I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi guys,

Just came out of the test center. A disappointing end yet again - 570 (Q-45, V-23). This is my second attempt and a 70-point improvement from previous attempt. I'm completely shocked to see my verbal score and still unable to recover from the shock. I never expected such a brutal low verbal score.

It's disgusting to look back that I've wasted almost a year for GMAT. That's it guys! This is the end of my journey! I think i will not be taking GMAT anymore.

Thank you guys for your wonderful support!

Hi papgust,

sorry to hear that you did not get your target score, but don't give up I know you can do way better than that...

I'm so sorry to hear that! But look on the bright side: it is a 70-point improvement! Are you sure you don't want to give it another try? Did you go through all the right books?

Hi Papgust,

Don't give up. you are fresh of the prep and already in study mode, I would suggest you continue and then nail that sucker in next couple of months. I know it hard to put so much of effort in and don't get a result. give it try one more time.

Amit

Take another shot Man!!!..............You are already in the study mode plus the 70 point increment.....

Cheers!

Do you feel that you gave your best?

Did you finish the verbal part within 75 minutes the day of the exam? I used to never finish the verbal section before (that was why I was stuck at 35 level). Then I felt something changed in my head thanks to practicing everyday: my speed increased and I have always been able to finish the verbal part ever since I felt that change.

Stopping taking notes during the reading comprehension passages also really helped me improve. I have never missed a single reading comprehension question since I have stopped taking notes. Actually, taking notes was a loss of time for me, since I was already understanding the text.

papgust wrote:Hi guys,

Just came out of the test center. A disappointing end yet again - 570 (Q-45, V-23). This is my second attempt and a 70-point improvement from previous attempt. I'm completely shocked to see my verbal score and still unable to recover from the shock. I never expected such a brutal low verbal score.

It's disgusting to look back that I've wasted almost a year for GMAT. That's it guys! This is the end of my journey! I think i will not be taking GMAT anymore.

Thank you guys for your wonderful support!

Hey Papgust,

Don't give up my friend, you certainly can increase your verbal score if I did so!
You know what, I think you put too much pressure on your shoulders... For my last attempt, I did not really give a crap and that is when I scored higher than expected. Follow my advice and let go a bit and you might be surprised on how everything will happen.

Take care my friend.

Thank you all for your wonderful and encouraging words! Definitely, re-taking is a wise option at this point of time as i'm already in the study mode. I totally agree with you. But, I'm really not able to assess or understand what really went wrong with Verbal during the exam. My family and friends are trying to convince me to take up the challenge again. But i'm really exhausted. I've really suffered for 6 months managing my work and my preparation. I almost gave up my social life in these 6 months. I don't think i have the energy or fire within me now to take up the challenge.

My previous split is Q-36 and V-23. As you can see, the 70-point improvement is solely because of Quants. I'm quite satisfied with the Quants improvement and i don't really complain about my quants score because it's almost representative of what i was getting in my practice tests. I was expecting the same with verbal but to my surprise, verbal score did not improve by even a single point.

I ensured that i got a good night's sleep before the exam. I utilized my breaks quite well. I never felt tired or nervous during the entire time. I was able to finish both the sections with ease (around 2 mins to spare). I was able to focus 100%. I'm not sure what really went wrong.

May be someone could help me assess what went wrong with verbal.

For your information, these are my practice scores. I imitated similar test-taking conditions.

MGMAT Test #1: 630 (Q-45, V-32) [Feb 6th] ------ W/O AWA -------
MGMAT Test #2: 670 (Q-46, V-35) [Feb 13th]
PR Sample Test: 590 (Q-47, V-25) [Feb 20th]
POWERPREP #1: 610 (Q-47, V-27) [Mar 3rd]
MGMAT Test #3: 630 (Q-45, V-32) [Mar 6th]
MGMAT Test #4: 680 (Q-48, V-34) [Mar 13th]
GMATPrep #1: 670 (Q-45, V-37) [Mar 20th]
GMATPrep #2: 660 (Q-49, V-31) [Mar 28th]
MGMAT Test #5: 640 (Q-44, V-34) [Apr 2nd]
GMATPrep #1 (re-take): 680 (Q-50, V-32) [Apr 4th]
GMATPrep #2 (re-take): 680 (Q-49, V-33) [Apr 9th]
GMATPrep #1 (re-take): 680 (Q-50, V-30) [Apr 10th] ------ W/O AWA -------



Resources used:

1. High school Math book:
I started my preparation for second attempt with this book. After my first attempt, i clearly identified that i was lacking in basics in both the quants and verbal. I spent around 2 months with this book and really helped me a lot.

2. Powerscore CR Bible:
I started my CR preparation with this book. Spent nearly 3 weeks. Read this book twice and took notes of important points to not forget any key strategy.

3. Wren & Martin Grammar book AND Manhattan GMAT SC guide 3rd edition:
I ensured that i'm aware of grammar rules and Wren & Martin book lived up to my expectations. To know the GMAT rules, i borrowed Manhattan GMAT SC guide 3rd edition from my friend and undoubtedly helped me a lot. I heard from Stacey that 3rd edition is not quite different from 4th edition and so, did not go for 4th edition.

4. Manhattan GMAT Number Properties 4th edition:
This book is wonderful. Number properties is a major part of GMAT quants and i was able to nail almost all number properties problems yesterday in my exam.

5. OG-11:
I practiced all verbal questions. I did not practice any quants question.

6. OG-12:
I practiced only quants questions from this book. Did not practice any verbal question.

7. OG Verbal Review 2nd edition:
I practiced all CR and SC questions. Did not practice any RC.

8. LSAT Test papers:
I practiced this only during final phase of my preparation. Might have practiced around 4-5 papers.

I did not really practice much for RC. My strategy is to understand the entire passage (even the details). I'm able to answer well only when i understand the whole passage. I was able to consistently read the entire passage in less than 3 mins. So, i really didn't concentrate much with RC. For a couple of months, i was reading articles from economist, sciam, and sciencedaily.

hey papgust,
It was very sad to hear that , i never expected that from your side .But then only few people in this world get a chance to struggle. Believe me there is so much fun and learning involved in struggling, and only few people in this world happens to get such a wonderful chance.Just imagine how much Sachin would have struggled at the start of his career ; had he not done that , he might not have been such a remarkable player.
i will just quote few lines for you....

when things go wrong,
As they sometimes will,
when the roads u'r trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and debts are high,
And u want to smile, but u have to sigh,
When care is pressing u down a bit,
Rest if u must, but don't u quit.

life is queer with its twist and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And u never can tell how close u are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when u're hardest hit,
it"s when things seem worst that u mustn't Quit

I am knocked twice 590 and then 570 but i am preparing again for one more battle.
at least u are better than me....

papgust wrote:
MGMAT Test #1: 630 (Q-45, V-32) [Feb 6th] ------ W/O AWA -------
MGMAT Test #2: 670 (Q-46, V-35) [Feb 13th]
PR Sample Test: 590 (Q-47, V-25) [Feb 20th]
POWERPREP #1: 610 (Q-47, V-27) [Mar 3rd]
MGMAT Test #3: 630 (Q-45, V-32) [Mar 6th]
MGMAT Test #4: 680 (Q-48, V-34) [Mar 13th]
GMATPrep #1: 670 (Q-45, V-37) [Mar 20th]
GMATPrep #2: 660 (Q-49, V-31) [Mar 28th]
MGMAT Test #5: 640 (Q-44, V-34) [Apr 2nd]
GMATPrep #1 (re-take): 680 (Q-50, V-32) [Apr 4th]
GMATPrep #2 (re-take): 680 (Q-49, V-33) [Apr 9th]
GMATPrep #1 (re-take): 680 (Q-50, V-30) [Apr 10th] ------ W/O AWA -------ly didn't concentrate much with RC. For a couple of months, i was reading articles from economist, sciam, and sciencedaily.

i am no expert but i think your stats show that you do not practice with AWA, so in real test you might have been actually more stressed in V section than you think you were. so may be you can focus on this aspect.

papgust.

I am sailing in the same boat. I too scored 570. Actually I am seeing one pattern in our preparation. Even I used to score on an average 49 in math and 30 in Verbal.

I guess this is where I have made a mistake. I feel score of 30 on powerprep is a very bad score given many questions are repeated.

So I have decided that only after crossing 45 in verbal in practice test consistently I would take up official GMAT.

Lets plan it dude, we will score 700 for sure in our next attempt.

all the best

P,

You invested 6 months and your return was 70 points. What is the harm in retaking next month even if you don't put exhaustive effort ? I genuinely think you deserve more given your previous results. Just focus on time management and test anxiety really work on some key concepts here and there - but dont kill yourself. I really think you should take another shot at it without much worry/study just a relaxed casual attitude towards it. 6 months without a social life makes you a hermit and places much more importance on the GMAT than it actually should. If I were you - I would regain some of your social life, study periodically 3 times a week and take 2-3 practice tests until test day again. Take it with a grain of salt as hypothetically you have given up... why not give up after another shot to really prove that "your not capable".

Just my 2 cents.

Take care,
Jas

from what I read your method for RC is wrong and you need to get the Manhattan RC guide, the book is doing wonders for me as regards to RC

@thephoenix,

Thank you very much for your wonderful peppy quotes. Good to see you that you're ready to bounce back after 2 attempts. You are so good in quants, almost flawless. I guess you are struggling with Verbal as i do now. Good luck with your verbal preparation.

@iamcste,

I always ensured during my practice tests that i must mimic similar test conditions. Having said that, I've strictly followed by taking AWA in all tests except the first and the last practice test as you could see in my previous post. Moreover, in actual GMAT, i was NEITHER nervous NOR tired during the whole exam. I had built good stamina by the time i wrote the actual exam. These little factors were very well controlled by me during the exam. But i'm still not sure what really went wrong during the verbal section. Maybe, i'm still not on par with verbal w.r.t strategies.

@5702700,

You are absolutely right. A score of 30 on Powerprep is not all impressive. I scored a 27 infact on my only powerprep test. I think i need to rethink and plan my verbal preparation. At first, i felt that i should drop the GMAT plan due to frustration. Now, i don't think i have the heart to give up all of a sudden.

@Jas,

I prepared in a very casual and relaxed manner this time. I never overburned myself by studying rigorously. Studied 1 hour in weekdays with 1 day off and 3-4 hours on sat and sun with lot of breaks in between. Having said that i never had problems with time management and test anxiety. I was doing pretty cool this time and i was able to focus 100% in my exam. Maybe i should look to rethink my verbal plan and do something different from my second attempt.

@DAYNE,

RC is a section where different strategies work for different people. The strategy i took for RC seemed to work properly for me. Maybe, as you suggest, i will try to go by MGMAT's RC strategy.

Here's my take on what possibly went wrong.

1. Over reliance on your Quant. You scored 45 in the retake, so clearly you in the 70 odd percentile level. Though it makes sense to push your Quant to 50 levels. It is much more wise to propel your verbal score. Should you decide to retake the exam and in my opinion you should, You should focus on your verbal completely.

2. There are few things that go wrong with Verbal for most people but it all boils down to one of the following three problems.

A. Content : Were you aware of all the question types, i.e for SC what are all the content areas, which is your strongest/weakest area, for example do you get a lot of Verb tense questions wrong? Did you do a focused study tailored for these weak areas in verbal? did you review all the possible CR questions types? What questions puzzle you the most?

Have you defined a clear strategy to attack SC/CR questions. For example for SC questions, I read the sentence slowly looking for errors moment i find an error i go to the options where the error is corrected and mark off the wrong ones and then i try and reach the right answer using POE.

For CR moment i see a lot of numbers in the question, I know this question will require making small calculation, If its a causation question then i know the possible right options.

Idea is to have a defined strategy to attack each questions. It just helps to have a method to the madness. Solving a SC question in under 1 minute and a CR question in 2 odd minutes can be quite a havoc.

For RC, i just try to calm myself before starting a RC and i don't rush in, i also tend to take notes if i feel that my mind is drifting or if the passage is tough. Answer RC question as you would answer CR questions.

B. Timing: Are you able to finish the section in time? Do you find yourself rushing through the last few questions, When i was preparing for my first GMAT attempt i noticed that i got very few questions wrong in the first 25-30 questions and then ended up messing the last few because i was always rushing in. The idea is to adhere to timing grids, if you think you are behind at a particular stage, then its better to guess a question in the middle than to guess a bunch of questions together at the end.


C. Stress Management: GMAT is a piece of cake for some and a never ending battle for others, its just the way it is, some of us just have a better foundation of math and verbal concepts than others, It just makes things difficult, NOT IMPOSSIBLE. If you go into your GMAT exam thinking that its a do-or-die situation then you are bound to rush into questions, moment you see that time ticker moving and you find yourself taking too much time to answer a question. You make that error.

I have found that every question i make an content or technique error is a question on which i took more than the allotted time (1 min SC, 2 CR, 7-8 min for a RC passage). Just relax, GMAT is just an indicator.


Now, here's why i think you should go in for the test the third time.

1. To increase your chances at your dream school : No its not as obvious as you think, you may or may not do better at your third attempt, However, by showing the courage and the zeal to take it up the third time is going to impress the Adcom.

2. Improve: Ever tried to do a question over and over? You get it wrong the first time, second time you get close to the right answer and then make a silly error, third time you nail it at the first go.. Fourth time.. you just remember the damn question, the solution and the answer.

GMAT works like that, its all about Patterns, all questions are merely a variation of a small set of question types. More you practice and more questions you solve, more patterns you will be able to recognize on the real test.

Good luck.

PS: Pardon the grammatical mistakes above.