650 in first attempt :: How to achieve 700+?

Hi Ravi, it might also be a good idea for you to post your ESR (Enhanced score report) here, for us to do a diagnosis of your performance.

I'll post that as soon as I get it. I gave the exam yesterday so I guess it'll take a couple of days.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi ravigupta2912,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores. From what you describe, your studies were inconsistent - and you weren't putting in significant study time until the last few weeks before your Exam. As such, it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort to score higher yet.

In addition, GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 650 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes.

Once we have your ESR, we'll be able to better define the specific areas that you'll need to work on going forward.

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

I'll post the ESR as soon as I have it. 3 months would be too much. Do you think it is feasible in 1 to 1.5 months? If yes, what kind of study effort are we looking at? Just need ballpark estimates at this stage. I know the exact number would get more crystalise once you see the ESR.

Hi ravigupta2912,

3 months is the TOTAL time that many GMATers put towards their studies - and since you've put in some study time already, you likely would not need another 3 months. In my first post in this thread, I noted that you would likely need at least another 1.5 - 2 months of consistent, guided study (committing 15 - 20 hours a week towards your studies) before you could consistently score 720+ and you'll have to make significant 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.

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

Hi ravigupta2912,

First of 650 with just 1.5 months of prep is not bad, my friend. So, nice work so far. Regarding how to improve your score to a higher level, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. 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. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

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.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses. You also may find it helpful to read the following article about The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT.

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

Hi Guys, ESR is attached. My own observations are that I had some luck in RC and Inequalities. Otherwise, I am not that great in either.

So there were some problems in the earlier ESR. Re-screenshotted it and attaching it now.

Thankyou everyone!

Hi Ravi,

I've sent you a PM with an analysis of your ESR and some additional notes and questions.

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