From 650 to 710, what would you do?

Question

Hi there,

I'd like to have your advice on how to improve my score.

I think I studied enough, say constantly 3.5 hours per day for 4 months with just a few short breaks.
My score has improved and I am getting an average of 650 in the simulations, last score was 660 on the Kaplan simulation.

In the math side, I am under the impression that I am very close to perform a lot better; when I make mistakes I immediately see the right solution, and most of the times I get the right solution with 30sec/1min more per question.

In the verbal part, I am still struggling with the RC and partially with the SC.

I think I need some tricks more than a proper study, especially to have more time to dedicate to harder questions; what would you advise? taking a course/which course/continue to exercise/etc.?

Thank you

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi romadue,

Before I can recommend any particular course of action, I'd like to know more about your studies and your overall goals:

1) What materials have you used during your studies?
2) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?
3) Did you take the FULL CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?

4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
5) Is your goal score 710?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

romadue · Answer

Hi,

thanks for your answer. Below my answers:

1) I've used a combination of Kaplan Premier and Manhattan collection, mostly the first one. In addition, I did almost half of the question package on the GmatPrep software.

2) 
CAT 1: 620 (Q47, V33)
CAT 2: 660 (Q48, V37)
CAT 3: 660 (Q49, V29)

3) not for CAT1, Yes for CAT2 and 3

4) Ideally the latest available date before the 17th of March

5) I would be happy with 710 (720 even better, don't know how much distant they are)

6) If the GMAT goes well, I could think about applying in April

Thanks

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Probably you should go over your quant sections to figure out why you are making those mistakes. Something is going on. Maybe you are jumping to conclusions. Maybe you make certain types of calculation errors. Whatever is going on there are probably patterns to it, patterns that you can find and address.

To get more time to spend on harder questions in quant, get better at certain things, things you are pretty sure will show up. Then you will spend less time on those things, giving yourself more time to spend on other things.

One way to do this is to do more topic by topic practice, working on one type of quant question at a time by learning all about how to answer questions of that type and doing dozens of practice questions of that one type.

What do you mean by struggling? Do you take too long to read RC passages? Do you read them fine but get wrong answers? What's your hit rate in SC and what types of issues are you experiencing?

Also, what's your hit rate in CR?

Your reasoning skills are sufficient for getting 49 in quant. So you should be able to score higher in verbal without too much trouble, as scoring high on verbal also takes reasoning.

Also, have you taken any GMAT Prep tests? Probably you should mix some official tests in with those test prep company tests. I have seen people use only test prep company tests and then get surprised by the actual GMAT.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi romadue,

You have about 5 weeks to go before your planned Test Date, so you could easily pick up the missing points that you're looking for during that time. Since you have a much greater opportunity to pick up points in the Verbal section than in the Quant section, your focus should be there (although you'll still want to get in some Quant practice to keep those skills sharp).

1) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC and CR prompt?
2) Do you have to rush through part of the Verbal section just to finish on time (and guess on a bunch of questions)?

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

Bulldozer · Answer

It looks like you've got some solid Quant scores but struggle in verbal. This forum might be of assistance:
 https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-improve-verbal-from-v30-to-v40-142361.html

romadue · Answer

Thank you all for your useful information.

Quant:
I am missing something in considering all the cases in the number properties, meaning that I have to spent lot of time. Second, under pressure I don't use the techniques to solve the problems (backsolving, educated guessing, etc.).
So, if there is some useful way to exercise or some good post to read on how to improve "tricks" that would be helpful.

Verb:
SC: I'm ok with the simple-medium questions, I know how to identify the structure and correct mistakes. I struggle when the sentence become harder and when it requires to know correct English expression (when it's not clear how to exclude wrong answers)

RC: it depends on the topic. If I know the topic and most of the words it is generally fine. The problem comes out when I don't know the topic, which often implies I don't know some crucial words and I loose part of the sense. I don't know how to address it.

CR: generally ok, I usually get >80% right questions.

Do you suggest to take any course, or are they generally more to help you improve in the lower part of your score, meaning for instance from 550 to 650?

Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi romadue,

I'll be happy to offer some specific advice for your situation, but I really need to know the answers to my prior questions first:

1) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC and CR prompt?
2) Do you have to rush through part of the Verbal section just to finish on time (and guess on a bunch of questions)?

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

romadue · Answer

1) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC and CR prompt?
RC: read paragraph by paragraph, try to sum up and find passage's main points
SC: try to scan and compare different solutions to exclude the wrong ones
CR: anticipate the answer

2) Do you have to rush through part of the Verbal section just to finish on time (and guess on a bunch of questions)?
I don't rush usually, I manage to answer all the questions in time. Just accelerate a bit more on the last 10 questions

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi romadue,

Based on what you've described about how you handle the Verbal section, it sounds like you need to focus on learning the Tactics for dealing with the various question types, the common wrong answers that appear, the various patterns that appear and all of the little 'secrets' to the Verbal section. Believe it or not, the Verbal section of the GMAT is just a predictable as the Quant section is, so you CAN train for everything you'll face on Test Day. While you might be able to 'discover' all of this on your own, with just 5 weeks remaining, you might find it beneficial to invest in some new non-book resources that will train you in all of these areas.

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

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From 650 to 710, what would you do?

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