14 Day Study Plan?

Question

Hi All,

I've been studying for the GMAT for about 3 months regularly. I sat for my GMAT last weekend and earned a Q45 V37 (670), which I was surprised by considering I had been scoring 710 on my last 3 mocks (Q48-50, V35-40).

I know this is a combination of nerves, not applying concepts learned during study to the test, and not employing appropriate timing strategies. My weak areas area as follows:
 1. Sentence Correction
2. 700+ Quant - Geometry, Combinatorics/Probability, Word Problems (I stalled on these quite a bit on the real test as I breezed through my first ~9 questions, the midsection was extremely tough)
3. Timing strategy

I generally say 700+ quant, because I can confidently tackle most 600+ quant questions across all topics. I already signed up for my next test mid-July, as I am targeting R1 this year.

Any advice for a study plan in these next two weeks? I'll be working FT but have the benefit of the 4th of July holiday in the states. I understand this is a short time frame, but I really do feel like the results of my first test were largely nerves.

Thank you!

rajatchopra1994 · Answer

Dear  mrauj  ,

Just try to give a 2-3 Practice test in the next 14days.
Also, analyze your error logs of hard questions.
Review your concepts daily.
as you are getting Q48-50, V35-40 Range, just try to solve 700 above level Questions.
All the best !!!

Regards,
Rajat Chopra

monikakumar · Answer

Hi,

Just try your hands on some 700+ quant questions and see the variety. As of verbal, find the area you are weak in SC (if CR and RC are good). then work on the questions from that particular area of 700+ questions. All the best for your exam.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi mrauj,

670 is not a bad start! Regarding how to improve your GMAT score in the next few weeks, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

You also may find my article with more information regarding
[how to score a 700+ on the GMAT](https://blog.targettestprep.com/how-to-s ... -the-gmat/) helpful.

Please reach out with any further questions.

mrauj · Answer

Appreciate everyone's insightful responses! I will definitely take forward the learnings.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mrauj,

To start, a 670/Q45 is a strong Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. There's certainly no harm in retesting though - and you have the potential to pick up points in both the Quant and Verbal sections. As it stands, "700+ level" questions are NOT why you scored a Q45 on Test Day - so spending extra study time on those types of prompts is probably not the best use of your time.

Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

Before we discuss how you might best prepare for a retest, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) Did you take your GMAT at a Test Center or did you take the At-home Exam?
2) How many hours do you typically study each week?
3) What study materials have you used so far?
4) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
5) What is your overall goal score?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mrauj · Answer

Hi Rich - responses in bold. I was originally going to take my test 7/12, but I am considering pushing this back one week and taking a week off to fully study, this is pending management approval. With that said, I feel where there is the highest return for a score improvement is in SC. It's where I consistently get 6+ wrong. Do you have any advice as to short-term courses, study plans or tutor programs to address this specific need? Open to any advice. egmat GMATNinja - any advice, as I've seen both your programs as constant references for improved verbals. Also, thank you for all your insights on the frequent verbal questions on GC!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mrauj,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 690 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also leave yourself open to making certain types of mistakes.

Since you have not named any specific Schools/Programs, I want to reiterate that you might be fine applying with a 670/Q45. If you're considering any Top-10 Programs or Finance Programs, then your Q45 might be an issue though. The Round 1 deadlines are far enough off that you still have plenty of time to study - but you'll likely need another month of consistent, guided study (with an emphasis on some specific Quant and/or Verbal Tactics) before you can get to the point that you can consistently score 730+.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

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