GMAT 680 High Score Tips (Fourth Attempt): How I Fought My Way Back to R2 with the Terminator Course After Missing R1

[Experience] 680 on 4th Attempt, Finally Reached Score Before Application Deadline

Author: disgoodman (Posted on behalf) | May 14, 2020

Test Background

• Test Scores First Attempt: 650 Q49 V29 AWA:4.0 IR:6 (2019/08/02)
• Second Attempt: Cancel
• Third Attempt: Cancel
• Fourth Attempt: 680 Q50 V31 AWA:4.5 IR:7 (2019/12/06)
• Educational Background: Soochow University, College of Business
• Preparation Time: May 2019 ~ December 2019 (7 months total)
• Study Materials: OG, OV, Manhattan Prep SC, PP123, GWD, A2 Prep Course Materials, Dustin Verbal Finisher Materials

Foreword

The GMAT was probably the most frustrating and winding test I’ve ever taken in my life. I started preparing for the GMAT very late (with only a few months left until the application deadline), while also balancing coursework and an internship. During the preparation process, I often doubted myself, but I am incredibly grateful to the A2 teachers who supported me every time I stumbled and showed me a glimmer of hope whenever I felt despair. After every consultation or seminar with the advisors, the teachers’ detailed ESR analysis and the study plan tailored specifically for me always reignited my courage and confidence to continue fighting on this GMAT journey!

First Attempt

For my first attempt, the Round 1 deadline was already very close, so I went straight to the test center about a month after finishing the prep course. At this point, my review progress was roughly completing the summaries for OG and PP12, and about half of the GWD summaries. I went in with a nervous heart and came back with a 650, which made me feel quite capable at the moment. I thought I could achieve my target score and conquer the GMAT in just 1-2 more attempts, and my mindset started to relax.

Second and Third Attempts

Sure enough, once I became proud of my first attempt’s score, bad things quickly followed. From the first to the second to the third attempt, I took the test every month. Due to a relaxed mindset in reviewing and the time pressure to meet the Round 1 deadline, my second and third attempts went very poorly, with scores declining instead of improving. This plunged me into a period of extreme breakdown; I truly felt hopeless then, and I indeed missed the Round 1 application.

Fourth Attempt

After officially missing the Round 1 application season, I took some time to reflect. I knew Round 2 was my last chance, so I decided to go all in and enroll in Dustin’s Verbal Finisher course, to give myself one last fight! I must recommend the Verbal Finisher course here; Dustin is truly “super” dedicated to leading this class, and it allowed me to truly settle down and rebuild, correcting all my previous mistakes and bad habits. After two months of immersion and refinement, I finally achieved a usable score before Round 2. I sincerely thank A2 and Dustin for their dedication!

SC (Sentence Correction)

SC was my biggest hurdle in GMAT preparation. When I first encountered this subject, I truly had no idea where to start, and my grammar was already poor, making preparation even more challenging.

Fortunately, A2 prep course’s Book A and Manhattan Prep SC were truly saviors for students with poor grammar. Through A2’s explanations and repeated understanding of the textbook content, I quickly overcame the initial obstacles. For SC preparation, I believe the most, most important thing is actually the “hierarchy” concept that Dustin already mentioned in the foundational course. However, I didn’t realize the importance of this concept until much later (I had put those concepts aside after finishing the foundational course). When I started to delve into levels like grammar, conciseness, semantic reasonableness, etc., and used a “relative” concept to compare each option, I found that I had a completely new understanding of SC. I was no longer just randomly solving questions, answering whatever I saw, but instead had a logical framework to approach both short and long underlined questions, which led to significant improvement in my SC performance.

Many times, we tend to overlook the most basic yet crucial concepts, and then use methods we’ve developed ourselves or haven’t yet mastered to solve problems. This often leads to unfavorable results, just as A2 says, “Don’t be naughty!”, thoroughly understanding and solidifying the most fundamental concepts is the key!

RC (Reading Comprehension)

Reading was another major challenge for me on the GMAT. Some passages were so long that I’d get distracted while answering questions, while others were short but so complex that I felt like I hadn’t read them at all. Some were both long and complex. However, A2’s logical diagrams helped me quickly grasp 60-70% of the passage’s concepts. Although initially I had to slowly read, think, analyze, and then draw the logical diagrams on paper, after diligently completing most of the passages from OG and PP, I found that the logical diagrams were silently forming in my mind as I read! This is what I find most powerful about this concept.

Additionally, A2 and Kory would specifically ask us to pay attention to key points in the passages during class, or to particular tones like concession paragraphs, which enabled me to distinguish main ideas and different tones while reading, and then further filter the information needed for answering questions.

CR (Critical Reasoning)

CR was a relatively stronger section for me on the GMAT. Dustin mentioned in the Finisher course:

“When you see a question, don’t look at the answers first; instead, generate your own answer in your mind.”

I found this concept very useful, especially during practice. When practicing, I would first generate 2-3 possible solutions for each question that I thought were plausible. This way, for just one CR question, I could train multiple problem-solving approaches, which is incredibly cost-effective, as everyone knows how precious real GMAT questions are.

It’s precisely because of this regular training that my mind works much faster when encountering questions with more convoluted correct answers during the actual test. Another concept I found useful for CR preparation is not to view each question as an independent, unrelated problem. In fact, there’s a certain correlation between different CR questions. The key is to understand the logic within each question and then use that mastered logic to see if other questions follow the same logical pattern. Observing this, you’ll find that CR answers generally don’t deviate from a few main logical frameworks.

Finally, when reviewing questions, I believe that “why the incorrect answer is wrong” and “why the correct answer is right” are equally important. Many times, I would only focus on analyzing the logic of the correct answer, neglecting the incorrect ones. Sometimes, I wasn’t entirely clear why an incorrect answer was wrong, but I’d vaguely let it go. This was the most important lesson I learned during my review and consultations with A2.

Math

You absolutely must finish all the math questions provided by KH! It truly makes a difference whether you complete them or not; this is my personal experience. In my first few attempts, I only did PP12 before taking the test, and my math scores were all in the 40s. It wasn’t until my third and fourth attempts, when I resolved to complete all the questions, including PP and GWD, that my math score immediately broke into the 50s. So, never underestimate the effect of practicing questions on your math performance.

Conclusion

Honestly, compared to other A2 GMAT students, 680 isn’t an exceptionally high score, but I am truly grateful for all the effort and resources provided by the A2 teachers, which allowed me to persevere until now!

I must say, learning at A2 isn’t just about how to ace the GMAT; it’s also about re-evaluating my mindset towards studying abroad and my future career plans through the teachers’ insights, and gaining a deeper understanding of the study abroad community.

Although A2 GMAT is not a study abroad application consultant, here you can get the latest and most practical employment and application resources. I understand that this information is truly hard-earned, and I deeply value such resources. I am truly grateful for A2’s dedication in this area!

As Dustin once said in a previous article, “I failed, but I failed forward.” The GMAT preparation process was indeed a bit frustrating, but after every stumble, I grew a little more, and it pushed me to work even harder to excel in other aspects of my application! Finally, I received an offer from my Dream School this year, and I hope everyone can apply to their ideal schools that are a good fit for them in the future!

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