Advice on study plan (SOS)

Question

Hi, Long story short, I have until March 2022 (first week) to submit the application for my target B-school which requires a foot-in-the-door score of 660 for September 2022 intake. Yet to take the GMAT. I started prepping around December 2021 mid (I know!

) for the GMAT and my baseline score is in the range of 570-610 (Q 38-40, V31-33) as per GmatWhiz predictor. My verbal score isn't accurately reflected here as I manage better with a little practice; Quant, however, gives me nightmares from my 10+2 days. Can the good people of GMAT Club advise on a solid plan which can land me at least a 660 by February-mid? I am evaluating between Economist Essential plan and GmatWhiz 2-month plan, as I have been through their trial versions of both and like both of them. Disclaimer : I am a working professional with 6-7 hours to spare for the prep. I have to take the test by mid-February given the application deadline and have to work on my application during this time

Good Karma to those who comment.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi MKaizer123,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if your studies will be limited to less than 2 months of additional study time, then there will likely be a limit to how much you can improve. Given your limited timeframe, it would be a good idea to take one of the Official FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Tests sometime soon (perhaps this weekend); you can access 2 for free at www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have that Score, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and your goals:

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
2) What study materials do you currently have access to?
3) Can you go into a bit more detail about your Goal of 660? Is that some sort of formal/informal 'minimum' required Score (and if so, then how do you know that for sure?)? If you scored 650, would you still apply?
4) Are you planning to apply to any others Schools besides this one?

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

Russ19 · Answer

Hi MKaizer123 , Did you check to see "The Definitive GMAT Study Plan - 2021 Edition"? https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-plan-217827.html Good Luck!

MKaizer123 · Answer

Yes, I checked it  sjuniv32 . Thanks.

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MKaizer123 · Answer

Hi @empowergmat,
Thanks for responsing. I wrote you an email. Apparently, not allowed to post long comments as I am a newcomer on the GMAT Club platform.

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MKaizer123 · Answer

Responding*

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egmat · Answer

Hi MKaizer123 , It's good to see that you have established a baseline. I see that you have about 2+ months, and this is surely a good amount of time to improve from 570 to 660+ if you follow a structured approach. I covered the following 3 aspects in my response below - Your current skill level analysis and solution to improve. Step by Step Study Plan to improve from 570 to 660+ (customized to your strengths and weaknesses) One on one Strategy session to help you set up the plan 1.Your Current skill level analysis and solution to improve Quant Improvement - Your current Quant score Q38 (29th percentile) suggests that your fundamentals are weak. You need to get your basics strong before jumping in to the important sub-sections such as Algebra, Geometry etc. You must focus on building a strong conceptual understanding, learn the right processes (methods) to apply the concepts and master them with practice. Here is an example of a student - Rida improved from 540 (Q32) to 730 (Q49) in just 50 days - watch her journey to understand how mastering the right methods heled her improve. Verbal Improvement - As Verbal is your stronger section, you need to aim for a bigger score ( a V41 or higher). This reduces some pressure on Quant. In Verbal, you must finetune your prep by mastering the right approach (methods) to solve the very hard questions, do targeted practice and track the improvement. Also, you need to know your current percentile scores in SC, CR, RC so that you can precisely set the targets as per your strengths and track the improvement, Check how one of our student Jim (V34 – SC 63 %ile, CR 39%ile, RC 85%ile) was able to improve to a V42 in just 3 weeks . Read his journey here - Jim, V34 to V42 in 3 weeks . We’ve helped hundreds of such students improve their scores. In 2021, our students accounted for 57% of all the verified 700+ scores reported on GMAT Club reviews section. Get your sub-sectional percentile scores - If you don't know the current percentile scores, I recommend that you take our SIGma-X mock test - Click here to take the mock. (comes with ESR+ analysis). Also, as you mentioned that the current score does not reflect your true Verbal ability, it's better to take another mock to get a concrete baseline. 2.Step by Step Study Plan to improve from 570 to 660+ Step 1 - Set customized Targets and estimate timelines Once you know your current percentile scores for each sub-section SC, CR, RC, Arithmetic, Algebra-geometry (the way you get in the official ESR). you can set targets, for example, if you are a bit strong in Arithmetic (relatively), you can aim for a bigger score there. Here is how your study plan should look like (just an example). https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/570-to-680.png As you can see from the above image, you will need to put in about 2 hours everyday, to get test ready by mid-Feb. The overall plan would depend on your exact current percentile scores. Step 2 - Learn Concepts, build skills and get feedback Now, you should pick up one sub-section at a time (say Algebra) . And pick up one topic at a time, approach it in a structured way. In each topic, learn the concept, build the skills to apply the concept, do enough practice to master the methods. And while doing that, get feedback on your learning. Here is a screenshot that explains how feedback should look like. This feedback helps you track whether you are improving or not. https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Linear-Inequalities-Learning.png Towards the end, you need to execute Test readiness phase (the final step) - check if you have achieved the desired percentile target score in Algebra. And repeat the same for Arithmetic and Geometry. Try Learning a couple of topics this way We have few modules of Quant in our free trial that teach in this way. I recommend that you try doing one module (Even-Odd) by registering here . If this structure is working and the feedback scores come out to be good, then I believe our course can help you and we should talk about how you can improve. 3.One on one Strategy session to help you set up the plan If you are ready to follow such a structured approach and work towards building the process skills, we can help you with the following– Get precise estimates of your current skill level in each sub-section. Decide on the sequence of preparation (example – Quant basics -> Number Properties -> Algebra or some other sequence) Set up personalized targets and accurate time estimates to improve in each sub-section. And track the improvement every day. To understand more on this, you can book a one-on-one strategy session with us by using the below link. One-on-One Strategy Session with e-GMAT experts You can also write to us at gmathelp@e-gmat.com I hope this helps!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi MKaizer123,

Regarding your study plan, I have a great article that you can check out:

The Best Way to Study for the GMAT

Also, if you are looking for additional resources, 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.

Good luck!

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi MKaizer123,

When you choose a resource, make sure to choose one which helps you with the right aspects for your GMAT preparation. As GMAT mainly tests your application skills, the resource you choose must help you with:
  Concepts 
 Methodology (Very important) 
 Practice questions 
 Their detailed solutions

So, you first learn the concepts of a particular topic, then learn the methodology to solve questions of that topic and only then practice questions to solidify your learning. This is how you go about your GMAT preparation. The resource you choose must make your prep a lot more structured and effective.

And one more important thing to look for in a course is the  study plan . To make your prep effective, you need to be really consistent. So, a study plan will help you to be consistent. Having said that, you cannot follow a study plan which doesn't suit you. For example, a person who can dedicate just 3 hours a day cannot have the same study plan as a person who can dedicate 6 hours a day. So, the study plan has to be  personalized . And not just that, it's important to have the  right guidance from the mentor  because students often get stuck in the middle of their prep and do not understand how to proceed further.

As you are a working professional, a generic study plan wouldn’t suffice. You need something more personalized so that you can finish your preparation in given time. By personalized, I mean something which takes into account the number of hours you can dedicate in a week and creates a study plan based on that. It should have clear deadlines so that you can focus on finishing those tasks scheduled for the week. This will help you concentrate better.

You can go through the article below to understand how to choose an online course

Key factors to consider while choosing an online course for GMAT

GMATWhiz provides you with a  personalized study plan with clear deadlines  by taking into account the number of hours you can dedicate for studies in a week. It focuses mainly on the application of concepts and has detailed solutions for the questions which helps you to learn the right methodology. It uses  AI  to provide you with  real time improvement modules  after every practice quiz .It provides you with additional concept videos and practise quizzes to help you improve. This helps you overcome your weaker areas in a specific topic right away without having to put in additional effort to identify your weaker areas. And a dedicated mentor will be assigned to the student once he/she enrolls for the course. The student can get in touch with the mentor once in every 15 days to seek guidance on how to proceed further.

Hope it helped. If you have any queries regarding the study strategy or the resource, you can get in touch with me using the below link. I will be happy to help.

Click here to schedule a call

Advice on study plan (SOS)

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