GMAT Study Plan: go from 650 to 700+

Thanks, that is a good suggestion. I try to read as much as possible, but unfortunately I read too many sports articles.

I have the opposite problem.

I doubled a 710 (different Q:V split, same final score) on the GMATPrep tests with basically two to three weeks of studying after work while my girlfriend was out of town. I played a soccer match in the blistering sun 48 hours before the GMAT and was dehydrated afterwards - my headache and nausea persisted for a while.

When I arrived at the GMAT center, I was way more nervous than I'd ever been for a test. It was cold, I was constantly going to the bathroom, and I cracked under pressure. I didn't finish on time and it was extremely demoralizing: 630, with my all time lows for both Q and V.

The thing that bothered me the most was the transparent writing pad instead of just your usual paper and pen.

Other than that, how common is it to underperform on the test? Is there hope for me to get back to that 700 plus range?

One other difference is that with the GMATPrep, I never did the AWA - didn't want to waste that much of my weekend. I'm realizing now that the stamina issue should not be overlooked.

Is it worth just leaving the AWA blank? It honestly feels like a waste.

Thanks guys.

I havent taken the GMAT yet either, but the essays will affect your score. However, it could also helps since it gives you 1 hour to come your nerves and be relaxed. I think it just depends on the person.

Hi Guyz,

I have attached my study plan for my exam on 22nd Feb. Please review and give your comments and ways to improve. This is gonna be my second gmat attempt. First being on 4th Jan 2010 and i scored 500. Q45, V16, AWA 5.5. Keeping in view my weak verbal score i have allocated max time for verbal strategies and practice.
My target is to get something around 700. Q48, V38 atleast. The yellow highlighted cells show the days when i plan to take a CAT.

I plan to use the following study material

1- Kaplan Verbal workbook (revision. used it in my first attempt as well)
2- PR how to crack gmat ( I studied it in detail before my first attempt. dont want to go over it again. wil revise if i get time)
2- MGMAT SC
3- Powerscore CR Bible
4- OG 10 Verbal ( 600 questions)
5- PR 1012 (verbal only section. bcz of time constraint)
6- OG Verbal
7- OG Quantitative
8- OG 12 (revision. i finished it before my first attempt.)

CATs.
1- GMATPrep I & II, Powerprep
2- MGMAT 4 CATs
3- PR CAT

Too much to cover during the next 5 weeks. finger crossed!!. I am working fulltime so on week days i plan to study 4 hrs from 8pm till midnight and on weekends i plan to study around 8-10 hrs. I have got 4 holidays from work and plan to study 10 hrs on those days as well.

The reason for taking gmat on 22nd Feb is that i plan to apply in R3 of LBS before 3rd Mar, R4 of Cambridge 9th Mar, Imperial, Cranfield, Warwick Business schools for fulltime mba.

Looking forward to your comments and suggestions.

Cheers,
SM

You're not going to make it. Pick 2 books that you can realistically cover and stick to those, such as MGMAT SC and PowerScore CR. (Use OG's for targeted practice but that's all you should need).

Thanks bb for your reply and feedback. I plan to skip PR 1012 if i run short of time. rest i think is achievable within the available time. That includes

1-MGMAT SC (1 week)
2-Powerscore CR bible (1 week)
3- OG 10, OG verbal, OG Quantitative and OG 12 ( 2 weeks)
4- CATs (7 days, 1/2 each week)

lets see how it goes. will keep sharing with u guyz here .

Cheers,
SM

Bb and all the members,

I wanted to get your opinion on my study plan. I began to study (to really study) for GMAT a week ago. I got 4 GMAT math (all but decimals/percents) to brush up on my math. Took GMAT prep (Q43, V37).

Following the recommendation from this site I started reviewing my stronger side (math) first. Covered 2 out 4 books so far and doing some practice questions along the way. Planning to get done with next two books first and then will go through the OG12 Quant review. In regards to time, I plan to spend next 2 to 3 weeks to accomplish just that. That will put me at 3-4 weeks into the process.

After I’m done with Quant, I plan to spend a month on Verbal. I have 4 books to cover: MGMAT SC, MGMAT RC, and Power(something) CR Bible, OG Verb review.

Last 3-4 weeks plan to spend on the OG 12, writing essays, and practice, practice, practice….

Beginning next week I plan to start taking one CAT a week.

Please express your comments/suggestions on my approach to the GMAT preparation…
Thanks


PS: Is there a time constraints to register for the GMAT (like if today is Feb 1st, your earliest day of the exam can be only from Feb 15)???

Looks like a good plan!
There is no limitation for registration except test center space availability. You can check it online at mba.com and keep an eye on it.

Hi BB,

need your advice, I gave my GMAT yesterday and I scored 680. Was shattered to see that score. Never in my practice tests I got such a less score. Before preparation when I gave my diagonistic I got a 660 and after 45 days of serious preparation this was the score break up I got :


MGMAT 4 - 660
MGMAT 5 - 690 (Q49, V34)
MGMAT 6 - 750 (Q51, V41)
Knewton - 710 (Q50, V35)
GMATPrep1 - 750 (Q51, V41)
GMATPrep2 - 730 (Q50, V38)
GMATPrep1 - 710
GMATPrep2 - 710
GMATPrep1 - 750
GMATPrep2 - 770

Actual GMAT - 680 (Q49, V32)

I am just shell-shocked to that score...Not sure what to do....any advice will really help me...
Should I take the Knewton classes or any other. I have gone thru the OGs, Manhattan SC, Kaplan 800, And I follow GMATCLUB and Manhattan forums religiously and I did GMAT CLUB Tests (15 in Quant and 6 Verbal) and MGMAT 6 tests online.

I have a very good Acads (X -90% and XII - 96% and Distinction in Eng) so I dont want to compromise on GMAT score, which should give me a good opportunity in Top 10 schools.

This is a second 680 today - it is not a bad score, but a poor one for someone who's good at English.
At this point with the materials you covered you probably 50/50 with a test prep or self-prep. You can try and get the PowerScore SC/ PowerScore CR and MGMAT RC and get verbal to 40 - that should be plenty for a 730.

The key with verbal is following a strategy. if you feel you have done everything, take a prep class. If you feel, you have not approached questions systematically, then you can try that with the help of the books above.

That's really are all the options.

Wow BB ....Your response time is amazing.....

My hit ratio was bad in SC in all the prep tests....and I was consistently hitting 80-90% in CRs and RCs. Even in actual GMAT I thought I did well on the RCs and a few of the SCs. But CRs I was able to nail down to two options and then went with whatever I felt was right....SCs is/was always my weak point so I practised like nuts before the exam.

"" At this point with the materials you covered you probably 50/50 with a test prep or self-prep."" Can you please elaborate on this ?

I don't know if a course makes sense for you since you only need the verbal part. Self prep could be tough since you have covered a lot of material and not much remains (tough to get much improvement). So, I felt it was not a clear cut - both will take time and effort, so something you need to figure out. Can you go back and get some other books/use the same one and get your verbal up or else?

True BB. You hit the nail on the head. Even I am caught in the same situation. I am not sure what went wrong in the exams.
This is one of the reason, why I wanted to opt for Knewton. Only because they have that 50 point program so I thought, I would not loosing anything if I do not improve on my score.
My aim is only to reach that 720 mark which I would need to apply for ISB.
Any suggestions in this regard....

Hi, can you guys help out, have my GMAT in 8 days. Target Score 700 plus

Following are my scores...
1. GMAT Prep 1 - 15 Jan 2010 - Q 47, V 32 - Overall - 640
2. MGMAT1 - 8 Feb 2010 - Q45, V 33 - Overall - 640
3. MGMAT2 - 14 Feb 2010 - Q 43, V 32 - Overall - 620
4. MGMAT 3 19 Feb - Q - 43 , V 33 - Overall 640
5. MGMAT 4 - 21 Feb 2010 - Q - 40 , V - 38 , 650 - Messed up on the quant section, but verbal performance improved considerably.
6. Powerprep1 22 Feb 2010 Q -49 V - 41 , 730 - Recognized a few questions from OG 10, so i'd say score is a little inflated.
7. MGMAT5 - 23 Feb 2010 - MGMAT 5 Q - 44 V - 38, 680 - (without AWA) Continued to perform well on Verbal.
8. GMATprep2 25 Feb 2010 - Q - 47, V - 34 - 660 .. (with AWA)

I found GMAT Prep verbal much more tougher than verbal on the last MGMAT Tests, i.e. The correct answer was not as easy to spot on GMATprep as on MGMAT Tests. Is it because latter MGMAT tests are easier..Or my verbal skills have not exactly improved.

I'd say i have improved a lot, have begun to see patterns in the right choices, i am able to identify wrong answer choices quicker..Your input would be invaluable.

Edit: Just analyzed my performance on the verbal section, i made 4 mistakes, out of which 2 were silly mistakes in the first 20 questions (Q1,5,10 and 18), in the next 21, i made 10 mistakes (Q22,24,25,26,28,29,33,35,37,40).

I was a little slow, probably because i was overawed by the level of the questions, though in hindsight, they are very much like MGMAT questions (they did seem alot harder while taking the test though, i remember thinking to myself, this is much tougher than what i have encountered, ended up rushing through the last 15 - 17 questions and guessing last 2, one of which i got right). in the last few tests i have managed to complete the verbal section approximately 2- 3 minutes before the 75 minute mark. I have a hit rate of approximately 70 - 75 percent with 650 - 730 range problems.

I still have about 8 days before the exam. I sincerely feel its a question of tweaking a couple of things to achieve my target verbal score. What do you suggest i should do?

Hi,

I gave GMAT twice, in the first attempt i scored 530 (Q:38 V: 24) while in the second attempt i managed to score only 580 (Q: 42, V: 28) ...

I couldn't muster the courage to give the third attempt but after lot of speculation and retrospection i decided to give it a shot.

I plan to start my prepration from March 2010 and i intend to give the exam by may end...

need your suggestion on how to get near a +700 score and what strategies and time management to folow...

Looking foward for your valuable suggestions

Rgds,

Hi bb, Your plan seems pretty well thought out. I'm new and I've been browsing around a bit, the amount of information on gmatclub is really overwhelming and I'm not really sure where to start. I have 3 months now and I'd really like to get a great score (750+??) because I'm a software engineer and my extra curriculars ain't that great.
I'd taken the online free Manhattan test a couple of months ago and scored 610. Didn't do much prep until now. Anyway I took a GMATPrep test today (downloaded from the mba[dot]com site) and scored a 710 - Q46, V41. Is this any good for a start or was it just luck(moving from 610 to 700)?
On the GMATPrep test I had huge issues with timing, i missed the last 9 questions in quant and had to randomly select options due to lack of time. I got 13 wrong in quant. The verbal was much better, i completed all on time and got 6 wrong.
I'm kinda uncertain what to do now, I've got a lot of material like the OG11, OG12, Kaplan GMAT Advanced 2009-2010, Quantitative review, but I'm not sure what to start on. I really wanna really max out my score.
Any suggestions?
Sid

Dear BB,

thanks a lot for this useful post,
what is your opinion about using LSAT materials for the GMAT cracking?