how to improve my score.right now i m on 680 to 700

[manminder]

hi till date i have given 2 MGAT and one GmatPrep.
every time i got a score of around 680 to 700. but i need to go pass 740.

my score breakups are

MGMAT 1 700 q 45 v 40 i got 14 wrong on verbal but still got 40.
MGMAT 2 680 q 47 v 35. this time i screwed up verbal big time. got 19 wrong.(is it possible to still get 35)
GMATPREP. Q 47 v 34 .

i have done most of 1000 CR , 100RC 1000SC , finished oG11 and kaplan 800. and sets form scoretop.

While doing sets i used to get around 32 to34 right but when i started giving adaptive tests the number came down to 24 to 27.

I think i am pritty clear on concepts but couldnt get the questioons right while attempting (mostly SC)

i have the appointment for gmat on 12 of july. please tell how can i improve my score.
Should i give more and more tests or should i practice more questions.[/b]

[StaceyKoprince]

You should analyze questions, not just practice lots of them! Just doing a bunch of questions without analyzing doesn't help much - you reinforce your strengths and your weaknesses.

Here are some ideas about how to increase the quality of your study:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/post10460.html

And you should go back to the OG - if you aren't yet getting the score you want, you aren't done studying those questions.

Finally, is there a reason you need a 740? There's not a school on the planet that would reject someone for a 700, or even a 680. (That's not to say they won't reject someone for another reason - but that score wouldn't be the reason.) If you are trying to overcome a poor GPA or something, that makes sense. But don't get sucked into thinking you "must" have a 740 just because a lot of the schools report average incoming scores in the low 700s.

[manminder]

Hi Today i gave my 4 MGMAT . i m really disapointed with my performace. got a mere
on 4 test the score i have got is as follow

GMATPREP. Q 47 v 34 .
MGMAT 1 700 q 45 v 40 i got 14 wrong on verbal but still got 40.
MGMAT 2 680 q 47 v 35. this time i screwed up verbal big time. got 19 wrong.(is it possible to still get 35)
MGMAT3 700 Q 47 V 38
MGMAT4 690 Q45 V 38

gave these in the same order as mentioned

I gave the tests in the same order. I m not able to take my score above this level n my confidence is all time low.

Please clarify following thins to me.

1. what score do u think i can pull of on real thing considering my above performances.

2. when i gave Gmat prep i got 15 wrong in verbal with only 2 wrong in first 10 and my mistakes were very segregated. still i got only 36

but on MGmats i m getting atleast 3 wrong in first 10 , getting around 16 to 19 wrong still able to pull off 38 to 40. why is this difference. how to gauge my actual level on verbal.

my appointment is on 12 july. very confused how to proceed. n improve my score. should i postpone the date.
please advice.

[StaceyKoprince]

These tests have a wide standard deviation - the official test has a standard deviation of about 30 points and our test is about 50 points. Unfortunately, CAT exams are just not very precise. That means that it's not unusual to see a bit of a swing in your scores - even if you were to take the real test 5 days in a row, you'd have a decent fluctuation in your scores.

The number right / wrong factors only marginally into your score. The main factor is the difficulty level of the question.

Just one thing - I know that the marketing stuff makes it sound like everybody needs to score 700+ (sometimes they even imply 720+). That's completely not true! A 690 is the 91st percentile - only 9% of all test takers score that well or better! So you're scoring in an excellent range already - don't be depressed at all.

There's NO school, not even the top schools, that will reject you for a 690. Honestly, anything above about 660-670 is good enough (as far as the GMAT score is concerned, anyway). Now, they reject plenty of people with those scores - but for other reasons (work experience, recommendations, etc.). If you've got a low GPA, you may need a higher GMAT to offset that. But other than that, it's not a great use of your time and money to absolutely maximize your score b/c your GMAT score will never get you in; it can only keep you out, and 85th+ percentile is not low enough to keep you out. Do well enough on the GMAT so that they won't reject you for that reason, and then concentrate on making the more important parts of your application stellar. Your work experience and recommendations are much more important to the overall decision.

Keep up the good work! You'll have to decide whether to postpone your test date yourself, but I'll tell you right now that you'll NEVER feel completely ready. It's such a nervewracking situation that you'll always feel like there's more you could do. At some point, you just have to get in there and do it. If it makes you feel less nervous, assume that your first time is just practice. You're going to take it again in 31 days. :)