GMAT Plateau at 620

Question

Hi,
I started GMAT preparation in September 2022 from Magoosh, I have covered all videos and practiced all questions 2-3 times, but when I gave their practice test I scored.
 600- (Q39 V34) - 1st test
620 - (Q41 V34) - 2nd test 
These tests were taken in December 2022. I got demotivated and looked for other resources, I practiced TTP for a while(around 2 weeks) - all their verbal questions and easy maths questions.

I gave MBA,com GMAT practice test and again got 620 marks only on (January 3, 2023).
 Q42, V34

I am trying to figure out my weaknesses specifically in Quants because I made many silly mistakes in all exams. But I want to know what should be my strategy now, and how long should I devout to each section if I want to score  700+ points 
 Q48-49
V40+

dee1pug1 · Answer

Even the best of athlete's hire a coach who is with them on the tracks, not one who gives recorded videos. So hire a coach for 1-2-1.
Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in this suggestion as I am not an exam tutor.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Vinita2000.

You could analyze your practice sets and practice tests to see what kinds of questions you had trouble with and work on them one topic at a time.

That said, since you're scoring only around 40 in quant and 34 in verbal, it's probably the case that it would be worthwhile for you to simply run through all the topics, in each case reviewing the relevant concepts and strategies and then practicing until you master the topic.

When you practice a topic, you should start off by practicing untimed until you achieve high accuracy. Then, once you're achieving high accuracy, you can work on speeding up to test pace.

For more on how to practice for the GMAT for best results, see this post.

The Best GMAT Practice Methods

Kushchokhani · Answer

Hi  Vinita2000

I agree with Marty. Also, GMAT Club is a very good resource to boost Quants score.

As you have already taken TTP course, just stick to it to improve Verbal score- but do study religiously every day.
If you feel that you have a commitment issue with online courses, you should take 1-on-1 coaching

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider checking out the Share GMAT Experience sub-forum to see what strategies have worked for others.

How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Vinita2000,

To improve your quant skills, you may find it helpful to engage in topical quant practice.

For example, let’s say that you want to practice Number Properties. You can do so by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc.

After each problem set, thoroughly analyze your incorrect questions. For example, 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 fix your weaknesses efficiently and, in turn, improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

egmat · Answer

Vinita2000

Hey Vinita,

I'm so sorry to see that you haven't been able to get to your target score despite putting in so much effort.

Students who want to ace the GMAT should work on their logical thinking skills and focus more on applications than on just knowledge. To answer the questions on the GMAT, you must possess a few Core Skills. Instead of making sure that the abilities / core skills needed to solve the problems are developed, students are more concerned with the last phase, which is to answer the question in a set amount of time. We need to ensure we have all the essential skills needed for each section of the GMAT in order to increase our score even further.

You were able to obtain a 600 because you have these abilities up to a certain extent. But refining these abilities is necessary to move on. It's critical to determine which of these abilities is the bottleneck keeping you from achieving your desired score. One of the most frequent causes for students' failure to break through their score plateau is that they work on the incorrect skills.

To understand how you could break the score plateau and achieve a 700+ score, watch the below video where I explain your next steps in detail:

Vinita_Response (GC) - Watch Video

Summary of Video

To sum up, your entire preparation should be broken down into 3 stages. These stages are as explained below.

Stage 1:

Stage 1 is the Learning Stage wherein you learn the different concepts and their application from scratch. For subsections where your score is below the 60th percentile, start your prep from this subsection.

Successful completion of this stage demonstrates that you have reached between 50-60th percentile ability.

Stage 2:

Stage 2, as we call the Cementing Stage, is where you cement your application skills for each sub-section in Verbal and each topic in Quant by solving medium and hard level questions and getting a good score consistently in a timed manner. For subsections where your score is between 60th to 80th percentile, spend a major proportion of your time and effort on this stage.

Here’s how you can create and attempt cementing quizzes:

Each sub-sectional quiz should have a mixed bag of 10 questions solved first under relaxed timing (20 minutes) and then under standard timing (15 minutes).
Start with medium difficulty. Proceed to hard once you have qualified 3 medium level cementing quizzes consistently.
For each difficulty level- Medium or Hard, there is a clearly defined accuracy threshold.

For a Medium Cementing Quiz, the cut-off is 70% accuracy and,
For a Hard-Cementing Quiz, the cut-off is 50% accuracy.

For further understanding, click here to watch a video that explains the cementing process in detail.

Successful completion of this stage demonstrates that you have crossed the 70th percentile ability in each sub-section.

Stage 3:

Stage 3 is known as the Test Readiness Stage. Since this is the last stage, here the focus is on maximizing your score at Sectional Quizzes under proper test conditions. In this stage you will solve multiple cross-sub-sectional quizzes to build your stamina for the actual GMAT exam. You can also take a few full-length mock tests to assess your overall test readiness and identify any lingering weaknesses.

Successful completion of this stage demonstrates that you have reached the 91st percentile ability.

Your Immediate Next Steps:

As discussed in the video, take a SIGma-X mock (free of charge) to get an Enhanced Score Report and email us at [email protected] to schedule a free 1:1 discussion with one of our Strategy Experts.

Some Inspiration:

I’m also sharing a couple of success stories of students who’ve had a similar journey as you:

Prashant got stuck at a 660 in the first 3-attempts. His strategy was to practice a lot of questions as recommended by his classroom coaching and also followed a generic study plan using an online course. Realizing the importance of a better approach, he switched to e-GMAT- received a hyper-specific study plan based on his strengths and weaknesses which enabled him to score a massive 770 in his 4th attempt. Click here to watch his debrief.

Despite scoring 700+ on official mock tests, Sumit scored a 660 (Q49, V30) in his 1st attempt. He realized the importance of a structured approach and changed his strategy with the e-GMAT course. He leveraged the Quant 2.0 modules to score a perfect Q51 in Quant which enabled him to secure a 740 on the GMAT. Click here to watch his debrief.

I hope you find this insightful and motivating!

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Best Regards,
Mansi

	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

GMAT Plateau at 620

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards