2 weeks to my exam - 630 on prep test! How can I improve??

[goldmarcela]

Hey guys,

I am very discouraged because I have 2 weeks until my exam date (nov. 17th) and just scored a 630 on the Gmat official prep test.

I got a 37Q and 38V. English is not my first language so I understand that my big problem is with quant.

I studied journalism in university and haven't seen any math since high school. I've spent the last 3 months learning ALL the basic skills and simply learning geometry, algebra, etc... I knew NOTHING.

However, it still doesn't seem to be good enough. I cannot get past the 35-40 on my quant section. I have SO many material and have no idea how to start.

Should I do all the problems on the official guide? Should I take more practice tests? What can I do with all the material? I have 2 weeks and I am starting to freak out.

Is it possible for me to improve my score in 2 weeks? By over 50 points? How should I begin? I'm literally looking at all material I have and have NO idea where to start.

[goldmarcela]

Ok so I decided to take the practice test number 2 and improved my score by 30 points! I feel more relieved.

39Q
41V

Given english is not my first language, I am very disapointed with my quant skills. I know that with a 41 verbal and a decent quant scale I could be scoring way beyond the 660 that I just got.

I feel like I'm terrible at math and logic and that I should just give up on business school since my quantitative skills are way too low.

I will not apply if I don't score at least a 680 on the test since I'm only interested in the top 30 schools.

Realistically, scoring a 660 16 days before the test will I be able to improve to a 680-700?

I need desperate tips on how to improve my quant score. Like I said, I have so many materials and don't know how to start studying.

[StaceyKoprince]

FYI - all standardized tests have standard deviations, and the standard deviation on the GMAT is about 30 points. So a 30 point difference on two GMATPrep tests is within the standard margin of error - it may not represent a true change in score / skill.

That's the bad news. The good news is: at least the change went in the right direction. :)

Next, did you take the test under 100% official conditions, including the essays and the number and duration of breaks? If you did, that's great - then your results are more valid. If you did not, please tell me how you deviated from official conditions - it's possible that your practice scores could be inflated, depending upon how you deviated.

I feel like I'm terrible at math and logic and that I should just give up on business school since my quantitative skills are way too low.

Don't think that way! The vast majority of people can handle it if they put in the work - it's just going to take some time (and hard work!)

In terms of what to do now... you might make it in a couple of weeks and you might not. That's a tight timeframe. You can decide to go for it, and then take the test again at a later date if you don't hit the score you want, or you can decide to postpone for now and solidify your skills a bit more before taking it.

I can give you some high level advice on the quant, but in order to give you any detailed (and therefore very helpful) advice, I need a lot of data from you first. Your overall score doesn't give me any information about your strengths and weaknesses.

If you take a ManhattanGMAT practice test, you can use this article to analyze your results; then, share your results here:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... -part1.cfm

(The problem with GMATPrep is that it provides no data with which to analyze your performance.)

While we wait for specific data on strengths and weaknesses, I'll share with you some strategies for your actual study, whatever you're studying.

Analyzing a problem after trying it is where 80% of your learning occurs. Use this article to help:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

These two articles follow the above article, with two quant problems as examples:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm

It's also important to be able to learn from your errors:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/error-log.cfm

And it's important to know how to make educated guesses:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... s-on-quant

If you're having timing problems, this article can help:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/12/ ... management

[rkkarthik]

Goldmarcela,

Misery needs company ;-) How did you do? Can we get a test debrief please. Thank you

Karthik

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, if you're willing to share, we'd certainly like to hear how things went (even if things didn't happen the way you would have liked).