First GMAT Test - Verbal -25 Quant -44

[jatin1230]

Hi

I gave my GMAT test today and ended up with Verbal - 25 and Quant - 44 Score - 570.
I prepared for around 4-5 months for the exam. I had started getting between 680 - 720 in my MCAT mock test. Thought there were some repeat test. But today when 570 score shined in front of me, i almost ended up in tears. I got 630 in GMAT prep 1 and 700 in GMAT prep 2.

After coming back to my senses, i realized that there were lot of time issues i faced during the exam. My Quant was going pretty good but then when i reached on the 29th question with less than 8 min left for Quant to get over. I got nervous and lost my whole concentration with making guesses on the questions left (In fear that i may end up leaving some questions answered).

Then came the verbal. The first question was a SC (which i thought was my strong thing in verbal), i quickly eliminated the 3 options out of 5 but got confused in the last 2. I also spent around 4 minutes on first two questions. This thing really got onto me that i am not able to answer the first question of verbal. This feeling moved on with me to the second question which was a CR. I am still not sure i marked it correct or not. In the rest of the SC questions i got so confused that i felt like i have come unprepared. In most of the SC's i ended up with two options looking both correct to me. Then came the RC's which i think i did fine. I am still not sure i marked them right or wrong. Honestly, i practiced around 80-90 RC's, more than 300 SC's, around 300 CR's. I never felt that blank feeling earlier which i felt while taking verbal. When i was on the 31st question i had around 10 minutes left. Then again i started making guesses on the questions. I kinda got the feeling in the exam that i am doing everything which one should not be doing in the exam.

Well, i am not going to leave GMAT here. Surely, i am going to give my second attempt in probably 2-3 months. So, Please advice me what should be my first, foremost, step in starting my preparation for second time. I have exhausted almost all the material i have. I am completely blank on what should be my next step. I have to get atleast 700 in my next exam. I may be sounding desperate here but yes i am pretty desperate to kill the GMAT next time. How do i seriously improve my verbal to breeze through the exam. I have to get it right the next time. Please share your advice.

I am a first time poster here so pardon me for anything wrong. :)

EDIT - I studied the SC rules from Manhattan SC book. CR from Kaplan and RC from Manhattan RC book.

Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had a rough experience on test day. From what you described, you definitely had some significant timing issues. You also, unfortunately, experienced significant nerves, affecting your concentration and your ability to perform on the test. Likely, once quant hadn't gone the way you hoped, that anxiety and adrenaline just took your brain down on verbal.

I'm also concerned that you say you're "desperate" and that you "have to get at least 700" next time. You're going to set yourself up for the same kind of anxiety during the next test if you put that much pressure on yourself. Yes, our goal is to get you to your goal score by the time you take the test a second time. But it's still not the end of the world (or of your b-school hopes) if you don't get there the 2nd time either.

I think one of your priorities will need to be learning to manage the nerves that strike all of us in high-pressure situations. Read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/

Another priority will be to work out the timing. I'm guessing that you have read, more than once, that the GMAT isn't testing you on the percentage correct, and that you shouldn't be trying to get everything right. The stress of the test, though, got to you and you completely forgot those things (or couldn't overcome your instinct to go back to what worked for you in school).

Read this (go ahead, right now, then come back here):
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

Print that out. Read it once a day for the next week. Read it at least once a week after that. Internalize the idea that this test is NOT a school test and your goal is NOT to get everything right.

Next, you're going to want to do a comprehensive review to get yourself prepared again. You mentioned your Verbal resources; what were you using for quant? You'll need to lift both scores in order to get a 700 on test day.

Because most of your issues on your first test revolved around timing and anxiety, I would recommend doing smaller sets of mixed questions under official timing conditions and then reviewing those sets. When I say "smaller" sets, I mean sets of 5, 10, 15 questions - not sets of 37 or 41 questions. Learn how to manage the process in smaller increments; then you can take longer tests to practice.

First, read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

That article discusses HOW you study and review problems. You mentioned that you already exhausted the materials, but there are many more materials out there - and you're not even done with the problems that you did use. You can go back to analyze those problems using the techniques described in the above article.

And if you did hundreds of problems, then you aren't going to remember every last one - you can re-do many of them as well.

These two articles talk about your timing:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

This article talks about how to make random sets of problems for yourself:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... blem-sets/

You can use the Official Guide problems, or the GMATPrep Question Pack, or problems from our books or online materials, or a mix of all of those.

If you want more specific resources for certain question types or content areas, then use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... ts-part-1/

Make sure to have read the other article I posted above before you do this analysis. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as what you think you should do based on that analysis. 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. 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!)

[jatin1230]

Thanx for your reply Stacey.

I have read the article "What GMAT really test" and have also taken the print out. I was surely not aware of the startegy to skip the questions. I have the habit of keep trying the question which eventually waists the valuable time.

I have read the article about time management. Earlier while i was praticing i did not time my questions be it verbal (except RC) or quant. I did time the RC but was not following the timings described in the article by you. I was taking around 5 min to read and more than a minute to answer the questions.

I took classroom training an year before from a company named Jamboree. They provided me with lot of material in form of handouts and books for quant. I did all of them thoroughly.

I just want to be quite sure to get on the right track on the study path(with material) this time and not end up studying what is not required for GMAT.

I am planning to self study and will get hold of some books such as LSAT superprep for CR and RC, SC Grail and Powerscore CR bible. I plan to time my every question this time.

My action plan starts with -
1. Time every question be it from quant or verbal.
2. I am planning to go through the SC MGMAT book thoroughly this time(word to word) and build the basics better.
3. Then study the basics for CR and RC again. Start with CR and RC from LSAT superprep and Powerscore CR with timing each question.
4. Daily read some article from a journal/newspaper.
5. Developing the strategy to skip the question rather than re attempt it over and over again and waist the valuable time.
6. I am going to read all the articles mentioned by you again and apply the same strategy while practicing.

Please pitch in if you find any loopholes in the plan i am planning to go with.

Thanks a ton for your help!

[StaceyKoprince]

I like your plan! I think you're on the right track.

Of course, you'll still have problem areas or questions at times, so just come back here to let us know when you're struggling!