Someone...Anyone? Advice, please...

[lionhartzero]

So I took my GMAT for the first time two weeks ago and I was nowhere near satisfied with my results. I'll be taking the test again without a doubt, but I wanted to see if anyone may have been able to help me out by providing some advice.

English is my first language, so by no means did I think it'd throw me for a loop like it did. If you asked me to put my life on the line regarding the fact that I would've scored above a 40 before I hit the submit button, I could've done it without thinking twice. Too bad that that was nowhere near the truth. I'm not sure how it happened as I could've sworn I picked the right choices on most of the sentence correction problems, but I obviously had issues. It just stinks that your not given the results of various categories so that you can improve upon your weaknesses, so I'm only assuming that SC was an issue.

Anyway, I plan on retaking the test within the next 5-6 weeks so that I don't lose most of the skills that I've gained from studying thus far. I had no problems really putting in effort to read all of my MGMAT Study Books for the Quant section, but I'm finding it hard to press through all of the Verbal books for some reason. I don't know if it's because I feel as if I shouldn't have to focus on it since English is my first language or what...but how did you guys study for the verbal? Did you actually read the books, or did you just do plenty of practice problems?

I'm not sure how to go about studying over the course of the next few weeks. Should I be doing the 20 questions per day method where I go through the OG book and just mix up 20 questions per category every day after work, along with one practice exam per week? Is there another method that's proven to be successful? At this point, anything would be awesome. My goal is to score approx 50 points higher than what I previously reeled in, and I'm willing to listen to anything at this point... Thank you!

[[email protected]]

Hi lionhartzero,

I'd like to know a bit more about your Official GMAT scores and your studies up to that point:

1) How long have you been studying?
2) What resources did you use (besides the MGMAT books)?
3) How did you score on the GMAT? What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores?
4) What is your goal score?

It's possible that you could retest in 5-6 weeks and hit your score goals, but more information is needed so that we can make sure that you're focused on the proper subjects and that you're training correctly.

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

[lionhartzero]

Hi lionhartzero,

I'd like to know a bit more about your Official GMAT scores and your studies up to that point:

1) How long have you been studying?
2) What resources did you use (besides the MGMAT books)?
3) How did you score on the GMAT? What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores?
4) What is your goal score?

It's possible that you could retest in 5-6 weeks and hit your score goals, but more information is needed so that we can make sure that you're focused on the proper subjects and that you're training correctly.

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

Thank you so much for your quick reply!

1) I've been studying for about 3 months now, but, due to my work schedule, I have to admit that there were periods where I could not focus as much as I should have

2) All of the MGMAT Books, OG, and I've scanned websites for info. My primary resources were the study guides

3) Embarrassing...I scored a 610, with a 39 in quant and 35 in VERBAL!? Blows my mind..

4) I would love a 650-660. I'm ashamed that it wasn't accomplished during my first attempt since so many people seem to break 700.

Thank you for any advice.... I'm not even sure how to go about studying to improve anymore.

[[email protected]]

Hi lionhartzero,

I'm hoping that you can clarify a couple of comments you made in your last post:

1) You say that you were embarrassed by a 610; how were you scoring in your practice CATs?
2) In that same way, you seem really surprised by your V35. Why are you so surprised?

While many success stories are written by Test Takers who score 700+, most Test Takers do NOT score that high (700+ is the 90th percentile overall). The good news is that in many cases you won't necessarily *need* a 700+ score to get into a Top Business School, although the higher your scores, arguably the better your chances.

You're actually pretty close to a 650-660 right now; with some adjustments to how you see (and respond to) the GMAT, you could easily hit a higher score in a month. You might have to put in some work on the Verbal section, but you could pick up all of those missing points (and more) in the Quant section.

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

[lionhartzero]

To be completely honest, I hadn't taken too many practice tests before the real thing. I got a 590 on my first one, and the second a 620. These were tests taken in the first 2 weeks of studying though, and since then I hadn't taken anymore because I didn't want to spoil the extra tests that I had in case I needed to use them for practice before retaking the test (as I will have to do now).

I'm really surprised about my Verbal because it was always a strong point for me throughout my career as a student. From first grade until graduating from college, Verbal subjects never seemed to be too difficult for me. I really don't know what happened here, but obviously I'm nowhere near where I thought that I was.

Over the course of the next 2 or 3 days I'll be typing up some essays for my applications, but as soon as I finish I'll be jumping head first into studying again. Any methods/strategies to try to boost my score a little would help..

[[email protected]]

Hi lionhartzero,

Taking FULL-LENGTH CATs on a regular basis (1 CAT every 1-2 weeks) is an essential part of the study process. Since you didn't do that, you never really had a sense of how well-prepared you were to face the Official GMAT.

Using your Official Score as a gauge, you have opportunities to pick up points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. As I mentioned before, you're not that far away from a 650+ score right now, but you'll have to put in some targeted studying to hone your skills and get the points that you're looking for. Given that you still have some resources that you have not used yet, you might want to start there. If you'd rather use a completely different set of resources, then I can offer some suggestions.

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

[lionhartzero]

Thank you. I will make sure to take one CAT every week until my deadline (July 15). When I run out of them I will do my best to find new ones so that I don't have to retake the ones that I'd done already.

That being said, the other suggestions that you mentioned that you had are also valuable. For the next couple of days I will be typing up my essays, but I'll be hopping right back into studying afterwards. As of right now, my only plan is to take CATs and do as many practice problems as possible, but I'm not sure if that's the way to go..

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

In addition to Rich's advice, which I wholeheartedly endorse, I'd suggest working in some mindfulness meditation to your study regimen.

You've probably noticed that a good portion of the GMAT battle is psychological - patterns that you recognize when you're comfortable can prove more elusive when the pressure is amplified. There's plenty of good research about how a mindfulness practice can boost test scores in as little as two weeks: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Happy to pass along my favorite guided meditations if you're interested.

[Rich@EconomistGMAT]

Hi lionhartzero,

To add to the great advice you've gotten here already, once you've taken 1-2 full-length practice exams, you'll find it helpful to go back through both and identify patterns in your test taking abilities. These practice exams will reveal concepts that you're not quite grasping or timing issues you have that are holding you back from your target score.

That being said, there's nothing about a 610 to be embarrassed by. Students enrolled in Economist GMAT Tutor (which you can check out for free here: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW) often see their scores fluctuate +/- 30 points, so with the right amount of prep, I'm confident you'll be able to get your score up to the 650 you're hoping for.

Best of luck,
Rich

[lionhartzero]

In addition to Rich's advice, which I wholeheartedly endorse, I'd suggest working in some mindfulness meditation to your study regimen.

You've probably noticed that a good portion of the GMAT battle is psychological - patterns that you recognize when you're comfortable can prove more elusive when the pressure is amplified. There's plenty of good research about how a mindfulness practice can boost test scores in as little as two weeks: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Happy to pass along my favorite guided meditations if you're interested.

Thank you David. I would love to hear about some of your favorite methods!

[lionhartzero]

Hi lionhartzero,

To add to the great advice you've gotten here already, once you've taken 1-2 full-length practice exams, you'll find it helpful to go back through both and identify patterns in your test taking abilities. These practice exams will reveal concepts that you're not quite grasping or timing issues you have that are holding you back from your target score.

That being said, there's nothing about a 610 to be embarrassed by. Students enrolled in Economist GMAT Tutor (which you can check out for free here: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW) often see their scores fluctuate +/- 30 points, so with the right amount of prep, I'm confident you'll be able to get your score up to the 650 you're hoping for.

Best of luck,
Rich

Thanks, Rich! When reviewing and discovering concepts that seem to give me trouble, do you think I should just focus on doing tons of those problems to get better? See, with Quant, I believe that I'll be able to read the books and get better by just doing problems of all types over and over. With Verbal on the other hand, I'm not sure if I should be reading each and every one of these books because I just didn't find the first one that I read (Reading comprehension) too helpful... Please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong in my assumptions..

[Rich@EconomistGMAT]

Hi lionhartzero,

Once you've identified problem areas, absolutely make sure you grasp the concepts you've noticed are giving you trouble. However, don't just focus on knocking out problem set after problem set. Based on your previous score, also focus on some test-taking strategies that you haven't already considered. I wouldn't want you to burn yourself out by blowing through countless problems. This might ensure you understand the concepts, but you'll also want to practice your timing to make sure you're not rushing through anything on your next attempt.

Best,
Rich

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Here is my favorite guided meditation: https://www.last.fm/music/Jon+Kabat-Zinn ... Meditation
Shoot for at least four sessions a week. (This is what the subjects in the cited study did.)

When you're taking practice tests, pay attention to your breath. When we're nervous or frustrated, our breath tends to become shallower, and shallow breath can then compound the initial nervousness/frustration, leading to a vicious cycle. The consequence, for most people, is that they'll begin to rush and do too much work in their heads. Work on deepening your breath whenever you get stuck. Make sure you're working methodically and making good use of your scratch paper.

[lionhartzero]

Thanks guys!