Hi there,
I would appreciate if you someone could recommend good GMAT practice tests (besides MGMAT and Official ones) and strategy to improve my scores
I took the 1st Official test prep without any studying to set a benchmark. I got 680 (49 q, 33 v).
I realized that my sc is my greatest weakness and used MGMAT 3rd edition SC guide for a while (I bought the 4th edition recently and realized that 4th edition is far better). I also used Kaplan 800 which was mostly useless and GMAT OG (12th edition). I did not practice RC or CR questions as I was doing ok on those questions.
Below is the summary of scores. I took my first GMAT in end of August and got 620 (49 quant, 27 verbal) which is below well below expectations (I did mess up the last 10 questions in verbal due to timing). Then I decided to take a break (took a trip to Europe) and came back and pushed hard again. I got 700 in MGMAT and 690 in Official Tests 2 days before the exam.

On Saturday, I took GMAT for the 2nd time after a month break and did worse. I got 610 (42 quant, 33 verbal). I did run out of time for the last 10 questions and may have gotten 4-5 wrong in a row.

Any suggestions would be great?

Thank you.

Official GMAT Test Prep (before any studying)
Quantitative 49
Verbal 33
Total 680
MGMAT1 Quantitative 45
Verbal 36
Total 670

MGMAT2 Quantitative 44
Verbal 32
Total 630

MGMAT3 Quantitative 44
Verbal 26
Total 580

MGMAT4 Quantitative 47
Verbal 31
Total 640

MGMAT5 Quantitative 47
Verbal 34
Total 670

MGMAT6 Quantitative 45
Verbal 35
Total 660

MGMAT7 (repeat) Quantitative 47
Verbal 38
Total 700

Official GMAT Test Prep 2 Quantitative 49
(after 2 month of studying) Verbal 34
Total 680

Official GMAT Test Prep 2 Quantitative 48
(repeat) Verbal 38
Total 700

I had a similar experience last time I took the real GMAT (December 2010). I was scoring in 680-720 on practice exams and ended up scoring a 610 (Q48 V26). Quant was right on par with my practice scores. My verbal on the other hand was way off.

I have been studying for 2 months now and I am scheduled to take the real exam October 19th (3 days yikes).

Initially after my exam last december I thought my score was bad because I did not do well on RC and CR (see my analysis http://www.beatthegmat.com/need-expert- ... 72482.html).

But now after studying for 2 months, I actually believe the reason my score nose dived in verbal was due to timing. I remember rushing on the last 7-9 questions. Timing could very well have been screwed up due to lack of confidence in CR and RC questions. I have seen similar patterns on my practice exams this time around. I get a 40-42 in verbal if I remain confident and watch timing. On the other hand, I drop to a 35 when I get nervous, or loose focus and therefore screw up timing. I bet on the real exam that 35 will transpire to something even lower. I have analyzed my practice exams in detail and developed a strategy with Stacey's help (see two-weeks-to-the-real-deal-and-strategies-to-improve-verbal-t14098.html)

This is entirely my analysis based on my scores. Your situation might be different. I just wanted to put this out there because until recently I did not believe that my verbal timing was the culprit.

I will let you know how my timing strategy fares on Wednesday on the real exam.

Thanks Meera, I appreciate your suggestions.

Running out of a time will have a MAJOR downward impact on your score, especially if it happened on 10 questions. You mention having the timing problem in verbal on the first test. On the second test, was that on verbal or quant? (I ask because verbal went up very nicely on the second test but quant went down.)

Why do you think your quant score went down on the 2nd test? Did you study only verbal between the two tests?

Read this article and see if it helps provide any ideas about why your quant score might've dropped:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ent-wrong/

Okay, so the good news is, your verbal score did go up! And it was in line with your practice test scores (I'm ignoring the "repeat test" scores). But that wasn't true for quant - maybe that was where you had timing problems the second time?

Did you take practice tests under 100% official conditions including essays and length of breaks?

Give us details in general about how you felt during that 2nd official test (but don't provide identifying details about any specific test questions).

Also, you can analyze your most recent NON-repeat MGMAT test using this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

And then come back and share your analysis with us.

_________________
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT