Finding a tutor 1:1 GMAT

You can send PM to the following instructors. They're really very very helpful tutors/instructors.
EMPOWERgmatRichC, IanStewart, MartyTargetTestPrep, GMATNinja, GMATGuruNY, AjiteshArun, AndrewN (volunteer), EducationAisle, BrightOutlookJenn, RonPurewal

Hi thaoduyentwins,

Sent you a PM with details. Do reach out to have a detailed discussion.

Hi thaoduyentwins,

When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are a variety of different resources that you might use. From what you describe, it's not clear if you actually "need" a tutor or not, so before you invest too much money in that type of service, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?


Goals:
4) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
5) 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

Hi thaoduyentwins,

You can try GMATWhiz. I didn't try their personal tutoring but used their online course. It helped me improve my score from 570 to 720. So, I think their private tutoring would be even better.

Debrief of my journey from 570 to 680 to 720:



Hope it helped. All the best

Hello EMPOWERgmatRichC, thanks for the elaborate and attentive questions.

I think my big problem lies in the psychological and emotional aspects. I am not the type of person who can handle stress well, I have full-time to study since January but couldn't come up with a healthy study schedule, also I designed some study plans but never could follow it. Due to personal reasons, I'm having lots of invisible pressures for this whole grad school application plan. Now I only have 4 weeks ahead from the test date (02/22/21), I thought I will be more motivated if I have a supportive tutor within this short period of time to keep my emotion stable and positive, give me external pressures and discipline. Because my internal pressures are killing me gradually.

I'll give my answers below

Studies
1. I started an online course since 22 November 2020 after I took my first test without any knowledge and scored 460 Q36 V19
I study roughly 35 hours per week and usually take a day off per week. The course contains 70 hours (3 classes/ week, each 2.5 hours and lasts for 9 weeks) excluding from my personal practicing hours. So its been approximately 2.5 months.
I used to have very bad study schedule, I stayed up from 12 am - 8 am to study then sleep from 9am till night and was extremely exhausted.
Right now I sleep earlier at 5,6pm and wake up at 2 am.

2. I have used OG and GmAT prep and question bank on GMAT Club for the most part to do practice.

3. The mock test I took:
01/08/21: 610 Q44 V29
01/10/21 : Q45
01/18/21 : 640 Q46, V32 (I took it separately)
I did quant test every other day around 01/10- 01/18 and scored around 42, 45, 47

Goals:
4. I registered a test at center and it will take place on 02/22/21
5. I apply to Master programs in USC, UCSD (in California) ; UTD (Dallas) ; Baruch - CUNY (NYC)
the deadline is 03/15/21 (USC), Baruch (04/01/21) , and within April for other schools

Hi thaoduyentwins,

To start, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that may have already happened - and that we want to avoid going forward). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

Each CAT/mock is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. In addition, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically should not take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Going forward, you really should not take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. The work that you have done so far to raise a 460 to a 640 is a significant achievement. Your more recent score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 620 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

Raising a 620 to the point that you can consistently score 720+ will likely require that you commit to at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study (regardless of whether you are working with a tutor or not) - and you'll have to make 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. While I understand that you want to take the GMAT in 4 weeks, if you ultimately "need" a 720+ to apply, then THAT Score Goal has to come first - and you might want to consider pushing back your Test Date and adjusting your application plans.

1) How soon does your course end? Are there additional study materials from that course that you will use afterwards?
2) What additional study materials do you have for after that course is finished? Have you purchased any other practice CATs/mocks?

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

EMPOWERgmatRichC
Thanks a lot for your diligent analysis and diagnosis. I feel relieved receiving consultation from a GMAT expert as same as from a psychologist now. I really appreciate your help!

For your questions
1. My course will end today. I have a book consolidating basic knowledge which I can refer to when needed. I do have OG20 and Manhattan and I read them a bit back in Nov 2020.
2. I haven't purchased any CAT tests yet but Im going to buy GMAT Prep Kit 3-6. The CATs I did were GMAT Prep Kit 1,2.

My big problems now lie in hard and tricky math questions, Reading Comprehension skill, and then Sentence Correction, also timing. I know I need to practice a lot more but as you said the comparison between quantity and quality of study, I need more guidance from experienced experts like you.

I still have to give it a real try in 4 weeks anyways, just try as much as possible this time to improve my score. Look forward to your advice about correct strategies and study routines.

Hi thaoduyentwins,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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