Verbal lost the day! 590 42Q 29V

[kenneth]

Hi Stacey,

I am a course student and am in am in need of your advice.

Just took my first GMAT this morning and got a 590 42Q 29V. I needed a 600.

Before I started studying I did a MCAT and got 530, 29Q, 35V. Based on this I decided that I would focus my efforts on quant. I studied quant for 2 months - around 100 hours and thought that I would through the verbal on instinct. My prep tests prior to today were giving me a range of 610 to 630 - with verbal hovering between 31 and 33. I knew it could it tight.

I made the mistake of never doing the full 4 hour prep exam, I did AWA and Quant, or Quant and Verbal but never all three together.

So in summation, I never studied verbal and I never did a full 4 hour prep.

Today, essays and quant went fine, then when I started the verbal, through mental fatigue, my instincts failed me. I had no strategies to utilize.

Need to do it again in 31 days and I need to get it right this time. Now that my own master plan has blown up in my face, I was hoping to that you may be able to recommend a course of action, a little more effective than mine! I think I need to aim for 650 to motivate me a little more than trying to get a increase of 10.

I know I need to do some full 4 hour prep exams.

As regards improving my verbal and maintaining my quant score - what course of action would you recommend?

Thanks so much in advance,

Ken

[StaceyKoprince]

If you took our course or one of our Guided Self-Study packages, then you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment (if you haven't done it already). This is a phone call with an instructor to figure out what went wrong and come up with a plan to re-take the test. If this applies to you, please send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com and request the Post-Exam Assessment. Contact them right now!

I think you know part of the problem already: you weren't prepared for the stamina you'd need to do a full test, nor did you study verbal. Given that, you're lucky that verbal "only" dropped to 29. That's not that much of a drop from 31 to 33 given those circumstances.

The good news: you know what you need to do.

Next, yes, go for the 650, but not just because you need to motivate yourself. Do it because you need to give yourself a buffer in case you fall short. If you go for 650 and fall 20-30 point short, you're still fine. If you go for 600, you could fall short 10 points again and that... would suck, to put it mildly.

Next, go sign up for that PEA. STRONG suggestion: take a full-length CAT, including essays, BEFORE you do the PEA and before you come back here to analyze a test for me. Hey, conveniently, it's the week-end. Good luck. ;)

In addition to the PEA, you can continue to get advice here (if you like). Analyze that practice test using this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and share your analysis (not just the raw data - tell us what you think it means and what you think you should do about it). We'll tell you whether we agree and help you solidify the plan.

But for starters: you've actually got to start studying verbal. You've got the materials. Get going!