Scored just 630,please help!

[StaceyKoprince]

good luck!

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,
Gave another Manhattan CAT yesterday and again scored 660(Q44,V36).
Gave this test with AWA as well.The earlier tests i had given with only IR.I thought id score poorly on quant since i persisted with one question for around 5 mins(got it correct though) and shouldve let go.This led to a cascading effect and i was in a rush towards the end with the last question in quant not getting submitted(time ran out).
I have currently bought some time for myself to give exam and one of the universities has said that try to give the exam by 26th else my application would be pushed to the final round.
Having read ur articles about planning last 14 days,I feel i should further try to overcome my weaknesses(atleast be able to do the simple ones of those topics).
I am planning to give the next CAT coming Saturday.Any other tips u would like to give to boost my score?I want to reach atleast 680.

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

Tell me what specific strengths and weaknesses popped up on that last test. Unfortunately, there aren't really general tips that apply to every single person, besides things you already know like: don't run out of time and leave a bunch of questions blank. :)

That 5m question... it doesn't matter that you got it right. Don't even tell yourself that - don't think that it's a mitigating factor because it's really not!

You cost yourself a minimum of one problem (that last one) and probably 1+ more through careless mistakes due to rushing. After all, you didn't spend extra time only on that one question, right? Not killing that habit completely means that you're costing yourself multiple points throughout.

If you have other timing issues, then fixing the timing might be the only thing you need to pop up that last 20 points...

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

In the most recent test,strengths and weaknesses were:
Strengths:
Rates and work-both questions correct
Linear equations-2/2
Inequalities-2/2
Rest of the questions were 1/1 etc

Among weaknesses: (<50%) and more than 2 questions
Percents: 4 questions 2 correct,1 wrong and 1 i couldnt attempt
Algebraic translations: 2/2 wrong
Triangles: 1 out of 3 correct
Divisibility: 1 out of 3 correct
Rest were 1/1 incorrect.

Also note that out of these questions,the questions that i missed were in 700-800 range.Dont know if that makes a difference.

I want to know that next 10 days,should i try to solve OG10 or other official questions or review OG13 questions that i got wrong after solving.I havent solved entire OG13,i basically divided it into 1/2 i mean i started doing DS from 87th question and PS from 115th question.I have solved from GMATPREP question pack as well and am currently reviewing those questions.
Please let me know how should i go about it and if u want more info.

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

Sorry for troubling u repeatedly but i was thinking of solving gmatprep quant section repeatedly(each test 3 times or so) and try to fix my timing if possible.
For eg i gave gmatprep1 quant section alone and got Q48,then today i took gmatprep2 quant section and got Q45(In this test i pondered for too long on an interest question).
Do u think this will help? Also,u had stated somewhere that if u see a repeat question whose answer u know,mark it incorrectly.Should i do that?

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

Start with review - not doing a bunch of older questions. Learn first, then apply that learning to new questions.

Use our old standard (http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/a ... roblem.cfm) to thoroughly analyze what you've been doing on the CATs and OG questions - like 10+ minutes per question for the harder ones. That's how you actually learn to get better. Go back and do that for these questions that you got wrong AND for any that you found even a little challenging (even if you got them right).

No, I don't think that taking GMATPrep repeatedly is going to help you fix your timing issues - not much anyway, especially since you'll see many repeats. You change your bad timing habits by (1) changing your mindset:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/

and by (2) developing certain time management skills:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/
(see section 4)

For the weakness areas you listed, go look at those Qs and figure out WHY you got them wrong. And then figure out what you need to do in order to make those things better. (Also, tell me what those things are.)

out of these questions,the questions that i missed were in 700-800 range.Dont know if that makes a difference.

That's good! You're always going to get some wrong, so you want them to be the higher-level ones if possible!

p.s. if you are re-taking a test and do see a repeated question, get it right ONLY IF you are confident that you'd get it right if it were a completely new question. Otherwise, get it wrong on purpose.

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

Took my 5th Manhattan CAT today,i kept in mind timing rules and hoped to improve my score by fixing that issue.But guess what,i totally bombed it and got just 600(Q40,V33) :(
I saw 2 repeats in quant,2 repeats in verbal and i purposely marked them wrong even though i knew how to solve it.1 quant question was 600-700 level and other was 500-600 level,but still i dont think that wouldve made much of a difference.
Where do i go from here,i need to take the exam max by 30th march.
The 600-700 level questions that i missed were:
2 from exponents and roots(PS)
1 from statistics(mean median DS)-started solving,but felt that its tough and then guessed
1 from inequalities(DS)-solved using test cases,marked E but answer was C
1 from overlapping sets(PS)-Solved and thought ans is correct,but it was wrong
1 fractions question(DS)-Felt both were sufficient but was wrong
1 quadratic equations(PS)-tried solving but dint understand and so guessed.
So overall i got 9/17 correct on 600-700 level questions.
I got remaining 17 700-800 level questions but out of them got just 6 correct.
I dont know why such a huge drop in my score was seen but my confidence has now taken a beating.Lets hope for the best now since i need to schedule my test soon.

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

Not sure if this helps much but i gave paper test yesterday(Test code 48) and scored 670(Q44,V38) (Not sure if i calculated it correctly,the scoring system is weird).
But i got 44/52 correct in quant and was hoping for a better showing on quant.
I know that paper tests are not adaptive and shouldn't be looked at but since it is a official material,thought about giving it a shot.

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

When you do see repeats, it's okay to answer them correctly as long as you 100% honestly think you'd get the question right if it were new. :)

So those 2 Qs could have made a small difference in your score (because your score would've gone up at that point rather than down - though that also means you'd have been offered different questions next, maybe ones you couldn't do).

For those quant Qs, how many were careless mistakes? Things that you did actually know how to do but you made a mistake? (Vs. things that were really just too hard?)

Those are the ones to concentrate on, because you already do know how to do them. WHY did you get each one wrong? What led to the mistakes? That will then tell you what you need to study or practice in order to minimize the chances of repeating those same kinds of mistakes. How much did timing play into any mistakes?

Re: the paper test, those can be good practice as individual questions, but the test structure is so different that they're not a great gauge of how you might do on the CAT. They're not terrible - but they can be "off" by a decent amount. Use those as question practice but not so much as a scoring gauge.

Finally, what happened on verbal on the last CAT? That score also dropped a bit. Again, look for careless mistakes first - things you really did know how to do.

Let me know!

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

Sorry for the late reply,i have resumed office last week and finally i have scheduled my test for 15th of this month.I gave 1 more manhattan test around 10 days back and got 640(Q44,V33).
I analyzed the test and in general i missed many SC questions(SV agreement error,Parallelism).I am scared that after putting so much effort to improve quant,my verbal has stagnated or what?
I took og13 diagnostic test SC section and missed just 2 questions.My plan for next week is:
1.While travelling,review SC and CR questions from OG and check official answer explanations.
2.After reaching home(I reach home by 830pm and leave for work at 715 in the morning)i will solve again quant questions that i have missed(mostly OG,gmatprep,question pack)
3.Take gmatprep one last time next saturday.
I really want to beat the gmat!Let me know if u have additional input from ur side.

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

Remind me of your goal score again? I scrolled back about 10 posts but couldn't find it. :)

I do know that you started this thread having scored 630, though, so 640 is not where you're trying to get. If I'm doing the math right, that test will turn out to be about 2.5 weeks before you're taking the real thing - so there's some room for improvement, but the chances aren't great that you'd jump all the way to, say, 700 in that timeframe.

Again if I'm doing the math right, it looks like you're planning to take your last CAT two days before the real test. That's a bad idea. There's really nothing you can do to improve or learn much from that in only 2 days, and you run the risk of tiring yourself out right before the test.

Is there any chance that you can take a practice CAT before then? Can you say you have a doctor's appointment one morning? You can take the test and then go into work.

That will let you know where you're at right now and then you can decide whether things have improved enough to keep your test date on the 15th - or whether you want to postpone.

At this stage, assuming you do take the test in 6 days, you should just be doing a comprehensive review of everything across all areas - so your plan is fine in that sense.

[shreerajp99]

Hi Stacey,

I retook GMAT today and scored 620(Q45,V31).
My quant score increased by 6 points from my last attempt whereas my verbal score decreased by 6 points.
Few things that annoyed me about the exam today:
1.After both IR and quant breaks,when the proctor logged into the system,it showed not responding and thus in quant i was docked around 1min 5secs and in verbal 1min 26secs.
2.1 DS question in quant gave all details about value of K and eventually asked about n,i didn't know gmac makes typos.
3.1 verbal CR question was from gmatprep,it was a 1 bold faced question with a single sentence underlined,but trust me this question was same with same answer choices(not that im complaining but i believe gmac spends $5000/question so that would be laziness on their part,nothing else).

I felt quant was very difficult,gmatclub/manhattan tests level i feel and verbal seemed easy but eventually i got screwed so doesnt matter.I would like to know that if i would have cancelled my score today,would i have to wait for 30 days before retaking the exam?

Whoever planning to take this exam in the future,few suggestions i would like to give:
1.Get gmatprep documents after solving both tests and just solve them in and out(gmat must be recycling many of its questions,i am sure about it,now i feel i shouldve just done those documents,nothing else)
2.OG is nothing but old representation of GMAT(except new quant questions).

For now,i am taking a break from this exam(I feel i have been studying this exam wrongly all this while).I have applied to 6 colleges with my old score of 630(got 3 rejects).As soon as my final reject comes in,i will decide what to do with my MBA plans(whether to take GRE this time or again attempt GMAT).btw i had scored 1420 in gre during my college days but i had given it just coz everyone was giving it hehe!
Thanks for all ur help Stacey,also thanks to Ron without whose help i wouldnt have scored 81st percentile in verbal in my previous attempt.Would love to meet both of u one day(either in USA/Mumbai)

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you had a rough test day. I know it's disappointing to have your quant improve so much but then have your verbal drop. :(

After both IR and quant breaks,when the proctor logged into the system,it showed not responding and thus in quant i was docked around 1min 5secs and in verbal 1min 26secs.

File a complaint - immediately. Also mention the typo. Did the problem literally mention n nowhere else except the question? I know you're going to take a break now and may end up taking the GRE next time, but you should still complain. I don't know what criteria they use, but if you qualify for a free re-test, then you'll at least have that option if you want to use it in future.

Yes, if you start the exam, even if you cancel, you have to wait 31 days to take the exam again.

Let us know if we can help in any way. Good luck with everything.

[shreerajp99]

Yes Stacey,n was mentioned only in the question stem.I have mailed GMAC regarding this on Monday itself but there has been no reply yet.I feel they might say that 1 minute is small amount of time and it wouldnt have affected ur performance :(
Also regarding the duplicate question that i had already seen in gmatprep,have u experienced something like this ever in ur experience?
Is it that gmat puts few questions directly from gmatprep?

Thanks,
Shreeraj

[StaceyKoprince]

It doesn't hurt to ask.

I have seen questions that are very similar, and I have heard of other people experiencing this. My guess is that you saw something that was so similar, you thought it was exactly the same - or they made a mistake, because they don't usually use problems that have been publicly released. I wouldn't normally think they'd have made a mistake, but your comment about the other problem has made me wonder. :)