Low GMAT Scores?? Find Help here.

neo2000 · May 6, 2008, 8:52am

Quite a few of the Puys have been struggling with low scores. And there have been a lot of threads with individual queries. This thread is to collate all of that useful information so that other low scorers can benefit while current low scorers ca…

neo2000 · May 6, 2008, 8:52am

Quite a few of the Puys have been struggling with low scores. And there have been a lot of threads with individual queries. This thread is to collate all of that useful information so that other low scorers can benefit while current low scorers can get the immediate help they need.

Please be as detailed as possible when asking for help. The more details you give, the easier it is for us to help you. Something like

" Help! After 6weeks of studying i'm still getting only and i want to get . My GMAT is away! What should i do? "

dextar · May 6, 2008, 10:45am

Thanks moderator for opening such a thread
I'm stuck at 650(590 in Kaplan tests)
Well, I've been targeting a decent overall score of at least 750 + in GMAT for the last 2.5 months now.My usual concern is verbal area.
I started with Kaplan Premier. After finishing this I tried GMATPrep and got only 600(qa 50 va 23)
After this I moved to OG-11. I have already done Critical reasoning and sentence correction thrice with OG (Rc only 1 time ..). I have tried all the Kaplan tests on CD and the scores are dismal.
Kap 1 570 (qa 50,va 24)
Kap 2 560 (qa 50 va 23)
Kap 3 550 (qa 50 va 22)
Kap4 590 (This I tried two weeks ago with scores as 28 in va and 50 in qa
also have maintained the error log of both SC and CR for OG-11.)
I also did GMATPRep 1 after Kap2 and scored 650 (qa 52 va 25)
Princeton Online (free) 650 (Qa 50 va 30)
Princeton Online 2 650 (qa 50 va 31)
However I found them pretty easy compared to Kaplan
Only improvement I saw in myself was in understanding in sc and CR. (For e.g I'm able to eliminate 3 out of 5 options and since the last two-three tests is finding very difficult to choose between the rest two). I think I have improved a lot in SC from Manhattan. However I still face problems in sc such as in misplaced modifiers, in distinguishing from infinitives and gerunds. In CR, I think, I fair very badly on questions related to inference. In RC ,I fair pretty bad in those questions that ask answers from the combination of I,II ,III
I'm somehow unable to get first few questions correct in any test up til now . My accuracy rate for first 10 questions iin verbal s very low (hardly I did more than 5 correct). Of late I have discovered a unique pattern in verbal. In the middle say from q 15-q23 I get either all correct or all wrong .Same is the case later(37-41).
I think I'm ok in quant.
I usually put up 2-3 hours for GMAT study daily. Having already preprared for CAT , I thought I'd be prepared better but still not able to improve my scores.
I have already started doing 1000 series for RC only.
Please suggest me how to improve my score further up.

diablorulez · May 6, 2008, 11:20am

pramodx · May 26, 2008, 12:10pm

Hi

I am 35 years old, with almost 10 yrs exp in IT and the Development Sector. I have worked on National Level projects of the Govt of India and UNDP and have worked primarily in the IT sector. I have overseas work experience. My academics are not worth talking home about.

I plan to appear for GMAT this year targeting only IIMs and ISB, especially for the PGPX programmes, since I cannot afford a course of more than a year in duration. My initial attempts at GMAT mock tests are not giving me scores of more than 570.

Can someone help me in identifying my chances of getting into IIMs PGPX or ISB? What is the least I should score in GMAT? My positives are my work-ex, my participation in extra-curriculars and overseas exposure, including papar presentation in an Asia Pacific conference. Any good advice will be appreciated.

dehumanised · May 30, 2008, 9:20am

Hi there,

Well I have another sob story and am quite desperate for advice...
I gave into the beast on 27th May '08 and got out with a lousy score of 660 (Q44;V38 ).... My profile is as below:

25yr Indian IT male, (4yrs work exp.) currently working as an IT process Analyst in a retail company, youngest member in a team among peers with experience of 10yrs+
I was also one of the youngest employees to be promoted as a Support Lead (having 2yrs. exp and to lead a team of 15) in a top tier IT company in India. Decent onsite exposure both through employment(worked for >3months) in countries like Turkey,Netherlands,Cezch,etc. and through family; visited a lot of countries as a kid (Nigeria,Japan,Egypt,US,UK,etc. dad being a ship captain). Certified in ITIL,Six Sigma,LEAN,Leadership programs, etc. during the tenure in my earlier company.

now the current dilemma is really need to break out of this work mould an pursue my MBA, since I gather this is the best time as ever. But, saying that the score has really put me off... I always knew my weakness is Quant (contrary to other indian males) with Verbal as my strength, but again I did screw up on the test, due to overconfidence and during prep. giving way too leverage for Quant while I comfortably ignored verbal.

I am at the moment stuck on a block unable to absorb anymore after intense perp. of 3-4months... and cant seem to get my head around to study, and I know I need to take the test again in 30days, else I loose steam.

I would be really grateful if you can kindly point me in the right direction and can suggest a strategy to improve my scores, since at this point I am lost... I tried working on verbal and I seem to get rusty in Quant and vice versa.. my work involves a lot of travel and I am in office 9 to 2100.. .so its a matter of going back home and studying which I do for around 3-4hrs... but again the devil of fear of failure keeps looming large... aaaaaargggggggh!! am literally going nuts and would peddle my a$% to anyone who can suggest a way/strategy to go around this... I have already completed the OG-10 (Quant) and OG-11(verbal), and I tend to remember the answers so I usually end up skewing the PP CAT's... Again unlike others on this forum, I seem to score more on kaplan than on PP.. I confess I never hit 700+ on PP CAT's but I used to score 700+ on Kaplan CAT's, which completely strips reason out of this deal, since I gather Kaplan's scoring algorithm is c$%^, and usually reports really low scores... (i used the usual Premier and CD companion editions)

please please please... help me out divine beings, guide me to light (now thats a mark of a despo!!:lookroun:)

quizophobic · June 6, 2008, 8:49pm

My profile is as below:

25yr Indian IT male, (4yrs work exp.) currently working as an IT process Analyst in a retail company, youngest member in a team among peers with experience of 10yrs+
I was also one of the youngest employees to be promoted as a Support Lead (having 2yrs. exp and to lead a team of 15) in a top tier IT company in India. Decent onsite exposure both through employment(worked for >3months) in countries like Turkey,Netherlands,Cezch,etc. and through family; visited a lot of countries as a kid (Nigeria,Japan,Egypt,US,UK,etc. dad being a ship captain). Certified in ITIL,Six Sigma,LEAN,Leadership programs, etc. during the tenure in my earlier company.

Hey dear,
You've got a terrific profile. Good career progression, Decent Int'l experience (that too in not so common countries), Good leadership initiatives.. That's a terrific profile for a 4-yr work-ex guy...

However you've a right to worry for your GMAT score as 660 is not that good especially by Indian standards. I'd suggest you retake the test, especially concentrating on your weaknesses.
If you feel that you're thorough with OG, I'd suggest think again.. OG is not about a collection of Qs and As. While doing OG again, don't allow urself to get into the trap of "Ya, I know .. The answer to this is (C)" Rather ask yourself, are you thorough with the explanation too.. Can you think of extending the explanation to a question/example of your own..
Especially if it's a SC question, try to be clear with the rule first.. Then try to frame it into a sentence of your own.. If you're like me, you may also like to jot down the rule in a sheet...

Further, you can afford to take time to prepare.. If you feel you're not clear with the mathematics fundas, try giving preps from GMAT specific books a break.. And try covering the same material from some other sources.. (One of my friends, who cracked a 770 later, borrowed CAT material from his friend to brush up his fundas..) This will give you dual advantage: your fundamentals will get brushed up and when ou reattack the GMAT books (OG and all) may be this time, you won't remember all the answers.

At last, I'd repeat that GMAT is just a part of the package.. And even if you manage to cross the 700 barrier, your chances of cracking a gud admit are quite good..
Gud luck!!

dehumanised · June 8, 2008, 4:41pm

thanks a milllion quizophobic!! that sure is a booster shot! I did understand what I missed when I went through the MGMAT SC and it sure did make sense.... well I also figured out that one glaring weakness is in RC's for verbal and this is an area I really need to work on... I do read a lot, but not sure why I end up screwing up in RC's.. anyways I have started to systematically work on each area before picking up any full length tests...

Math, I am in the process of trying out your advice and I am searching for some CAT quant material.. once in i decided to allocate 3days for each chapter(considering there are around 10), and work my way through these...

not decided on a date yet, but planning around end of July, just to make sure I am in time for R1 of admissions...

will surely keep you posted on the progress... many thanks again mate!
cheers!

diablorulez · June 16, 2008, 2:07pm

hey frds can nayone guide me
is gmat exam better for getting into mica or cat!

HI please check the thread title before posting

post ur query in right thread search before posting

http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/gmat-query-centre-25014954
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/mica-gyaan-resources-and-faqs-25022457
http://www.pagalguy.com/discussions/mica-2008-10-aspirants-25027124

a.myth · June 16, 2008, 6:50pm

Hi there,

.....
please please please... help me out divine beings, guide me to light (now thats a mark of a despo!!:lookroun:)

Hi,

If you are planning to go for GMAT in 1 month's time than a good strategy will be to give a lot of tests both full length and sectional ones. And after each test, you should analyze all the questions in a very rigorous manner, irrespective of whether your answer was right or wrong.
This way you will be able to get a grasp of key concepts along, which the questions are framed. Also, by analyzing the questions you will learn a lot of tips and techniques that will boost your confidence.
And, when going for the GMAT keep in mind that GMAT itself is a means to an end and not an end itself.

nitin2507 · June 17, 2008, 3:05pm

Hi....

To introduce, Basically I am a Pharmacy Graduate with 5+ years of work EX. I education had been in the field of Pharma and Biology, No Maths. Currently I am working as a Project Manager with a Pharma KPO. I started my career as a Med Rep and after doing pharma sales for one year, I shifted to KPO sector.

I wrote GMAT 2 days back. My score was not good, particularly in Verbal. I got 48 in Maths and 28 in Verbal. Now I have decided to give one try more and have booked my date. I would be giving test again in Aug, 2008.

In Mock GMATs (Manhattan, mba.com, PR), my score in maths ranged b/w 46 and 50. In verbal it had been in the range of 25-33. I did PR,Kaplan and official Guide last time. Could you please suggest me what should be my action plan for next two months?

1. Could you please recommend any book, particularly for verbal?
2. Would you suggest me going for some proffesional coaching? If yes, please suggest some good institute. I am putting up in Gurgaon.

Thanks

neo2000 · June 17, 2008, 3:26pm

Have you figured out what is your problem area in verbal? It looks like you are fine in the Quant area, education without math notwithstanding. If your verbal was 39/40 you would have gotten a 710.
Which of the following is your problem area? SC/CR/RC?? For SC, the ManhattanGMAT is the best and that book is conspicuous by its absence in the list above. For CR, there is the CR bible . A little long but definitely worth a read if you have the time.

viralin123 · June 17, 2008, 4:19pm

Hi there,

Well I have another sob story and am quite desperate for advice...
I gave into the beast on 27th May '08 and got out with a lousy score of 660 (Q44;V38 ).... My profile is as below:.....

)

sounds like a chapter from my book... i took the GMAT today and ended up with a score of 660. no offense to anyone but i consider that to be quite dismal compared to what i was getting in the mock tests (maybe they were mocking me :eyepop:)

well i have around 2 years of expierence in the IT industry working for a market leader in its domain with a significant proportion of that 2 years spent in UK. i am also moving to UK for a longer stint, They need me there :neutral:
i have a impeccable track record at work, core member, built a team, lead a team with no supervision... blah blah... i have strong recommendations too both from my indian manager and my director in UK...

i have decided to retake the GMAT, can anyone advice me on this... please any help is much appreciated... i have practically lost my appetite :icon_cry::icon_cry::icon_cry:

nitin2507 · June 17, 2008, 4:25pm

Thanks a lot for your reply.

Below is section wise average % correct quetsions I used to get in mock tests:-

SC- 70%
CR- 75%
RC- 50%

I think you can suggest me better now. Also, in your reply you havn't mentioned if I should go for any professional coaching?

neo2000 · June 18, 2008, 6:46am

T
SC- 70%
CR- 75%
RC- 50%
I think you can suggest me better now. Also, in your reply you havn't mentioned if I should go for any professional coaching?

There's your problem. Your accuracy is low across all 3sections especially RC. You should be aiming for a minimum of 85%. You have some serious amount of work to do in RC. For the SC,like i said earlier, the ManhattanGMAT is a must do.

Professional coaching is entirely up to you. You have to decide whether you can overcome your weakness in verbal on your own. If you think you can't then probably coaching is the best option for you. The advantage with the coaching is that it could also help you improve your Quant score. The flip side though is that coaching centres cost an arm and a leg.

str · June 19, 2008, 3:46pm

Hi All,

I have a query. i have got a GMAT score of 740 but the AWA score is really low its 4.5. Can anyone tell me how will this affect my chances of getting into a good school. is it advisable to take GMAT again.

neo2000 · June 19, 2008, 3:51pm

Dont take the GMAT again!! The AWA score is fine. Just chill now and enjoy your score.

nitin2507 · June 19, 2008, 4:53pm

Manhattan for SC.
Which books for RC and CR?

chhavikhurana · June 20, 2008, 7:48am

str
how did u prepare for ur gmat
in how long did u take?

diablorulez · June 20, 2008, 11:24am

Manhattan for SC.
Which books for RC and CR?

IMHO official guide and 1000 SC,CR are pretty good and must do

Manhattan SC has guidelines which u need to practice with help of OG10

there is a verbal review book and its quite helpful