find it difficult to identify the main point of the passage.

Need help with the above please...

Hi,
It sounds to me that you need a tutor who can help you address and show you how to tackle Verbal, particularly CR and RC. It will be worth the cost if you can find a leading test prep company in your area.

[la56]

There are some good strategies around active reading in MGMAT RC and CR books. I used to be in the same boat.I was able to improve a lot by active reading and taking notes.

Ultimately, after some practice i can do both without taking notes.

Try reading the first paragraph in RC and try coming up with an sms version of it u would text to your friend. I would definitely recommend the MGMAT books for the methodology and exercises.