Advice needed: Changing my self prep plan

Question

Hello everyone,

I have been following the Magoosh 2month self study plan for around 3 weeks now. I had already gone through the MGMAT guide books before starting with Magoosh. On my last mock on Magoosh, I scored a 630 (Q43 V32). I also scored a 650(Q46 V33) on the official prep mock 1.

I am thinking that it would not be very helpful for me to go through with the entire Magoosh plan now, as they suggest watching a lot of concept videos. I also don't have enough time. 
 So, I am thinking about ONLY practising from GmatClub, OG and Magoosh and brush up on the questions I get wrong. Will/does this plan work? If not, what could be a better approach?  
I don't want to end up still getting 650 on the mocks in November. 
I study around 3hrs every day and plan to sit for the actual test in the second week of November. My target is any of the top 5 IIMs or XLRI/FMS/SPJIMR.

Short profile summary (in case it matters):
 28yo, Indian, IT (MNC > Startup > Big 4 consulting), Male with 5yrs of exp.
Some entrepreneur stint on the side. (Education sector) 
Socially responsible enough (I and my friends organize relief drives)
School/college marks are around 90%/91%/8.22 GPA
Extracurriculars: Writing and Photography (published in story collections and magazines)

I could really use some motivation since I cannot seem to cross the 70 percentile on mocks or practice sets.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

If you're looking for something free, it may help to regularly read articles from the Economist. Gmatninja's Verbal videos may also be helpful. Also Thursdays with Ron.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi soumyadeeppaul1,

Your latest official practice exam with Q46 is not terrible, so try not to beat yourself up. That said, it’s pretty clear that verbal is your main issue right now, correct? If so, would you like some general advice on how to improve your GMAT verbal skills?

hopefulmba2021 · Answer

Hello Scott, thanks for taking the time to reply. 
My Quant score actually went down from 46 to 43 on my latest mock on Magoosh. Regarding Verbal, I realized that I have to focus on RC, as I bombed on that section on both of the mocks.
My main concern is:  To push myself from the <650 to 700, I am skipping the concept videos and just focussing on sectional practice across all modules and then taking notes/watching videos from the questions I get wrong.  
Since you are an experienced teacher, do you think this plan will work? Does it work in general?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi soumyadeeppaul1,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you've been studying for just 3 weeks, then you should not expect to have mastered any concepts or question types just yet. By extension, you might naturally improve over time. From your various posts, you've taken 3 CATs over the last 2 weeks: 520, 650 and 630. 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 - and that you took your CATs in a realistic fashion - your last 2 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 640 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

Since it's been just 3 weeks, it's tough to say whether you're actually "stuck" at the "640 level" or not. I suggest that you study as you choose for the next week, then take a NEW CAT (in the same fashion that you'll take the Official GMAT - take the FULL CAT, at the same time of day as you'll take the GMAT, if you're taking the Exam at a Test Center, then wear a face mask, etc.). Once you have that Score, you should post back here and we can discuss the results and how you might best adjust your studies going forward.

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

hopefulmba2021 · Answer

Hi Scott, I always look forward to your guidance. I could use some RC/CR strategies, like should I go through the concepts again (MGMAT and Magoosh vids) or just keep practising the passages from easy to hard till I get them right?
For quant, I have figured out that I face issues on mostly DS questions on the topics of Stats, Probability and Number properties. So, I will go through each of those concepts again. Any pointers for DS in general?

My issue with the overall GMAT prep is not that I'm unable to understand the concepts or the given solutions, but that I'm struggling to apply those learnings on new problems. Looking forward to your valuable advice.

hopefulmba2021 · Answer

Hi Rich,

I will be taking my first GMAT Club test this weekend and post back here. From self-analysis, I can tell that I don't get questions wrong as much as I get stumped by those questions. So my low scores are because I don't even know how to solve/approach that level of difficulty and I have to guess the answer (which is usually wrong).
Any general pointers on how to improve from Q45 to Q49 and push my Verbal towards a V40?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi soumyadeeppaul1,

To clarify, when I referred to taking a practice CAT, I meant a FULL-LENGTH adaptive CAT from a reputable source such as GMAC, Kaplan, MGMAT or Veritas. 'Glue-ing together' two ClubTests is NOT the same thing.

Since you've been studying for just a few weeks, there's a question as to how much of the GMAT 'content' you've learned (or not learned) yet. Thus, the first piece of 'general advice' is to not be bothered by subjects that you have not covered yet - AND give yourself enough time to hone all of the skills needed to hit your Goal Score. Trying to 'cram' and 'rush' your studies rarely leads to great results with Exams such as the GMAT.

Beyond that, most missed opportunities on Test Day are due to silly/little mistakes - and those types of mistakes can often be traced back to disorganized or incomplete notes. Doing work "in your head" is the WORST way to approach a GMAT question (it often takes LONGER to work in than way and leaves you open to missing little details and making little mistakes). Thus, you should make sure to write everything on your pad (the information you're given in the prompt, the question you're trying to answer and the 'steps' that you work through to answer it).

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

hopefulmba2021 · Answer

I did not know that the club tests were not full-length CATs. I will look into taking a test from Kaplan/Mgmat or Veritas. Thanks for the suggestion.
Coming to my dilemma, I have actually gone through then MGMAT CR book twice and the Magoosh videos and I feel there is nothing left to learn there. Yet, when I attempt random Medium-Hard questions, I do not know how to even apply those concepts. I am not sure how to overcome this barrier. I can only get around 75% of them correct. This is not just for CR but also DS and RC.

How can I improve? Via practice or going through concepts from other sources this time?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi soumyadeeppaul1,

You ask some important questions - but the answers require more information/data. It's certainly possible that you have learned everything that you are capable of learning from the prior practice materials that you have used, but that does not necessarily mean that you have learned everything that you need to know to hit your Goal Score. From what you describe, if you cannot seem to use your knowledge/skills on tougher questions, then you might need to learn additional Tactics. Most GMAT questions can be approached in more than one way, so learning just 1 approach can be limiting.

At its core, the GMAT is a big 'critical thinking Test', so your ability to assess the information that you've been given in the prompt - AND then determine the most efficient way to work through it - is one of the keys to earning a high-end Score. It might be that you're not at the 'ability level' yet that you can spot all of the built-in shortcuts and clues that the question writers provide (so continuing to study in the same ways that you did before might not be the best choice).

Once we have your upcoming CAT results to use as a reference, we should be better able to define exactly what you should be working on going forward.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

What resources are you using?

hopefulmba2021 · Answer

I am using the Magoosh Premium plan.
My last official practice score was 660 Q48 V32 in a test day environment setup.
From my analysis, I figured that my Quant goes down because of DS problems and Verbal goes down mainly due to CR, and some RC.

I could really use some expert advice to strengthen these areas.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

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