Truly discouraged

[lpierce10]

I've been studying since February, so about 3 months and I've seen little improvement. I did the MGMAT 9 week class and my teacher was really great, I did most of the homework and now I'm studying on my own. I study 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, dedicating 1 hour to each topic. I still haven't seen my verbal go up at all.

MGMAT 580 q35 v34
MGMAT 520 q32 v30
MGMAT 540 q35 v30
Veritas 520 q32 v30
GMATPrep 420 q21 v26 IR8

I am so very disappointed in my first try at the GMATPrep test. However, I know that some things led to this score. I took extended breaks, I was washing dishes, etc and my mind was wandering while I was taking the test. I have 4 weeks until I take my official test. I'm going to break from practice tests for a little. I was considering 2 weeks, but I may just take a 1 week break and continue with my study regime. Any other suggestions as I come into the home stretch for my studying prior to my first attempt?

As I stated previously, I study for 4 hours each day, one hour per subject. My main focus are those areas where I seem to have issues, but I am using the MGMAT GMAT Navigator to work through the OG2016. My teacher also told me to use the Quant & Verbal OG books. I also have a Magoosh subscription for added practice in all areas.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

I've been studying since February, so about 3 months and I've seen little improvement. I did the MGMAT 9 week class and my teacher was really great, I did most of the homework and now I'm studying on my own. I study 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, dedicating 1 hour to each topic. I still haven't seen my verbal go up at all.

MGMAT 580 q35 v34
MGMAT 520 q32 v30
MGMAT 540 q35 v30
Veritas 520 q32 v30
GMATPrep 420 q21 v26 IR8

I am so very disappointed in my first try at the GMATPrep test. However, I know that some things led to this score. I took extended breaks, I was washing dishes, etc and my mind was wandering while I was taking the test. I have 4 weeks until I take my official test. I'm going to break from practice tests for a little. I was considering 2 weeks, but I may just take a 1 week break and continue with my study regime. Any other suggestions as I come into the home stretch for my studying prior to my first attempt?

As I stated previously, I study for 4 hours each day, one hour per subject. My main focus are those areas where I seem to have issues, but I am using the MGMAT GMAT Navigator to work through the OG2016. My teacher also told me to use the Quant & Verbal OG books. I also have a Magoosh subscription for added practice in all areas.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

No reason to be discouraged - each test is a single data point, so while you don't want to ignore any particular outcome, there's no reason to be overly invested in a single result. Take some time to analyze your old practice tests. Categorize your mistakes: were they careless? were they a function of not understanding a particular concept? were they the result of not using an appropriate strategy? Was timing an issue? Make a list of 4-5 concrete takeaways, strategic adjustment that you can incorporate next time. Do a little drilling in problem areas. Post questions you're uncomfortable with here. Once you've done all of this, and are feeling more confident, then take another practice test. Wash/rinse/repeat.

[[email protected]]

Hi lpierce10,

Before I can offer the specific advice that you're looking for, I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:

1) When you took your CATs, did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) What is your goal score?
3) When is your Official Test Date?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

[OptimusPrep]

I've been studying since February, so about 3 months and I've seen little improvement. I did the MGMAT 9 week class and my teacher was really great, I did most of the homework and now I'm studying on my own. I study 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, dedicating 1 hour to each topic. I still haven't seen my verbal go up at all.

MGMAT 580 q35 v34
MGMAT 520 q32 v30
MGMAT 540 q35 v30
Veritas 520 q32 v30
GMATPrep 420 q21 v26 IR8

I am so very disappointed in my first try at the GMATPrep test. However, I know that some things led to this score. I took extended breaks, I was washing dishes, etc and my mind was wandering while I was taking the test. I have 4 weeks until I take my official test. I'm going to break from practice tests for a little. I was considering 2 weeks, but I may just take a 1 week break and continue with my study regime. Any other suggestions as I come into the home stretch for my studying prior to my first attempt?

As I stated previously, I study for 4 hours each day, one hour per subject. My main focus are those areas where I seem to have issues, but I am using the MGMAT GMAT Navigator to work through the OG2016. My teacher also told me to use the Quant & Verbal OG books. I also have a Magoosh subscription for added practice in all areas.

Any help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Treat a mock CAT as a stepping stone towards your success. Instead of getting demoralised, you should try to analyze the mock CAT thoroughly and understand your pain areas. You can also identify your problematic areas using the MGMAT CAT analysis.

Post this, try to drill down deep:

SC: The questions test various concepts such as S-V agreement, modifiers, parallelism etc. Find out what troubles you.
CR: There might be certain types of questions that are troubling you. May be Assumption, may be conclusion, inference etc.
You need to find that out and then practice them
RC: This again can be drilled down into different types of questions and also different topics. See what questions and topics trouble you the most and then practice accordingly.

Quants: Try to find out the topics that trouble you. Make sure you pay special attention to Number System, Profit and Loss Algebra and geometry as these are the topics that are tested the most on the GMAT

As an addition, start preparing an error log and keep a note of all the mistakes you made and the lessons you learnt from the problems. This will ensure you do not make the same mistake again.

Skipping a mock CAT this week would be a good idea. Try to utilise this week to revisit the fundamentals/concepts that trouble you.
Apart from Verbal, you can gain some easy points in quants too by focusing on certain topics.

[MartyMurray]

Hi lpierce10.

Here's a question.

You took the Manhattan class and you done a lot of "studying" on your own, but how much time have you spent really training to get RIGHT answers?

Notice, your verbal score has not increased. There is not all that much content to learn for verbal, other than a few dozen key sentence construction concepts. So "studying" may not be the right word for most of what you have to do now. What increasing your verbal score is really going to take is figuring out how to get right answers consistently.

Getting right answers to verbal questions takes vision, good use of logic and solid processes.

For instance, to get CR questions right, you have to see the key details, understand the logic of the argument, the questions and the answer choices, and use solid, effective processes for choosing the right answers. If you are not choosing the right answers, then you are not seeing the details, not understanding the logic fully or not using effective processes for going through the answer choices.

An example of not using an effective processes that people sometimes use in CR is eliminating answer choices that seem weird without really analyzing them to see whether they are related to the argument. An ineffective process that people use in SC is looking at single words or phrases in the answer choices without analyzing the choices holistically from end to end.

If you don't get a right answer to a verbal question, you could ask yourself what you had to see in order to get the right answer, what logic did you have to understand and what about your process was not effective.

To get better at seeing what's going on and to develop more effective processes, practice verbal questions untimed, really seeking to get each right and using as much time as necessary to see what you have to see, understand what you have to understand and do what you have to do to get to the right answers. Doing questions in this way may take a half hour or more per question at first. As you get better at handling the questions you will naturally speed up.

To increase your quant score, go over your practice tests and use the analytics for the Manhattan tests and see what types of questions gave you the most trouble. The Manhattan analytics are super useful for finding areas of quant in which you can pick up more points.

Then work on each area one at a time, becoming fairly expert at getting answers to a particular type of question before moving onto the next area.

Notice, this is not exactly about learning techniques. You have to learn to get answers, doing whatever it takes, whether doing that involves using Manhattan strategies, working back from answer choices or just plain hacking your way to answers.

For some categorized quant questions you could set up a free practice account in the GMAT area here. https://bellcurves.com.

As with verbal, do questions untimed. I know that you may have heard that you should always use the timer, but actually working that way is a great way to never see a score increase. You have to develop form, and you are better off taking twenty minutes to get a right answer than two minutes to get a wrong one. As you get better at finding answers, you will naturally speed up.

So to sum up, the main theme of increasing your GMAT score is not really learning more SC rules, more CR strategies or more quant concepts. As you have experienced, you can learn all kinds of "stuff" and not see much of a score increase. While, yes, learning about that "stuff" is useful and to a degree necessary, the main theme is to get good at doing whatever it takes to get right answers.

[lpierce10]

Thanks to everyone for your replies! I took my test last Saturday (6/18) and scored a 530 (q31 v32 ir7). This was a 50 point increase from a test I took the Sunday before the test, which was a bit of a surprise, but I think I was calm and relaxed prior to the test. I did do some problems and review formulas the day before and the day of the test. I also did yoga and ate breakfast.

I think I have some work ahead of me. I've retaken the MGMAT class via the on-demand videos once. I think I will retake those again and do the homework associated with them as well as the Magoosh videos that coincide with the MGMAT session topic. This was suggested to me, but it was too late for it to have significant affect. I'm giving myself another 5-6 weeks to increase my score 120-150 points (Goal is 700, but will settle for 650-680). I think this is do-able, but I welcome feedback about my plan.

Initially, my study plan was as follows:
4 hours/day
1 hr/subject (RC, SC, PS, DS, CR)
- I focused a lot on quant and really saw no increases. I did 1 RC/study session which was everyday. I never really took a break. I think that was an issue too.
- I would use GMAT navigator to focus on certain topics along with Magoosh problems in the same subject area easy - medium
- I tried an error log and never really got the hang of how to use it. I think my issue is follow through. I think I need to figure out how I can use my error log during my studying. Do I review it once I start studying and redo problems? Do I review, then go through material and redo problems? How should I work with it?
- My MGMAT teacher gave me 7-800 packets

Another question: do I get a tutor now or do I wait until I take the test again to determine if I need one. I read another blog on BTG of someone who realized after attempt #5 that a tutor was necessary.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Another question: do I get a tutor now or do I wait until I take the test again to determine if I need one. I read another blog on BTG of someone who realized after attempt #5 that a tutor was necessary.

Here are some questions that can help you determine when tutoring will be most helpful.

1) When you click through old problems, particularly problems from official practice tests, do you generally feel as though have an approach that will work for you? How often do you review an question and think "I have no idea," or "I kind of get it, but don't feel confident that I could solve a similar question on test day?"

2) What types of mistakes do you typically make? Careless errors? Failure to understand the prompt? Confusion over conceptual issues? Timing problems?

If you find that you're feeling good about old questions, and you don't have any glaring holes in your conceptual understanding, I'd suggest simply assembling a file of harder questions for now, considering a tutor later. If, however, you find that you don't feel great about older questions, and you think there are conceptual gaps that need to be addressed - probability, exponents, rate problems, number properties, etc. - you might want to address those sooner rather than later to make sure that your study sessions don't lead to you reinforcing bad habits.

[[email protected]]

Hi lpierce10,

It's not clear whether you actually need a tutor or not. However you were studying before, that approach led to a score in the 500s (on most of your CATs and on Test Day), so you're going to have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT in order to raise it. As such, continuing to study in the same ways as before is likely not going to get you to your goal score. You've also likely developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits'). This is all meant to say that your score goal is achievable, but you'll likely need more time than you've allotted and you'll likely need to invest in some new practice materials.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
2) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

[lpierce10]

I'm applying this fall to the following schools:

USC (#1 choice), UCLA, UC Berkeley, UNC, Duke, Vanderbilt, UT Austin, and Emory

Berkeley may get cut, but the rest remain. R2 for most of the schools.

Wrt whether or not I feel good about old problems. I surprise myself when I review tests and I'm able to figure out how to do problems and get the right answer. I tend to make careless errors sometimes, reading the question but not coming to the right answer because I misunderstood something. I try to read the question, then re-read, work it out then verify if I answered the question (all in 2 min). A lot of the time I would figure out that I got the wrong answer bc I misread.

Could a tutor help me determine bad habits I may have, to correct them? Something to note is that I didn't necessarily stick to my study plan each time I studied. My friend gave me the guideline for how he studied and he ended up with a 680, it's the same plan that I outlined previously.

In terms of investing in new materials.... I used the OG16, Verbal & Quant books, Magoosh, and 7-800 packets in my weak areas that my MGMAT teacher gave me. I didn't really put a dent in them. I have a lot of Med-very hard Magoosh questions left and I may have only gotten through 1/3 of the OG16 and not even scraped the surface with the OG verbal & quant books. I was going to reset and start working through problems again. From what I read, this may not be sufficient....?

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Wrt whether or not I feel good about old problems. I surprise myself when I review tests and I'm able to figure out how to do problems and get the right answer. I tend to make careless errors sometimes, reading the question but not coming to the right answer because I misunderstood something. I try to read the question, then re-read, work it out then verify if I answered the question (all in 2 min). A lot of the time I would figure out that I got the wrong answer bc I misread.

Could a tutor help me determine bad habits I may have, to correct them?

Maybe. But there's no reason why you can't attempt to correct your own bad habits. Now you that you've reviewed your tests, jot down 3-4 takeaways. Perhaps they're as simple as reminding yourself to slow down and reread questions. Perhaps reminders to use time-saving strategies, such as picking simple numbers, rather than doing complex algebra. Once you've absorbed those takeaways and done a little more review/drilling, take another exam. The ultimate litmus test is the trajectory of your scores. If this process works for you, great, keep at it. If you're still spinning your wheels, that's when a tutor can be helpful to get you unstuck.

[[email protected]]

Hi lpierce10,

With the Round 2 deadlines, you have plenty of time to work on your applications and continue studying for the GMAT, which is good. From what you've described, it sounds like you understand some of the areas that you need to work on, but your overall solution is essentially to redo some of your previous work and include more practice questions. However, if you continue to functionally answer GMAT questions in the same ways as before, then you'll likely end up with the same general score result.

A tutor might be able to define your bad habits, but it sounds like you've already done some of that analysis - so you have to decide whether hiring a tutor is "necessary" or not. Nothing that you've stated so far makes me think that you need a tutor (you actually need a new set of Tactics and you need to stop making little mistakes). At this point though, you have plenty of time to re-start your studies any way that you choose, so I would advise that you study as you see fit for the next few weeks, then take a new, FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections). If that score result is similar to the others, then you'll have evidence this plan is not the proper way to proceed.

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

[MartyMurray]

Wrt whether or not I feel good about old problems. I surprise myself when I review tests and I'm able to figure out how to do problems and get the right answer. I tend to make careless errors sometimes, reading the question but not coming to the right answer because I misunderstood something. I try to read the question, then re-read, work it out then verify if I answered the question (all in 2 min). A lot of the time I would figure out that I got the wrong answer bc I misread.

Probably a key thing for you to do in your practice is to focus on getting right answers when you do practice questions.

When you are doing practice questions it's easy to fall into thinking that if you understand how to do a question you are kind of set, without realizing that what really matters is getting right answers consistently.

So when you practice, focus on hit rate first, no matter how long you have to take per question. I mean if you can achieve a 90%+ hit rate at an average time per question of 20 minutes, you have achieved something key, and you can be sure that with more understanding and practice you will speed up. If you are not achieving a 90%+ hit rate even at 20 minutes per question, then you have a whole other task to deal with. In that case you would have either to fix issues with accuracy or to fill gaps in understanding and approaches or both.

Also, getting right answers consistently is not just mentally but also emotionally challenging in various ways, and in order to score high you have to be good at handling the emotional aspects of the test taking experience. So focusing on getting right answers consistently in practice is in multiple ways important for succeeding in scoring high on the test.