450 initial practice test, need advice

Question

Hello all,

I am planning to apply to business schools this fall. I wasn't sure how much I needed to prepare for the GMAT so I took the full length official GMAT practice test yesterday morning. I scored a total of 450... Q27 V25 IR 4... After seeing this score I freaked out. I thought I would at least score in the 500's. My goal is to break 700 so I got real serious real quick... I signed up for a GMAT test on June 6th which means I have roughly four months to prepare. I also signed up for an in-person course through Kaplan that runs from April to June, just before taking my official exam.
 
Ideally, I would like to get to the 600 point by the time I start my Kaplan course.

What should I do for the next 2 1/2 months to jump 150 points?

I do own the official GMAT 2017 guide.

Thank you in advance.

edlc313 · Answer

Taking a course with others is always hard as the resources and time of who you're learning from can be spread thinly. I would say that by looking at your quant score, you'll want to see if the course you're taking addresses the fundamentals of mathematics. If it does, then great, you can supplement what you learn with another course on your own time. If it doesn't then I would highly suggest you take a course in addition that teaches you the fundamentals of the Quant section. I have always considered myself strong in mathematical disciplines but the GMAT does a great job of asking types of questions requiring thought processes that aren't frequently demanded in a schooling environment. That said, from my experiences so far, the exam is teachable. All the best.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi PI0628,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. It's just a measure of your skills right now - and you're going to spend the next several months learning content and Tactics, practicing and honing specific skills. You have to be careful about trying to assign an intermediate Score Goal to a specific date. No one here knows what you're truly capable of - and it might be that you'll need more time to hit your ultimate Score Goal than you've allotted. That having been said, there are a number of things you can work on before your scheduled Course start to improve on this 450. Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and goals:

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

PI0628 · Answer

Thanks for the feedback, Rich.

to answer your questions:

1) I do have a full time career and attend school at night, so i think an hour a day during the week and two hours a day on the weekend is realistic for me. 
2) I plan to apply to business schools round 1 fall 2018
3) The schools I plan to apply to are UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, and NC State.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi PI0628,

Many Test Takers lead busy lives, so you're not alone in that regard. That having been said, the amount of time that you'll be able to consistently commit to your studies sounds a bit 'limited' - and that could influence how quickly you improve (and ultimately how high you might be able to score on the Official GMAT). Thankfully, the Round 1 application deadlines are several months after your current Test Date (June 6th) - so you could potentially use that extra time (if needed) to continue to study and improve.

Raising a 450 to a 600+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. To be efficient with your time, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in an additional GMAT Course (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led). Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

egmat · Answer

PI0628 – it’s good to know that you are aiming for 700. The first thing you need to do is decide on a target Quant and target Verbal score. It makes a huge difference

Create a path to the your goal

Are you looking to score a (Q49, V36), a (Q47, V39), or a (Q45, V42)? Where you spend time, the extent of mastery that you study to, etc. depend on your target Quant and Verbal scores. Use a tool such as GMAT Planner to decide on your target Quant and target Verbal scores.

https://gmatplanner.e-gmat.com/

Create an improvement plan to 600 (or possible 700)
Once you have your target Quant and Verbal scores, attend the webinar below to learn how to create a personalized and trackable study plan.
https://e-gmat.com/strategy-session-2/? ... ontent=GSB

Hope this helps!!

-Rajat

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello

Its better to learn the concepts first tested on GMAT. After learning the concepts, practice your learned section with timed practice. You can also take quizzes to meet the pace of GMAT. 1 Month for learning concepts and 15 days of practice and same with the verbal. When completed all the concepts learning and a handsome practice. Take full length CATs, know your estimated score. Analyze the result with Correct/incorrect questions, pacing analysis trace your mistakes and learn from them, make an error log to know your mistakes in the previously attempted questions

Good Luck

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi PI0628,

4 months is good enough to improve your score. It’s a good thing you have taken a GMATPREP Mock once. You now know your weaknesses and work on them. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for 4 months, you are sure to achieve your goal. It's great that you have signed up for Kaplan in-person course. I would suggest that you trust your instructors and follow their advise thoroughly. I would however advise you to solidify your basics before you start with your course as it will surely help you with your preparations going forward. You should check out the Manthattan GMAT's Foundations of GMAT Math and Foundations of GMAT Verbal guides. They are especially designed for beginners who want to get a good hold of their basics. Also, please do not start solving questions from OG till the time you are a little comfortable with your basics as you would want to utilize such a valuable resource properly.

Hope this helps. All the best!

rbsusa · Answer

Let me know, how you are preparing your GMAT

PI0628 · Answer

UPDATE:

Hello everyone,

So since the initial post I've been working through Manhattan's Foundations of Math textbook. I've been getting in at least an hour a day for about the last three weeks. I've also been doing research on timing. When I took my initial practice test i had an additional 25 minutes on Quant leftover and 10 min for Verbal.

I signed up for a live online Kaplan course and just finished taking the full length diagnostics test....

590!!! What an improvement! Less than a month and I went up 140 points. (let's hope it wasn't a fluke!)
Q - 33 (30th percentile) V - 38 (85th percentile)

Now... for some heavy math review. Any recommendations?

-PI0628

450 initial practice test, need advice

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