Think I Need A GMAT Prep Reboot

[theo2076]

I am taking the GMAT on Wednesday morning, but at this point I have zero confidence in my readiness for the test.

Pretty typical move for me, I put off the GMAT all along knowing the application deadline for the Spring semester was this Nov. Really kicking myself here, but what are you going to do? Life gets in the way. So in August I started with the Veritasprep 12 week online instructor lead course. I scheduled the GMAT for 1 month out after the Veritasprep classes ended. I think their program and material is fantastic, unfortunately I quickly found that I had a ton of basic material (quant) that I needed to catch up on (I've been out of school for over 10 years). I found it impossible with my work schedule to complete all of the necessary skill builder lessons prior to the live lessons twice a week. I guess you could say I felt very overwhelmed with the breath of information covered in those 12 short weeks. In the end, I don't feel like I got out of the course what I should have. My lack of basic knowledge was holding me back form absorbing the important strategies they were trying to teach in the lesson. Again, no fault of veritas.

After the course ended I took a little break and rescheduled the GMAT for this week, thinking I could use the extra time to study. Well, I certainly dropped the ball after the class ended with my self study, as I really didn't do much. I reached that "oh crap" moment last week and I've been trying to "cram" over the past few days, with tomorrow being my last study day, but really I'm not seeing any improvement. Based on my practice tests I'm scoring int the 80th percentile in Verbal, but a dismal 10-15% on quant. The best practice score I've been able to muster is a 500.

At this point I've reserved myself to sitting for the exam, since I've already paid for it, but probably won't accept my score. While I would love to not have the GMAT in my life anymore, I don't think it's the cards for me to get anywhere close to the 600 score I need for my particular school.

Knowing that the application deadline for next Summer is March, I need a new plan of attack for my re-take. I have access to all the veritas material through July of next year. Do I spend time this winter working through the skill builder lessons in each book? Do I look at other material out there? At this point I don't feel like I am all that much better off than before I started.

Any advice as to where to go next would be appreciated.

Also, if you had one day left, and focused for 10 hours on GMAT prep, what would use that time for prior to the test?

[[email protected]]

Hi theo2076,

It sounds like you've come to realize that studying for the GMAT is a more involved process than you originally anticipated. I'm going to start with the most immediate issue (the Wednesday Test Date) and then discuss the bigger issues (getting ready for a late winter or spring re-take).

I understand why you think that "cramming" might help you - it probably helped you in college when you were facing mid-terms or finals - but it's not likely to do too much to help you here. Studying for the GMAT is more of a drawn-out process. Think of how you might learn to play a musical instrument... to perform at a high level, you need plenty of repetitions over time (and you'll likely need to an expert to help you learn). With the last remaining day to study, I'd suggest that you focus on picking up some Quant points, since your Verbal is fairly strong already. You should be looking at the bigger categories and content areas: Data Sufficiency, Algebra and Arithmetic. Some review of Math Formulas might also be warranted. What you DON'T want to do is "burn out" before the Test though, so try not to do too much in this last day.

Since you haven't put in the necessary work, you're probably going to have pacing and endurance problems on Test Day, so it will be a challenging experience. Facing the Official GMAT should help you to better prepare next time though - take note of every aspect of Test Day - you're going to go through all of them again. We can use this Official GMAT Score to measure your overall strengths and weaknesses, so make sure to note all of the details about your scores (in the event that you cancel the score). From there, we can put together a study plan to help you better plan for a retake.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[theo2076]

Hi theo2076,

It sounds like you've come to realize that studying for the GMAT is a more involved process than you originally anticipated. I'm going to start with the most immediate issue (the Wednesday Test Date) and then discuss the bigger issues (getting ready for a late winter or spring re-take).

I understand why you think that "cramming" might help you - it probably helped you in college when you were facing mid-terms or finals - but it's not likely to do too much to help you here. Studying for the GMAT is more of a drawn-out process. Think of how you might learn to play a musical instrument... to perform at a high level, you need plenty of repetitions over time (and you'll likely need to an expert to help you learn). With the last remaining day to study, I'd suggest that you focus on picking up some Quant points, since your Verbal is fairly strong already. You should be looking at the bigger categories and content areas: Data Sufficiency, Algebra and Arithmetic. Some review of Math Formulas might also be warranted. What you DON'T want to do is "burn out" before the Test though, so try not to do too much in this last day.

Since you haven't put in the necessary work, you're probably going to have pacing and endurance problems on Test Day, so it will be a challenging experience. Facing the Official GMAT should help you to better prepare next time though - take note of every aspect of Test Day - you're going to go through all of them again. We can use this Official GMAT Score to measure your overall strengths and weaknesses, so make sure to note all of the details about your scores (in the event that you cancel the score). From there, we can put together a study plan to help you better plan for a retake.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Thanks, I will report back after I take the exam.

[David@VeritasPrep]

theo -

Here is hoping that tomorrow you rise up and get that score! But I want you to understand that if you do not, there is no need to worry. I have a plan for you to get that score by March.

Your Veritas Course comes with a free retake. Since you were not able to get the most out of the course because of some basic knowledge I highly recommend that you do the following.

1) Go through each skillbuilder and do the skillbuilder quizzes. That is what these are designed for! You need to build that knowledge in order to keep up with the course.

2) Retake the course beginning in January. I have a course starting January 6th and I would love to have you in it. Now here is the scary part for you, the course is 6 weeks long instead of 12. But if you are prepared for it you can get so much more out of it.

3) Take your practice tests the last 2 weeks of the course and then throughout February and whatever part of March you have before the deadline.

4) Do not blame yourself. I was just reading today from a book called "The Willpower Instinct" and do you know that having negative feelings about yourself actually causes more procrastination? It turns out that if you forgive yourself and you say, "oh well, it happens people sometimes are not ready for the GMAT" then you can look at the reasons why you are not prepared and you can honestly analyze those. If you have negative thoughts about yourself then you will tend to feel bad rather than address the problem. People who forgive themselves for failures of willpower are much more successful in the long-run in things like studying, dieting, quitting smoking, etc.

So first, understand that whatever happens tomorrow is okay. it is not the final score. Second, realize that there is a plan to get you where you need to go. And finally, just accept the situation and don't be too hard on yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat a friend. Which is with kindness.

Good luck tomorrow. Try to have fun! And if you do come up a little short we will get you on the road to redemption!

[GMATinsight]

Hi theo2076,

Well, I think you don't need any plan now for tomorrow.

Just relax... Breathe... Concentrate... Feel good about your preparation... If you really want to do something then open the notes of your preparation and

1) Revise all Quant Formulas
2) Revise rules of Sentence Correction
3) Revise rules of Critical reasoning
4) Relook at your wrong attempts of past so that your learning is revived.
5) SMILE and get good sleep

and be ready to share a success story

All the best!!!

Prosper!!!

[manyaabroadtpr]

Hi,

Hope you had a good GMAT. Do let us know how did you do.

If you need any assistance on how to proceed ahead, please do let us know and we would be happy to speak to you and guide you.

We are a leading GMAT coaching institute and have over 11 years of experience of guiding thousands of students for GMAT. We are hopeful that we would be able to add value to your preparation.

If ok with you, we can arrange a call for you with one of our expert coaches. This will help you to resolve all your queries and get you started.

Wish you the best.

[theo2076]

Wow, I appreciate all of the responses and encouragement, I need it right now. The GMAT was pretty brutal on me. I'm almost embarrassed to post my score, but here it goes:

Total: 400 (I'd like to be in the 510-600 range)

IR: 5 (52 Percentile)
Quant: 17 (5th Percentile)
Verbal: 27 (46th Percentile)

Obviously not what I was going for. As others have stated, I cannot change what has been done, only look forward and formulate a plan of attack to prepare for the re-take.

Thanks,
Jon

[GMATinsight]

Wow, I appreciate all of the responses and encouragement, I need it right now. The GMAT was pretty brutal on me. I'm almost embarrassed to post my score, but here it goes:

Total: 400 (I'd like to be in the 510-600 range)

IR: 5 (52 Percentile)
Quant: 17 (5th Percentile)
Verbal: 27 (46th Percentile)

Obviously not what I was going for. As others have stated, I cannot change what has been done, only look forward and formulate a plan of attack to prepare for the re-take.

Thanks,
Jon

It's not an easy task to get a score like 17 in Quant even if you take rough guesses (Just kidding ) and that leaves a HUGEEEEEEEEEE opportunity to improve on your Quant part primarily whereas Verbal seems at a place where you are pretty much fine in comparison to Quant.

So a strict suggestions is "If you are planning to retake soon then even a very small effort with right guidance can take your Quant score from current level to 40+" which will give a boost of about 200 marks to your score at the moment.

I will be happy to be part of your success journey if you are looking for an expert guidance.

For a free Online One-on-One Demo class, please write a mail asking for the same.

[David@VeritasPrep]

You can get started right now. Be committed to getting your score by March.

Get back to the skillbuilders from your Veritas materials.

Schedule your free retake of the Veritas course. There is so much to learn that many people do take the course twice.

I will contact you with a message and some additional materials that will help you get started back into the studying!

David

[[email protected]]

Hi theo2076,

While you're probably not feeling good right now, you already knew that you weren't truly ready to hit your goal score, so you shouldn't get too down on yourself for this result. Instead, you should try to evaluate the overall experience - what will you do differently the next time you take the GMAT? What did you learn about your pacing, energy levels, etc. on Test Day? Etc.

If you're planning to retest in February or March, then you now have plenty of time to study and improve. You might retake the Veritas Course that you took before or take a different approach. Before you decide on any of that, you really have to prepare your schedule around your future GMAT studies. With a 400 score as a "baseline", you have to improve 200 points to hit your goal score. You can't go about this process with an "I'll study when I can" approach. You have to MAKE TIME and build a consistent routine if possible. Plan for 3 months of study (although you might need more time than that) and mentally prepare yourself for a lot of work.

Thankfully, Business Schools don't care if you take the GMAT more than once. Also, since the GMAT is a predictable, standardized Test, you CAN train to CRUSH it.

If you have any questions about putting together a study plan, then feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[manyaabroadtpr]

Wow, I appreciate all of the responses and encouragement, I need it right now. The GMAT was pretty brutal on me. I'm almost embarrassed to post my score, but here it goes:

Total: 400 (I'd like to be in the 510-600 range)

IR: 5 (52 Percentile)
Quant: 17 (5th Percentile)
Verbal: 27 (46th Percentile)

Obviously not what I was going for. As others have stated, I cannot change what has been done, only look forward and formulate a plan of attack to prepare for the re-take.

Thanks,
Jon

Hi theo2076

We are glad to see that rather than getting bogged down by the results, you are already thinking ahead. This is the way to go and trust us, this approach will definitely benefit you in the long run.

We would genuinely advice you to take a mock test and start afresh. Sit with an expert mentor and analyse and understand your weak and strong points. Create the right strategic learning plan for you that shall suit you the best.

Let us know if you would need any further information on how to get going again and we would be happy to help.