Advice on how to move forward?

[LindsayH291]

Hi All,

I would love to hear your thoughts, as I am seeking advice on how to move forward from here. My Quant is a little inconsistent and my Verbal needs a lot of work. My confidence is a little low when answering Verbal questions; I think this has impacted my performance on the tests. Below are my scores:

MGMAT 1 - 480 (Q31/V28)
MGMAT 2 - 560 (Q36/V31)
MGMAT 3 - 530 (Q39/V24)
MGMAT 4 - 590 (Q42/V31)
MGMAT 5 - 580 (Q36/V33)
MGMAT 6 - 570 (Q36/V32)
Real GMAT 1 - 560 (Q37/V31/AWA6/IR3)
GMAT Prep 1 - 580 (Q39/V31)
GMAT Prep 2 - 590 (Q44/V28)
GMAT Prep 3 - 600 (Q40/V32)
GMAT Prep 4 - 610 (Q43/V31)
Real GMAT 2 - 530 (Q38/V25/IR6)

My observations on Quant:
- DS is much stronger than PS
- PS weakness areas are: Percents, Algebraic Translations, Combinatorics/Probability, and more complex Geometry problems
- Seems like my foundation is decent, but need to close some of the gaps and get more consistent in my Quant performance. I would like to consistently score in the Q42-44 range.
- I practice all OG questions under timed conditions (2 minutes per problem)
- Timing isn't much of a concern, I usually finish the practice test just in time

My observations on Verbal:
- Initially, CR came very easily, but for some reason switched and now I struggle with this section the most. I need to practice anticipating the answer before reading answer choices. I can usually identify the question type.
- RC, I go back and forth on reading for meaning vs. skimming the passage on the first pass. It seems like reading for meaning helps me the most, but is way more time consuming. I'm 50/50 on all question types: Main Idea, Specific Detail, Inference
- SC, I usually narrow down to 2 remaining answer choices but choose the wrong answer because of a one-off idiom or I miss a subtle sub/verb agreement, etc. This shakes my confidence when selecting SC answers. I usually spend a lot of time on tests wavering between the remaining two answer choices.
- Timing is a huge issue on tests for me. If I don't worry about time, I usually get most of the problems right through #30, but then realize that I only have 10 minutes left after reaching Question #30 and then rush to the end, causing my score to tank. On the flip side, if I'm aware of timing and try to stick to the 1.5-2 minute ballpark, I seem to make silly mistakes and get more questions wrong.

I'm taking 1-2 weeks off from studying and am trying to determine how to go forward from here. My target score is 700 and above. I think that some of my issues are self-inflicted (applying too much pressure, etc.), but I also know that I have some gaps to fill in Quant and Verbal. I've categorized topics by strengths/weaknesses per advice from Stacey's articles. I can't seem to make progress on Verbal though! Should I go back to the Foundations book and start over?

Thanks for your help!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry this test is driving you crazy!

First, I think you're a course student. If so, have you already done your Post Exam Assessment (PEA)? This is a phone call with an instructor to figure out what happened on test day and come up with a plan to re-take the test. If this applies to you (and you haven't already done yours), please send an email to gmat@manhattanprep.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment.

Next, yes, it sounds like you could use some work on stress management. Take a look at this during your break from the test:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/

I'll start with quant because it seems like that's the easier one to tackle.

"Timing isn't much of a concern, I usually finish the practice test just in time "

I'd test that theory further, if I were you. I look at tests every day in which the student thinks timing is fine for this same reason...but the timing is not fine. It's what we call "up and down," which means the student is spending too long on certain problems (that s/he is more likely to get wrong) and then rushing on other problems to catch up and stay on time overall—and that then causes more careless mistakes. So make sure that this isn't happening to you. (And, if it is, then fixing this will help you to get up into the 40s more consistently!)

Also, make sure that you also aren't doing what I see a lot of people do: they spend extra time on weaker things and then rush their strengths to catch up...and start missing some of their strengths.

Percents and Translations / stories are pretty common on the test, so those guys need more work. Start here or in FoM (Foundations of Math) to make sure your foundations are okay:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/2012/ ... into-Math/

Then try these more advanced strategies:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... them-real/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ms-part-1/

Combinatorics, Probability, and complex Geo can all be put into your "forget it" category. Just guess and move on when you see these. You'll probably see at most one each of the first two. For complex Geo, just make sure you know what that means to you. (For me, it's 3-D Geo. No way. For some students of mine, it's when they do weird / unusual shapes or start combining multiple shapes.)

For CR, see whether this can help:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2015/12/ ... stion-type

If you like that, here's some more practice you can do to help you build that spreadsheet (and you can search our blog for more):
http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... reasoning/

I'm going to leave RC aside for the moment; see my last paragraph.

For SC—actually, for all of verbal but especially SC because you know it's a big issue—try this:

When you're reviewing, review everything. Identify ALL of the questions on which you narrowed to two and guessed, even when you guessed right. And answer these questions:
1) why was the wrong answer so tempting? why did it look like it might be right? (be as explicit as possible; also, now you know this is not a good reason to pick an answer)
2) why was it actually wrong? what specific words indicate that it is wrong and how did I overlook those clues the first time?
3) why did the right answer seem wrong? what made it so tempting to cross off the right answer? why were those things actually okay; what was my error in thinking that they were wrong? (also, now you know that this is not a good reason to eliminate an answer)
4) why was it actually right?

Also, just a note: I'm guessing that there's a point, when you've narrowed to two, that you really do have a hunch (not all the time, but often). Probably you end up picking that hunch eventually but only after another 15-30+ seconds of second-guessing yourself. And then that, of course, messes up your timing once it adds up across the section.

If you can learn to identify that feeling—when you really do have an answer but aren't willing to trust yourself yet—and make yourself choose at that point, it'll save you probably 30 seconds on a bunch of problems...and then you won't have such serious timing issues later in the test.

Have you looked at ordering the Enhanced Score Report for either of your official tests (or both)? This could help you to better pinpoint your issues on the official test; read here for more details:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... re-report/

I suggest that just because people do sometimes get surprises in the data—they think their weakness is one thing but on the real test it's something else. Best to know for sure what you're really dealing with on the actual test. If you decide to order those reports, come back and tell us what they say about verbal (and quant, too!). And that will help us to know what's up with the different question types and which ones are most deserving of your focus right now.