Advice on a new study plan - retaking the GMAT

Hi Rich,

Thanks so much for the response, I appreciate it. As soon as I get the ESR, I'll follow up.

1)
680 - Q45 V39 IR5
650 - Q41 V40 IR3
690 - Q40 V45 IR1
690 - Q44 V41 IR8
AWA has always been either 5 or 5.5.

2) I would be over the moon if I could get 730+ but I'd be fine just getting into the 700-710 range for now.

3) I've thought of it somewhat, I think location may matter to me more so than pure rankings. My plan right now is to complete my Master's (starting it this fall), work 1-2 years, then start business school. I'm based in the Northeast and plan to stay in the region. I think there's a solid population of good business schools to choose from. I would say any of the top 20, location considered when the time comes. Even if for example, #22 accepts me but it's halfway across the country, I would be okay with #25 instead if it's in the Northeast and I don't have to move too far.
It seems to me that I should have at least a 700 in my pocket.

Thanks again for the help!

Hi chscu,

Based on your prior CAT Scores - and this Official Score - you have a reasonable chance at hitting 730+ in the timeframe that you've described (but you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections). Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. The data in your ESR would be quite helpful in planning out the next 1.5 months of study, but before you can post it (or attach it to a PM), you need to have at least 5 posts in the forums. Barring that, you can feel free to email me your ESR directly and I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
2) When does your Master's Program begin this fall (and is it safe to assume that you'd rather not be studying for the GMAT at the same time?)?

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

Thank you for sharing your experience and plans with us, chscu. If you were a competitive student in college, are a native English speaker, and do not have any type of handicap (ADHD, dyslexia, etc.), you should be able to score 700+. It is impossible to recommend a specific study plan or resource that's guaranteed to work for you, because every company is going to recommend their own. Many students make the mistake of trying all possible resources, and yet many others stick with the same resources that did not work for them. The good thing is that you are allowing yourself ample time to study, and provided that you have strong fundamentals I believe that you can get into the 700's between now and August. When you study again, I recommend that you focus on understanding different types of questions and answering them correctly before worrying about timing. The last time you studied you were under time pressure which could be a huge distraction from the learning process.

In my tutoring experience, Manhattan GMAT is very good for Quant and SC concepts. RC can be improved by reading a lot of dense materials and by reading the exam passages strategically. CR I teach my students because I don't really like any resources out there. For practice problems, use Official GMAC resources, and perhaps add GMAT Club for Quant practice. If you were a working professional, I would recommend getting a reputable tutor who can help you lay out a study plan and hold you to it and answer any questions you may have. But since you're fresh from college, you probably don't have much money and you have plenty of time, so I think you can do this by yourself. Good luck!

Hi Rich,

Got it, I understand. Regarding the ESR, I did purchase it but I can't seem to figure out how to get the report for the exam I took. Could it be because it's still too early? I took the exam on 7/1. The status on it in the "Past Exams" section still says "Cancel Score" as the only option.

1) I will simply be resting at home this summer so my study time is flexible. The only thing I will say is that I do have some other prep work for my Master's so the GMAT would not be the only work I have to do. That work is also flexible but I definitely don't have the option of ignoring it if that makes sense.

2) The latest I can retake the GMAT before returning to school is in mid-August. Whether I'd rather not be studying for the GMAT during the semester is up in the air for me to be honest. There will always be work to do and of course not having to study for the GMAT means more flexibility to really do a great job at my courses and projects, that's just a fact. I don't want to do time-pressured "studying" again that doesn't give much improvement to my score, I'm also aware that when I apply, business schools will be able to see all my scores. You mention that I have a "reasonable chance" of hitting my goal score - is it still a bit of a long shot? Would more time help? Or do you think if I just do stricter studying in the next month I can at least get over the 700 hump?

Once I figure out the ESR issue, I'll take you up on that offer to reach out to you by email. As always, thanks so much!

Hi HanoiGMATtutor,

Thanks for the advice! I can see your point about understanding the types of questions, I just want to ask a few questions to clarify how to put this plan into action. Are there set question types and is there a list/compilation I can take a look at? Even if I just go by subject (for example on Quant - arithmetic, algebra, geometry) how do I tackle the fact that even something like arithmetic can have really difficult questions? Just to comment, I find number theory pretty difficult...
Once I have a list of question types, should I for example, try working through them without a time limit? Or maybe do half of them without a time limit to "learn the concepts" and then once I can immediately remember the process of working out a problem of that type, test it on the other half of the questions that I wouldn't have seen? Sorry if this is super specific, it's just that I did try a lot of different approaches (albeit under a time crunch). I find that it usually just takes me loads of practice to get familiar with how to handle a problem speedily and I'm worried that I only have a month.
For Manhattan GMAT, could you maybe link me to some resources from them you recommend? I think I see the "Interact: Quant" course but at $549 it still seems a bit pricey. If it's worth it though, please do let me know.

Thanks again!

Imagine yourself as a learning machine. The more quality data you feed into it, the more it learns. Notice the word "quality". You can use the Manhattan GMAT books to learn the concepts by topics, and then attempt official practice problems to apply the techniques you've learned. You are obviously going to encounter difficult questions. Each time you see a difficult question, take a deep breath and take your time to solve it. Once you've figured it out, your brain will learn the thought process so that next time a similar question comes up you will solve it with less struggle. The key point here is not to attempt as many questions as possible, but rather to learn from each question as much as possible (i.e., feed quality data into your learning machine). GMAT problems are really not that difficult; poorly designed fake GMAT questions can be impossible to solve, but official GMAT questions are designed to be solved in under 2 minutes. So as long as you are solid on the fundamentals and keep reinforcing the concepts and techniques through practice, you can solve any GMAT question thrown at you. You find number theory difficult? Solve 20 number theory questions, make sure you learn everything you can from each of those questions, and you'll find number theory a breeze. Now if digging deep into each question to understand the patterns on an abstract level doesn't come naturally to you, you may want to recruit a friend or a tutor.

You can get the Manhattan GMAT books for cheap on eBay. They go for $100 on Amazon. It doesn't really matter which version you have.

Hi chscu,

Given that you studied for only 3 weeks, it’s pretty impressive that you scored as high as 690 on your practice exams. Regarding how to move forward, since you have time on your side, you should follow a thorough and linear study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic, and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. By studying in this way, you’ll ensure that you are methodically improving your GMAT quant and verbal skills and leaving no stone unturned.

Regarding prep materials, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses, and also read through some GMAT success stories to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

Also, would you like some general advice on how to improve your verbal and quant skills?

Lastly, you may find it helpful to read this article about
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.

Good luck!

I too need help with a 45-day study plan and stuck as there are so many resources. It's hard to choose and decide what's best.

I recently gave my GMAT after 2.5 months of prep and scored a 540 (Q37, V27). I am planning to retake the exam in about a month and a half (45 days-ish), and need help with planning my approach to study.

I do know what went wrong, but don't know what's the best way to move ahead with the study.

What went wrong:
1) I am working a full-time job which requires international travel. Obviously, my studies got hit while I was traveling and I didn't have a regular schedule.
2) I didn't have a proper study plan and was just going with the flow.
3) My initial target score was very low - I thought I cannot do this so I created a self-made barrier that I cannot score beyond 640.
4) I had to start from very basic - touched books after 7 years, and had limited time to practice.
5) I didn't finish the entire OG (especially Quant and RC)
6) My RC and SC concepts are still weak.
7) I took 5 practice tests along with a couple of quizzes and scored almost the same in every test!
8) In Quant, my weak areas are probability, set theory, coordinate geometry, and I am not so confident with number properties especially in DS.

What I need help with (and would be most grateful if someone can point me to already available resources, etc.)
1) Study plan!!! I need to create a rock solid study plan that would help me tackle, measure and quantify my study on a daily basis. What should finish when? When should I take the practice tests, etc.? I feel like a day-to-day plan will help me most rather than a weekly plan, but I don't know how to create one.
2) What are the best resources for me? I was thinking of taking up e-GMAT verbal online plan, but not sure if that's right for me.
3) RC, RC, RC! I have tried almost every trick explained on most of the forums but still unsuccessful. My current rate is 20 - 30% correct answers.
4) Some expert advise(s) + motivation is most welcome

Also, a quick profile summary/career history - just in case a great idea pops in your head looking at this - and you can suggest what colleges I can apply to easily with a minimum GMAT score.
1) 7 years of work experience in strategy consulting and account management
2) 5+ years of work experience with Deloitte where I experienced fastest career growth (2 promotions in 4 years, support services)
3) 5+ years of volunteer experience and community service towards Child Education in India. I have also organized and participated in various workshops and events. Currently working as a facilitator for a teacher development program for private affordable schools

++ The Schools I am currently targetting:
1) NUS, Nanyang in Singapore
2) ISB, IIMs in India
3) McGill, Rotman in Canada
4) AGSM, Melbourne Business School in Australia
5) Rotterdam in the Netherlands

Any help is most appreciated.

Cheers!
SG

Hi chscu,

Much of this comes down to how 'flexible' of a thinker you are - and whether you can adjust "your way" of approaching the overall Exam to use the necessary Tactics and pick up the additional points that you're looking for. No one here knows what you are capable of (as far as an Official GMAT Score is concerned), so you might be able to pick up those points relatively quickly. However, if you're stubborn about changing your approaches - or you've developed any 'bad habits' that are keeping you from scoring higher - then you might need longer. Once you've sent your ESR, we'll have a much better idea of what you'll need to work on.

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

Hi shreyagupta1401,

To start, you would likely receive more of a response if you started your own post-thread (instead of piggy-backing on a bunch of other threads). In addition to the information that you have provided, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week? Have you taken any significant 'time off' from your studies (for example, due to work)?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When is your next Test Date?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

Hi SG,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, although I cannot provide you with an exact study plan, I can give you some advice on how to study for GMAT quant and verbal. However, keep in mind that 45 days is not a lot of time, and if you are looking to score 700+ you’ll need more than 45 days to sufficiency improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills. In any case, here is some advice you can follow to do so.

First off, since you scored Q37/V27, it’s clear that you are lacking the quant and verbal fundamentals you need for a high score. Thus, you should follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. Let me expand on this idea further.

Let’s say, for example, you are learning about Number Properties. First, you should develop as much conceptual knowledge about Number Properties as possible. In other words, your goal will be to completely understand properties of factorials, perfect squares, quadratic patterns, LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, and remainders, to name a few concepts. After carefully reviewing the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions, practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties. When you do dozens of questions of the same type one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to around at least 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

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.

Follow a similar routine for verbal. For example, let’s say you start by learning about Critical Reasoning. Your first goal is to fully master the individual Critical Reasoning topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each Critical Reasoning question type, do focused practice so that you can track your skill in answering each type of question. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.

When practicing Reading Comprehension, you need to develop a reading strategy that is both efficient and thorough. Reading too fast and not understanding what you have read are equally as harmful as reading too slow and using up too much time. When attacking Reading Comprehension passages, you must have one clear goal in mind: to understand the context of what you are reading. However, you must do so efficiently, so you need to avoid getting bogged down in the details of each paragraph and instead focus on understanding the main point of each paragraph. That being said, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can just read the intro and the conclusion and thereby comprehend the main idea of a paragraph. As you read a paragraph, consider how the context of the paragraph relates to previous paragraphs, so you can continue developing your overall understanding of the passage. Furthermore, as you practice Reading Comprehension, focus on the exact types of questions with which you struggle: Find the Main Idea, Inference, Author’s Tone, etc. As with Critical Reasoning, analyze your incorrect Reading Comprehension answers to better determine why you tend to get a particular question type wrong, and then improve upon your weaknesses. Keep in mind that GMAT Reading Comprehension passages are not meant to be easy to read. So, to better prepare yourself to analyze such passages, read magazines with similar content and style, such as the Economist, Scientific American, and Smithsonian.

Sentence Correction is a bit of a different animal compared to Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. There are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, it is likely that you will have to work on all three of those aspects.

Regarding what you know, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules. Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not just a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.

This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending under two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer. As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns clearly refer to nouns? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.

There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and those reasons are not that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answers were always the ones that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.

As for the third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct, what you do, the main thing you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey meanings that make sense. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice repeatedly until you start to see the differences between the choices that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. It may take time for you to see what you have to see. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to be determined to see the differences and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.

To improve what you do when you answer Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. Are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did that resulted in your arriving at that answer and what you could do differently in order to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could have done differently to extend your streak.

As with your Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension regimens, after learning a particular Sentence Correction topic, engage in focused practice with 30 questions or more that involve that topic. As your Sentence Correction skills improve, you will then want to practice with questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.

Regarding resources, check out some of the success stories of past GMAT students as well as reviews of various GMAT prep courses to see what prep materials have worked for other test-takers.

Lastly, you may find it helpful to read the following articles about The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT and How Long Should I Study for the GMAT?.

Good luck!