ESR Analysis | Next Steps | How to reach a 730 (Q48/47 V44)

Question

Hi all!

I recently gave GMAT and I scored a 660 (Q 42 V 39). I have attached my ESR for your review/suggestions.

I have been studying for quite some time now but I struggle a lot with Quant.

Please help me out here to reach a 730/740.

Material Used:

Quant  - MGMAT Guides, OG 2021, Quant Review 2021 and e. gmat course (pretty good)

Verbal  - MGMAT Guides, OG 2021, Verbal Review 2021, GMAT Adv Qs ( available on GmatClub ) and e. gmat course (AMAZING)

I am done with the e. gmat course (which is pretty good) but I need some inputs on certain aspects with respect to Quant & Verbal strategy.

Mock Scores:

GMAT Prep 3  --  510 Q 21 V 40    
 GMAT Prep 5  --   690 Q 47 V 38 
 GMAT Prep 1  --  680 Q 44 V 39  
 GMAT Prep 6  --  650 Q 44 V 35 
 Veritas 1   --   640 Q 46 V 32 
 e. gmat 1   --   610 Q 38 V 35 
 e. gmat 2  --  640 Q 38 V 40 
 Veritas 2  --  630 Q 46 V 31 
 e. gmat 3   --  660 Q 45 V 35 
 e. gmat 4  --   680 Q 42 V 40  ]

Exam Day - I started the Quant section and was doing well but in the last 10 questions I panicked (as I saw easy questions) and messed up the section thinking that I am getting easy questions so I might have messed up my Quant.

2 weeks before the exam I focussed a lot on Algebra and Geometry ( as I was pretty weak in those areas ) and I used to do well in Arithmetic. On the exam day, I failed to do arithmetic questions properly. I distinctly remember getting stuck on questions from topics such as  exponents, distance/time, ratio and proportion, divisibility, and statistics.

I have been struggling with Quant for quite sometime and I am not able to understand how exactly do I improve my Quant score. I have done e. gmat Quant course twice and I feel confident in my concepts but I fail to do Hard questions in time and I tend to falter on certain topics. While reviewing my error logs, I noticed that I face issues in questions relating to  exponents, sequences, divisibility, co-ordinate geometry, number properties, statistics, absolute values and inequalities.  - Any suggestions on how to work on these topics?

I also want to cross the V40 barrier and I want to understand how to improve my SC speed so that I have more time for RC and CR.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions or tips for me. I need to give the exam in the next 30 days and I need to get a 730/740!

Thank you all!!

Bunuel   bb ,  chetan2u ,  GMATNinja ,  souvik101990

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi A1212,

Before we review the data in your ESR - and 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:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

A1212 · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hello,

Thank you so much for taking out the time to reply to my queries.

Please see below an in-line response to your queries:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?

October - December 2020 - Self Study/MGMAT/ and coaching from a local test centre (online). This coaching was pretty useless.  2) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks?

January 12 ---GMAT Prep 3----510 Q 21 V 40
March 29 ----GMAT Prep 5---- 690 Q 47 V 38
April 17 ----GMAT Prep 6---- 650 Q 44 V 35
April 20 --- GMAT Prep 1---- 680 Q 44 V 39
June 06 ----Veritas 1 ---- 640 Q 46 V 32
July 03 ----e. GMAT 1 ---- 610 Q 38 V 35
July 11 ----e. GMAT 2 ---- 640 Q 38 V 40
August 03----Veritas 1 ---- 630 Q 46 V 31
August 08----e. GMAT 3 ---- 660 Q 45 V 35
August 14---- e. GMAT 4---- 680 Q 42 V 40

3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

Round 2. Targeting schools in US ( Kellogg, Columbia, Tuck, HAAS, Booth, and Yale ). Would want to apply to Stanford as well but would depend on my GMAT score. 
Europe- HEC Paris & LBS

My Profile - India qualified female lawyer with 5 years of experience. Currently working in India with the fourth largest US bank. The bank is a top 30 bank on the 2020 Fortune 500 rankings of the world's largest corporations by total revenue. Exposure to foreign laws as well. Prior to this, I worked at a tier 1 law firm in India and secured promotions as well. Worked on high stakes matters (international clients) and led teams. Have a lot of exposure in terms of leading clubs/societies in college. Also devote my time to certain organisations which promote awareness regarding prevention of sexual harassment. I also work as a pro-bono counsel for a startup.

MathRevolution · Answer

Hello A1212,

A score of 660 on the GMAT is decent and the target score of 730-740 seems realistic.

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning
• Lack of many updated questions and practice in the recent exam trend
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

You can try our free diagnostic test(Quant only) https://www.mathrevolution.com/diagnostic/dtExamMember and receive a comprehensive study guide by topic. This test will clearly help you understand your weak areas.

You can schedule a Free counseling(https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session) session for 20 mins with one of our experts to have detailed advice on your current study plans.

Also, make a note of various possible combinations to achieve a score of 730+. The possible scores will help you track your performance after taking the mock or practice test. It will also help you maintain balance in both the sections, and you will always be in a great position to allot the study hours to a specific area accordingly.

We recommend that you learn the Variable Approach for solving DS questions and the IVY approach for solving PS questions to improve your accuracy and save time while solving the question types.[/b][/color] These approaches are the robust self-designed time-saving techniques that will help you learn efficiently, thus raising your score in the quick nick of time.

Register with MathRevolution https://www.mathrevolution.com/member/signup to get access to our 7-days on-demand course for free trial lessons.

Start with the learning of the concepts. Make detailed notes so that you can revise them 3 days before your official GMAT test.

Adding to the same, mastery of the Variable Approach to solve DS questions and the IVY approach to solve PS questions would add a feather to the cap. Below is the useful link we will recommend you to visit on GMAT club to experience the power of DS and IVY approaches:

Ultimate Q51 guide: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-ultimate ... l#p1613600

Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

You may also connect with one of our experts to get one of the best tutoring supports, which will help you understand the topic(s) and solve questions and learn how to manage time and accuracy.

Regular tests will reflect the positive change in the score, and hence, your confidence will boost up. Gradually, with the help of mock tests, you will be able to compete with time and hence will be able to learn time management.

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@mathrevolution.com.

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Math Revolution Team

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi A1212,

I've sent you a PM with an analysis of your ESR and some additional notes and questions.

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

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Looking at a gmat scoring grid to see which combo scores can get you to a 730 may be helpful.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi A1212,

Q42 is a great start! To improve your score to a higher level you need 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.

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 Increase Your GMAT Quant Score

Please reach out with any further questions.

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ESR Analysis | Next Steps | How to reach a 730 (Q48/47 V44)

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