First-time taker, looking for any insight

Hi ndavis13,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So listen, I understand that the GMAT is a demanding exam; however, as long as you work hard and follow a thorough study plan, you 100% can improve your GMAT skills. That said, I’m happy to provide some more specific advice on how to improve your GMAT score.

First off, since you scored 470, it’s clear that you are lacking some foundational GMAT quant and verbal skills necessary for a high score, right? Thus, moving forward, you should follow a structured and linear study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic starting with the foundations before moving to more advanced concepts. By studying in such a way, you can ensure that you are methodically improving your GMAT quant and verbal skills and ensure that no stone is left unturned. Let me expand on this idea further.

If you are learning about Number Properties, 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.
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, types that you would rather not see, and types 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.

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 topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken The Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice, so that you can track your skill in answering each type. 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, you likely 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 really a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning the 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 less than 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 none of those reasons are 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 logical meanings. 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 until you start to see the differences that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to take the time to see the differences between answers 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 to arrive at that answer and what you could do differently 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 do 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 skills improve, you will want to practice with questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.

Regarding resources, for quant, as @ngina93 mentioned, you should use TTP. We are the top rated GMAT quant course here on GMAT club, and provide you with all you need to truly learn GMAT quant from the “ground up”.

Lastly, you may find it helpful to read this article about How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!

Lots of great answers here... I am going to try to keep it simple and tell some of the things that worked for me.

i) GMAT is an adaptative test, which means that the questions you get vary depending on your previous hits and misses. dont waste time on more advanced subjects before mastering more fundamental ones. You wont get to see the tougher questions if you dont get the easier ones right before.

ii) Leave AWA to the end of the test. Every aspect of the GMAT is important on its own right, but consider the fact that many schools decide with only your non-official report, which does not contain your awa score. No point in getting mentally tired for a grade that holds substantially less importance than Q and V.

iii) Keep an error log.


Good luck

Hi ndavis13,

The PhD application process tends to be a bit more 'rigorous' than the MBA application process is - since there tends to be a small group of highly qualified applicants competing for a relatively small number of PhD 'slots.' As such, beyond having a strong GMAT Score, you'll need a strong OVERALL profile and you'll need to properly 'market yourself' to each individual Program that you apply to. By extension, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

As far as studying for the GMAT or GRE is concerned, you should do the necessary research to make sure that each Program you plan to apply to actually accepts both Scores as part of the application process. You've already taken a practice GMAT CAT, but have you taken a practice GRE yet? You can take 2 through the website www.gre.org

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 your goals:

1) What PhD Programs are you planning to apply to?
2) What application deadlines are you considering?
3) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Hi ndavis13

Firstly, don't be dejected because of a low GMAT mock test score.

Your mock test score is a good baseline to help you recognize how much effort you need to put into your GMAT preparation.

There is no doubt that the GMAT preparation is challenging but it's definitely possible to crack the GMAT with the right set of strategies and a focussed approach.

I would recommend you to start with the Quant and verbal basics.

There are a finite number of concepts tested on the GMAT. GMAT is more to do with the applications of theoretical knowledge to everyday problems.

Start by getting yourself familiar with all the concepts tested on the GMAT.

For both Quant and Verbal, go through the Official Guide. These guides have all the theory that you will need to know to ace the GMAT. Make sure you understand these basic concepts well.

You can also Signup For Our Free GMAT Kickstarter Course. The GMAT Kickstarter course consists of 8+ hours of free GMAT Strategy, concept and application videos. This course will teach you the strategies and techniques required to tackle each of the sections on the GMAT

Once you are done with learning the basics, you will now need to learn to apply these concepts to original GMAT questions to see how they work. Start working on the easy and medium level questions.

The three main sources of questions to be used in this phase are as follows:

1. The Official GMAT Guide

2. The GMAT Guide for the Quantitative Review

3. The GMAT Guide for the Verbal Review

When you are solving the questions from these books, make sure that you are learning from your mistakes. You will have to analyze your errors as much as you can so that you do not repeat the same error more than once on any other question.

You could use an error log to keep track of your mistakes.

Once you are done solving the easy and medium questions. Take the second GMAT Prep test full-length to see how your preparation has been working for you.

Once this test is done, analyze the errors in the test just as you have analyzed the questions in the Official Guides.

If your scores haven’t improved considerably, then you should go over all the theory and go over the questions that you have got wrong in the OG and VR and solve them again to understand the mistakes that you’ve made.

The last phase of your preparation, you should start working on more questions (The tougher ones!)

Use GMAT Write to practice more AWA tasks and the IR prep tool to practice more IR questions.

You could watch this video to learn how to crush the GMAT in the next couple of months.

EMPOWERgmatRichC

I am interested in getting my PhD in Marketing, which is usually in the form of a PhD in Business with a concentration in Marketing. I've being doing research on various programs and compiling a list of schools that I would be interested in applying to. The application deadline I am aiming for is December 2019 - so this December. Most deadlines are either at the end of December or the beginning of January. At the very latest I can wait to take the GMAT is October, so I do have time, but my ultimate goal is to feel prepared to take it in August. I would really like to take it and get it done with so I can focus on my classes and the other aspects of the application process during the fall semester.

I have been consistently studying between 12-15 hours per week for the last 5 weeks. I hope that answers all your questions.

Hi! Nice to know that you wish to do a PhD. You may want to introduce yourself here:-

https://gmatclub.com/forum/applicants-w ... l#p2078470

Hi ndavis13,

You've given yourself plenty of time to study before the application deadlines that you're interested in - which is good - and you could potentially improve a great deal during that time. From what you describe, you might find the GRE to be an easier Exam, so if you're going to switch over to studying for that Test, then you should make certain that all of the PhD Programs that you plan to apply to will accept a GRE Score as part of their respective applications (you might also want to see if any Programs have a 'bias' in favor of the GMAT). You should also take a full practice GRE to get a sense of how well you respond to that Test. Once you have that result, you should post back here; you can also feel free to contact me directly.

Considering your Score Goal - and some of your current concerns about your studies - you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT/GRE Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led), so you should plan to look into the available options. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional question, then just let me know.

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

Yes, you are right! It is good to give the GMAT by August so that you have some time to have a second shot at the exam if need be. PhD admissions are competitive and you should try to get as high a score as possible (with a better Quant score).

All the best!

Hey all you fantastic GMAT Club people. Just a quick update from me since I made this post. I started studying in May. My very first CAT exam I scored a 430. Yes a 430. I took a practice exam with NO expectations of what was going to be on the exam just to give myself a base. I got an extremely low score on the math - I didn't even attempt most the problems. One month later, with basic math concepts down to jog the old memory, I took my second CAT exam and scored a 600. V37 and Q35. This I used as a base to identify my weaknesses and continue to study. It has been a frustrating process, yet satisfying as I see myself growing and learning. Six weeks of studying down, 6 more weeks to go before test day. I have started using EMPOWERgmatRichC and I am really liking the modules so far. I have already seen my quant improve significantly. I am pretty strong in Verbal except for SC, so I know that's where I need to focus. I plan on taking CAT #3 this weekend to get an idea of where I'm at now.

The timeline has been:
Mid May: CAT 1: 430
Mid June CAT 2: 600
Early July CAT 3: TBD

While doing the empower modules I plan to take at least 3 more CAT exams so I'm hoping to see leaps and bounds in improvements. My goal is 700+ of course, so if anyone has any other advice I'm all ears.

Hi ndavis13,

That's a FANTASTIC improvement in a relatively short period of time. Based on your 2nd CAT Score, you're clearly a solid critical thinker - so beyond making sure that you know the necessary content rules and formulas, your focus should be on mastering the Tactics, patterns and little 'secrets' of the Exam. With Exams such as the GMAT, improvement is rarely linear - but each CAT is a great 'measuring device' - it will help you to define specific areas that you need to continue working on (more than just the subject-matter of the questions that you get wrong), so reviewing each CAT in full and filling out a Mistake Tracker/error log is an essential part of your ongoing studies. Once you've taken your next CAT, you should certainly let me know (either by posting in this thread or by emailing me directly) and we can discuss the results.

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