Guidance needed

[argha17]

Dear Experts,

I urgently need advice. I am a retaker with last GMAT score of 630(Q47,V29).
With an eye on improving verbal(V29 to V42), I started preparing from MGMAT SC & CR since last couple of months. The improvement which I can easily feel has been significant.
MGMAT1:660
MGMAT2:680
MGMAT3:640
I could feel that I have scaled the half way mark by scoring on an average of V34 ish in MGMAT CATs(also assuming that the actual score is normally 20/30 more than MGMAT CAT score).
However, a recently concluded GMAT Prep2 test have shattered my confidence as I feel that I have not improved at all in these 2 months.
GMAT Prep2:640(Q48, V30)...4 incorrect in SC, 2 in CR and 7 in RC
My GMAT Prep1 score was 610. However, I do not give much credence to it because my test conditions were not ideal(sleepy, tired etc)

I have a target of 740 ie. take my verbal from V29 to V40+.
On analysis of MGMAT and GMAT Prep, I can see a pattern though....RC is what is killing me !!

I have not focussed on RC at all in my preparation. But never thought that it will be this bad.

Accordingly, I have the following queries:

1. Is RC a critical area to bring down the score significantly?
2. How does one improve RC?
3. Is it possible to have a break up of number of correct/wrong in SC/CR/RC for a given score?
4. Is it fair to assume that actual GMAT score might be 20/30 points higher than MGMAT CAT score
5. How do I "read" the Average Difficulty Wrong/Correct answers in MGMAT Assessment reports?
6. How long should it normally take to up the score to V40+?

Thanks in advance for your response.

P:S-I am a PhD aspirant in B2B marketing(post toiling 12 years in a sales job) and I presume that a minimum score of 700+ is required to get to a decent school(could not secure any success with 630 score last year though I had a limited number of applications).



Regards

Argha

[StaceyKoprince]

also assuming that the actual score is normally 20/30 more than MGMAT CAT score

Don't assume this - that's not accurate. In general, don't expect to score higher on the real test than you score in practice. This does happen sometimes, for some people, but you can't count on that.

All of the question types are of equal importance, so if you are struggling with one type, then that is going to hurt your score, yes.

Take a look at this for RC:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/

It was just published today and it contains comprehensive instructions for tackling RC. You will likely need more - it would be a good idea to buy a book that goes into more detail about how to do RC.

There is no standard # wrong for a given score. In fact, at most scoring levels, you are getting the same number of questions wrong overall - the test is not scored based on percentage correct. I recommend that you read the Scoring section of our free e-book The GMAT Uncovered to learn how the scoring works.

Note: You will not hit 740 without understanding how the scoring works (and how it is different from what you're used to from school). You will keep trying to take the test as though the goal is to get everything right (it's not) and that will pull your score down.

Read this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

In general, Average Diff of wrong answers *should* be higher than Average Diff of right answers - you should be getting the harder ones wrong. If you see that the numbers are pretty equal, or even that your Avg Diff wrong is *lower* than Avg Diff right for a category, then that's a problem - you're losing points due to careless mistakes on easier questions or something like that. (Note: if you see such a discrepancy based on just one or two data points, that's not a huge problem. But if you notice a trend across multiple questions, that's a problem!)

There is no answer to the question "how long should it take to get to V40+?" Some people will never get there; V40 is the 90th percentile, so by definition, only 10% of all test takers score 40+. Some people who do get to that level will get there very quickly, some will take months. It's more common (for those who do get there) to take months - it's tough to score that well on the test.