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karimelchami
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 18 Sep 2016, 21:36
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Hello,

As the subject states, my gmat exam is in 12 days and my score is around 450 on Manhattan Prep practice tests (up from 420 last week). My aim is to get 580, but postponing the exam is not an option at all as the deadline of the MBA application is a day after. Haven't studied Math for 11 years and English is not my strongest subject coming from IT background. I read the Manhattan Prep material for over a month and now practising using the official guide GMAT review. I know that you can't turn things around in 12 days, but practising is all I have left to get to 580. Do you think it's possible, what are some tips and tricks you can provide that can help me in the next 12 days. help is much appreciated.

thanks!
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JeffTargetTestPrep
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 19 Sep 2016, 08:32
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Hi karimelchami,

A 130 point increase in 12 days is unlikely. You must realize that the GMAT is such a challenging exam because there are relatively few questions asked in a given exam, yet those questions come from a huge topic pool. So not only is it a significant challenge to further your GMAT knowledge in 12 days, but it is also even more of a challenge to be able to apply all that you have learned on a timed exam.

With that said, I have two important questions:

1) Have you taken any official MBA.com practice exams? If so, can you provide us with the dates and score breakdowns from those exams? When you took the practice tests, did you take them under realistic conditions (e.g. in a quiet environment, no extended breaks)? Did you complete the entire CAT, including the IR and Essay sections?

2) To which programs are you applying? Even though you “don’t want to,” are you “able” to apply to a later round?
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karimelchami
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 19 Sep 2016, 09:15
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hello, and thank you for your response.

I took CAT on Manhattan Prep and here's the breakdown:

CAT Exam #1: taken on Sept 8th, 2016
Quiet Environment, 8 minute break between sections.
No essay, no IR, Quant is 31 score and 24 % percentile. verbal is 20 score and 22% percentile. Total: 430 score and 16% percentile

CAT Exam #2: taken on Sept 17th, 2016
Quiet Environment, 8 minute break between sections.
No essay, no IR, Quant is 28 score and 19 % percentile. verbal is 25 score and 38% percentile. Total: 450 score and 20% percentile


I'm applying to MBA program. I'm able to wait to later round; however, that is not till September 2017, which is too far away for me.
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manlog
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 19 Sep 2016, 09:29
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Have you taken the official GMATPrep CAT? Strongly advice you to do so, since it will simulate the real experience. Also take the essay and IR part as well.
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 19 Sep 2016, 11:33
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Hi karimelchami,

Raising your score 130+ points in 12 days is not a realistic goal. While it's not impossible, you're not likely to be able to make all of the necessary changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the GMAT in that time to pick up all of those missing points. Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort yet. Thankfully, the REAL goal is still achievable - the specific Program that you're interested in. While it's understandable that you want to do everything "now", the reality is that you haven't put together the proper study plan and you haven't put in the necessary study time and effort yet.

The smartest move right now would be to pay to push back your Test Date (so you end up spending just $50 instead of another $250 to retake the GMAT later) and study for another 2 months (or so). If you plan on sticking with your current Test Date, then here's a piece of advice to keep in mind about the GMAT - with your score goal, you do not need to correctly answer ANY of the 'hard' or 'weird' questions that you'll face, but you do have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum. In context of your practice CATs - it's okay to get a hard question wrong, but if you end up missing a "gettable" question, then THAT is an issue that you have to fix.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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2 weeks till the exam and my score on practice is 450 19 Sep 2016, 14:58
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How is your timing on practice tests? Are you spending too much time on problems that you end up getting wrong anyways? If that's true, you might be able to squeeze some extra points out of a good timing plan: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... tch-paper/

Unfortunately, the only scenario where I could see someone improving by 130 points in 12 days is if they just didn't understand the timing or format of the test in the first place, and had been 'taking the GMAT incorrectly.' That might be the case, but even that isn't the easiest problem to resolve.
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