GMAT Q&As from the ZekeLee: 3#Tests for Verbal?

zekelee

Q:
So I have 16 days until my exam, and while my V (40-45) is quite strong my math scores (44-47) tends to fluctuate. I'm aiming for a 47-48, but would love a 49. I've had completed all of the problems in the OG guide 13, and most in the Quant review guide. Currently, I am completing and reviewing Magooshproblems (currently redoing all the "hard" problems and completing OG GMAT prep 1 Question pack. I've heard fantastic things about the GMAT Club testsand am considering buying it, but am wondering if it is too late to see improvements? Any tips/recommendations? Has anyone purchased the GMAT Club tests late in the game and seen results? Thanks!


A:
Two more weeks is an okay time to solidify your final scores. You seem to be within range and both your V and Q scores are in the 40s which is a good sign. At this stage, you've finished all the OG questions -- you've run out of the official guide questions so the next best step is to pick questions at random and solve them. It's important to mix the questions up and solve them each as fast as possible. These are sprints you should do (1-2 min each) which should help train your brain to build stamina for test day.

For quant, make sure you go over some 'hard' questions -- see if the approach you have withstands these harder questions. Remember, at this point, speed is important. You want to increase speed which will increase your confidence on test day. If you're stuck on some of the OG quant questions.

Good luck -- and remember, speed is important on test day. Control that adrenaline ahead of time.

Zeke Lee

zekelee

Q:
Total Study Hours Spent: 240 (4 hours/day)

Books Used: Princeton Review (They were quite boring and only few practice questions were there, so i just went through only 60% of material)

Tuition: Princeton Review

Current Accuracy Level (OG-13) :
Quants-PS:         79%
Quants-DS         50%
Verbal-SC:         72%
Verbal-CR:         68%
Verbal-RC:         70%

First Diagnostic Test: 540, Q37, V27 13th June, 2014
First CAT (Princeton Review) : 330, Q12, V23 28-Aug, 2014
Second CAT (GMAC): 570, Q32, V36 15-Nov, 2014

After getting 330 i was really disappointed but somehow i gathered myself and tried to spend at least 4 hours every day. From start of September till 14th November, i studied consistently (excluding consecutive 15 days when i got really busy with workplace). During this period i dint take any other test, mainly because i was really afraid of getting a humiliating score again. I focused mainly on Quants and tried to practice OG questions again and again. After finishing SC, CR, RC (50% of questions), and first 100 questions of DS from OG-13, i wrote GMAC test 1 and scored only 570. I had not been working on my verbal skills a lot, so verbal was unexpectedly reasonable. I got 50% of SC questions wrong, which means RC and CR score was really good. Quants score was once again screwed up

Now here i am, wondering what to do next? Please guide me that what should be my strategy to score 700 plus. Recently through GMAT CLUB i came to know that Manhattan GMAT books are very helpful. I have purchased them. Please let me know that how much time i should spend on these books? What should be my target accuracy for Manhattan questions? Should i do OG questions again while studying Manhattan guides? When should i take my next CAT? and from now on wards, with what frequency should i take the CATs? (I do have 6 Manhattan tests and 1 GMAC test left)

Please guide me so that i could develop a comprehensive study plan with 700 plus target. Thanks a lot in advance................i really needed your reply and your guidance is definitely gonna help me a lot.

Despite poor performance, still determined-fingers crossed for 700 score.

A:
If you want to practice more quant questions, you can also do that withour online question bank here: http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-problem-solving-questions

zekelee

Q:
Hi -

I write this post with a heavy heart, I took the GMAT this weekend got scored a 450. I feel like a disappointment because I spent 5 months studying for the exam and spent money on self study books and a tutor. I'm not going to give up, but I'm lost as to what my next steps should be. My last practice exam on GMAT PREP was 570 so I was shocked by the score I got.

- GMAT club ipad app and would go through SC questions, I would get 70% right.
- GMAT Hacks, the question sets for algebra, arithmetic, geo, and exponents.
- MGMAT quant books
- e-gmat for verbal
- I took 1 MGMAT CAT and got 570, then I took a GMAT PREP CAT and got 570.
- GMAT Verbal Prep Book ( most of the questions in there).
- I followed this link for my timing. I felt a bit rushed and had to guess a few questions to make up for time. http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... tch-paper/


My own diagnosis is that I should have taken more full practice exams from GMAT Prep, done more individual questions from GMAT Prep, and kept and error log. I really think I understand the basics of math/verbal, but maybe I don't? Could it be test anxiety? A combo of both? A lot of people suggest the GMAT CLUB tests and quizzes to focus on topics and difficulty level. Should I just do hundreds of problems? Ahhh...what should be strategy be?!

I need help coming up with a plan and would really appreciate the help. I don't want to take time off, I want to get back on the horse and attack this. I just need to be smarter and more efficient about how I do it.

Thanks,
Al

A:
Sorry to hear that.

You probably do know the basics. But so does everyone else. The difference is in your test taking skills - your ability to read questions quickly and know what is being tested -- how fast you click your mouse and navigate it around the screen so you can minimize wasted time in between questions.

You need to pay particular attention to keywords and phrases that give hints as to what is being tested. The same goes with how to read a passage quickly.

Doing hundreds of questions can help but only so far. It's about efficiency and quality of study -- not just quantity.       

zekelee

Q:
Hi everyone,
I am planning to take a GMAT online course (beside The Princeton Review and kaplan because the were not helpful to me!)
Please let know know which one is worth the money.

Thank you!

A:
Learn how we compare with the other guys here: http://www.gmatpill.com/how-we-compare/

Some key points include -- lifetime access -- complete mobile solution, and an intense focus on video at GMAT PILL.

zekelee

Q：
Hey everyone!

I just graduated from a small Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college on the east coast. I start at a large consulting company at the end of September. I've got all summer to prepare hard for the GMAT, but likely wouldn't apply to b school for another three or four years.

I plan on taking the test in July and again (if needed) in August. I know the results are good for five years.

1. When I "submit" at the end of the exam, do the results just hang out in the cloud until I apply to b school?
2. Assuming I am pleased with the outcome, is there any disadvantage to taking the test now?

Thanks so much,

Tom


A：
Hi grinfixer,

Before the test, you'll have a chance to include a few schools. After you click submit, then the report will be forwarded over to those few schools.

If you choose not to include any schools, then no report will be sent.

However, later on when you get your official score report -- it will include all your previous attempts anyway. So when you forward over that official score report to the school you are applying to, they will see the previous attempt if they look at your official score report.

Here's more info about your GMAT score: http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-scoring-raw-score-total-score-and-ile-score/

zekelee

Q:
hello guys!

i would like to know where can i find articles and other reading material online , texts that are same as gmat reading comprehensions in stucture ,vocanulary,complexity and difficulty. i have practiced a lot of RCs ,but still i am not being able to improve drastically. so , i thought reading these texts would be a good idea. Thanks in advance for your suggestions and help!
A:
You can try the passage here -- with our video approach: http://www.gmatpill.com/practicequestions/RC-Passage-Genetic-Mutations/RC-Passage-Genetic-Mutations.html

If you hit the back button - you can see a compilation of other passages as well.       

zekelee

Q:
My Profile and History:
1st Real GMAT = 600 Q48 V25 and got an admit with some $$.
Indian IT Male, 5.5 years work experience
2nd and FINAL attempt of real GMAT in 1 week next Sunday.

Recent Practise Scores:
GMATPrep1: 630 Q49 V27
GMATPrep2: 650 Q50 V28
MGMAT 1: 630 Q42 V34(I dont trust MGMAT verbal section since its easier than real GMAT)
GMATPrep3: 640 Q49 V27

As you can see, I am stuck with Verbal at 27/28. I need to push it to 34-35 and my goal will be reached.
US people struggle with Quant and its hard for them to get 43-44 in Quant whereas Indians struggle with Verbal and gets stuck at 25-27.

I have used manhattan SC, Powerscore CR, Took a 2nd coaching from a different center this time but no improvement.
Any help guys?

A:
Try this SC video: http://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrection/q077-reticulated-pythons.mp4

or this CR video: http://www.gmatpill.com/criticalreasoning/practicepill/cr_platform_1112_Buying_Real_Estate.mp4

Hope they open some new perspective for you.       

zekelee

Q:
I only need to take the quantitative section on the GMAT. Is IR included in the scoring of quantitative?

A:
Completely separate score -- out of 8. It does not impact your 800 scale score.

There is no partial credit on IR -- so you will need to get all drop downs / radio buttons correct to get credit for that question. That said, you don't need to get all questions correct in order to score an 8/8.

For more information about IR scoring and to test out sample IR questions, check out: http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-integrated-reasoning

zekelee

Q:
I took the test last year, but I was hurting from an injury and frankly I shouldn't have taken it. I managed to get a 650, but really bombed quant. Life got in the way, and 8 months later I started from square one and have been grinding away for the past 4 months on it. Practice results vary, but I am in that 680-710 range. I need a 700, but since I have scored over 700 twice in practice tests, including GMATPrep, I feel like I have a puncher's chance on game day.

Make a long story short, my test was today but for the past week I have been feeling awful and last minute I canceled and booked it for the next available date (12/30). I don't care so much about the $250, but the real kick in the pants is that I woke up this morning feeling great. I really wish I didn't cancel. Now I am going on a near 3 week vacation (boohoo, right?) and I am terrified I am going to lose all the progress I have been making. There is also a fear of losing steam.

My hope is that I come back energized, having not forgotten a lot of the little details and polish the last few weak spots before I take it on 12/30. But who knows, maybe I come back unmotivated and worse than I left due to the time off.

A:
Take a quick break and do some relaxed studying for a bit. We recommend shorter, but intense study sessions---rather than dragging things out.

Also see this as an opportunity to improve even further. Explore new ways of thinking through a test question -- you may find shortcuts and little things that can cut down on your timing and improve your accuracy at the same time. The GMAT is very much a mental marathon. With long periods of studying -- it can be draining. To keep things fresh, do a minimum of 1 question on days that you would normally not study at all. That will at least keep your mind in motion. Then when you decide to really study, go all out.       

zekelee

Q:
I only need to take the quantitative section on the GMAT. Is IR included in the scoring of quantitative?

A:
Completely separate score -- out of 8. It does not impact your 800 scale score.

There is no partial credit on IR -- so you will need to get all drop downs / radio buttons correct to get credit for that question. That said, you don't need to get all questions correct in order to score an 8/8.

For more information about IR scoring and to test out sample IR questions, check out: http://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-test/gmat-integrated-reasoning