GMAT STRATEGY HELP

Question

Hi guys

I need your help and advice to ace this f******g TEST.

My goal: 700+ (720 would be great)
Business School: Top 6 in Europe
GMAT date: first planned on 08/01/19.....rescheduled. Next is on 28/01.
Months studied: Studying seriously from october 2018 (3.5 months). Studying during internship, 3 hours at night per weekdays + 6/8 hours during weekends.

Material: OG 2018, done one time. 
Manhattan prep: Advanced quant + Foundation of verbals + a quick read to manhattan RC and CR (to grab some extra strategy content).
GMAT CLUB questions 
KAPLAN 800: a friend borrowed to me; done some tough exercises of algebra and word problem. Never done verbal from it yet.

I have made a great mistake during my preparation, not doing CATs since the beginning.

CAT HISTORY

CAT 1 - GMAT ECONOMIST - 24 Dec - 560 (Q41 V26) 
CAT 2 - OFFICIAL GMAT PREP 1 - 5 Jan- 640 (Q47 V30)
CAT 3 - OFFICIAL PREP 2 - 13 Jan - 640 (Q41 V36) There I had problem with quant..4 questions asked about a picture but it didn't appear on my screen..guessed all..all wrong
CAT 4 - OFFICIAL GMAT PREP 3 - 17 Jan - 580 (Q40 V 30)

All CATs were in good conditions. No optional breaks, all at 9-10 in the morning. Except for the last one, I woke up at 5 am because I had to work later and I didn't want to do a simulation tired at night. 
I scored a disappointing 580.

I feel more confident in quant than verbal obviously, but my score seems lower than 12 days ago, despite I have keep practicing during this days.

BIGGEST WEAKNESSES that i feel:
CR I have learnt the different question types and strategies, but when a difficult/long appear, I still feel confused and go overitme.
RC really depends on the passage. Sometimes I get the meaning even with difficult one, other time I do wrong.

PS and DS have identified some weak area like combinatorics or difficult distance problem, I try to skip them without losing time if they appear on the test.

I'll wait for your advices and strategies and listen to every opinion. 
Thanks 
An italian discouraged guy.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi giuseppebucalo,

The 'swings' in your CAT Scores over the last 3.5 weeks imply that you're inconsistent with your approaches (how you work, take notes, use Tactics, etc.). Since we don't have a definitive sense of your current 'ability level', I would have to assume that it's probably in the low-600s. Unfortunately, raising a low-600s score to the point that you could consistently score 720+ will likely require at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. However, your current Test Date is just 10 days away - so you might want to consider pushing back your Test Date. There would not be any inherent harm in taking the GMAT as scheduled, but you will almost certainly have to take it again later (so you can save some money and aggravation by rescheduling).

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and your goals:

1) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
2) Would you be able to continue studying into the next couple of months? Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

giuseppebucalo · Answer

Hi and thanks for the quick reply.

I am planning to apply for 3rd round at LBS, HEC. ESSEC and IE, with deadline 27/02/19.

So I would have another 1 months aprox, plus some extra days.

In this period I will work and study at the same time. 
I could study for 3 hours aprox every weekdays + weekends (up to 8 hours everyday).

Thank you for helping!!

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi giuseppebucalo,

With a February 27th deadline, you have about 40 days of potential study time - but that might not be enough time for you to get to your Goal Score. Before we discuss how best to proceed with this next phase of your studies, I have a few additional questions about your plans:

1) What is the lowest GMAT Score that you would apply to each of these Schools with?
2) Are there later application deadlines that you consider for each of these Schools? Would you consider pushing back your application until Round 1 later this year?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi giuseppebucalo,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. First off, since you've been studying for 3.5 months and recently scored 580 (140 points from your score goal), you really need to look at HOW you have been preparing and make some changes. Furthermore, since your breakdown was a Q40/V30, it’s clear that you lack the GMAT quant and verbal fundamentals you need for a high score, right? Moving forward, you may need to follow a more linear and thorough study plan, so that you can individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic, starting with the foundations before moving to more advanced topics. I realize that you have already identified some of your strengths and weaknesses. However, since you scored 580 on your most recent exam, it’s likely that your weaknesses span much of GMAT quant and verbal. So, to achieve your score goal, you probably will have to take a rather comprehensive approach to your preparation moving forward. Otherwise, it's likely that you will not make the improvements you need.

If you find that you need additional resources, you should check out the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

Lastly, I don't think that you made any major mistakes by not taking practice exams. In fact, I’d say that you probably are taking practice exams before you are ready. Remember, GMAT practice tests serve two main purposes: to provide diagnostic information and to get you accustomed to the test-taking experience. In other words, by taking a practice test, you can get a sense of what types of GMAT questions you are comfortable answering, arrive at a reasonable estimation of how you would score on the GMAT at that point in time, and practice taking the GMAT and handling its various challenges, such as time pressure and the varying difficulty of the questions presented. However, taking exams is not going to help you improve your quant and verbal skills. So, before taking any further exams, spend some time improving your skills. Then you can resume taking practice tests.

If you’d like some more specific advice on how to study GMAT quant and verbal, feel free to reach back out. You also may find it helpful to read this article about
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

Good luck!

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