Suggestion please

[debarya]

Hi Stacey,

First, thanks for all your posts and efforts that you make to guide us all. Also, thanks to Ron, Tim and Manhattan staffs for all useful posts and startegies.

I would need your suggestion and guidance/ tips to improve upon my performance. Currently I am stuck at 670-690 level and not able to cross 710 mark. I have not yet taken GMAT date, but am planning for Jan month.
I have taken Manhattan GMAT CAT test -
1st free mock CAT - 600 - took at the start of my preparation
2nd Manhattan CAT - 690 - 48,36 (after 2months of 1st Moct)
3rd Manhattan CAT - 670 - 48,33 (after 1 week of 2nd CAT)
2nd test GMATPrep - 680 - 50, 35 (after 1 week of 3rd CAT)

Below are the combined statistics for 2nd and 3rd Manhattan CAT tests -
Section Tot R W %R AvgTimeR AvgTimeW DifficultRight DifficultWrong
CR 28 16 12 57% 01:47 02:20 620 710
300 - 500 1 1 0 100% 02:51 NA
500 - 600 7 6 1 86% 01:38 01:06
600 - 700 8 5 3 63% 01:38 02:02
700 - 800 12 4 8 33% 01:55 02:35

RC 24 11 13 46% 01:58 01:33 640 700
300 - 500 1 1 0 100% 01:23 NA
500 - 600 2 2 0 100% 00:36 NA
600 - 700 11 5 6 45% 02:10 01:10
700 - 800 10 3 7 30% 02:44 01:53

SC 30 19 11 63% 01:10 01:27 650 710
300 - 500 1 1 0 100% 01:16 NA
500 - 600 2 2 0 100% 01:00 NA
600 - 700 15 11 4 73% 01:08 01:22
700 - 800 12 5 7 42% 01:16 01:31

As per my analysis -
- I need to "indulge" more into RC passage and give more time to understand the passages
- My issue in CR is more in weakness, Inference, Support the author question, Draw Conclusion
- My issue in SC is more with modifiers, Past/Perfect tense, Clarity of meaning
- I am statisfied with Quant performance, am able to score 49-50, depending upon my concentration
- I get string of 2 question wrong after about 2-3 right questions.

Further, below is the snapshot of my performance for CAT2....
Ques R/W Type Level Time Taken
1 R CR 500 - 600 03:09 Strengthen Conclusion
2 W CR 700 - 800 02:49 Weaken Conclusion
3 R CR 500 - 600 01:53 Find the Assumption
4 R CR 600 - 700 01:24 Draw a Conclusion
5 W SC 700 - 800 00:49 Modifiers,Parallelism, Idioms
6 W CR 700 - 800 03:58 Analyze Arg Structure
7 R SC 600 - 700 00:38 Subject Verb Agreement, Pronound, Concision
8 W SC 600 - 700 00:55 Verbs
9 R SC 600 - 700 00:54 Pronouns
10 W RC 600 - 700 02:41 Inference
11 W RC 600 - 700 00:34 Specific Detail
12 R RC 300 - 500 01:23 Main Idea
13 R CR 500 - 600 01:02 Find the Assumption
14 R CR 600 - 700 02:03 Weaken Conclusion
15 W CR 700 - 800 03:14 Make an Inference about Premises
16 W RC 700 - 800 02:45 Inference
17 R RC 600 - 700 03:17 Specific Detail
18 W RC 700 - 800 00:23 Main Idea
19 W CR 600 - 700 02:59 Draw a Conclusion
20 R SC 500 - 600 00:56 Pronouns, Idioms, Punctuation
21 R SC 500 - 600 01:03 Parallelism, Verbs
22 R CR 500 - 600 01:33 Find the Assumption
23 R SC 600 - 700 02:12 Comparisons
24 W RC 700 - 800 02:13 Tone
25 R RC 600 - 700 01:16 Specific Detail, Inference
26 W RC 700 - 800 00:48 Specific Detail
27 R SC 700 - 800 01:03 Clarity of Meaning, Idioms
28 W CR 700 - 800 02:28 Weaken Conclusion
29 W SC 600 - 700 01:31 Quantity Expressions
30 R SC 600 - 700 00:50 Connecting Punctuation
31 W CR 600 - 700 01:51 Strengthen Conclusion
32 W SC 600 - 700 02:25 Idioms
33 R SC 600 - 700 00:38 Quantity Expressions
34 W RC 700 - 800 03:07 Inference
35 R RC 500 - 600 00:32 Specific Detail
36 W RC 600 - 700 00:16 Main Idea
37 R CR 600 - 700 01:48 Strengthen Conclusion
38 W SC 600 - 700 00:36 Subject Verb Agreement
39 R SC 600 - 700 00:41 Comparisons
40 R CR 600 - 700 01:42 Explain A Situation
41 R SC 600 - 700 01:32 Concision

My course of action for next 1-2 weeks -
- Someone had suggested me to practise LSAT CR and RC to get a feel of 700-800 GMAT CR... Do you suggest that?
- Have recently gone through Ron's Thrusday videos for SC and CR. So planning to practise those tips/ rules by reviewing OG problems.

Can you suggest
- Do you see any hope of crossing 710 mark in next 1month or so....
- any other points that I should concentrate or improve upon depending upon the statistics above and your experience?? In case, you need any further data/ breakup, kindly let me know... But I need your insight to understand my weakness and areas of improvement better....

Thanks in advance.

[StaceyKoprince]

Good analysis. Did you do that on your own or did you use our "how to analyze" article? If you didn't use that article, you might want to - just to make sure you didn't miss anything. Here's the link:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... -part1.cfm

I agree with your RC assessment - your timing looks awfully fast there, especially on the first Q, which means you're rushing the reading too much. Here are some articles that can help with that:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... mp-passage
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... rc-passage

For CR, a lot of people have reported good results from studying LSAT CR - although I do think there's a drawback in that some of the LSAT formats don't actually show up on the GMAT, so you could be studying some things that won't be helpful. If you decide to use LSAT, keep that in mind and feel free to "dump" certain kinds of questions if they're not anything like GMAT questions. You might also want to try an LSAT prep company's CR book, just to get an idea of good strategies to use. (I like ManhattanLSAT, but I'm biased of course. :)

Re: your overall question, yes I do see hope! You're very close already. There are no guarantees in life, of course, but I do think there's hope for you in this case.

Finally, I'm also noticing some timing imbalances per question on your last verbal section. You've got several towards the end that are REALLY fast, like you needed to make up some time spent earlier on. Your averages turned out okay, because you did speed yourself up to make up that time, but let's spread that time out more reasonably from the start, okay?

Look at the timing for Qs 1, 2, 6, 15, 19... notice anything? All CR, all way over time (16m for 5 problems!!), and 4 of the 5 were wrong. You spent 16m in the first 20 problems to get 1 question right.

To start, get them wrong faster! That saved time could be better spent on things you MIGHT actually get right, like #11 (34 seconds for RC!) or #18 (23sec RC!) or #35 or 36 or 38 where you were clearly rushing.

If you can also improve your accuracy over the next month, great - but seriously, you're only 20-30 points away from your goal. You might already have the knowledge that you need, but you're hurting yourself because you spend too much time on earlier, incorrect CR problems, and then you get still more problems wrong later because you have to rush.

You might be able to get where you need just by managing your time better! And if you don't learn to manage your time better, then you might not actually get the improvement that you want, even if you learn how to be more accurate on certain questions...

[debarya]

Good analysis. Did you do that on your own or did you use our "how to analyze" article? If you didn't use that article, you might want to - just to make sure you didn't miss anything.

For quite some time I have been reading your detailed analysis for other students, and that encouraged me to write my case as well. Your analysis, approach, thinking is just "bang on the nail"....

I agree with your RC assessment - your timing looks awfully fast there, especially on the first Q, which means you're rushing the reading too much. Here are some articles that can help with that:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/04/ ... mp-passage
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... rc-passage

I recently went through the links mentioned above (after writing CAT3) and gave GMATPrep test 1st test. Accuracy in RC did improve. Now I feel, I need to practice those steps and make them more "consistent" and inherent in my habit.... But again timing was issue in that. As a result I got string of 14 - 18 and 29-35 wrong as I had to rush.

For CR, a lot of people have reported good results from studying LSAT CR - although I do think there's a drawback in that some of the LSAT formats don't actually show up on the GMAT, so you could be studying some things that won't be helpful. If you decide to use LSAT, keep that in mind and feel free to "dump" certain kinds of questions if they're not anything like GMAT questions. You might also want to try an LSAT prep company's CR book, just to get an idea of good strategies to use. (I like ManhattanLSAT, but I'm biased of course. :)

Given your disclaimer, I feel I should first go through OG again, and try to do them in "time bond" - both RC and CR. I had once read a article in beatthegmat that first 15 questiones of Easy category (1st section) in LSAT are of GMAT pattern.... Probably if time permits, I will take them up later.

Look at the timing for Qs 1, 2, 6, 15, 19... notice anything? All CR, all way over time (16m for 5 problems!!), and 4 of the 5 were wrong. You spent 16m in the first 20 problems to get 1 question right.

To start, get them wrong faster! That saved time could be better spent on things you MIGHT actually get right, like #11 (34 seconds for RC!) or #18 (23sec RC!) or #35 or 36 or 38 where you were clearly rushing.

You might be able to get where you need just by managing your time better! And if you don't learn to manage your time better, then you might not actually get the improvement that you want, even if you learn how to be more accurate on certain questions...

I liked your quote - "Get them wrong faster". The fact that you are stressing not to spend "much" time to get them correct and rather "realise early" that I will get it wrong, is TRUE exam preparation!!!
I just hope that realisation doesnt happen for all questions!! ;)

Actually, in an attempt to get correct answer for first 10 ques, it happens that for CR or RC question, while I read the passage, it just goes over the head.. i am not able to concentrate, as a result I read the CR again... and because of blockage and time pressure (which I realise after 3mins!!), I choose abrupt answer in hurry. Its not that I am spending time to get correct answer :( I read your article on how questions are chosen by GMAT... I have realised my "weakness" and I need to work upon it.... and thanks to you for stressing the same. Also, I will use your strategy of "predicting 2min" while doing question....

I will keep you posted about my improvements and corrective actions in due course.

Also, thanks to Ron, Tim, Emily for all those strategies and tips for SC and CR handling....

[StaceyKoprince]

Good - keep up the good work with RC and keep hammering away at the timing problem.

Yes, the "get them wrong faster" thing is very true! No matter how much you study, you'll always get things you can't do, either because it's just too hard for you or because you just go blank for a problem and can't remember. When that happens, we're already going to get this one wrong, but we can still salvage something by not losing time on the question!

Good luck with your studying - let us know how it goes!

[debarya]

Hi Stacey,

I want to take this opportunity to thank whole Manhattan team - specifically you, Ron, Tim and many more.... I "finally" gave GMAT exam yesterday and scored 700 (50M, 34E). Though I had a target of 710-720, but still am happy. Your posts, guidance really proved helpful. Also, I must mention, Manhattan GMAT Tests are a real simulation of GMAT exam. They really helped me to understand my mistakes and score better.

Just for your information, I had given GMAT in 2006, scored 640; gave again in 2008, scored 620. With repeated 620-640 range of scores, I had lost all hope of pursuing MBA. I had subscribed to BeatTheGMAT forum, used to get notifications of success stories of people scoring 760, people improving from 650 to 720. They made me feel depressed, at the same time used to make me feel that I should atleast try once more. I started going through your posts, came across "Thrusday with Ron" sessions (around 2009). Its not that I had started preparing again, but I used to read the posts, sessions just out of curiosity. All of them gave me confidence and helped me to understand where I was going wrong in my preparation!! Even though I attempted same question after couple of days, I would still get it wrong - main problem was I was not able to grasp the basic of Sentence correction/ Critical Reasoning!!

By now, I understood that instead of covering too many question, I better start focusing on limited "genuine" question bank and "rectify" my basics. In our daily chores, we tend to use many slang, improper english. But GMAT is totally different ball game. I realized that You need to just stick to the rules, and you will automatically climb the score ladder. Many times, during my analysis, I felt that even if I knew the concept, I was not able to apply it to the question or I got carried away by "common usage/ good to hear" mistakes.

Around Sept 2009, I made a target for Jan-Feb2010. I had a burning desire to atleast improve my score. I started following all the posts, sessions of Ron. I enrolled for Manhattan Tests. My scores varied between 680 - 700. This gave me some confidence. By now, it was already Dec-Jan 2010. So I initiated this Post to fine tune my preparation. And as always, you replied back with some of your best suggestions, advice and facts. All these helped me to concentrate and prepare my study plan. But unfortunately, I missed Feb2010 deadline for personal reasons. Then I got busy in my office work and personal life. But GMAT was always there in back of my mind. Whenever I used to get free time - 1week in a month or so - I used to refer back my notes. Then around Sept-Oct 2011, I got the news that GMAT exam pattern might get changed. So I felt that its now or never!!

Few pointers that helped me a lot -

1) One fact that you mentioned - No matter how much you study, you'll always get things you can't do, either because it's just too hard for you or because you just go blank for a problem and can't remember. When that happens, we're already going to get this one wrong, but we can still salvage something by not losing time on the question! - I must admit that after about 8-9 question in Quant, I got 2 very tough question. After trying for about 1-2 mins, I realized that either my understanding of question is wrong or I am wrongly calculating it!! I checked out the time, found that I could spare 2 more mins as I was already ahead of time target. But then after 3mins, alarm started ringing, could feel that I am getting into panic mode; then I just recalled your words, put aside my ego, calmed down, took deep breath and tried to move ahead with a guess. To my surprise, even next question was tough. And this time i tried to make some calculated guess. Actually, during such time, if you give feedback to your brain with some positive thoughts such as - this is a "test" question which might not be calculated hence i can guess it OR this is a tough question and spending too much time would lead to spending less time on question which I know - it becomes lot easier to skip without feeling bad!!
I know, all these come through only practice; but still during real environment, you tend to forget everything and you get back to your "real" mode. Real practice should be such that they become "habits" and part of our real activities!!

2) 4hrs Exam can really be stressful. Energy Boosters like Hershey chocos, drink really do wonders during the break.

3) Exam day was full of anxiety. My test time was at 4:30pm. I got up late in morning (around 9am) to ensure that I dont feel tired or sleepy by 5-6pm!! I went through my notes, Essay sample; but I was not able to control my heartbeat! I thought why not open GMAT Prep Exam simulation and just have a look at the screen, questions, explanations. This actually helped me to focus back on what GMAT tries to test. Blue screen, introductory steps and help guide in GMAT Prep exam, somehow helped me get familiarize with what is "going to happen" in next 3-4hrs!!

My practice score card -
1 Manhattan Online Free CAT = 600 (45, 28)
2 Kaplan CAT1 s/w = 610 (42, 31) - (26,11w & 21,20w)
3 800 Score 5m + 5v = 660 (45, 35)
4 Kaplan Online = 640 (47, 37)
5 Princeton Review CD =
6 Kaplan CAT2 s/w = 590 (50,29) - (32,5w & 21,20w)
7 800 Score 3m + 3v = 660 (50, )
8 GMATPrep = 670 (50, 30) - (30,7w & 28,13w)
9 Kaplan CAT4 s/w = 600 (41,30) - (30,7w & 24,17w)

10 Manhattan Online CAT2 = 690 (48, 36) - (24,13w & 24,17w)
11 Manhattan Online CAT3 = 670 (48, 33) - (23,14w & 22,19w)
12 GMATPrep = 710 (50, 35) - (27,10w & 27,14w)
13 Manhattan Online CAT4 = 700 (50, 35) - (29,8w & 24,17w)
14 Manhattan Online CAT5 = 700 (51, 35) - (32,5w & 22,19w)
15 GMATPrep = 660 (50, 28) - (29,8w & 24,17w)
16 Manhattan Online CAT6 = 690 (51, 34) - (31,6w & 23,18w)

17 Manhattan Online CAT1A = 730 (48, 41)
18 Manhattan Online CAT2A = 680 (49, 34)
19 Manhattan Online CAT3A = 710 (48, 38)
20 Manhattan Online CAT4A = 700 (50, 35)
21 Manhattan Online CAT5A = 710 (50, 36)
22 Manhattan Online CAT6A = 710 (50, 36)

Now, I would need to focus on MBA school application and "SoP" - is there any forum/ site in which you or Manhattan team participates for guidance or feedbacks? I would like to continue my association with Manhattan in this journey of MBA!!

[StaceyKoprince]

Congratulations! That's so wonderful - I'm really happy for you!

I'm so glad we were able to help, but you were the one who did all of the hard work. I hope you celebrated after you got your score. :)

Thanks also for taking the time to write up your thoughts and experiences - I'm sure that'll be helpful for your fellow students. You may also want to post this in the "GMAT Test Day" folder so that other students can find it easily.

We don't do any application consulting ourselves, but a number of our teachers also work for an admissions company called MBAMission. (And I think our students even get a free half-hour consultation with them - log in to your Student Center and see if you can find any details on that.) You may want to check them out. And there are other admissions consulting companies out there as well - you may want to research several and see which one is the best fit for you.

Congratulations again and let us know how the application process goes!