Consistently scoring in 630-660 range. Timing Issue!

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

Hello Stacey,

Finally I am writing to you on MGMAT Forum. I am an Indian male with good engineering background. Its been long time I have been studying for GMAT on and off. Earlier I thought that GMAT will be easy just as GRE, which I took during my MS applications and scored well on it. But, to my surprise GMAT is a lot harder, or I would say much more logical. Without understanding the importance of practice tests I took the real GMAT last year (without giving any Practice CAT), and perform lowest ever in my life. A mere 490. I had problem in verbal section that time, but quant was still OK if not great. I had to rush both the sections in the end and had to guess on 8-9 quant questions, and 13-14 verbal questions. I think over confidence and not knowing much about the test killed my score.

Finally, started studying for it regularly from last 5-6 months (without a test date, thinking I will take the test when I am ready). I have already finished OG-12 twice, OG Verbal Supplimet: Three times, MGMAT SC Guide: 4-5 times, MGMAT CR Guide: 3-4 times, MGMAT RC Guide: 3 times, Kaplan Premier book: 2 times. Watched all the videos by Ron (MGMAT), Brian (Veritas), and Brent (GmatPrepnow), and learned way more then anything else in these videos. I implemented all the tips these people gave in my answering techniques.

Earlier, I was not good in verbal at all, but all this practice gave me a gradual boost, and finally I started hitting 85%-90% hit rate on OG Verbal, OG Verbal Supplimet, and Kaplan Premier book. My Quant went up too, learned a lot new tips, tricks, how GMAT trick in question, learned about most of things with which GMAT bait you. Realized my strong area and weak areas, and worked on them. All this work and practice I put in, but nothing was timed and and No CAT Exam. I tried answering various questions, on beatthegmat forum, and could answer most of questions, if not all, posted by you (in your articles) correctly and well within 2 min or 2.5 min.

By this time I had this fear of taking CATS, and that was the reason I never took Practice CATS to judge how well I am actually doing. I was so scared to take any CAT and kept postponing it. The feeling of taking a CAT will make me cold blooded. I think the reason was I was too scared to get a low score, and eventually hurt my so called confidence.

Then, Finally one Fine day I took first GMAT Prep and scored 590 (Q: 47, V: 25). Same old story had to rush in the end and guessed randomly on last 7-8 questions on both the sections, even more on verbal. I kind of knew its both content + Timing. Practiced, Practiced, and Practiced. The feeling of not taking the CAT exam somewhat faded away. and then retook GMAT Prep Cat, (Keeping in mind, that I will have to work on my timing) but when in the test, I forgot everything other then the question at hand. Repeated the same thing and got a low 600 (Q: 47, V:25). Had to guess randomly on last 6-7 quant and still left quant unfinished by 1 ques. Guessed randomly on 7-8 verbal ques. When reviewed, I found that I encountered 2/2 probability questions correctly on quant, and 1/1 bold faced question correctly on verbal. Very Disheartened, but did not loose the hope.

In between, read all the timing articles by you, and got highly motivated. Took Another GMAT Prep Cat after a week. This time implemented (to some extent) what you suggested in your timing articles, and scored a 660 (Q: 47, V:34). Still rushed in the last 3 questions on quant with 1 question unanswered, and with 2 verbal ques unanswered. Still could not fix timing completely.

Finally took first MGMAT Cat and scored 630 (Q:46, V: 31). Still rushed in the last 3-4 questions on quant with 2 question unanswered, and randomly guessed on last 3 verbal ques, with 1 ques unanswered. When reviewed, I figured out its all silly mistakes, typos while solving and most imp. timing. Spend 7-8 min on a ques, and still got it wrong.

After, a week study and practice (again finished OG12 and verbal), took the repeat Gmat Prep today and scored 650 (Q:47 V:32). Still not on time. Quant Sec: Got Q# 2 & 6 wrong (solved them right, but picked wrong answer while selecting), Was doing all good, but guessed randomly from Q# 31 to 35 (all wrong), and left Q 36, 37 unanswered. Verbal Sec. was ok, but results were surprising.
Got Ques# 4 & 7 wrong, answered every question right after that untill Ques# 27. Got Ques# 27 & 28 incorrect. Then ran out of time and randomly guessed on Q# 32 to 38 (all incorrect), and Left Q# 40 & 41 unanswered. I am so surprised that I just got 3 verbal ques wrong untill Q# 32, and later got all wrong and my score dropped significantly. I am sure, its just timing, and no matter what I do, I could not fix timing issues while taking the test as I get so involved in question at hand.

I have already read all your timing issues, but still could not let go a question, when I know, I can do it. I know for sure its not content, its Timing!

Please help me and suggest me that how should i go from now and fix my timing thing. I want to take the real GMAT in another 2 weeks. Please Guide and shed some light on how to improve the score.

Best Regards,
Abhishek

[chandnigaglani]

Hi Stacey,

I've been facing the same problem. The only one time when I had managed my timing issue, I crossed the 700 barrier. But the rest of the times I still do get thrown over by 2 or 3 questions that ruin the entire time schedule and I land up with a 670-690.

Even though, I've read all the time-management articles... I sometimes find it tough to decide when to hold on and when to let go. During my CAT analysis, I'm always stuck with "only if I had let this question go I would've answered the last few correctly!"

I too have my exam in the next two weeks and am really looking forward to a reply to this query.

It would be great if the MGMAT staff could advice the next steps at the earliest.

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

All this work and practice I put in, but nothing was timed and and No CAT Exam.

This is the warning sign for everybody reading this. I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way. The test is not about getting everything right. It's about making the best decisions you can make about how to spend your two most precious resources: your time and your brainpower.

So for everyone else reading this: don't ignore timing and real test conditions!! That needs to be a part of your study strategy from day 1.

Now, you're on the right track with timing, but it's going to take a while - it typically takes people a good 4-6 weeks to deal with these kinds of timing issues, longer for someone who's really struggling, as you are.

Have you read this yet?
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Print it out. Keep it with you while you study. Keep looking at it and remind yourself what skills they're really testing you on here.

Also read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

I am sure, its just timing, and no matter what I do, I could not fix timing issues while taking the test as I get so involved in question at hand.

Sure you can. You need to learn that your goal is NOT to get everything right! Your goal is to have a chance on EVERY question. If I tell you that you can pursue only one of two business opportunities for $10,000 in revenue, one of which you can pursue right now but you only have a 25% chance of getting and one that you can't start till tomorrow but you have a 60% chance of getting, which one are you going to do? (You CAN'T do both!) Start making your GMAT decisions that way too!

I want to take the real GMAT in another 2 weeks.

Too soon. You're going to need longer than that. Don't push this with an artificial deadline.

Option A: Go buy yourself a can of tennis balls and write "Nice Shot!" on the side of the balls. When you should let something go, pick up a ball, say nice shot, put it down, guess, move on.

Option B: Write "This is NOT my best business opportunity" in large letters on a flash card. Keep that flash card with you. Same deal.

You WILL have to execute on this in order to get the score that you want. The test writers DO NOT CARE how good you are at math or grammar - you're not going for a Ph.D. in those areas. They care how well you choose to use your valuable resources, something any good business person has to know how to do wisely.

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

Hello Stacey!

Much thanks for your valuable reply. I did tried what you suggested in your reply, and took two gmatperp cats again. Here are some results which I observed:

GMAT Prep Cat 1:

Scored Low 640: Q 43, V 35.
This time improved on verbal, but went down with quant. I have been consistently getting 47 in quant, but this time I rushed in the exam to keep track on timing (as suggested by you), but then I messed up as I did 5 silly mistakes in first 10 questions. When I reviewed the quant, I found that mistakes I did were really silly. I knew the right answer in almost every question i got wrong :(.. SO.. I UNDERSTOOD THAT MY ACCURACY GOES DOWN, IF I RUSH AND KEEP TRACK OF TIME. I did not review the verbal.

Frustrated with the silly mistakes, I took another CAT next day right after hectic day at work. I made sure this time, read the question twice and slowly, and just move on if i have no clue about how to solve one right after reading one, and not to spend so much time on one SC question when I am stuck between two answer choices. Just guess on one and move on.

Results GMATPrep2: (After hectic day at work, no AWA, no IR)

Results: 720 Q 47, V 42.

I know the scores were somewhat inflated as I got few repeat question (say 3-5 in each section), but did not just buy time out of them. I solved them completely and i was not sure of the answer, but sure of how to do that. I spend complete 1.5-2 min on repeat questions. Also inflates somewhat because of no awa and no IR. I was happy to see my first 700+ practice score. This time I was very attentive in reading the questions, did not stop at one question if in case I dont know how to comprehend the question and guessed blindly (guessed on 2 repeat question as they were difficult for me). I still guessed on last 4 question on quant getting just last one right. When I looked at wrong answers, still Q 5,6,7,8 &10 wrong in first 10 quant questions. I think I cathced up later a bit, as compared to my last CAT as I scored a 47 on quant. Verbal went by good, and right on time. Did guess on 2-3 RC question in the last last passage, which was small but very convoluted in nature. I was happy to see 42 on verbal, but I know thats is inflated. I never reviewed the GMATPrep CAT question, knowing that they might repeate in case I retake the exam. So, still want to feel a little fresh with the questions that I got wrong last time. I do reviewed mt MGMAT CAT 1, to the fullest, with all (correct and incorrect questions), and it helped a lot in understanding where i make mistakes such as Number Prop. Ques with variables and Verb Tense question in SC gives me nerves.

Releived after this, I tried to do some OG12 DS timed drill of 20 ques. and got surprising results. The questions I never ever got wrong (4 questions out of 20) without timeing limits, I got them wrong this time. But, all silly mistakes when reviwed such as:

1. Question asked for something like " Is median less then 150?", I read and solved for " Is meadian greater than 150?" My way of doing it was right, concept about the question was right, just i worked to answer the opposite ques :(.

2. Solved everything right, solved for the right answer say C, but while picking the answer, picked up wrong answer B by mistake.

3. While solving and scribbling on my pad, I mistakenly assumed 7 as 1 and solved for wrong answer. :(

These are kind of mistakes, I have been making whem practicing with time. My accuracy is going down, If I keep track of time, or keep telling me that i have to finish this question in two min. or too pressed for time.

Please help and suggest how can I improve on this. I am still simultaneously working on my weak areas such as Number Properties, Comparitions and verb tense in SC, as well as on Timing. I do get a fell that I am good with the content, but still keep trying to review my old notes, concepts etc while studing and taking care of timing. How can i get that feeling that I am ready for the real test?

[StaceyKoprince]

Your task is not really about content at this point. It's about process - best solution processes (least amount of brainpower used, most efficient without increasing the chances of a careless mistake), making the best decisions about how (and how not) to spend your valuable time, minimizing careless mistakes, etc.

I'm just going to clarify something: rushing and keeping track of time are two different things. You do NOT want to rush. You DO want to keep track of your time. :)

You did do that the second time (on your higher test) - but this time, you cut yourself off when you knew that you didn't know what you were doing. That allowed you to spend a little extra time when you needed it on certain questions.

I still guessed on last 4 question on quant getting just last one right.

Because you were running out of time?

You still have some work to do to get this timing right. Go re-read my main time management article again.
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

You took the two tests within 9 days of my timing advice. It typically takes people about 4 to 6 weeks to work out the timing issues (and it's very common to go too fast at first and have to find the right balance).

Also, read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... many-cats/

The nutshell: I'm really glad that you're happy about that 2nd test, but it told you what you already know from the first test: you have timing problems. :)

got surprising results. The questions I never ever got wrong (4 questions out of 20) without timeing limits, I got them wrong this time

That's not surprising at all - timing makes all the difference in the world! That's why it's so important to deal with timing from day 1.

What habits can you build that will minimize the types of careless mistakes you listed?

When I write 7, I put a horizontal slash through it, so I can't mistake it for a 1. I do the same thing with the letter (variable) Z (so that I don't think it's a 2) and I use a number sign ($) instead of the variable S, so that I can't mix it up with a 5.

I built all of these habits when I made a careless mistake involving those numbers.

Your turn: what can you do for the 1st and 2nd careless mistakes you listed above to minimize the chances of that happening again?

See this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

Hello Stacey!

Thanks a lot for your valuable reply. Some update from my sight. I have been trying to do better as far as timing problem is concerned. I have been trying to implement all your suggestions, in my practice, and did see some good results during my CAT exams and my practice drills.

I already shared with you one of my test result in which I score 720. I took another CAT yesterday, and did bad on quant. I repeated the same mistake for timing. Could not control my timing again this time. I was feeling good through out the section, but later ran out of time, and guessed on last 8 questions and 1 unanswered. I got low 43 in quant, which is way low then my normal 47-48. Do the last 6-7 question can really bring all your score to that low?

Same mistake happened in verbal. I was feeling very very comfortable during the whole section, but ran out of time in the last and guessed on last 10 question. Only got just only question i.e. Q# 22 wrong, and later got just one correct in the last 10 guesses that too Q#40. All my confidence I got from a 720 score went down the drain, leaving me feeling bad for myself.

One more thing, while reviewing the test I tried to solve the wrong quant questions, and honestly, I could solve them well in around 1-1.5 min. The same question in which I was stuck while the clock ticking, I could solve them without clock and that too in the given time. What I realized was that during the test, I was thinking about the time too much, and taking a lot of time on one question, and out right start solving the question, with out completely reading or understanding the question. When the clock was not ticking, I was more relaxed, read the question easily, and to my surprise- I did not have to write anything for 5-6 questions, just solved them in my mind, and they were tricky but easy. Actually, my approach was correct in the later try, in contrast to earlier try, when I was just beating around the bushes.

But, I did not study or do anything special in the review. I just tried to solve the wrong answers again right after finishing the verbal.

For example:

Ques asked is b positive? (a,b is the point on the line passes thru origin)
Stat 1: Slope of the line is negative.
Stat 2: a<b

Approach during exam:

Calculated the slope to be b/a.
Stat 1: Slope negative i.e. b/a<0. Insufficient.
Stat 2: a<b clearly insufficient.

Together, tried few number plugging, Still does not gives anything about a and b, so insufficient. Answer E. (Got it wrong)

Approach during second try in review :

Calculated the slope to be b/a.
Stat 1: Slope negative i.e. b/a<0. So, a and b should have different signs. a>0, b<0 or a<0, b>0. a and b can be anything so insufficient.

Stat 2: a<b clearly insufficient.

Together, a and b should have different signs. if b is negative, then acc. to stat 2 a will be negative too, as a<b, which is not possible. If b is positive, then a will be negative, if a wants to be less then b and of different sign. So, b is positive.

Hence Answer C. Correct Answer.
This whole thing took me around 45 sec. in the second go. and solved almost all the quant questions, I got wrong correctly second time and in around given avg. time.

Can you suggest me something, how to not do this in real test, and future practice cats. I know content, I do also know approach. But, I think test anxiety hits me hard during the test.

Regards

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

Hi Stacey,

Little more update, I took another CAT yesterday. I can not believe that I really taking cats, which I have always been so fearful of. and, every-time I get a little better score, I feel much better and confident. Taking CAT is like nature to me now, earlier I never wanted to take them, in fact I was afraid of them. because bad score every time use to bring me down.

So, I took another cat yesterday, and scored 690 (Q:50, V:34)

Here are some notes:

1. I did very good on timing. Quant just on time, though rushed in last three questions (probability and long world problem) so guessed on last three, but finished on time. Scored my highest ever 50 on quant. I did let go 4-5 quant problems, when I was running behind time, and knew that I might not be able to solve them in 2 min.

2. I do not know what happened in verbal. I scored low 34 (my average have always been 35-38, max 42). Point is that, In verbal I have always been rushing, or at least not very confident on how I was doing, but still got between 35-38. This time I was felling very very good during verbal. In fact i was most of the time ahead of time, feeling relaxed, confident .... Yes did two stupid mistakes, which I did not do earlier. This thing makes me wonder what happened?

3. Earlier I slogged in RC. After practicing MGMAT RC Guide, OG-12 and OG verbal supplement 3 times, I started feeling good with the RC other then History and Social Science Passages. I my most CATS, I have always got just 1 passage from history, economics, social sciences, and wired topics on systems in medieval periods etc. I am very good in science, non fiction passages so mostly did well on RC. But this time, I good all 4 passages from my weak part, and the topics I never felt good about and most uninteresting. Out of 12 wrong in verbal this time, I got 7 wrong.

4. With SC, I can almost always figure out what question is trying to test such as pronoun concept, subject-verb agreement etc. Where I mostly get stuck, or spend more time were in which whole sentence was underlined. I know they almost always test meaning and modifier issues, but still stuck at them. How to improve on them? Have done all from OG-12, OG verbal supplement, & Mgmat SC Guide at least 4 times.

5. I never stopped for a long time on a question, I was not clear about in initial 30 sec, tried for 1.5 seconds and moved on. I was so happy to see that I did better on timing and my score went way up. All thanks to priceless posts, and articles from you.

Now, for me the battle is to keep the consistency. First time, I was good on timing I scored 720, next time I screwed timing again, and scored low 640. This time again was better with timing and scored 690. I want to be consistent with my scores and not let them fluctuate drastically. I don't want to suffer in the real test from timing issues, So how I can be consistent?

Please suggest how can I pull my score in the range of 720-730, and should I take the test date now, as I have postponed it earlier for 3-4 weeks as per your recommendation.

Regards,
Abhishek

[StaceyKoprince]

guessed on last 8 questions and 1 unanswered. I got low 43 in quant, which is way low then my normal 47-48. Do the last 6-7 question can really bring all your score to that low?

Yep! This is a "where you end is what you get" test - so if your performance drops at the end, your score is NOT an average of your performance throughout the section. It's just where you end.

The good news is: you did this on a practice test. Now you know what will happen if this occurs on the real test, so that should give you strong motivation to keep up with your timing when taking the test.

Your goal is NOT to get everything right. Your goal is to have steady performance all the way to the end of the section. This WILL include guessing on some problems. Your only choice is when / where this happens. If you don't make a choice, it will be forced upon you at the end of the section.

The same question in which I was stuck while the clock ticking

You did also have one additional advantage: you were looking at the questions for the second time, not the first time.

But, I did not study or do anything special in the review.

You're not done though right? What DO you need to learn for next time?

Two things to learn here:
(1) What were the clues in the problem that should have led you to realize "oh, when I see XYZ, I should be doing ABC." Learn those for next time, make them more conscious / explicit and you won't be so distracted by the time issues.

(2) Even if you "know" you know how to do something, you'll sometimes forget or get blocked. You still have to let those go, because it's not happening RIGHT NOW. You might remember in 10 minutes, but that doesn't help - you can't sit on the problem for 10 minutes!

So... when a new problem starts, forget about the timing for a minute. Just look and see what you've got. If, by about 1 minute, you know what you're doing, keep going. If not, try to make an educated guess if possible and move on.

eg, for the problem you showed. The question is "is b pos?"

B is the y-coordinate, so they're also asking whether you can tell that b is in quadrants 1 or 2. Just another way to keep this in mind.

Next, did you draw a coordinate plane? Visualize what's going on. Anytime you can draw something out, do so!

Okay, so my possibilities are:
(1) I can tell it's positive, or I can tell it's 0 or negative
(2) I can tell it's in a certain quadrant or pair of quadrants (1 and 2 vs 3 and 4)

St1 doesn't tell you pos or neg, but it does tell you quadrants 2 or 4. Keep that in mind.

St2 tells you nothing.

St1 + St2. You already know it's quadrants 2 or 4 at most. Does st2 help you narrow down any further?

So think of the whole DS process (when there are multiple possibilites) as trying to narrow down the existing possibilities). Putting the two statements together narrows down the quadrant - it's got to be quad 2. That's enough to answer.

Next time you see something like this:
(1) draw! visualize!
(2) figure out the possibilities to start and then specifically attack the statements to see whether they help you narrow down those possibilities

make sense?

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

Hello Stacey,

Finally I am again writing to you, and seeking some help. I need some serious advice on how to from now. Right now I am totally dejected, disheartened and demotivated. I did my mechanical engineering (3.4 gpa), and masters of science (SUNY, SB) in Mech Engg. (3.6 gpa). Aced GRE with flying colors. I have almost never had any issues what so ever in academics. Always have been one of the best students in my life, and a great employee at least.

After my MS, I saw a dream of an elite MBA in 2010 and started working on GMAT. Looking at class profile of my target schools, I thought that a good gmat score is all I need. Anyways, Life had another plans for me. I got laid off (global recession of 2009) just 5 days before my first gmat attempt in Atlanta. Bombed my first Gmat attempt: a 420 (Q: 40, v:11). I was in the most stressful situation as I can not stay in the country, and have to move back home, and securing a good gmat score was the only hope for me to get into a good school. So, booked a date for retake after 1 month, studied hard and scored 640 in practice test. Then, 2 days before my gmat my gf broke up with me (coz of no job, and that I was not happy from a long time) and bombed in my second attempt because of utter pain: a 380 (q: 30, v:13).

I decided to return back home, as my family needed me, and things have taken down turn for me in the states. I still did not leave my mba dream, and kept studying here and there with broken heart, no job for a month and big cultural change again. Gave two more attempts of gmat haphazardly and got more devastated a 460 (q: 39, v: 15) and a 520 (q: 39 v: 23).

Then I decided to leave the gmat for some time, and concentrate on my job. After a year, the mba plan again kindled in me, and started studying for gmat wholeheartedly. Got on forums, talked with a lot people, went online and saw almost all the videos from ron, brent, and brian. Almost have read every article from you. Worked as per your advise, and I did see results. I improved, improved and improved. Got stronger on quant and verbal both. I could tell the mistake in SC, just after reading the sentence and not the answer choices. CR became second nature to me. So, I was almost thru with content, but I knew that it is timing, which can kill me and the fear of taking any practice exam.

After, a lot of motivation and kind suggestions from you, I started taking a lot practice test. Following are the results:

GMATprep2 (old software): 590 (q:? v:?)
GMATprep2, retake (old software): 600 (q:47 v:25)
GMATprep2, retake (old software): 660 (q: 47 v:34)
MGMAT CAT 1: 630 (q: 46, v: 31)
GMATprep2, more retake (old software): 650 (q:47 v:32)
GMATprep2 retake again (old software): 640 (q:43 v:35)
GMATprep2 retake (old software): 720 (q:47 v:42)

The last test was the first one, in which I could hit my timing right after your suggestions. All the above test were under exact official conditions other then no AWA and IR. They all were on every weekend. Later, I took more retake on same gmatprep 2, to get my timing right, and I saved Gmatprep1 for few days before exam.

GMATprep2 retake (old software): 640 (q:43 v:35) with awa and no ir, screwed timing again.

GMATprep2 retake (old software): 690 (q:50 v:34) with awa
GMATprep2 retake (old software): 710 (q:49 v:37) with awa
GMATprep2 retake (old software): 720 (q:49 v:37) with awa

I never reviewed my responses, as I did not already want to know the right answers to question I got wrong. So, most of the questions in above tests use to be new for me, but there were still some repeats.

Two weeks before the real test:
GMATprep1: first time (old software): 630 (q:47 v:?) with awa and very poor timing.

GMATprep1 retake (old software): 680 (q:49 v:33) with awa, and few repeats, timing was ok.

Week before real test:

GMATprep 1, first time (new software) 710 (q: 49, v: 36) IR: 4, with awa, and timing was ok.

GMATprep 2, first time (new software) 700 (q: 48, v: 38) IR: 8, with awa, and timing was little bad.

3 days before real test:

GMATprep 1, after reset (new software) 760 (q: 50, v: 44) IR: 8, with awa, and timing was ok.

The Test Day: 30 Aug 2013

I was really nervous last night, had a good night sleep, relaxed and calm myself down. While driving to test center, I stated remember my past 2 years and got nervous again thinking of how I have done in the past. I tried to control my nerves, and told me that you can do it. AWA was easy, I broke down the argument easily. IR was bad if not horrible. All the question seems harder than what I have practiced from GmatPrep including three two part analysis questions on probability, counting and heat transfer. Quant started of easy. I got almost everything correct in first 5 questions, later the test got tougher, and I made some random guesses in order to keep track of time. I finished on time by guessing on last quant question.

Than comes the verbal, I answered almost first 8 question correctly, then saw bold face question. I was happy that I am doing good. 5-6 SC with whole sentence underlines, and a 5-6 evaluate the argument question. I was doing ok with time, but then later stuck on a long RC passage, and lost track of time and had 12 questions to go in 5 min. I got scared and almost guessed randomly on last 9 questions.

Score: 590 (q: 47, v: 25)

Totally frustrated, after all this hard work and study and still scoring 25 on verbal, exactly what I scored when I started my real preparations. I do not have much time, as I want to apply for second round of my target schools. I know I deserve better, and a 590 score does not reflect my real ability. I know verbal messed it all, but I am surprised that how can I get such a low score in verbal. I am accumulating all the strength I have, and getting back to work. I want to retake gmat in another month. As, I really want to apply for Fall 2014.

Please help and advise, how can get what I deserve in another month. I have all my basics and content fresh in my mind. I still have to nail the timing. Please suggest me how to go from here in one month to get to my target score of 680-700+

Eagerly looking forward for your reply.

Regards,
Abhishek

[abhi.skyisthelimit]

To add to my weaknesses I realized that my reading speed might be low. I do have good hit rate CR, but do have to read the long argument, RC Passages, and MSR tabs again and again, atleast two times. So, would increasing reading speed would help?

I tried to gauge my reading speed and tried a reading speed test on a website, which claim to test a person business reading skills.

Following is the link:
http://www.execuread.com/reading-speed-and-comprehension-test-1.htm

I tried it and figured out that I can read @ 177 wpm with 70% comprehension.

I also tried one more website, and that showed a result of 140 wpm with 73% comprehension.

I have already done both OG-12 and OG verbal review twice, still have some wrong questions to review in them. Should I buy the GMATprep Question pack to solve for next month, or should I work more on getting my timings right? I will be taking my rest of the MGMAT Cats next 4 weeks, and then New Gmatprep test again in the last week before retake.

Before my last exam yesterdays, I heavily concentrated on quant. Though, quant being my strong suit, I still kept doing 700+ level question of number properties, mixtures and counting methods. Which kind of scare me off as they were hard, and being from my weak area they were throwing me off. I stopped practicing any verbal or read any RC two weeks before the real test.

[StaceyKoprince]

I know you're not happy with your latest score, but I do want to point out that you scored 70 points higher than your previous high score (on the real test). That's fantastic.

Next, you scored 25 on verbal despite the fact that you pretty much randomly guessed on the last 9 questions. There's a pretty good chance your score was in the 30s before the timing brought you down - so that's another victory (and that improves the odds that you will be able to get a better score before 2nd round deadlines). I don't know whether you can get all the way up to 680-700+ in a month, but if you fix the timing issues, you can certainly get better.

So. Was it just that one RC passage that messed up the timing for you? Anything else that you can remember? Try to figure it out and then you're going to learn to master that timing so that you can get back in there and show what you've got.

Next, you are taking WAY too many practice tests. You learn *very little* while actually taking a practice test - you're wasting a lot of valuable study time / brain energy. Read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... many-cats/

So stop that. :)

What timing strategies were you using for the verbal section? How were you trying to keep yourself on track for each question type? How did you decide when to give up and guess? How were you supposed to be keeping track of your overall timing so that you wouldn't end up with 5 minutes for the last 12 questions? And what derailed your plans - that RC passage and what else? Other questions? Mental fatigue? Nervous energy?

Before you answer, go back and re-read my articles on time management and mindset. Here they are again:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/