How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? : General GMAT Questions and Strategies

MeestorEno

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How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 00:14

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I just took the GMAT and got a 500. This is after consistently scoring around 580 on the Kaplan CAT's. All I am doing for the next month is studying for the GMAT (my official test day is April 13). I have been doing around 8 hours a day recently, and I plan to do that much if not more in the next month. I did the Kaplan online center and I am looking for something more. I still have a few Kaplan CAT's and the Kaplan Q bank, but I plan to do focus on doing all of the GMAT club tests, and the Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction book. I was thinking about also buying access to the Manhattan practice exams and Q bank for $80. Is the OG worth going through if I all ready know the basics? Should I just do the OG problems? Does GMAC offer more practice tests than the two you get from mba.com?

I am willing to put myself through some serious pain in the next month. I am want to get at least a 600 and I hope to score around 650. What else should I put in my super intense 1 month plan? I am more partial to working on my computer instead of burying my head in a book, but I am desperate so I will take any advice, ideas, or recommendations on how to bring my score up in such a small amount of time.

thesfactor

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 00:29

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I would suggest spending a little time browsing this forum, look at the strategies other people have used. Aim for 750, aim high...that will never hurt you. Believe in yourself, think of the GMAT as a game, something you can ace with time. You should definitely go through the OG problems, these problems are very close to the ones on the real test. Read each problem carefully, once you're done with the answer - check your work, especially when it's wrong. Make sure you understand why you got something wrong. If there is a concept issue, then make sure you understand the concepts down to the last T. Keep error logs, document your work. Study hard, but also remember to take time off and enjoy your life. Good luck

thesfactor

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 06:02

Also, if you take a few practise tests and don't score well. Try and identify your errors, work on them and then tackle the questions again...

thesfactor

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 06:04

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thesfactor wrote:

Also, if you take a few practise tests and don't score well. Try and identify your errors, work on them and then tackle the questions again...

I forgot to add, you might find this document useful. Sentence correction tips...

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Frozenace

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 06:07

How long did you prepare in total before you took the test?

AmrithS

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Location: India

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

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GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V37

GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V40

GMAT 3: 750 Q51 V40

GPA: 3.5

WE:Education (Education)

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 06:17

2

Kudos

Hi man

A +100 score improvement in one month is a very challenging target! But it is very much possible.
I'm glad that you are ready to invest 8 hours each day to improve your score.

1. Purchase the Manhattan Test series. Don't spend $80 though. Just buy the sentence correction book; you'll get access to 6 tests along with that book

2. Do not mess with GMAT club tests! GMAT club test is for advance test takers who seek to improve their score from the 47-49 range to 51. You can get a score of 600 if you get a score of 42 in Quant and 33 in Verbal. Getting to 42 is all about learning the basics and the GMAT club test does not serve that purpose.

3. Read the following article written by Manhattan Instructor, Stacey Koprince and create your own plan by using the plan in the article as a skeleton

https://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/two-week-prep.cfm

I hope you find the information useful :D

MeestorEno

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Joined: 02 Mar 2011

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Schools:University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle University

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 11:07

Sadly I studied almost 100 hours before getting the 500. Really bad I know. And I feel even worse about it today than I did last night :'( I went over all of my practice Kaplan CAT's in detail. Maybe the concepts did not stick as well as I thought, but like I said I was getting around 580 on the Kaplan tests.

I have spent a good amount of time looking around this forum, but most of the study schedules are for 3 months. I guess I could just compress them into one month.

So if I should not use the Manhattan quiz bank, or use the GMAT club tests, is there any other software out there that I could use? I would like to use something more than just the OG and Manhattan SC book.

AmrithS

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Joined: 04 Jan 2011

Status:-=Given to Fly=-

Posts: 756

Location: India

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

Schools: Kelley '18 Haas '18

GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V37

GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V40

GMAT 3: 750 Q51 V40

GPA: 3.5

WE:Education (Education)

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 11:13

Dude... refer to my previous post... It has a 14 day plan in it

MeestorEno

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 11:34

Entwistle wrote:

Dude... refer to my previous post... It has a 14 day plan in it

Thank you for the link to that study plan. I am going to use it, but I have more time than the 2 hours during weekdays and 6 hours during weekend days. I am also not sure if I want to drop the $154 for the 8 Manhattan study guides. But I will if they are really worth it. I know the Manhattan SC guide is supposed to be the best.

MeestorEno

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Schools:University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle University

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 12:25

After doing some research I decided to break out the credit card and get the MGMAT set of 8 off amazon for $115. The reviews are great, and the books are ranked #2 after the OG on the best books link on this site.

Thanks so much for all of your advice. I feel much better now, after not wanting to get out of bed this morning. I LOVE THIS SITE!!!!

I am going to hammer out that 14 day study plan and hopefully power through all 1,520 pages of the MGMAT books before my test day. Thanks again! :-D

G

GMATPill

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

10 Mar 2011, 14:56

MaestorEno,

Sorry to hear about your test experience. The good news is you have good room to improve and it's definitely achievable.

Improving 100+ points is certainly possible but it's not simply about going through books.

Your focus should be on identifying what thinking path you are taking and figuring out why you are making wrong turns. Focus on your thought process--are you paying attention to the wrong things? Can you "see" what the test question is testing you on?

If you have friends who were successful with the exam, ask them how they think about a question. Is the way you think very different? Where can you save time and what booby traps can you avoid?

As for study plans, you may consider taking a look at this one: https://www.gmatpill.com/the-gmat-pill-m ... tudy-plan/

AmrithS

Director

Joined: 04 Jan 2011

Status:-=Given to Fly=-

Posts: 756

Location: India

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

Schools: Kelley '18 Haas '18

GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V37

GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V40

GMAT 3: 750 Q51 V40

GPA: 3.5

WE:Education (Education)

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 05:46

MeestorEno wrote:

I am going to hammer out that 14 day study plan and hopefully power through all 1,520 pages of the MGMAT books before my test day. Thanks again! :-D

Manhattan Series is 1520 pages long?

It seemed much lesser ^_^

:D

MeestorEno

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Joined: 02 Mar 2011

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Schools:University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle University

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 13:31

Amazon says it is 1520. Of coarse not all of that is material I have to go over. And the OG is 840 pages. So it looks like I have my work cut out for me.

desiaggie1980

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 15:01

MGMAT SC and quant are top notch, however, you may need extra material for RC and CR as these books are not the best for these topics!

Posted from my mobile device

G

GMATPill

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 15:23

desiaggie1980 wrote:

MGMAT SC and quant are top notch, however, you may need extra material for RC and CR as these books are not the best for these topics!

Posted from my mobile device

Yes, for RC you may be interested in these: https://www.gmatpill.com/practice-questi ... -guide-rc/

MeestorEno

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Joined: 02 Mar 2011

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Schools:University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle University

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 15:26

1

Bookmarks

Do you have any recommendations for good RC and CR books/software? It seams like those two areas are really hard to improve upon. I was planning on mastering SC so I could have more time on the RC and CR. It seams like time is the #1 problem on RC/CR

AmrithS

Director

Joined: 04 Jan 2011

Status:-=Given to Fly=-

Posts: 756

Location: India

Concentration: Leadership, Strategy

Schools: Kelley '18 Haas '18

GMAT 1: 650 Q44 V37

GMAT 2: 710 Q48 V40

GMAT 3: 750 Q51 V40

GPA: 3.5

WE:Education (Education)

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

11 Mar 2011, 20:24

Tip:
Do the "In Action Problems"

Don't skip 'em... The problems are awesome when it comes to understanding fundamentals!

anstance5

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

03 May 2011, 14:42

This is admittedly a stretch, but I've seen this book on Amazon. No idea if it's worth it, but it fits your time constraint of a month. Personally, I'm skeptical.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983170118

MeestorEno wrote:

I just took the GMAT and got a 500. This is after consistently scoring around 580 on the Kaplan CAT's. All I am doing for the next month is studying for the GMAT (my official test day is April 13). I have been doing around 8 hours a day recently, and I plan to do that much if not more in the next month. I did the Kaplan online center and I am looking for something more. I still have a few Kaplan CAT's and the Kaplan Q bank, but I plan to do focus on doing all of the GMAT club tests, and the Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction book. I was thinking about also buying access to the Manhattan practice exams and Q bank for $80. Is the OG worth going through if I all ready know the basics? Should I just do the OG problems? Does GMAC offer more practice tests than the two you get from mba.com?

I am willing to put myself through some serious pain in the next month. I am want to get at least a 600 and I hope to score around 650. What else should I put in my super intense 1 month plan? I am more partial to working on my computer instead of burying my head in a book, but I am desperate so I will take any advice, ideas, or recommendations on how to bring my score up in such a small amount of time.

jko

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GMAT 1: 760 Q49 V45

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Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

04 May 2011, 09:31

1

Kudos

Check out he Powerscore CR bible. It's very good.

MeestorEno

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Joined: 02 Mar 2011

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Schools:University of Washington Bothell, and Seattle University

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

04 May 2011, 11:15

Guess I should give an update. I didn't do as well as I hoped on the last test so I am taking it yet again. I have the CR Bible, it is great. I have not found much solid material on RC, the MGMAT book is OK, but I think RC just takes practice. For math this time around I have been using Total GMAT Math. It is a fantastic book. Very concise and it has a ton of problems/drills/examples. I have been using the MGMAT SC. Has anyone gone through the MGMAT SC book more than once? I am thinking about going through it again because I am still making some mistakes on SC. Or would my time be better spent if I went through the advanced portion of the book?

gmatclubot

Re: How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month? [#permalink]

04 May 2011, 11:15

How Can I Raise My Score 100+ points in 1 month?

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