GMAT Strategy for a retake

[nishatfarhat87]

Brief Intro: Hi, I recently took the gmat on the 4th July and scored a heart breaking 580(Q46,V24). As can be seen, my verbal score is very disappointing.I plan to retake the exam by august end or september start. My target college is INSEAD Singapore and I am aiming a score around 740. I need some help with the strategy and suggestions on how can I achieve my target.

My short Comings: Started taking the mock tests one week before the exam and hence could not improve much on pacing as well as my strategy.

My english scores also started dropping weeks before the exam and I did not know how to change that.

I am not a native speaker of english and hence need additional effort. Would be glad if I could here few effective strategies to reach my target score (Q-50,V-40+)CR, RC both are my weak areas as I see and in quant I am weak at Number theory along with P N C and Probability primarily. On the test, I did ok with the timing and did guess few questions in the end. I would specifically need advice in terms of improving my overall english. Also, I would like to take my math to 90+ percentile.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had a rough test experience.

If you did not start taking practice tests until 1 week before, then I can pretty much guarantee you that you had significant timing issues and also likely significant mental fatigue issues.

First, timing: *everyone* has timing problems. Timing is always a struggle. It takes weeks and possibly months to get good at the timing. (Note: you can finish a section on time and still have *severe* timing problems.)

How to know what your timing issues are? Use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis. (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!)

The above also covers our other major issue here: I need detailed data on your strengths and weaknesses in order to advise you about a study plan. :)

Oh, wait, important note: did you take your practice tests under 100% official conditions? If not, take a new practice test now under official conditions (essay, IR, two 8-minute breaks) and then do the analysis described above. For tests taken under non-official conditions (which includes skipping the essay or IR section), your QV score might have been artificially inflated.

Please also let me know what materials / resources you have.

Re: mental fatigue, you may not have been aware you were experiencing it. Mental fatigue is very different from physical fatigue; you can be full of adrenaline and still very mentally fatigued. Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... you-crazy/

Did you feel any of that during the test, especially during verbal?

Finally, you mention wanting to take the test by the end of August or early September (6 to 8 weeks from now) and your target is 740, which would be an improvement of 160 points. That is an extremely ambitious target for that timeframe. Most people would not be able to achieve that kind of improvement in that timeframe.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't go for it, but I do want you to be aware of this, and to think about what tradeoffs you *might* need to make in future. You don't need to decide anything now but, a month from now, if you're not closing in on 740, what would you do?

Would you rather lower your goal score or take my time for the test? How would those decisions affect your admissions plan?

Broadly, you could say "My number one priority is this particular school and for that I need a really high score, so even if I have to postpone school for a year, I'm going for the score."

Alternatively, you might say "My number one priority is to apply this year so that I can start next year, and the specific school is less important. So I'm going to go do a little research into programs that don't require such high scores and apply to those schools instead."

(Note: by the way, I have no idea what INSEAD Singapore wants to see, so I'm taking your word for it that you need to score well over 700. If you're not absolutely sure - as in, hard data from the school itself, as opposed to what you might have heard random people saying online - then do the research.)

Oh, and here's another alternative - there are often differences in requirements for full-time vs. part-time (evening / week-end / executive) programs. The part-time and exec programs tend not to place as much emphasis on the GMAT, so maybe you decide, "I do want INSEAD and I also want this year, but I'm willing to go for a different program instead."

[nishatfarhat87]

Thanks Stacey,

I did my analysis and realized that I do have timing issues. For questions that I get correct in math are usually the ones that I answer below 2 mins so my accuracy is not bad. It is usually some concepts that I am lacking. Particularly, I am way too bad in combinatorics and probability. Glad, that GMAT doesn't test them often. Also, I feel handicapped looking at inequalities and coordinate geometry. Number properties is also my weakness.

In English, I guess I need an overall improvement. I take too much time in RCs and CR. Which is due to a gap in knowing the strategies how to tackle the question. CR is usually my weakest. SC i think will improve more only if I stick to manhattan SC guide wholeheartedly.

Also, I agree with you that I did suffer mental fatigue since I did not practice more than 4 tests I guess I do tend to wear down by the time I reach verbal section. Please help on how to improve stamina for tests.

Resources used: OG Official guide, verbal review 2nd edition, jeff sackmans math material, kaplan 800, manhattan sc.

The new resources that I have included: GMAT critical reasoning bible, Manhattan strategy guides, quant review.

Regarding the admissions: Well I am aware that INSEAD average score is around 710 with an sectional cutoffs above 85 percentile and I plan to attend college next year for August 2013 batch. The round one cutoffs will end by oct 3 so i can target the second round of applications. However, I am not sure about my chances for a scholarship. So, probably anything above 720 should be good but I doubt a score below 720 would do me good since my GPA is low and I need to make up for it with my GMAT score.

[StaceyKoprince]

I take too much time in RCs and CR. Which is due to a gap in knowing the strategies how to tackle the question.

Okay, so you know what you need to do here, good. Let's see - it's good that you have specific CR resources now. Do the other books you have include something for RC? (You say you have our guides now - all of them?) If not, you need something that teaches you how to do RC. (in other words, a test prep book that teaches RC - not just a book of practice problems that lets you practice RC.)

Then, your strategy is: start working through the books. :)

Next, okay - so 720 would work rather than 740. That'd still be a 140 point improvement in a relatively short period of time. So just think about what you might want to do IF you have to make a decision / weigh the tradeoffs.

Re: quant, inequalities and NP are more important than coordinate geo. In our NP guide (if you have that), the two most important chapters (5th edition) are 1 (divis and primes) and 2 (odd, even, pos, neg). Inequalities can be found in the Algebra guide.

Also I just thought of one more alternative in terms of your prep / the decision we were talking about. You could also look for outside help, likely in the form of a tutor since you're going for a very large score improvement in a short period of time. This will be expensive, and there are no guarantees. (And if a potential tutor tells you that you'll "definitely" get the score by working with him or her, find a different tutor.)

I don't normally like to recommend tutoring (because I have an obvious conflict of interest!) but this is one of the circumstances in which it's an obvious option - one of the more valuable uses of a tutor is getting through the material in a faster and more targeted fashion than most people can do on their own.

Also, timing strategy. Read today and start doing:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/