Doing lots of study and practice and getting worse NEED HELP

[JohnC546]

To whom it may concern,

I've been studying for the GMAT since late June took diagnostic CAT of 600 36Q35V, then work caught up with me and had to post pone study until late August did a bit more and then took a 2nd CAT got 620 37V37Q. I should also mention that I had occasional sessions with an MGMAT tutor and I walked away from each one thinking like it helped a bit.

I have been studying minimum 4 hrs a day both timed sets from the OG for both Quant and Verbal as well as doing an error log for all the questions I have got wrong. I have also been through all the mgmat quant books and made extensive notes and have done all the Verbal tutorials. I took a third CAT two weeks ago and got 630 37Q38V and have just taken no, 4 got 590 Q37V34. Verbal was a big surprise since in my practice I get at most 2 questions wrong out of a timed set of 15 on the verbal guides.

I genuinely don't know what to do now. For my choice of business schools I need to get around 730. My test is on the 26th of November. Given the amount of studying I'm doing and the trend of my CATS I must be doing something wrong.

So the question is: is there anyway I could refine my study habits to have a hope of getting my required score in the next 7 weeks or so and if so what should I be doing? If not should I just put off studying for the GMAT perhaps try the GRE?

[StaceyKoprince]

It's possible that you may need to switch to the GRE, bu we first need to dig in and figure out why your score isn't improving even with all of your studies. It might be something that you would carry with you to the GRE (ie, it might not be the GMAT itself!).

The most common causes of score stagnation are timing, fatigue, or executive reasoning issues.

First, read this
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning

How does this mesh with the way in which you've been approaching the test and your studies?

Next, read this:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat
Same question. How do you think you may need to change your approach?

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MPrep CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Your analysis should include a discussion of your buckets - you'll understand what that means when you read the last article. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Also, just to mention: you said that you "need to get around 730" for your schools. There are a few schools that have an average of 730, but remember what an average is. A lot of people are getting in with scores below 730. For a 730-level school, you do ideally want to try to hit 700+, but you don't necessarily need a 730.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't go for a 730. It's just something to think about as you continue your studies.

Final note: I didn't address your question about 7 weeks because I don't know yet. We have to figure out what's going on. If part of the issue is major timing / mindset issues, then you might get this done in 7 weeks.