There is 1 question that plagues most GMAT test-takers – especially when they seem to get “stuck” at a particular score –
Do I have it in me to score high on the GMAT?
The answer is YES! However, before you start looking for the magic sauce, let me give you the magic sauce…..high scorers DO NOT look for a magic sauce.
Baffled? 🙂
In my experience of teaching high scorers (CrackVerbal has produced many 750-760 scores over the years – a few samples here, I have noticed that these students tend to be more analytical in their overall approach to life, they don’t give up easily, and yes – they work very, very hard.
Persistence and hard work are easy to understand in the list of traits given above. It is “being analytical” that could make you think “How do I analyze where I am going wrong?”. I am listing 3 things that make up a broad-framework to help you understand how and where you can improve your GMAT score.
1. Concepts
You should have clarity on how a formula/rule works, and conditions under which you cannot use it to solve a problem. A common mistake made by students is to read too much theory and get confused/overwhelmed. Truth be told – the GMAT requires you to know only a limited set of concepts.
The difference between a Verbal score of 30 and a score of 40 is understanding the more subtle rules such as the exception to the relative pronoun “which” when used with prepositions (<- if you don’t know what this exception is, then you know what I am talking about :))
Our sessions are structured in such a way that we quickly work from the basics to the more advanced concepts tested on the GMAT.
2. Application
All the concepts in the world are of no use if you are not able to apply them correctly on the question. Ensure that your approach to solve a question helps you to solve any question with a similar pattern (this requires you to identify underlying patterns) and that you have a methodical approach to each question type – almost zombie-like. 🙂
To a large extent, there is very little theory in RC and CR – doing well on these depends just on having a rock solid approach. You should know exactly how to eliminate the wrong answer choices – not just know how to pick the right answer choice.
We have researched for over 8 years to make our techniques work very well for Indians (because we Indians think and process information differently).
3. Strategy
Even if you know the concepts and have been able to apply it on questions, none of it will help if you are not able to bring it together on the actual test.
Let me give you an example – the difference between a Q51 and Q48 is a whopping 21 percentile i.e. 97%ile and 76%ile. So do you think the person scoring Q48 knows “less”? Of course not! It boils down to strategies such as back-solving, plugging in values, and avoiding traps.
We stress on various things during the CrackVerbal course, such as managing stress, building mental stamina, managing the time, and developing strategies to guess (<- you heard it right). Without this bit, it is hard to score above 730-740 on the GMAT.
Do you have any questions about how to improve your GMAT scores? Or maybe something you want to share with the readers? I am always on the lookout for new tips and tricks for scoring well on the GMAT that I can pass on to my readers.
If you feel that you know some cool Ninja techniques for the GMAT – just drop us a comment below. I personally check all responses; so you will certainly hear from me!
We have distilled the TOP 10 pieces of Advice from our high scorers. Check it out here.
Hope these techniques make a positive difference to your GMAT prep! If you’d like to share what works for you and what doesn’t, please leave a comment in the comment section below.
Head over to our Video library for more useful information on how to achieve an awesome GMAT score!
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