590-640-Trying hard to cross 700+

[conquistador]

I have been preparing for the GMAT exam for the past two years. I have gone through a number of resources.
Initially, I followed one private Institute material for which I have receive numerous negative feedback regarding its quality through various instructors including you.

Then I went through MGMAT books along with OG almost all except AWA, RC and IR. It helped brush basics but nor more than that.

My first GMAT score ( 590) on 28 August 2014 V 23 Q 49 AWA 4.0 IR 2

I bought E-Gmat verbal online course and went through a couple of veritas books for quant.

I completed SC and RC but not CR and IR in Egmat account(it will expire within a week).
My strengths are SC(70-80%) in verbal and quant(Not an expert though)
My weaknesses are CR and RC.

My second attempt GMAT score (640) on 28 July 2015 V 27 Q 49 AWA 5.0 IR 6
I ran out of time in IR and rushed through last 17 questions in quant section.
Whereas in Verbal section, I moved at medium pace conscious of rushing out of time in quant section.
I did not find any of the SC and RC passages too difficult to understand.
I got surprised to see my verbal performance below 30 and not far from my previous score.

I got nervous on the day before my GMAT exam and could not sleep properly till 5 Am on the test day.
I slept at 5 Am and woke up at and traveled to the test center. Had meals in the morning , drank coconut water before exam and took an apple and eye drops(did not use them) for the break. But I dont feel this affected my performance majorly since I did not feel weak during the exam.

My Mock scores hovered around 640-660 few days before the exam.

In my experience while solving the questions in OG13 and verbal guide, I'm having a difficulty in solving the problems once I come across in problems of number 95 or above(i.e., hard or difficult questions).

For CR questions some times I struggle to understand question and solution as well. I wonder if it possible for me to cross 40+ verbal.

[Jim@StratusPrep]

I think it will be possible for you to reach the 40+ mark, but you have to focus on mastering the basics. The fact that you were able to score so highly on the exam says that you have the reasoning ability to do well on this exam. However, I did notice several grammatical errors in your writing, and these errors are signs of cracks in your foundational understanding of the English language. You point to the more difficult questions as the source for your errors, but my guess is that while you might understand the answers on some of the easier work, you likely still make mistakes there. Until you are as confident in all of the English fundamentals tested on the exam, you are likely to continue to struggle.

Where did your verbal score start?

[conquistador]

It started at 23 varied between 30-35 in mgmat tests recently.

[MartyMurray]

Hi Meera.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that you worked more on SC than you did on CR or RC, and you got your SC hit rate up to 80%. So, it makes sense that through working on CR and RC you can increase your hit rate in those areas too.

I notice things about your post similar to what Jim mentioned, little errors or oversights in what you wrote. Perhaps this is due to lack of familiarity with the language, but I wonder if possibly you could change and improve your performance just by being more strict in the way you work with language, and by developing more of an accuracy mindset.

In any case, while GMAT verbal uses language for question building blocks, the skills required for getting right answers to verbal questions are not all that different from those used in getting right in answers to GMAT quant questions. To score higher in verbal, you just need to somehow add a few things to the vision and reasoning skills you are using to correctly answer quant questions.

So I say, stick with it and develop those additional skills, and you will get your CR qnd RC hit rates up and hit your score target.

[joshmachine440]

Hi,

I have been thru similar situation...Finally I got Verbal 33. Dont join any courses right away. Improved your RC and CR, so get the gmat enhance score report and see what your weak areas are? You might see CR and RC, even though SC might be 80%.Start reading Economist and other journals... Read specific topics such as women in history, Astronomy, and other topics... Timing is key.. read fast and comprehend...Unless your speed increases then it is very difficult to meet higher verbal score... At this stage you can join some course that can offer 50 point guarantee....

On the other hand, dont think only GMAT is critical. It is important but do not totally rely on that unless you want to apply top 20 schools...You can also try some schools with the score you have.

Govind.

[krishnapv]

Also, are you applying for parttime or fulltjme?

[conquistador]

Although I may not apply with this score, I prefer full time gives you better exposure.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Out of curiosity, have you tried mindfulness meditation? Marty and I are staunch advocates of its benefits when it comes to standardized testing, and if your anxiety was such that you were basically up all night before the exam, I imagine you might find it useful. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Additionally, when test-takers have spent weeks and weeks internalizing verbal strategies and those strategies have failed to yield dividends, I find that something as simple as incorporating a strict reading regimen can be beneficial. The regimen itself can consist of anything you'd like, so long as the material is challenging. Subscribe to the New Yorker. Pick up some good literary novels. When we read voraciously, our brains change rapidly: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/ar ... in/282952/

[conquistador]

Out of curiosity, have you tried mindfulness meditation? Marty and I are staunch advocates of its benefits when it comes to standardized testing, and if your anxiety was such that you were basically up all night before the exam, I imagine you might find it useful. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Additionally, when test-takers have spent weeks and weeks internalizing verbal strategies and those strategies have failed to yield dividends, I find that something as simple as incorporating a strict reading regimen can be beneficial. The regimen itself can consist of anything you'd like, so long as the material is challenging. Subscribe to the New Yorker. Pick up some good literary novels. When we read voraciously, our brains change rapidly: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/ar ... in/282952/

Thank you very much David.
Sorry to delay the reply. Please check the PM sent by me.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Thank you very much David.
Sorry to delay the reply. Please check the PM sent by me.

No need to apologize

Just PM'd you...

[stephanieh]

Hi Mechmeera,

Hang in there! You can do it. I do think you might want to reevaluate your stance on getting some outside help. I think it could help shake things up.