Disappointing 630, ONE MONTH to improve by 50 points. HELP!

[sputnik93]

Hello folks,
I really need your help on this, so here's my story:
I need at least 680 points in order to qualify for a Bachelor program in Switzerland.
The last two months, I studied with the 60-Day Study Guide, and it helped me a lot.

I got a 580 (Q41 V28) on the first GMATPrep CAT before I began to study.
After the 20 or something days of quantitive studies, I retook it and got a 640 (Q49 V28).
20 days later, I took it for the third time and got a 620 (Q42 V34). I was a little disappointed, but I guess my quantitive skills simply got a bit rusty.
During the last third of my studies with the 60 Day SG, I got a 670 (Q45 V36) on the Manhattan GMAT and a 700 on the second GMATPrep Test (two days before I took the actual exam).

So when I went to the test center yesterday, I was pretty sure that I could do it.
But unfortunately I got a 630 (Q44 V33), 50 points less than I need.

It is my last chance to apply for this university since I didn't make it last year.
I rescheduled for April, 26th and I feel very optimistic about it, but I need YOUR HELP to just destroy the GMAT.
I didn't study for the past 3 months to just get a stupid 630, I want THE REAL DEAL.

Please help me set up a study plan for the next month, so I can succeed.

I WILL FULLY COMMIT MYSELF TO WHATEVER YOU SAY (AS LONG AS IT MAKES SENSE).

just to get a better picture of me:
I graduated from high-school last summer and my math skills are probably still pretty good.
I am not a native English speaker, but did a year abroad in the US.
My timing is pretty good, but my guessing could probably be a bit better.
So probably I don't have any troubles with the quantitive content itself. On the verbal part my strongest section is the CR.
I got the Kaplan GMAT Premier 2012, GMAT OG 12th Edition, all Manhattan books and the original Quantitive and Verbal Review.

Best regards and thanks in advance,
Ben

PS: Just FYI, AWA scores don't matter at all as long as I don't get a 0.

[Bschool2013]

I posted this in another thread:

"IMO, quant is the area where it's easier to make big strides.

I highly recommend going to www.gmathacks.com, reading the study strategy articles, then buying his total GMAT Math book and go through it cover to cover. I give a lot of credit to this book for me pulling down a 49Q."

My final score was a 700 (49Q, 35V) I got a 44Q on my first attempt. If you can make the same gains I did in Q, you should be able to land in the 680 range.

[DanaJ]

The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

For that, you need to use the books you have. You mentioned the Manhattan series - that's a good one. It should cover what you need to score a 680. You're not doing too bad either, but you need to get a bit better and score higher, get some of the tougher problems right. I strongly recommend that you keep an error log, create flashcards and REALLY understand why an answer is wrong and why another one is right, especially in OG problems.

It seems to me you should devote equal amounts of time to both quant and verbal, given your current raw score split.

[sputnik93]

I posted this in another thread:

"IMO, quant is the area where it's easier to make big strides.

I highly recommend going to www.gmathacks.com, reading the study strategy articles, then buying his total GMAT Math book and go through it cover to cover. I give a lot of credit to this book for me pulling down a 49Q."

My final score was a 700 (49Q, 35V) I got a 44Q on my first attempt. If you can make the same gains I did in Q, you should be able to land in the 680 range.

but it's not like I have never scored a Q49 before, I actually got one on the GMATPrep Test I took two days before I did the actual exam.
So I don't know if that would help.

[sputnik93]

The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

For that, you need to use the books you have. You mentioned the Manhattan series - that's a good one. It should cover what you need to score a 680. You're not doing too bad either, but you need to get a bit better and score higher, get some of the tougher problems right. I strongly recommend that you keep an error log, create flashcards and REALLY understand why an answer is wrong and why another one is right, especially in OG problems.

It seems to me you should devote equal amounts of time to both quant and verbal, given your current raw score split.

Hi Dana, thanks for replying
well, I just put as much emphasis on taking practice test as the 60 Day Study Guide told me to.
I just used the Manhattan series for the quantitive section, for the verbal I used the Kaplan GMAT Premier 2012. I just concluded that since I already scored a 700 on a GMATPrep Test, it probably is not because of the concepts that I scored so low, but maybe I am wrong.

I booked private lessons at the local MBA Center in my city today so that a teacher can kind of evaluate what I am doing wrong.

What I am missing is a daily plan what to do like I had it during the 60 Day SG with the e-mails.
Furthermore, I don't have that many original practice questions anymore, I'm pretty much done with the original verbal and quantitive review too and in the OG I did every single problem.

Cheers,
Ben

Well, about my raw score split: I'm a non-native and from the beginning on I knew that I had to do much better on the quantitive section in order to compensate for my verbal skills. the highest raw scores I got so far were Q49 and V37, but neither was it on the actual test, nor was it at the same time.
It seems like either I do well on one of the two section on a rotational basis or I get two average scores at the same time.

[DanaJ]

Ahh I see now... Well maybe it's time to use the three verbal books from Manhattan instead of the Kaplan Premier one. I personally prefer those. Or maybe you're affected by test day stress? That could also partially explain why you scored lower on the real deal compared to practice tests.

Yeah the thing is, I understand your need for a detailed plan, but we can't help beyond the 60 day study guide. You're probably doing the right thing by going to see a tutor, maybe he can figure out where you're going wrong.

[yesman238]

The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

I agree with Dana. From all your (sputnik's) previous posts, I get the feeling you are too caught up with the prep test scores. Just take them out from your mind completely for now.

Having said that, if I read your post correctly, you are confident with quant and SC. If that's the case, then here's what I have to say about RC and CR. I posted this in another earlier post

For CR: there is always an answer that fits perfectly, don't settle for one that 'seems' to work, because there is always one that will work.

For RC, read for structure, not content. When I found I couldn't concentrate on the passage because of the content, I would force myself to take notes on the passage.

I'll elaborate a little more:
I find that to really improve in CR and RC you really have to take it slow. Especially for CR, It is absolutely important to get the logic and concepts correct. Really, really take the time to understand each question and why each option is either correct or wrong. Whenever you get a question wrong or you are at all unsure, go back and review the questions again. Look over each option and write down why it's correct or wrong. Like I said, there is always one answer that will fit perfectly. You just have to train your mind to see things like the test writers.

For RC, again, read for structure. Practice knowing which details to skip and which ones to focus one. I would focus more on the transitions that they use to piece together the entire passage, rather than be bogged down with the details of the passage - you can always refer back to them later.

Good luck. No matter what, don't give up. Hopefully with the tutor you will have more personalized help.

[sputnik93]

The one thing that I notice while reading your post is your emphasis on taking practice tests. While you should definitely take some practice tests, they are only meant to help you with your pacing and figuring out where you stand. A practice test won't help with truly understanding concepts and putting them to work. Take no more than one per week and focus your time on theory review and reinforcing practice.

I agree with Dana. From all your (sputnik's) previous posts, I get the feeling you are too caught up with the prep test scores. Just take them out from your mind completely for now.

Having said that, if I read your post correctly, you are confident with quant and SC. If that's the case, then here's what I have to say about RC and CR. I posted this in another earlier post

For CR: there is always an answer that fits perfectly, don't settle for one that 'seems' to work, because there is always one that will work.

For RC, read for structure, not content. When I found I couldn't concentrate on the passage because of the content, I would force myself to take notes on the passage.

I'll elaborate a little more:
I find that to really improve in CR and RC you really have to take it slow. Especially for CR, It is absolutely important to get the logic and concepts correct. Really, really take the time to understand each question and why each option is either correct or wrong. Whenever you get a question wrong or you are at all unsure, go back and review the questions again. Look over each option and write down why it's correct or wrong. Like I said, there is always one answer that will fit perfectly. You just have to train your mind to see things like the test writers.

For RC, again, read for structure. Practice knowing which details to skip and which ones to focus one. I would focus more on the transitions that they use to piece together the entire passage, rather than be bogged down with the details of the passage - you can always refer back to them later.

Good luck. No matter what, don't give up. Hopefully with the tutor you will have more personalized help.

wow, this is by far one of the most useful comments I've read so far.
But I guess Dana is right, I am expecting too much, I mean, you can't diagnose my problems just from a few comments. I hope the private lessons will be helpful. But there's one thing that you all might be right with: maybe I am just focusing too much on doing practice test or solving practice questions. I mean, it's important, but it's not everything. I will start with the Manhattan Verbal books right away.

I got one question left. In general, as I said, my timing is pretty good, I'am spending 2:30 for a question at the maximum before I move on. And this thing really only happens to me at PS questions. But here's the thing: when I'm calculating something and I'm done and my answer does not appear to be one of the answers given, what do I do?
I know, I know, I have to guess, but how can I make an educated guess if: 1. my answer is not even close to one of the answers given and 2. I'm passed those 2 minutes 30 seconds - should I just take a random answer?
Because, as I reflect my test experience, that might have happened a couple of times.
Unfortunately, none of the books I have provide me with good knowledge about this whole guessing topic.

[yesman238]

I got one question left. In general, as I said, my timing is pretty good, I'am spending 2:30 for a question at the maximum before I move on. And this thing really only happens to me at PS questions. But here's the thing: when I'm calculating something and I'm done and my answer does not appear to be one of the answers given, what do I do?
I know, I know, I have to guess, but how can I make an educated guess if: 1. my answer is not even close to one of the answers given and 2. I'm passed those 2 minutes 30 seconds - should I just take a random answer?
Because, as I reflect my test experience, that might have happened a couple of times.
Unfortunately, none of the books I have provide me with good knowledge about this whole guessing topic.

First off - alarms should be sounding everywhere in your mind when this happens. Make sure to review the question/topic to see what went wrong. You should aim never to encounter such a problem. I think it's worse to 'know' how to do a problem (but then do it the wrong way, meaning you don't actually know how the concept well) than to not know how to do it.

Of course all the preparation cannot guarantee this doesn't happen when taking the test, which is what you're asking. I would say it depends. I would probably ask myself these questions:

1. Most important: How confident am I of solving it again and getting it right?
2. How much extra time have I accumulated?
3. How much time do I think I'll need to re-solve?
4. How educated a guess can I make?

You'll have to weigh these questions and determine whether or not you want to try the question again. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules on this.

[sputnik93]

Ahh I see now... Well maybe it's time to use the three verbal books from Manhattan instead of the Kaplan Premier one. I personally prefer those. Or maybe you're affected by test day stress? That could also partially explain why you scored lower on the real deal compared to practice tests.

Yeah the thing is, I understand your need for a detailed plan, but we can't help beyond the 60 day study guide. You're probably doing the right thing by going to see a tutor, maybe he can figure out where you're going wrong.

So today I had 2 hours with a tutor from the MBA Center. Let's just say it was not what I had expected. I guess I estimated too much, I just got some copies from different books like the McGraw Hill GMAT, Barron's GMAT and GMAT for Dummies. We did a couple of SC, CR and RC problems together, but I didn't really learn something new. Rather did I use the techniques that I just learned earlier this morning from the Manhattan RC and CR books.
About those: thx DanaJ for recommending them to me. Even though there does not seem to be a whole lot of new tricks and tips in there and I browsed through the 140 pages of the RC book within 4 hours this morning, they actually showed me some neat techniques that I could use.

One more thing:
About a week ago, I read this featured article on Beat the GMAT about this whole "get the first couple questions right" issue. The article basically told me to get rid of this idea that I had about the first couple of questions being more important than the later ones.
Well, today my tutor told me that the article was wrong and showed me in the latest MBA Center book "Total Prepkit for the GMAT" that I should spend way more time on the first few questions, than on the last.
Now I am a little confused :/

[Bschool2013]

One more thing:
About a week ago, I read this featured article on Beat the GMAT about this whole "get the first couple questions right" issue. The article basically told me to get rid of this idea that I had about the first couple of questions being more important than the later ones.
Well, today my tutor told me that the article was wrong and showed me in the latest MBA Center book "Total Prepkit for the GMAT" that I should spend way more time on the first few questions, than on the last.
Now I am a little confused :/

The problem with spending a disproportionate amount of time on the first few questions is that you might not get to see the last few questions. If you end the Q section by guessing on 4 or 5 straight questions, your score is going to take a hit and negate getting the first few write.

If you can't solve it in two minutes, chances are you don't know how to do the problem, and the only worse than getting a question wrong after spending two minutes on it is spending four or five minutes and getting it wrong.

[sputnik93]

One more thing:
About a week ago, I read this featured article on Beat the GMAT about this whole "get the first couple questions right" issue. The article basically told me to get rid of this idea that I had about the first couple of questions being more important than the later ones.
Well, today my tutor told me that the article was wrong and showed me in the latest MBA Center book "Total Prepkit for the GMAT" that I should spend way more time on the first few questions, than on the last.
Now I am a little confused :/

The problem with spending a disproportionate amount of time on the first few questions is that you might not get to see the last few questions. If you end the Q section by guessing on 4 or 5 straight questions, your score is going to take a hit and negate getting the first few write.

If you can't solve it in two minutes, chances are you don't know how to do the problem, and the only worse than getting a question wrong after spending two minutes on it is spending four or five minutes and getting it wrong.

yeah, but do you think it's still correct, that the first couple questions "count more" than the last ones?

[DanaJ]

I assume you're talking about this article: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/03/ ... tions-myth

I want to bring to your attention the fact that this article was written by Stacey Koprince, one of the best GMAT prep experts on this planet, working with what is considered to be one of the top prep companies out there (just look at star ratings for their books on amazon.com if you don't believe me, maybe at their reviews in our reviews directory too).

What she states in that article is clear: yes, get all the first 10 questions right if you can, it will increase your score. BUT not at the expense of questions later in the test, because your score will drop and whatever you win in the first 10 questions, you'll lose in the last questions. Therefore, I do not think it is a good strategy for you to devote more time to the first questions. In fact, it might even end up hurting you a lot more in the end.

BTW whenever someone mentions a book, I recommend doing a quick search on it and checking out reviews of that book. I personally have never heard of this Total Prepkit for the GMAT. Just did a quick search and found just one amazon.com review for it. It's also listed as being published sometime in the late 90s, which would make it extremely outdated.

[yesman238]

I agree with both posters above me.

The Quant/Verbal OG also states that the idea that the first 10 questions are superiorly important is a myth. I won't quote it, but it basically says that it is true that the first 10 questions form an initial estimate, emphasis on initial. How you do on the later questions will also affect your results. It specifically states that spending more time on the first 10 at the expense of the later questions will not 'game' the system.

Hence, I would simply say, treat every question the same, and try to get them all right. It does not make sense to treat any question as more important or weighing more than another.

Ultimately, don't focus on these 'strategies'. Get the fundamentals correct. When you have them down, time will not be an issue. I finished Quant with about 5 minutes to spare.

[Bschool2013]

yeah, but do you think it's still correct, that the first couple questions "count more" than the last ones?

"No"