First GMAT prep score 400 (Q22, V23) !! Shocked and Devastated !!

Hi Hemant,

First good thing is that your Verbal score is nice, and second good news is that you can improve your quite easily than Verbal. So, don't get disheartened and start with a fresh mind with right strategy. Remember that GMAT is test of logic and not of Math and English skills. Best thing you have done is that you have started with MGMAT guides. I can also guess that you have not studied them deeply. I tell you reading MGMAT guides will not serve you best. Till the time you don't understand every concept given in them , keep reading them. Your score can easily jump to 550 on the basis of those guides only.

Another suggestion is that stop reading Wren and Martin grammar as of now. That is quite a high standard grammar and you don't require that as of now. GMAT club grammar (https://gmatclub.com/grammar) book is best for right now to build concepts along with MGMAT SC guide.

Use resources of GMAT club extensively as here we have a lot of best GMAT material available.

GC math guide is here : https://gmatclub.com/forum/topic130609.html#p1073182

How to use GC resources effectively : https://gmatclub.com/forum/topic257054.html#p1993468

GMAT is a long painful journey. So keep your chin up and keep preparing. It will take 4 to 5 months of determined study to acheive 700+ score. Keep your targets small and achieve them steadily.


Hope this helps.

QZ

Hi hemant95,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. It's just a measure of your skills right now - and now that we know your current skills, strengths and weaknesses, we can work to improve those skills. Raising a 400 to a 700+ will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

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 your timeline and goals:

1) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Best Books

For Concept Learning

Manhattan Quant Guides
Manhattan Verbal Guides
For CR: The Powerscore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible
For RC: Aristotle RC Grail

For Pratice

The Official Guide for GMAT 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2015-18

Strategies

You can start with Quant or Verbal which suits you. If you have started with Quant then Start with the Arithmetic but if started with verbal then start first with Sentence correction. One month for learning Quant concepts and one month for practicing question and same practice for Verbal. During you Practicing question don't forget to make an error log to track your weak areas after practice. Once you know your weak areas revise your Concepts related to those areas and do some more Practice. 6-8 CATs are enough for practice the real tests. Make your Stamina for sitting 3 hours in the test and don't study more than 2 hours in one sit and 4 hours per day

Top CATs for Practice

1. Official GMAC CATs
2. Manhattan CATs
3. Kaplan CATs
4. GMAT Club Quant CATs

Good Luck

Hi hemant95,

Please do not be disheartened. GMAT does test your perseverance. You should study for around three months to achieve a good score. It’s a good thing you have given GMAT Mock once. You now know your weaknesses and can work on them. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for that period, you are sure to achieve your goal. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course.

Your choice of using MGMAT guides for your preparation is great. MGMAT guides are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them.

Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market.

Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have a good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas.

Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that.

I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html

Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan

https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs.

Hope this helps. All the best.