Scored just 330 in GMAT ADVICE PLEASE !!

[srivatsan_r_23]

Hi Friends,

I took my gmat exam on 28th may and i got a devastating score of 330 & 4 in AWA. I still can't belive this score. I am not really good in english. i prepared for 2months . I followed OGC12 . Did all the questions in it. I took 4 tests scored 430 , 440, 430 ,420. I need to score above 550 in 3 months time. Pls help me .. My future lies on this gmat score. I have left my job now for this exam :(:( .

During the exam i was very much frustrated after my quant section. I was able to complete only 26 questions and the questions were tough. I just guessed the others. Coming to the verbal section my major problem is , i am a very slow reader and i take a long time understanding the content so RC's and CR's. I am pretty OK in SC. GMAT verbal was just nightmare i not at all sure of my answers went blank in CR's. :(:( I am still in pain .

Please GURUS Help me in scoring above 550 as this is my future. I am unable to sleep. Just now i came back to normal after 3 weeks of sleepless nights.

Help me out ..... I am really down and i need some sound suggestions to turn me on :(

Thanks in advance
Srivatsan R

[srivatsan_r_23]

hi all my split up is 26 in quants and 12 in verbal :(


Srivatsan R

[srivatsan_r_23]

guys anyone out there ? :(

[StaceyKoprince]

For future reference, we answer questions in this folder twice a week on business days and we answer them in order - oldest first. That date is measured from the date of the LAST post in the thread. Don't reply to your own post (unless you have additional information you want to tell us, as you did with your 2nd post) because you just put yourself later in the queue!

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time with this test; we will do our best to help! The good news is that you have 3 months and you have a modest goal, so there's a good chance that you can reach your goal with the right kind of effort.

Your official test score was approximately 100 points below your practice test scores, so the first thing we need to figure out is why this happened. Read this article and do the analysis described; then come back here and post what you discovered. We'll help you figure out what to do with the information.

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/26 ... went-wrong

I can already tell you at least one of your problems: you only answered 26 questions on quant and had to guess on the remaining 11 questions. That would absolutely kill your score. You mentioned a slow reading speed for verbal - did something similar happen there (in terms of running out of time)?

If you continue to try to answer every question with as much time as you might need to answer it, then you will continue to score poorly on this test. Part of your task is to recognize when the test has given you something that is too hard for you (and the test will ALWAYS give you things that you can't do in 2m). When you do see something that is too hard for you, your best startegy is to make a guess within the given timeframe.

You do NOT need to get everything right on this test - you only need to get about 60% of the questions right. Think of this as a tennis match, not a test. You're going to win some points and the other guy is going to win some points; you're not going to win them all, right? Your goal is to put yourself into position to win the LAST point. Translated, that means you have to put yourself in position to answer the last question - you have to have time to address it. Otherwise, you've lost the last point, and by extension the match. When the other guy hits a winner, don't go running after it so fast that you hit the fence and injure yourself, thereby hurting your chances on the later points. (Translation: don't go way over when the problem is too hard.)

I would recommend that you sign up for a copy of our free e-book, The GMAT Uncovered. It will explain how the test works in more detail, and you do need to understand the information given in this short book (it's only about 40 pages). If you have previously signed up for a free test with us, then the free e-book is already included in your student center; just log in and take a look.

Please let us know more detail about how you have studied so far - what materials have you used, what are your strengths and weaknesses, how do you review and analyze your work, and so on. If you have taken an MGMAT practice test, then you can use this article to help you diagnose your strengths and weaknesses: http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23 ... tice-tests

Please also let us know the results to your analysis from the "My Score Dropped" article.

Finally, for future reference, don't take the real test until your practice test scores are in the same range as your goal score. Your practice scores were in the mid-400s, yet you wanted to score a 550. It is very unlikely that someone will score 100+ points higher on the real test than they score on practice tests.

[srivatsan_r_23]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for your guidance and sorry for replying you so late.

Materials i Have:
OGC 12th edition
Manhattan verbal book (for SC)
I have a R.S Agarwal's quantitative aptidude book.

Tests:
i have 2 official tests (mandatory tests given officially)
4 kaplan test series

==

I am good in cracking the logic so i think i can manage quants. my difficulty is with the verbal. am not able to understand clearly what is been asked. As i got only 2mins to do that quite often i skip/oversee some points. ( pls don't get the feeling that i am guessing i am not guessing)

How i study? I just sit with my quant book for 2hrs thrice a week so totally 6hrs of quants. Coming to verbal i don't have any idea whether to get a good fundemantal grammer book and study or study books apart from the subject daily. But everyday i sit and do OGC or some tests in the net. I am blank in verbal section and am still not able to remove the knot.

I was thinking what went wrong for 2 weeks and i figured out my verbal part is where i am going wrong because i am not sure of my answer.

Going forward please tell me how to prepare? should i get some more materials? if so tell me what n al should i buy. If you need anything more from me to figureout ver i am lagging feel free to ask whatever it may be.

Note: I have solid 4 hours of free time (5days a week) and in weekends i am totally free (sat n sun). Planning to take up my gmat in the mid of october.


Regards
Srivatsan R

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, you do need more materials. You need to begin with some books that teach you how to get better on the material tested on the exam. The SC Strategy Guide is a great start for SC - but you need something like that for everything else: RC, CR, and all of quant. (Note: if you do want to use ManhattanGMAT materials, make sure they are from us; the company called Manhattan Review is not the same company.)

You can use whatever materials you like (we do have books on all of these topics of course, but so do lots of other companies, so you can do some research and make your choice).

For quant, if you choose to work with our materials, I would recommend that you get the Foundations of Math book, in addition to the 5 main strategy guides (Number Properties, Equations, Word Translations, Geometry, and Fractions).

If you use our materials, you can also use our syllabus:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/freegmatlearningforum.cfm
Under the highlights section, click on "Official Manhattan GMAT Course Syllabus [pdf]"

Also, because you have our SC guide, you can create an online account with us. This will give you access to practice exams and to our free ebook The GMAT Uncovered. That will give you a good overview of how the test works and what you should be thinking about as you develop your study plan and actually study!

You mention having OGC, but not OG itself. (OG is the main book that contains the problems and OGC is the Companion guide that provides MGMAT instructor-written answers to those problems.) Do you have OG? Or did you mean to write OG in the first place and you don't have OGC?

( pls don't get the feeling that i am guessing i am not guessing)

You should be guessing sometimes; everyone has to guess sometimes! Ideally, you will make educated guesses (that is, you will try to narrow down your answers before you guess) - but everyone does have to guess at some point. Most people guess on between 4 and 7 questions per section.

Okay, next, you need help setting up a study plan and you need help with how to study. Read this article first:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/ ... study-plan

There are links to other articles in that article; make sure to read them. They describe how to analyze your own practice tests and practice problems and, together, they will tell you HOW to study.

Another article that might be useful:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... our-errors

Start with the above and do some research to identify what books and other resources you want to get. Then come back here to let us know what you're doing and ask any other questions that come up!