Getting Back on the Band wagon/700+ Dreams

Hi woohoo921,

To start, raising a 530 to a 630 was a significant achievement - and it showed that you had/have the capacity to learn and improve. Obviously, raising that 630 to a 700 will require that you develop a number of additional skills (as the 700+ Score is approximately the 90th percentile - meaning that clearly most GMATers never score that high on the Official Exam). Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT skills can 'fade' over time - so if it's been approximately 1.5 years since you last studied for the Exam, we really need to define your current skills, strengths and weaknesses. You do not necessarily need to take one of the 6 Official GMAC CATs/mocks to acquire that data - but you should take a NEW, FULL-LENGTH CAT (taken under conditions that match-up with how you will take your next Official GMAT) from one of the reputable 3rd-party sources (such as Kaplan, MGMAT or Veritas). Once you have that result, you should post back here (or you can feel free to PM me directly) and we can discuss the results and how you might best proceed with your studies.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how your prior studies and your goals:

1) From August - October, 2020, approximately how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What version(s) of the OG have you worked through? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) 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 all,

I have been studying on an off for the GMAT for about two years. I took the online GMAT back in November 2020 and scored a dismal 630 (Quant: 43, Verbal: 34). I first took a GMAT cold around June 2020 and scored a very dismal 530. After scoring a 530, I was naive and just practiced OG problems untimed and read the official answers in the OG... a poor decision. I did this for a few hours each day for about three months while reading the All the Verbal and All the Quant books by Manhattan Prep. My score moved to a 630 right before taking a class with Manhattan Prep in August 2020. I decided to spend money on a group class because I felt that I needed more help. Unfortunately, my score did not increase after taking a group class (Manhattan Prep CATS were all around a 630 or below). I spent time reviewing all of the materials/study schedule through Manhattan Prep, but I still scored a 630 again on the GMAT online exam after my class (class was from August to October). I realize that I could have potentially scored a 660 (based on the 30+/- rule on test day, but I highly doubt). I regret losing my focus, and I just put the GMAT away at that point. I also regret not trying again to take another test.

I unfortunately have been busy with work and have studied on and off for the GMAT by doing timed problem sets here and there, but now I really need to get back on the bandwagon. I am basically starting from scratch again and am determined to move mountains this time around. I am not sure if I should take another Official Practice test cold, as I would hate to waste one to see where I stand when I know my score has likely not improved... or we can even assume I am below a 630 due to being away from the material.

I think I really need to move my verbal score and become more comfortable with RC. With this all said, do you recommend purchasing the GMAT Official Guide Verbal book? I have gone through all of the Verbal OG questions, but I am not sure if I should just keep reviewing takeaways etc. from each problem in the OG itself until it is drilled in my head, or if I should look at new resources.

Is it realistic to even score a 700+ by the first week of August? I am really hoping to apply round 1 to a few schools. Do you have any recommendations for a study schedule (e.g., 2 hours a day split between verbal and quant etc.)? Should it be mixed practice or content focused (e.g., just learning about probability). Furthermore, when should I take an Official Practice Test again, and how often should I be taking Official Practice Tests?

Looking for a savior to help me get back on track. Many thanks and hugs to you all.

-Woohoo (or should I say boohoo, for now).

Hi my GMAT friends,

When I first posted this, I explained that I took my first GMAT practice test in June 2020 and scored a 530 (Q:32 and V:30).

I was studying on and off and was able to get my score up to a 630 on mocks on my own before taking a formal group course with MP.

I carefully followed MP's guidance and unfortunately my score did not improve by the time I took a formal exam in fall 2020. I scored a 630 on the official test (Q:43 and V: 34).

As I mentioned, I have been studying on and off throughout 2021 since October 2021 my test date (due to personal reasons unfortunately). I ramped up my studies again around May of this year and have been carefully restudying the material by topic area and really focusing on why answers are incorrect/correct in the OG.

I took a formal Official Practice test today (my first since October 2021), and I scored a scary 560 (Q: 35 and V: 32).

I was hoping to take the exam by end of August and get a 690-710. I am at a loss of words. I felt fine taking the exam and really do feel very different in my knowledge set compared to even when I took it in October 2021.

I realize I could have just had a bad day, but I am so upset and do not know if there is hope.

I should add that I went to a T20 school undergrad and graduated with a 4.0 GPA for background but am not sure if it would ever be realistic to crack a +690 given the context of my long (albeit inconsistent) journey consistently scoring low.

The reason I took the GMAT over the GRE is because I have a very poor vocabulary (avoided this by taking the ACT for college). But assuming I am dedicated to building up my vocabulary, would it make sense to explore the GRE at this point?

I had one very important question. Are you saying that you have not studied the GMAT since October 2021, and you just took a pretty much cold practice GMAT to see where you are at?

Correction: I took my first GMAT online exam in October 2020.

Thank you for your reply. I have been studying on and off throughout 2021 since taking my first exam in October 2020 (probably about 100+ hours, more so on weekends due to work). No excuses, and I regret being inconsistent. When I first started working on the GMAT in June 2020, I was studying incorrectly for a few months by doing OG problems cold (until August 2020 when I took a course with Manhattan Prep) that ended in October when I took my exam. I was able to lift my score up though still by 100 points on my own before my MP course, but my score was still the same after my MP course.

I would say my studies only really ramped up since May of this year (about two hours each night and at least 4 hours in total over the weekend). I was reluctant to use the Official Practice test again because I still felt that there was a big gap in knowledge until I went through most of the OG problems. I took one this weekend after carefully reviewing all of the Quant PS, CR, RC questions (still working on SC, and Quant DS although I have done many of the Quant DS over the course of 2021) and that was my score.

At this point, I am not sure if it is worth continuing to focus on the GMAT for +3 months in hopes of getting a 690-710, or to totally restart my studies and shift toward the GRE to have a score by round 2. My reluctance comes from the uncertainty around timing that I need to know when to guess/move on whereas in the GRE, I can easily skip a question and come back. My concern with the GRE though would be that although I am a native English speaker, I would be starting from ground zero on vocabulary with only a few months in hopes of getting a 320+ on the GRE.

Hi my friends,

Thank you for everyone's time, patience, and feedback. To provide an update, I took one more GMAT official practice test and scored a 620 (Q: 47 and V:30). The highest I have ever scored on Quant was a 43 before and highest on verbal was 38 (normally in the 32-34) range. When I took this exam, I did the quant section first and was very tired at the end. For quant, I ran out of time and had to guess on the last 5ish questions. I am not sure if it makes sense to keep going, given that I saw such a crazy improvement in quant or if it was just luck. Verbal has consistently been low, so I was not sure if I made sense to just switch to the GRE and memorize thousands of words.