From 580 Manhattan Mock to 700 Official Exam. Need Advise.

Practice using Forum Quiz. Solve topic-wise questions, and master the topics in a sequential manner.

Hi TS01,

The MGMAT CATs/mocks are generally regarded as being a little tougher than the Official GMAT - but the CAT Scores you've listed are all clustered around a 550 (and the differences in the individual results could be the results of lucky/unlucky guesses and little mistakes that you either made or did not make on individual sections). This is meant to say that you may have developed some 'bad habits' during your earlier studies that are keeping you from scoring higher - and to consistently score at the 700+ level, you will have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) 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 how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the Official Guide?
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)?
4) 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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

Hi TS01,

Rather than trying to get a score estimate, I agree that the best move is to take an official practice exam to get an accurate baseline score. Once you do, feel free to reach back out, and I'd be happy to provide some additional advice.

Hello Everyone,

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who responded to my post. Really appreciate it. After reading all your comments, I decided to take an official mock today. My result is as follows - 600 (Q:45, V: 27, IR:6).

I am fine with my quant score but my verbal score is really bothering me. I am honestly surprised by my verbal score since I have been doing pretty well in the OG practice questions. After a detailed analysis of my result, I found the following:

- TIME IS MY BIGGEST ISSUE IN VERBAL. Leading me to skip/guess 4-6 questions every time, not reading efficiently, and volatile scores.
- Verbal Breakdown (Correct answers): CR = 6/9, SC= 9/13, RC = 5/14 (4 were complete guesses as they were the last 4 questions and I had less than 3 minutes). Surprised by RC score since that has been my strongest until today.

My goal is to reach the 35-40 range in verbal in the next 6-8 weeks but I am flexible about time. I can commit around 28 hours a week. I have finished all OG questions and I am currently finishing the OG Review books. I have 3 official mock exams (since I wasted my 1st 2 as my diagnostic tests 2 months ago) and 2 MGMAT CATs left. Any advise on what I can do going forward with verbal to reach my target score would be really appreciated. Also, advise on when I should be be giving my remaining mocks would also be really helpful. Thanks in advance!

For time management, consider using time markers. If you feel your fundamentals are solid, may also be worth working on your solving approach. May boost your score a bit. Had a 6-hour student who went from a V31 to a V40 in about 30 days so this type of learning doesn't necessarily have to take very long. Perhaps work with a study buddy with strong Verbal skills.

5 Verbal tips

Hi TS01,

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

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

Okay I will work on that going forward. You think doing 30 questions daily, in random order, each of verbal and quant using the GMAT OG Online platform can help with time? Because till now I have been practicing all sub sections of both in sequence and separately (10 Q's each daily) and have been doing well. But when it is in random order on the exam, since I am not used to it, I am getting intimidated leading me to rush through questions and making careless mistakes.

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,
I will get back to you on PM with the correct data ASAP.
Thank you!

Try to see if you can make your solving approach more efficient. For Quant, for example, sometimes the answer choices themselves can help you solve the question itself.

How to get better at GMAT Quant. Apply reasoning to save mental energy and time.

Hey TS01,

Good job on the official mock test. 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 600 to 700+ if you follow a structured approach. I have covered the following aspects in my response below -

1. Brief analysis of your current score
2. Feedback on your current approach
3. Step-by-step plan to improve from 600 to 700+
4. Answers to your questions
5. Your immediate next steps

1. Brief Analysis of Your Current Score

Quant Q45 and Verbal V27

A Q45 score lies in the 50th percentile and a V27 score lies in the 44th percentile. This means that there are significant gaps in your conceptual understanding of the subject matter in both Quant and Verbal. This means you first need to make sure that you learn all the concepts, processes and methodologies. Once you have a good grasp on all the concepts, learn the application of these concepts under various circumstances.

Once you have the knowledge of all the concepts and a fair level of application skills, move ahead and CEMENT your skills by practicing Medium & Hard level questions under timed conditions.

• 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.
  
  
• Raunak improved his GMAT score from 630 to 720 in his second attempt by leveraging the GMAT Online Course to prepare in a structured manner! He improved from V30 to V42 in just 14 days with the help of e-GMAT Mentor Support and by learning the right strategies to approach GMAT level Verbal questions. Click here to watch his journey.

We’ve so far helped thousands of such students improve their scores. Since 2021, our students accounted for about 60% of all the verified 700+ scores reported on GMAT Club reviews section.


2. Feedback on your current approach

With a 600 on your mock test, your current score lies in the 50th percentile. To be able to take corrective measures you first need to understand what’s wrong with your current approach and why despite practicing so many questions, your score is still at the 50th percentile.

1. Did not do the Learning stage of preparation properly:
   
   GMAT is a test of skills and in order to succeed in GMAT you need to build and hone those skills. Unlike other traditional exams merely practicing a bunch of questions without using defined methods and approaches will not help. A low score despite putting in a lot of effort means that you did not follow a properly structured approach, you did not prepare in the right way and so you need to completely change the approach. If you can do this, then you can definitely succeed in GMAT.
   
   
2. Did not follow a structured study plan:
   
   While GMAT prep does require time and effort, it is necessary to have study plan which helps you allocate this time and effort in the right areas and in the right amount. It is essential that you make a study plan focusing on your personal strengths and weaknesses and your target score.
   
   
3. Did not track your improvement while preparing:
   
   It is essential for you to track your improvement regularly while preparing for GMAT to make sure that your processes and methodologies working out for you. In case they aren't, you can identify this at an early stage and make the necessary changes to get your desired results.

3. Step-by-step plan to improve from 600 to 700+

This is how in a step-by-step manner you may achieve this 100+ point improvement in the next 6-8 weeks.

• Start your journey by establishing a baselineof your current abilities for every individual sub-section of the GMAT. You can do that by taking a mock that presents you the complete picture of where you stand today. You can take one of the SIGma-X mocks in our free trial course. Here is the link for the mock - https://e-gmat.com/sigma-x/ (free of charge).
  
• Once you’ve identified your strengths and weaknesses, it’s critical that you build a Personalised Study Plan. This will help you cut down your prep time significantly (by around 40%). You may reach out to us on support@e-gmat.com if you need help with creating a study plan.
  
• Learn the right methods of solving questions - GMAT is a test of ability, a lot of students make the mistake of just practicing questions randomly without building the requisite core skills tested by these questions. You must avoid that trap.

Once you are aware of your sub-sectional score and you have your study plan in place, start with preparing for one sub-section at a time and follow the below process for every individual sub-section:

Stage 1: Learning Concepts and Methodologies

This is the phase wherein we learn all the concepts in a sub-section and learn the process of solving the questions in that sub-section.

Stage 2: Cementing

In this phase, we cement our learnings by first solving medium-difficulty questions and then hard questions. We start with relaxed timing and then progress to standard timing. Standard timing is the speed at which you will be expected to take the actual GMAT.

Stage 3: Test Readiness

This is the final phase of your prep. This is where you write full-length mocks to determine whether you’re ready for the GMAT or need to work on cementing your individual skills further.

Mastering one sub-section at a time entails completing the first two stages for a particular sub-section before moving to the next.

• Track your progress continuously with the right data points and by using a milestone-driven approach.
  
• Before your test, make sure you spend enough time on revising your notes and error logs. Make sure you review all your quizzes and mocks in detail to make sure that you got questions correct for the right reasons. For the incorrect questions or questions where you took excessive time, try to figure the gaps and bridge the gaps.

4. Answers to your questions

• Also, advise on when I should be be giving my remaining mocks would also be really helpful.
  
  DO NOT take mocks until you finish learning and cementing core skills for each and every individual sub-section. Mocks are not taken in the hope of improving your score but to test your readiness for the actual GMAT. Take mocks in the last 10 days before your GMAT.
  
• Because till now I have been practicing all sub sections of both in sequence and separately (10 Q's each daily) and have been doing well. But when it is in random order on the exam, since I am not used to it, I am getting intimidated leading me to rush through questions and making careless mistakes.
  
  Once you have learnt and cemented all your concepts and application skills in Verbal, start with taking sub-sectional quizzes, then try attempting quizzes with questions from 2 sub-sections mixed, then try attempting full-length sectional quizzes to build stamina and time management strategies slowly and gradually.
  
• - Verbal Breakdown (Correct answers): CR = 6/9, SC= 9/13, RC = 5/14 (4 were complete guesses as they were the last 4 questions and I had less than 3 minutes). Surprised by RC score since that has been my strongest until today.
  
  NEVER judge your performance on the GMAT merely in terms of accuracy. Your accuracy could be across Easy, Medium or Hard level question and might not give a clear picture of your skill level. You should quantify your skill level in terms of percentile to be able to get a true picture of your skill set.

5. Your immediate next steps

Take a SIGma-X mock test to establish your current scores for every individual subsection. Once you have taken the mock test, you can reach out to support@e-gmat.com to schedule a 1:1 session with one of our Strategy Experts to understand how we can help you with:

a. Get precise estimates of your current skill level in each sub-section.
b. Decide on the sequence of preparation (example – Quant basics -> Number Properties -> Algebra or some other sequence)
c. Set up personalized targets and accurate time estimates to improve in each sub-section.
d. And track the improvement every day.

I have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in this post and sincerely hope you find this helpful. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you make it to 700+!

Best Regards,
Mansi