GOT BEAT Please Help

[b2beat]

I took the gmat today and received a score of 610 (Q45, V29). This was 2nd attempt. My first attempt I received a 640 (Q46, V34).

I feel really really bad right now. I have no idea what went wrong. Prior to my 2nd test I scored a 700 (Q48 V38) on PowerPrep and 690 GmatPrep (Q48 V37).

I really have no idea what to say at this point.

In the math section, the questions were easy, but they took long to complete and I was running low in time and had to guess a couple of times. Some of the problems were long and complex and required multiple steps.


In the verbal section, I feel like the SC question are in no way reflective of the OG (they were much harder) as well as the CR questions. I even got a bold face question (which I thought you would see if you are doing well)!!!! The RC was easy, but that was probably becuase I did poorly in SC and CR.

Can anyone tell me what I should do at this point? I feel like I have exhausted at the Verbal OG prep material, as I now know the answers to all the questions.

Please help!

[gaditanmba]

I'm sorry about your exam. The same thing happened to me last week, and I don't know why I got such a low score. I also got a bold faced question by the middle of the verbal section.

[Bschool2013]

Sorry to hear about the second test...my second attempt was a 610 after getting a 660 my first try, then on my third I got a 700, so don't give up!!!

I will say, that bold faced CR question you got could have been experimental and not indicative of how well you are doing on the exam. Don't let the difficulty of the question psyche you out because that handful of experimental questions per section can throw you for a loop.

[b2beat]

Just to add, my grockit scores ranged from 670-750 on the score predictor...

[[email protected]]

b2beat, do not get discouraged. What are your target schools? What is the average score for those schools? your score might be already in the range. Remember, GMAT is only one factor used in the selection criteria.

[pemdas]

I see you are reading easily into various mock scores such as power prep and grockit; I have no comment about their mocks though

that you do 140 OGs in SC section or download and do 1000 SCs from gmat-club won't make big difference if it will do any at all. You "rally" the different highways with the same engine and of course you're using "habitual driving temperament" of yours

why don't you put your GMAT engine on rest and research a bit - like what did you do wrong that caused you experience such consequences and analyze your math and verbal scores' increase possibilities

try to modify your prep at this time and divert your approach from the mechanistic (reading more into OA and mock scores) to the analytical - subjects/concepts/ideas tested and GMAT efficiency for tackling problems. It's not secret that applying smart numbers may benefit people and save tons of time when algebraic solution comes dreary and time-consuming, but the traps here are also obvious like with applying smart no-s for percents <- one way to look at things (not only solving OGs and verifying OAs at the back of book and checking forums)

try to research a bit and then modify your prep.

[AG6502020]

What is your target score? In all likelihood you are using the wrong materials based upon your intended score. I am assuming that you are shooting for the 690-700 score that you were getting in practice exams?

[AG6502020]

Also, please provide when your next intended test date is...

[b2beat]

My target is 680+

I am planning on taking the Knewton OnDemand program and will take this course over 2 months. Depending on how I am scoring and how I feel I will schedule my test accordingly. As of now, I am thinking February.


I also took a Princeton Review class before my 2nd test (company paid).

Princeton review class sucks like no other. The class teaches you how to get a 550.


My goals for this time is to learn why answer choices are wrong in the Verbal section. In math I just need to work on my timing.

[AG6502020]

Hey b2beat,

I recently took the GMAT and got a 740 (50Q, 41V) 6.0 AWA on my first try. Everyone is different, as each set of test prep materials is also different. From reading on BEATtheGMAT and other forums, most people recommended that Manhattan GMAT and Kaplan materials (although Kaplan tests are not indicative of your actual score) were the only materials that did a decent job in replicating actual GMAT-like questions. Since your weakness seems to be verbal, I will give you some guidance in that area (let me know if you need some quant tips).

Get Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction - its a bit like a math textbook and isn't the greatest for readability, but you should go through this book a few times. It will help you with some simple rules like the touch principle when dealing with noun modifiers. Sentence correction is the most improvable part of your verbal score because its kind of like balancing an equation when dealing with more topics like parallelism and such.

My CR and reading comprehension were solid so I did not do much prep for these. People have recommended Powerscore critical reasoning bible. Consider checking that out.

If you are really trying to get a 680+ (and esp. 700+), you need to do all of the problems in the Official Guide volume 12. Do every single verbal and every single quant question. Go over your mistakes. Redo the problems you got wrong. Also get the verbal supplement. These official guide materials should be your primary prep materials. Additionally, when you took the test the first time and gave your writeup, someone scoring in your target range would typically have two GMATprep scores to report. Exhaust your GMATprep and OG materials. Seems like you can hit 690-700 with ease if you just use the proper materials.

I hope this helps and definetely feel your pain. You can do it, do not worry. Let me know if you need any other advice - I am happy to give it.

AG

[maroli]

hi,
please see my thread in this sub-forum. do not give up.

If you are looking for some more practice material, I can provide you with advanced quant problems on the condition that you never publish them. I am actually not quite sure who they belong to, but I came across them from my tutor. The reason you don't find the sentence correction questions familiar is because you haven't done enough variety. You need to do LOTS of different SC problems to see the myriad applications of the rules. Further, you should read the MGMAT sentence correction book cover to cover around 6-8 times. Anyway, feel free to shoot me a pm