GMAT RE-TEST HELP

[maroosh88]

Hi,

Thank you for reading my post and giving me any form of feedback.

I have already taken the GMAT twice and I am planning to do another retake. I have not set a date yet. I guess I should just get this off my chest.... I have really reached my limit with the GMAT and almost came to a point during my studies where I wanted to just sell all my books and pretend I never got involved with this thing. But one thing I would hate to do is give up. So now I am planning to start re-preparing for the GMAT for the THIRD time... something I never thought I would have to bear. My previous scores were absolutely horrible... lets just say below 500. I have come to a point where I'm thinking that a private tutor is the only way out of my misery... I have spend over 1500 dollars on the GMAT and would really hate to spend any more money.

One thing I noticed during both tests is that I ran out of time... I had to guess on about the last 10 problems for both sections. So I have decided to let this factor be the focus of my future studies. Any advice on how to practice effective timing would be appreciated. Is there a standard timing strategy that can be followed for quant and verbal problems? How long should I take before I toss a question and move on to the next? Also, I have gone through the content in the OG 12th guide and am looking for new material to study with. Any advice? One thing I can say is that I have spend a lot of time going through OG 12 guide problems... I feel like I know the majority of the problems by heart and can solve them pretty quickly. Advice in general in terms of cheap tutors or alternative help would be appreciated. Also, advice on what Im doing wrong? Study tips?

Thanks :)

[StaceyKoprince]

If you had to guess on the last 10 questions in each section, that just KILLED your score. The good news: that means your ability level IS actually higher. The bad news: unless you fix the timing problem, it doesn't matter what your ability level is - the timing will keep killing your score.

This article can help:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/12/ ... management

I think you would also benefit from a timing exercise: learning about how long one minute is without looking at a watch or stopwatch. If you don't have one already, buy yourself a stopwatch with lap timing capability. When you go to do a set of problems, start the stopwatch but turn it over so you can't see the time. Every time you think you're one minute into a new problem, push the lap button. When you're done with that problem, push the lap button again, then repeat the process for the next problem. When you're done with the set, see how good you were - and whether you tend to over or underestimate. Get yourself to the point where you're within 15 seconds either way on a regular basis (that is, you can generally predict between 45 sec and 1min 15 sec). Also check your timing for the entire question, of course.

Now, how do you use that when doing problems? If you're not on track by one minute*, make an educated guess** and move on. (The general idea is that if you're not on track by the halfway mark, you're unlikely to figure out what's holding you back AND have time to do the whole problem in the 1 min you have left.)

* For SC, 1min is well beyond the half-way mark (we're supposed to average about 1m15s here), but you can almost always eliminate at least some choices on SC in that timeframe. Once you've got that "I'm around the 1min mark and I'm struggling" feeling, go through any remaining choices ONCE more. Pick one. Move on.

** This also requires you to know HOW to make an educated guess depending upon the type of problem and the content being tested. So that's something else to add to your study: how to make educated guesses on different kinds of problems.

Here's more on educated guessing:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... s-on-quant
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... verbal.cfm

Start there and see how far you can get in the next 2-3 weeks on the timing problem. If you're making progress, keep going. If you're still struggling, then you may need to seek outside help in the form of tutoring or something similar.

Other sources for problems:
Quant and Verbal Supplements, 2nd edition
OG11
GMAT Focus (quant only)

Don't start blowing through a bunch of new questions yet, though. Try to get better at the timing through a mix of old and new Qs so that you still have some new Qs to really test yourself once you get better with the timing. (I'd save GMAT Focus for later for this reason.)

And, of course, use the forums. Here's an article on how to get the most out of your time on the forums:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/05/ ... the-forums

[adrian.jank]

I took my GMAT today and obviously since I am posting in this forum it didn't go according to plan, frankly it was a disaster. I scored a 590 (33Q, 36V). I thinking I had some test anxiety during the quant portion and had timing issues in the verbal.

My Story:
I have been self studying for 3 months previous to this. 2 months ago I actually set my test date and began a rigorous study plan. I followed a 60 day plan provided by Beat the GMAT. This plan included purchasing the MGMAT CR and Sentance Correction books. Before starting I took a GMAT prep test to establish a baseline. I got a 540, which was disappointing because I am aiming to score a 750. I figure being a white male who will be 30 when an adcom reads my application this is the score I need to have a chance at upper level schools. After the first 3 weeks of study a I took a manhattan GMAT practice test, scored a 600 (42Q 32V) and was satisfied. Progress had been made. 3 weeks later after a verbal focus I scored a 650 (43Q, 36V). I was happy and after review I had left points on the table with careless errors. However, I discounted the score slightly because I hadn't completed the essays. After this second test I was about a month out from the test and at that point I had decided to take a test every week under full conditions.

The third MGMAT practice test I scored a 640(41q 36v) under full conditions, but actually felt good going into my final month because that test was filled with careless mistakes and because of sinus trouble my brain gave out a little over half into the verbal, which at that point I was tracking in the mid 90th percentile then just steadily went down after that. After each test I conducted thorough reviews of my performance in fact my analysis would take 2 4 hour sessions at the library. Needless to say 2 weeks out I scored even worse 610, then on my last practi ce test I bombed out at a 540.

Test Day:
I calmed my nerves and fear, went in with a full belief that I could conquer the GMAT, then the first quant question came up and I was lost on how to get the correct answer, even though it was in one of my stronger areas. Eliminated and guessed, second questions no clue how to do it, guessed. Tis threw me off my game but i settled myself and went into recovery mode. At the the end of the quant I knew my goal was unattainable at that point, but I went into the verbal knowing that i can get what I want. Of course the first question I get is a sentence correction problem and i waste 3 minutes on the damn thing agonizing over how I started off another section on the wrong foot. The second questions was a ridiculously complicated written CR question (my strong point with og questions) and I was pretty sure I got this wrong and 2 q headline in I am already 2:30 minutes behind time, when you guessed it I get a reading comprehension question!! By this time I was frazzled and had to stop taking the test and focus on moving past my difficulties and refocus n finishing the test. I got through it and tried to catch up as much as edible, but the GMAT seemingly knew where to grow in the reading comp questions at just the right time. I never really recovered, lost more itme and had to rush through the last few questions. I contemplated canceling my scores and was actually surprised I saw a 590 on the screen.

Next Steps:
I'm considering signing up for the MGMAT in person prep course, but I am wondering the value I'll get out of it since I have completed and reviewed 90% of the OG.

What are some of the gains I will get in class as opposed to continuing to study on my own.

Are the benefits as great to people who have already taken the test?

[StaceyKoprince]

Hey, Adrian - I'm sorry you had a rough time on the test. Can you please start your own thread? You can just copy all of this text and paste it into your own new thread. We try to keep people separate so that we can keep your "story" together over time and advise you appropriately - it's too hard when we mix multiple people / stories in the same thread. Thanks!

A couple of quick things though:
- a lot of my students have already taken the real test and studied on their own; there's still a TON to learn from the class
- you may want to ask other students who were in a similar situation and did end up taking a class; don't just take my word for it :)

If you want to dive into a more thorough analysis of strengths and weaknesses here, then use the below article to analyze your most recent MGMAT test and then come back and tell us what you discovered:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... sts-part-1

You can include that in your own personal thread / new post. :)