GMAT Practice test score 420-480. Please help me...

[sureng.reddy]

ALL,

I need your help in the way i am preparing for GMAT. Before nine months i prepared for GMAT for 2 months. I studied on my own and in practice tests (OG,MGMAT etc) i was getting consistently around 420(33Q 14V).

I realized i need to spend more time on GMAT and went for a 9 session onsite MGMAT (manhattan GMAT) class. Due to work schedule I managed to complete only 30% of MGMAT assignments. I was on track every week for MGMAT SC topics. Overall i learnt below from MGMAT classes:

1. SC - Grammar rules
2. DS elimination strategy
3. CR - Diagramming
4. RC - short and long passages strategies.

After my course has completed i solved around 50% of OG 12 problems. For the questions that went wrong I always looked at explainations. I also do montior forums like beatthegmat,gmatclub and MGMAT.

I am hoping for a target score of 700+ in real GMAT. Hoping that i am going to perform better in real GMAT I have been taking practice tests (once a week) from last few days including GMAT Prep I, II and MGMAT tests (timed including AWA). Again i am back to normal, I am scoring consistently between 420-480(33-38 Q & 14-18 V).


I realized my biggest weak points while taking practice tests are in verbal:

1. CR - I try to follow MGMAT CR diagram approach and run out of time (2.15 minutes per CR question).

2. SC - under the pressure of 1.5 mintues per Q i get confused or select wrong choice.

3. From 25th to 41 question i am speeding up and making lots of mistakes. I am almost guessing on last RC passage(usually around 30th question) and on some tough CR questions.

4. when i review the practice tests i try to solve the wrong ones again and i can correctly solve the problem. Only under time pressure i am making mistakes.


Please give me your thoughts on how i should proceed from now. I know the basics, i have read lots of GMAT materials and i did quite a few tests (timed including AWA).

[StaceyKoprince]

Stop taking practice tests so frequently. You don't get (much) better by taking tests. :)

For the questions that went wrong I always looked at explainations.

That's good, but that's only the first step in about a 10-step process for learning from your practice problems - and you have to do these things on the ones you get right as well, not just the ones you get wrong.

Read this article that describes how to analyze problems; this is how you get better!

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/09 ... ce-problem

These articles will also help:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... our-errors
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... s-on-quant
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/08/ ... -on-verbal

And if you haven't yet read our free e-book The GMAT Uncovered, I actually recommend that you start there, paying particular attention to the section that talks about how the test is scored. That has major implications for how you take the test and how you study.

For SC, try this process to help your timing:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/06/ ... on-problem

For CR, take a look at this RC article - part of it discusses how to take notes. Your CR notes should be even more brief than what's described in the RC article. Your task isn't really to take notes for the sake of taking notes, but to organize the information appropriately in your head (and with heavily abbreviated notes on paper!) so that you understand what the argument is trying to say and you can pick up on gaps and other problems.

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... mp-passage

This CR article may also be useful for you:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/01/ ... r-question

Why are you speeding up towards the end on verbal? Are you forced to do so because you spent too much time earlier in the section? Are you getting tired, so you speed up even though you don't have to? What's going on?

Only under time pressure i am making mistakes.

You can't get around the time pressure - that's just how the test works. EVERYbody makes more mistakes when under time pressure; it isn't just you. :) The test makers actually expect you to make lots of mistakes. That's already accounted for in the scoring. You should really read The GMAT Uncovered to get a good handle on the scoring. The typical "school test" mindset that we have to get everything right does NOT work on the GMAT!

Finally, you didn't ask about identifying strengths and weaknesses, and you seem to have a good handle on yours already, but you may also find this article useful in evaluating your practice tests.
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

[sureng.reddy]

Thank you very much stacey for your detailed suggestions. I took a break from GMAT prep for couple of weeks and now i am reworking on my action plan.

[StaceyKoprince]

Sounds good. I'm glad that you took a break when you needed one - that break will really help!