HELP!!!! 6 Weeks to go from Q44 to Q48

Question

Hello Everyone, First I must mention that this forum has been extremely useful to me in my journey. I need advice on how to move my score form Q44 to Q48. I took the GMAT in October 2018 for the second time and scored 680 (Q44 V39 IR 6 AWA 5.5), took the exam for the first time in February 2018 (which I cancelled) after about 6 weeks of real prep and scored 580 (Q35 V35 IR 4). I scored 700 in the Official GMAT Prep 1 & 2 in the weeks leading to my second GMAT exam. I have been advised by Adcomms of a top school to try the GMAT again and scored higher in Quant because my undergrad course and career do not demonstrate a strong Quant ability. I have about 7 weeks to till deadline and not a lot of cash to spend on courses for prep

Does anyone have specific advice on how to do this? I would love to hit a Q48 and hopefully maintain my Verbal score to hit a 730. My finances are really strained due to other engagements. I don't have an ESR for the second exam, I would go pay for one if absolutely needed/recommended. I can work to put in 40 hours per week but I am honestly concerned as to whether my score in other areas will remain the same if I focus all my energy on quant. Will appreciate your advice and feedback.

bb · Answer

Hi. Congrats on your score - you are quite close. I have put this topic together specifically for your situation (except it is to Q50, not Q48

) https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 41670.html

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Mfon,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. First off, 680 with a Q44 is not a bad start! That being said, to improve to a Q48, you have to go through GMAT quant 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 and types that you would rather not see, and types of questions 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. If you are concerned that your verbal skills may get a bit rusty, then be sure to fold in some verbal prep, so that you can at least maintain your verbal score.

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.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant courses . You also may find it helpful to read this article about 
 how to improve your GMAT quant score .

Please reach out with any further questions.

Let’s do this!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Mfon,

Raising a Q35 to a Q44 is a solid achievement. Regardless of how you choose to continue studying, it's important to note that the Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test' - it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. To score at a much higher level in this section, you need to become more of a 'strategist' and less of a 'mathematician.' Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) What study materials have you used so far?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
5) What application deadlines are you currently facing?

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

Mfon · Answer

Thank you, I have gone through and would get to work ASAP.

I must say that you've been of immense help in my Quant journey.

Mfon · Answer

Thank you so much Rich for your response.

Regarding your questions:

1. I used the Target Test prep course briefly in my first attempt. Used the Magoosh course in my second attempt which proved useful for all the sections. In addition, I used the GMAT club MAth book, Gmatclub tests (and the forum in general) and OGs.
2. I took more Quant CATs on Gmatclub tests and my scores ranged from Q42 to Q45
Official GMATPrep 1 - 670 Q42 V40 Aug 21 (6 weeks to real test)
Official GMAT Prep 2 - 620 Q39 V36
Official GMATPrep 1 - 700 Q42 V42 Sept 23 (3 weeks to test)
Official GMATPrep 2 - Q44 V40 - 1 week to the official test
3. I am hoping to retake the GMAT latest by March end
4. INSEAD, IE
5. My deadlines are April 17 and April 24

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Mfon,

To start, regardless of how you continue to study, you will need to take NEW CATs (with questions that you have NOT seen before).

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2), but retaking a CAT that you've already taken is NOT a realistic way to assess your skills. Seeing even a few 'repeat' questions can 'throw off' the Scoring Algorithm and impact your pacing, energy levels, fatigue, etc. (meaning that they would likely all be better than they normally would be). Thankfully, the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a relatively realistic score assessment (assuming that you use the CAT correctly).

If you can make the necessary adjustments to how you "see" (and respond to) the Quant section, then you could potentially retest in month and hit a Q48.

1) Are those 2 Official CATs the only CATs you used over the course of your entire studies or did you take any others?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Mfon · Answer

Thank you so much for your response Rich.

1. I took GMATclub CATs which came with the magoosh course i purchased.

2. I can put in 26hours weekly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Mfon,

Regardless of how you choose to proceed with this next phase of your studies, you will need a new set of practice CATs to work with - and you should plan to take each CAT in as realistic a fashion as possible (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.).

Based on everything that you've described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

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

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

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Mfon.

Given the prep that you have done already, scoring 4 points higher in quant after six weeks more prep should be doable. You just need to find levers to pull and keep pulling them one after other, to drive your score higher point by point.

As Scott indicated, one way to find levers to pull is to find quant question types with which you are least comfortable and get better at answering them type by type. Each time you get better at answering questions of a particular type, you are pulling a lever to drive your expected quant score higher.

You can also make other moves to drive your score higher.

One move that can be super helpful is improving accuracy. If you can get a couple more questions correct just by being a little more careful, you can drive your quant score two points higher without learning anything other than to be more careful. To become more accurate, when you are doing practice questions, focus on not just knowing how to answer questions but also on arriving at the correct answers. If you miss one, seek to become aware of what about your process was off and consider how you could have been more accurate in your work. Then, seek to apply what you have learned going forward.

For more on improving accuracy, check out the following post: https://blog.targettestprep.com/be-accu ... mat-score/

Other levers that you can pull are practicing doing things like finding the prime factors of numbers, finding all the factors of numbers, adding numbers in your head, or converting the height of an equilateral triangle to its area. By strengthening basic skills like these, you can speed up your work and your accuracy.

HELP!!!! 6 Weeks to go from Q44 to Q48

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