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05 Aug 2020, 07:09
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Hi all.
I did a GMAT test in December 2018 and scored a 470 (Quant 32 and Verbal 23).
With the quarantine and the change in routine, I decided to give the GMAT another try and in late April I started studying the basics (i.e., Manhattan's foundations of Verbal GMAT and Math) and in early-June I did a first GMAT PrepTest and scored 560 (Quant 39 and Verbal 28). I noticed that there were 11 points of difference between my Quant and Verbal scores, thus I decided to focused on Verbal (i.e., Manhattan's critical reasoning guide) a long with all sections' OG 2018 exercises and in mid-July I took another GMAT PrepTest scoring 610 (Quant 39 and Verbal 34). From this last score, I noticed that I could improve my RC and I have been study Manhattan's reading comprehension guide and all sections' OG 2018 exercises. I expect to do another GMAT PrepTest in the following weeks and start deciding on a date to present the Online GMAT for either October or November.
I am looking to hit 650 at least, and I have 3-4 months to study around 10-20 hours per week (note that I work at a Big4 so it complicated to find time during the weekdays).
I appreciate if anyone can please advise on how to move forward with study plan and strategies for the next months I have left, and any tips for Online GMAT. I am not sure how many more practice tests should I do or if I should pay for personalized tutoring.
Thank you!
I did a GMAT test in December 2018 and scored a 470 (Quant 32 and Verbal 23).
With the quarantine and the change in routine, I decided to give the GMAT another try and in late April I started studying the basics (i.e., Manhattan's foundations of Verbal GMAT and Math) and in early-June I did a first GMAT PrepTest and scored 560 (Quant 39 and Verbal 28). I noticed that there were 11 points of difference between my Quant and Verbal scores, thus I decided to focused on Verbal (i.e., Manhattan's critical reasoning guide) a long with all sections' OG 2018 exercises and in mid-July I took another GMAT PrepTest scoring 610 (Quant 39 and Verbal 34). From this last score, I noticed that I could improve my RC and I have been study Manhattan's reading comprehension guide and all sections' OG 2018 exercises. I expect to do another GMAT PrepTest in the following weeks and start deciding on a date to present the Online GMAT for either October or November.
I am looking to hit 650 at least, and I have 3-4 months to study around 10-20 hours per week (note that I work at a Big4 so it complicated to find time during the weekdays).
I appreciate if anyone can please advise on how to move forward with study plan and strategies for the next months I have left, and any tips for Online GMAT. I am not sure how many more practice tests should I do or if I should pay for personalized tutoring.
Thank you!
06 Aug 2020, 03:46
Kudos
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MVA9
Hi,
An improvement from 560 to 610 seems good but it is really difficult to say whether it reflects your true potential or not. I see many students who improved their score in their mocks but fell considerably short in their actual test. So, before suggesting you a plan, I would like to know a few things.
- Are you using any specific approach while solving questions?
- If yes, is the approach same for both the tests or did it change?
- What do you think is key to ace GMAT test apart from the conceptual knowledge?
Answers to these questions will help me guide you better. But looking at the resources you mentioned, I feel like you might have concentrated just on learning concepts and practising questions. Most people do this mistake during their initial stages of preparation and later realize that they need to change the approach. The reason why students take a lot of time to prepare for GMAT is because
- they do not understand what is it that is actually tested on GMAT
- so, they start their preparation by practicing questions from OG or a few random materials
- When they take a mock, they get shattered on seeing the score as months of preparation could only get them the average score a beginner will get.
- So, they start seeking advises regarding the study strategy and start their preparation from scratch.
As you see, a lot of time, effort and money gets wasted in the process. GMAT is a test which requires a considerable investment of all three parameters. So, it is important to make sure to invest them in the right manner and get the desired result.
What is the missing step?
Most people feel that there are only two steps for preparation:
- learning concepts
- Solving questions on that particular topic
However, there is a very important step in between which is “To master the right strategies to solve Questions”. Most people don’t know how to do so or simply choose to ignore it and follow shortcuts.
What do I mean by the Right Strategy?
By right strategy I mean, following a step-by-step methodical process for solving questions. For example, if asked to solve 2 linear equations in 2 variables, you will probably Equate the co-efficient of 1 variable in Step 1, then eliminate that variable in Step 2 and then substitute the value of the obtained variable to get the other one in Step 3. You follow these 3 steps in any linear equations Question and you get the right answer. To give you an example about using the right methodology to solve Verbal questions, let me explain it using CR module. What is the general strategy that beginners or students who don’t use a methodical approach follow to solve questions?
- They read the argument or the stimulus
- They read the question stem
- They jump into the answer choices and check each of them if it answers the question stem.
I’m sure many people might have done that during their initial stages and a few people do this even now. If you follow this approach, you are most likely to get stuck between two or more answer choices.Now let me tell you how a student who uses methodical approach will solve the same CR question. The student
- reads the argument or the stimulus
- identifies the premises, conclusion, intermediate conclusion if any
- reads the question stem
- starts pre-thinking the missing link or the assumption (the most important step)
- starts eliminating the answer choices which do not match the pre-thought assumption
Now as you understood the importance of using the right methodology, you must be wondering how to learn that. Let me help you here.
The importance of using a standard resource:
The need to learn the right methodology and the need to learn the concepts methodically can be addressed only when you use a resource which can help you do them effectively. The only method to make sure that you invest your time, money and effort in an effective way is to use a standard resource which teaches you the concepts, strategies and also helps you work on your weaker areas. Studying using OG or a few random resources might help you to solve GMAT like questions but I’m afraid that they won’t be able to help you much from a strategy perspective. You can refer to the following blog to understand the key points to look for while evaluating a course.
The need for a personalized study plan:
As you are a working professional, a generic study plan wouldn’t suffice. You need something more personalized so that you can strike the right balance between your work life and studies. By personalized, I mean something which takes into account the number of hours you can dedicate in a week and creates a study plan based on that. It should have clear deadlines so that you can focus on finishing those tasks scheduled for the week. This will help you concentrate better.
The one stop solution for all your concerns:
Having said all these, I would recommend you to check the online course of GMATWhiz. It addresses all your concerns including the personalized study plan. To brief you a little about GMATWhiz:
- It uses a methodical way of teaching concepts, a process which helps you remember the concepts in an effective way
- The concept boosters and the practice quizzes help you solve the GMAT like questions using the right methodology.
- It identifies your weaker areas based on your performance and provides you with real time improvement modules so that you can work on them right away.
There are many more exciting features which you can experience by checking the free trial of the course. If you wish to discuss more about how to plan your studies or which course to choose, you can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.
Click here to schedule a call
06 Aug 2020, 06:52
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GMATWhizTeam
Thanks for your comments. See my replies to your questions below:
[*]Are you using any specific approach while solving questions? For DS, I follow the step plan in Manhattan's guide (e.g., identify yes/no or value question, anticipate information required to answer, etc), as well as for CR and RC (e.g., identify passage structure and components, taking notes, understanding the questions, etc).
[*]If yes, is the approach same for both the tests or did it change? No, for the first test (560) I used no specific approach rather just read the problem and answer. For the second test, I used the approach described for DS and CR.
[*]What do you think is key to ace GMAT test apart from the conceptual knowledge? Strategy and time management.
Thanks for your comments. See my replies to your questions below:
[*]Are you using any specific approach while solving questions? For DS, I follow the step plan in Manhattan's guide (e.g., identify yes/no or value question, anticipate information required to answer, etc), as well as for CR and RC (e.g., identify passage structure and components, taking notes, understanding the questions, etc).
[*]If yes, is the approach same for both the tests or did it change? No, for the first test (560) I used no specific approach rather just read the problem and answer. For the second test, I used the approach described for DS and CR.
[*]What do you think is key to ace GMAT test apart from the conceptual knowledge? Strategy and time management.
