GMAT in next 9 days !

Hi at1988,


In providing advice, I’m going to assume that you are already scoring within your desired score range. If that is the case, you may not want to study any new topics in the final week. After much preparation, your skill set is probably fixed. Trying to cram in new topics without sufficient practice time would probably hurt more than it would help.

At this stage you want to affirm that no “rust” has accumulated on the topics that you have studied. One great way to discover this rust is to complete one or two official practice tests from MBA.com. When taking those practice exams, try to replicate the test day experience as much as possible: Go to the library instead of taking the test in your house or apartment. If your official GMAT is scheduled for 8:30 am, take the practice test at 8:30 am. Once complete, analyze your mistakes and figure out remedies for them. Do not take any practice exams within 48 hours of your actual GMAT. At that point you want your brain to be relaxed for the big day!

On the day before your exam, you should not do any final cramming. Rather use the time to relax. Do something fun, but not overly strenuous. Get some light exercise. See a movie. Go out for dinner. Do anything that makes you feel good – but don’t spend the day immersed in GMAT books. You’ll need a fresh brain tomorrow. If every bone in your body is telling you to study hard on the day before your exam, think of my advice this way: the GMAT is the mental equivalent of a marathon. Would a marathon runner ever run 25 miles the day before the actual race? If you are looking for more advice, here’s a detailed article about how to prep in the final week before your GMAT.

If you have any further questions feel free to reach out. Good luck!!

Did you take the GMAT? If no, here are some tips for the test day:

1. Do not think about the final score at any point of time
2. Once done with a section forget about it and concentrate on the next one.
3. Take both the breaks. It helps you to freshen up
4. Take a note of the time when you are out for break. Do not exceed the break
5. Do not rush through the last 5 questions in the verbal sections in a bid to see your final score
6. Make sure you complete the section. There is a high penalty for not completing the test.

Hi All

Thank you for the valuable advice, I took the GMAT (my second attempt this year) yesterday and I scored 600 (Q-44, V-28, IR-4, awaiting AWA). I wanted to apply for round 1 applications for fall 2017, but my friends suggested I take a 3rd attempt and apply with a score > 700. I personally feel I can get a 650 in an ideal environment (at home, have been getting 640, 650 with 8 min breaks similar to the official exam), but for 700+ I need to study the concepts in quant in more detail, work on my timing, and increase my verbal score a lot.

I am planning to take another attempt (hopefully final one this time with a score above 700 as target) , could you suggest some strategies for this increase? Thanks a lot,

Hi All

I would appreciate your feedback and advice :

I took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 600 (second attempt, cancelled first attempt score(560))

I started preparing for GMAT last year in October 2015...I was not studying with enough seriousness and intensity as I did not know what I had got myself into, and scheduled my GMAT early in 2016 after taking a few practice tests (MGMAT tests and GMAT Prep 4 mock tests). I was scoring in mid 600 range in the mock tests, and was devastated to see 560 and cancelled my score without second thoughts. Started my prep again with more seriousness, signed up for Empowergmat course (I think you take the quant classes if it's the same Rich from Empowergmat), also studied other guides I had, and took the test again yesterday.
Score -600

My goal score is >700, I was aiming for 750+ but I feel it is out-of-reach at present, but I feel I can get a 700 or more if I revise more concepts and increase my endurance.

I feel my verbal is very weak, and I dont know what to do about it...Have practiced OG 2015 questions, MGMAT SC guide, and mock tests from Veritas Prep.

I want to apply to top to mid tier schools, top 20 mostly

Hi at1988,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Your two Official Scores are relatively similar, which means that you handled each of your two Official GMATs in essentially the same way (+/- a few points). Since you were scoring higher on your CATs, we have to analyze how you were taking those Exams, and determine which aspects of Test Day you were not properly accounting for:

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

I'd also like to know how long you used the EMPOWERgmat Course and what Study Plan you used. If you'd rather discuss this over PM or email, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

Hi at1988,

I’m sorry to hear about your recent GMAT. Given that you have been studying on and off since 2015 and scored a 600 on your second attempt, it will take some more dedicated prep to reach your 700+ goal score. So - we need to figure out what you’ve been doing - both right and wrong - and get you on a better, more productive path.

Remember, what makes the GMAT such a challenging exam is that there are relatively few questions asked in a given exam, yet those questions come from a huge topic pool. Thus, the best way to get a great GMAT score is to have a thorough understanding of all the topics that may be tested on the exam. To develop such mastery, you want to strive for linear and targeted learning and follow that with focused practice. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next. Have you been able to study in this way?

For example, when studying verbal, focus on learning one section at a time: reading comprehension, sentence correction, or critical reasoning. When learning about critical reasoning, for example, you want to be able to learn about all aspects of critical reasoning: strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Follow up your learning with focused critical reasoning practice, so you can determine your specific weaknesses within that topic. You should follow a similar routine for sentence correction and reading comprehension.

For quant, since you scored a 44 on your recent GMAT, you might consider following a similar but slightly altered approach that consists of more focused practice. For example, if you are reviewing number properties, be sure that you can practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. The results of that practice will help you determine your weak areas within that topic. Once you find and fix your weak areas, then move on to the next quant topic.

To help diagnose your GMAT quant strengths and weaknesses, I welcome you to take my free 37-question quant diagnostic. After completing the diagnostic, you are provided with a detailed analysis of your proficiency level of all GMAT quant topics as well as an opportunity to discuss your diagnostic results with me or another TTP instructor/coach.

If you are able/willing to follow a new approach to your prep, I think you can achieve GMAT success in your next attempt.

If you have any further questions about how to get moving with your GMAT prep, feel free to reach out to me directly. Let’s do this!!!