Hello all,
First of all, thanks to JP for letting me know about this site. I met him at the exam centre and now find myself browsing this forum every day!
Just took the gmat last Thursday. Was really disappointed with my score, but am now over it and still trying to determine what went wrong. I scored a 540 (Q32, V32) 4.5 AWA.I used several sources for study. Arco (very old version), Kaplan, OG 10, and gmatprep. I must have completed hundreds of questions in the 5 weeks I took to prepare (I work fulltime, so really I was only studying for a couple hours after work and on weekends). I did both Kaplan CATs and both gmat prep CATs and a couple paper ones.
The scores I got in the practice exams ranged in the mid to high 500s. However, this was not a clue to me that something was wrong, but rather I brushed it off thinking I was not focusing as much since it was not the real deal. I tried to really focus on my mistakes on those tests, but I guess not enough.
On the real test, I completely choked on the Q section, whereas in practice tests I'd do fine in the Q section and not so good in the V section. The Q section should've been a strong area for me. I thought I knew all the concepts, and every question type I could across. However, I believe I got the first question wrong and couldn’t let it go. I was still thinking about it after I had confirmed the answer and gone on to question two!!! (never did this in practice tests!) I started seeing easy questions and a lot of number property DS questions (which is a weak spot for me as well) And I'm pretty sure I got those wrong.
I have been browsing the forum and have found a lot of useful info. I have OG10, Kaplan 2006, GMATPrep, and now the MGMAT cats. I will be getting the latest Kaplan and possibly OG11 from a friend.
My timing is not an issue as I always did practice questions in a timed manner. I did a lot of questions but I guess I didn’t focus on my errors. I have read that quality is more important than quantity. I have gone through the tips in ARCO and Kaplan for strategies. How much else can I do? I'd like to know what is required to make that jump from the 500s to the 600 or even 700 level?? I know I can do it! Is there a deeper level of understanding that I need?
Thanks!
