1st attempt 450 (Q29, V23), 2nd attempt 550 (Q33,V32) WHY??

[IJ]

Hi Guys,

7 weeks ago i attempted the GMAT exam for the first time and i scored a very low score of 450 (i barely studied at all),as soon i saw my result i knew that i had to take it again, apart from the obvious reason that i wasn't going to get into any business school with that score but also because i wanted to get a better score.
So i registered for the GMAT exam again, i went to the library and got the Kaplan 2012 GMAT study guide, and i studied at least 8 hours everyday (apart from when i had classes) and weekends 10 hours. One week before the exam i had practiced the OG practice tests and i was having scores of 620-650, i practiced also the Kaplan's practice tests and i had a score of 670. so i was quite happy and becoming quite confident.
Yesterday i sat for the GMAT exam for the second time, and this time around i was quite confident because i had studied my ass off, in the Q section i was comfortable in most of the questions apart from 2 or 3 setbacks and in the V section i thought i did pretty well too , so i was expecting a score of at least 650. So you can imagine how shocked i was when i saw a score of 550!!!! I was so disappointed!! Since yesterday i've been asking myself "Where did i go wrong?" what happened??-
So what do you think went wrong?
Was i too confident?
Should have i allowed more time to pass before taking the test a second time?
Did i not study enough?

I'm quite desperate here, because i want to take the test again but before i do i would really like to know my mistakes so guys please i need you suggestions and advise.

Sorry for the long story
Thanks.

[digvijayk]

First of all, congrats on being brave enough to tell your story and ask for help. A lot of people never do that. I am not really in a position to say where you went wrong, but I can venture a few guesses. Anyways, here are somethings to note:

1. You made a jump of a 100 points on the real thing! A 100 points! That's a lot in a month

2. You are studying material similar to but not same as the stuff the GMAT tests. Use the OG 12, Verbal Review book and if and when required move to other books. Do not go anywhere else, unless you finish your OG and understand each and every part of it. Every time you get a wrong answer, find out why, stop and look at the reasons. Get the feel of the real GMAT questions.

3. Use flashcards like the ones on BTG or those offered by Manhattan for free. There's a lesson in each question- on those flashcards.

4. Analyze your performance. What is not measured cannot be improved. Exhaust the old GMATPrep software. Extract every last bit of info. How do you do that ? Take the test, analyse it by looking at which questions you got wrong in which sections, for example, in CR -> 13/15, RC -> 7/14, etc. And keep printscreens of the wrong questions, so you can ask folks here on this forum how to solve and then how best to solve. Then focus on your weakest section, e.g. between the CR and RC scores above, I'd start working on the RC first. Then focus on the second weakest and so on. Keep doing this to improve and pretty soon you'll be hovering the 650-700 range. From that point on, the game is a bit different

5. Make full use of the videos on DS and other topics here on BTG.

The next 2 months could change your lifestyle for the next 50 years of your life. And GMAT is a game in which you can keep on improving. All the best. Hope this helped.