GMAT 300 to 760 strategy guidance

Question

Hi, I have recently started preparing for GMAT and I am targeting to be a part of 700's club. Though the first mock's score that I took without studying or reading about GMAT was a pathetic 350

. I would really appreciate if someone can help me with the preparation strategy and can also guide me on how to score an awesome 760 on GMAT. I am thinking of taking the test in July, so I have 5 months in total to beat the beast. I already have GMAT official guides- 2016 and 2017 (general), Powerscore Bible for CR, Manhattan guides PDF(old version) and I am planning to buy E-GMAT's verbal course. My Study plan is as follows: February- Quant (understand concepts, practice a lot and take quant tests) March- Verbal (repeat as Quant) April- take individual tests and try to improve wherever possible May- take full-length CATs (analyze and improve) June- Study IR/AWA and practice quant and verbal as well as take full length CATs Would appreciate your inputs on this and any sort of amendment required. PS: I am working so I only have Sundays with me to devote 7-8 hours.

JourneyToTheTop · Answer

Personally I prefer to dedicate an hour and 15 every day and 3.5 - 4 hours on weekend days, so 6h15m+8 = 14h15m roughly 15 a week.
But the key to the GMAT is targeted practice of problems where you answer incorrectly. It is not a practice practice practice kinda test, you have to be an assassin of GMAT problems, not a laborer. What materials are you using?

raparna81 · Answer

It is actually more easy if you don't bring work home. I have to take take calls and meetings so it is really very very difficult to find even 60 mins of "no gadget - no disturbance time".

Sent from my SM-C900F using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

GmatAssasin24 · Answer

Since you will be appearing for test in July, I assume you are applying for the next year/fall-19. About studies, what I recommend is you should better study collectively for both quant and verbal together rather than spending one full month for just single section. Like in a week, you can study both simultaneously. And as you know, you should stick to OG, GMATprep and other related resources rather than to be on a spree of solving random questions. For more valuable practice, there are lots of resources like Manhattanprep, Veritas etc. All in all, focusing on weaker areas and improving in the next practice tests is the best way to execute the GMAT

All the best for the prep! Sent from my using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Anjali_SH,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. It's just a measure of your skills right now - and you're going to spend the next several months learning content and Tactics, practicing and honing specific skills. Based on what you have described, I have some initial notes/suggestions:

1) The 760+ score is the 99th percentile - meaning that 99% of Test Takers never score that high (regardless of how long they study or the number of times that they take the GMAT). Thankfully, NO Business School requires a score that high - so it's important to realize that the score that you "want" and the score that you "need" are not the same thing.
Raising a 350 to a 700+ will take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections.

2) Studying just 1 day a week (for 7-8 hours) is likely not going to be an effective study routine. The skills that you need to learn to score at a high level take time - and consistency - to develop. The routine that you're planning is essentially once-a-week 'cramming', but that type of approach rarely leads to great results on the GMAT.

3) I suggest that you actually do 'some Quant and some Verbal' each week (as opposed to the "all of one, then all of the other" that you're planning). You'll likely find it easier to retain everything overall if you're studying a mix of subjects. You should also plan to take FULL-LENGTH CATs at regular intervals during your studies (and not just at the perceived 'end' of your studies).

When are you planning to apply to Business School?
What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

egmat · Answer

Dear Anjali_SH – its good to know that you are aiming for 760. The first thing you need to do is decide on a target Quant and target Verbal score. It makes a huge difference:

Create a path to the your goal

Are you looking to score a (Q51, V41), a (Q48, V46), or a (Q50, V42)? Where you spend time, the extent of mastery that you study to, etc. depend on your target Quant and Verbal scores. As a baseline, remember, it’s a lot more challenging (possible yet challenging) to improve your Quant score if you don’t have a basic understanding of the topics that GMAT quant tests. Fortunately most people do.

Devote enough study time

You would need to put in 200+ consistent hours to get to 760. Just studying on weekends is not going to cut it. You need continuity in learning so make sure that you make time every day.
Studying for GMAT is a huge change in everyone’s life and to make time you need to make compromises, whether its reducing social commitments, or getting more take-out (cooking less), or spending less time with kids. So the first thing you need to do is “make time” and communicate the people who are/will be impacted. This is a very important conversation that you need to have.

Second – plan. Write down when you would do what task. It’s absolutely important that you do this. Things get etched in our memory and we are more determined to execute once your write things down. One more thing – keep your plan simple. For example, study for the GMAT for an hour at 6 am every day. If you have things planned, and it’s the same time every day, you won’t need to decide whether you need to study or not. The fewer decisions you need to make, the more likely you are to study. One last thing – only plan 80% of your available time. Never 100%. Why because some things always come up at the last moment and you may need the 20% cushion then.

Third – evaluate and iterate. Take time out every week to evaluate whether you are able to execute on your plan or not. Figure out the reasons and improve your plan iteratively.

Just as a motivation - here is the interview of a girl who studied while working in a demanding job. She took the GMAT 10 days after her wedding and scored 760.
https://e-gmat.wistia.com/medias/mh1wn7iug6

-Rajat

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Best Books 1. Manhattan GMAT Quant Guides 2. Manhattan GMAT Verbal guides or Aristotle Verbal Guide for CR critical reasoning bible is best book with 300+ pages of comprehensive Data Strategies Start with Quant, learn the concepts tested on GMAT. After learning, practice your learned section with timed practice. You can also take quizzes to meet the pace of GMAT. 1 Month for learning concepts and 15 days of practice and same with the verbal. When completed all the concepts learning and handsome practice. Take full lenght CATs, know your estimated score. Analyze the result with Correct/incorrect questions, pacing analysis trace your mistakes and learn from them, make an error log to know your mistakes in the previously attempted questions Best Mocks 1. Official GMAC (50+50$) 2. Manhattan GMAT (49$) 3. GMAT Club Quant CATs 4. Veritas CATs (49$ but you can buy at 15-20$ During sale period) Good Luck Cheers

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi Anjali_SH, 4 months is good enough to improve your score. It's a good thing you have given GMAT once. You now know your weakness and can work on them. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for 34 months, you are sure to achieve your goal. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course. If you are willing, there are some great GMAT prep companies that can help you with your preparation. Your choice of using MGMAT guides for your preparation is great. MGMAT guides are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have a good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs. Hope this helps. All the best.

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