Hi,
Before reading your story i was reading all other stories of 700+. I am also preparing for GMAT and i am also in the same range of 370-400. It's been a month of work on my GMAT. I am connected with a class too. The advice which was provided by my tutor was that i know the concepts but i am not reading the questions properly so not judging the right answer.
It might help you or may not. I think you should be the right judge to know your problems since you are preparing for the test. One more stupid thing that i was doing that if i didn't knew a problem i use to leave it and see the answer later. I have been advised to solve it and try to find a solution rather than looking for an answer. I wish you the best and i beleive that without a GMAT score no college is going to look at you also. Sorry to be harsh but it's a fact all your added qualities come into picture later.
All the best and work hard.
Prasant.
340, Do I have any hope
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Source: Beat The GMAT — I just Beat The GMAT! |
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prasant_naidu
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:46 am
You seem to be articulate, and a logical thinker.. Your score should be better..
You seem to have identified your problem - you get stuck in front of a computer screen.
There are two ways to look at it.
1. You need to improve your basics. From what you said, this is not the case. Make sure this is not the case by working through Official guide 10 & 11.
2. Computer adaptive test problem. If this is your problem, get over it by doing as many practice GMAT tests as possible.
1. GMAT practice tests from mba.com
2. Kaplan tests
3. Princeton review tests...
4. Go to library and check out all the gmat books available.
5. Take paper tests. Maybe one timed test a day. Lots of books in libaries have paper tests.
Keep practising. You will get over it.
You seem to have identified your problem - you get stuck in front of a computer screen.
There are two ways to look at it.
1. You need to improve your basics. From what you said, this is not the case. Make sure this is not the case by working through Official guide 10 & 11.
2. Computer adaptive test problem. If this is your problem, get over it by doing as many practice GMAT tests as possible.
1. GMAT practice tests from mba.com
2. Kaplan tests
3. Princeton review tests...
4. Go to library and check out all the gmat books available.
5. Take paper tests. Maybe one timed test a day. Lots of books in libaries have paper tests.
Keep practising. You will get over it.
Oh...
Going by your written communication skills, past performances and dedication, I'm confident you deserve much better. I remember reading a recent debrief on BTG where the author (who went from mid 600s to a 790) said that "if you do the same thing the same way you did earlier, expect the same results" You HAVE to do the same thing differently.
In your case, I can understand it must be very disheartening to have the same unsatisfactory score on both attempts. So surely, with your caliber, you've not been able to identify what techniques work for you.
From a GMAT perspective, here are some specific questions that I'd ask:
1) Are you able to complete all questions in time?
2) What do you find more challenging -- Math or Verbal?
3) Do you revisit your approach for a given problem that you got wrong? Simply memorizing the right answer, or superficially assuming a correct answer is a train wreck waiting to happen. I've done this in the past, and it has been disastrous. If your fundamentals in some areas are weak, they MUST be fixed at their root.
4) Even for questions that you get right, are you able to tell why the other choices were incorrect? I would highly recommend this. In my preparation ,that lasted about a month, this is what made all the difference.
5) Do you have strategies defined for PS, DS, CR, SC and RC? This step is important, as each person has a way of attacking these problems. What's your game plan?
6) Do you practise your tests with the AWA? This is important for building stamina.
In your case, I can understand it must be very disheartening to have the same unsatisfactory score on both attempts. So surely, with your caliber, you've not been able to identify what techniques work for you.
From a GMAT perspective, here are some specific questions that I'd ask:
1) Are you able to complete all questions in time?
2) What do you find more challenging -- Math or Verbal?
3) Do you revisit your approach for a given problem that you got wrong? Simply memorizing the right answer, or superficially assuming a correct answer is a train wreck waiting to happen. I've done this in the past, and it has been disastrous. If your fundamentals in some areas are weak, they MUST be fixed at their root.
4) Even for questions that you get right, are you able to tell why the other choices were incorrect? I would highly recommend this. In my preparation ,that lasted about a month, this is what made all the difference.
5) Do you have strategies defined for PS, DS, CR, SC and RC? This step is important, as each person has a way of attacking these problems. What's your game plan?
6) Do you practise your tests with the AWA? This is important for building stamina.
Hi NeFa,
I went from a 530 on initial diagonastic to a 680 on the Actual test and am actually retaking in another 2 days time.
Just try to do fresh things now.Like probably new books and new notes and new strategies before u go onto your old notes.I believe going by my own experience that an improvement of 200 points (higher in your case) takes time.It took me a year.
And one more thing - there is NO FORMAT to success.Don't get intimidated by all those great scores and posts which say that they did this and achieved this or did that and achieved that.In fact due to my terrible work timings - I leave my place at 7:30Am morning and reach home by 9:30PM..with 2 hours of not-so-terrible travelling wherein I can browse thru my books.To top it all Im not a night person either.So that left me with very little time to prep.But I made good use of whatever little time I had.And most importantly you have to belive that U CAN DO IT.If you can afford it probably give it another 4-5 months before re-taking.Re-take you must.And this time just give loads of tests so that you get that standardised test fear out of your psyche.And at the end of it GMAT is a part of the whole story of finally where you want to be.So dont forget u are a strong applicant otherwise!
That's my two cents:)..Just wanted to share my experience coz unlike others..it took me quite to some time to get on top of the test format.
Regards,
Preeti
I went from a 530 on initial diagonastic to a 680 on the Actual test and am actually retaking in another 2 days time.
Just try to do fresh things now.Like probably new books and new notes and new strategies before u go onto your old notes.I believe going by my own experience that an improvement of 200 points (higher in your case) takes time.It took me a year.
And one more thing - there is NO FORMAT to success.Don't get intimidated by all those great scores and posts which say that they did this and achieved this or did that and achieved that.In fact due to my terrible work timings - I leave my place at 7:30Am morning and reach home by 9:30PM..with 2 hours of not-so-terrible travelling wherein I can browse thru my books.To top it all Im not a night person either.So that left me with very little time to prep.But I made good use of whatever little time I had.And most importantly you have to belive that U CAN DO IT.If you can afford it probably give it another 4-5 months before re-taking.Re-take you must.And this time just give loads of tests so that you get that standardised test fear out of your psyche.And at the end of it GMAT is a part of the whole story of finally where you want to be.So dont forget u are a strong applicant otherwise!
That's my two cents:)..Just wanted to share my experience coz unlike others..it took me quite to some time to get on top of the test format.
Regards,
Preeti
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bbaah
- Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
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- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:26 am
- Location: Accra, Ghana
- Thanked: 1 times
- GMAT Score:720
Nefa,
Don't be discouraged by your low score. Many people have gone from getting low gmat scores to doing really well on the gmat.
Look around this website for profiles of people who have gotten the sort of score you wish you had, and I'm sure you'll find some good information on how those people prepped for the exam.
Getting a good score takes time, effort, resolve, discipline, faith etc. You need to believe that you can do much better, and don't listen to any loser who tells you that you can't do any better.
All the best with your prep!
Don't be discouraged by your low score. Many people have gone from getting low gmat scores to doing really well on the gmat.
Look around this website for profiles of people who have gotten the sort of score you wish you had, and I'm sure you'll find some good information on how those people prepped for the exam.
Getting a good score takes time, effort, resolve, discipline, faith etc. You need to believe that you can do much better, and don't listen to any loser who tells you that you can't do any better.
All the best with your prep!
