GMAT Study Plan: go from 650 to 700+

Actual Date is 16th Sep not 15th.
it will be great , if any plan is given to be followed.
I did not touch any kaplan material till now,
i am following MGMAT guides and Power Score books along with OG 12 and OG verbal 2nd edition.
I am always in tension of getting a good score or not, i am unable to wait till 16th sep to write the exam. I am working so daily i get max 2 hours to study. planning for leave just before a week of GMAT. i am totally confused, i have almost all tht top 20 books listed in GMAT club (except princeton 1012 and kaplan verbal and math foundations). i could not read all of them, i dont think i have time to read them. I have around 4 weeks , i dnot know what books to concentrate on, what tests to take. i am totally confused, the very idea that i need a very good score is making me tensed. i am not able to concentrate on any thing except GMAT. i feel like , i am being chased by someone (GMAT) and i am in a hurry in all the activities. i am not able to sleep properly, i am exhausted but not able to sleep. i need to keep my cool, but i am not able to do so. TOTALLY CONFUSED.......................................... WAITING TO FINISH THE GMAT SOME HOW WITH GOOD SCORE.some one please guide me how to utilise this last 4weeks effectivcely to acheive good scores.

Why are you totally confused? About what?
You need to go through books and feel that you have covered every page and every subject. If you don't have that comfort feeling - go back and create notes as you go.

From what I am hearing, you need to restart your entire prep and if you don't have time, then you don't have time and you don't score high. It is a pretty simple relationship. Nothing to be confused about.

Hi BB
thanks a lot for the questions , it made me put my points of confusion in black and white.
i could arrive at the following as the points of concern.it would be great if you can guide me in getting answers for the following.

1.i am confused about what books to follow.should i stick to some books and cover them again and again or should i cover the entire range of books (kaplan, manhattan, powerscore ) and do all of them just once.
2.i did not start any kaplan book till now. but covered powerscore and manhattan books. is it necessary to do kaplan now or can i ignore it completely.and
3.which tests should i take manhattan or kaplan or some in both.
and
4.Any tips for crossing 700.
please answer my above questions and guide me.
my current scores as stated above are as follows :
29th June Princeton Review (PR) 1 -570 (44,25)
18th July PR2-600(43,30)
25th July PR3-590(48,23)
29th July MGMAT1 640(43,35)
1st Aug GMAT Prep1 690(49,34)

Hi cchilakapati,
It appears that you just need to step away mentally for a minute and take stock of the situation. From what I've read, you've hit some respectable scores in GMATprep as well as other tests. You seem to have a strong grasp on Quant. I'd definitely concentrate on the verbal. At this point, some of the little tricks (when to use the words, which, like, as, etc.) and a strong grasp of idioms will go a long way in pumping up that score. As for tests, stick with MGMAT and the GMATprep. The Manhattan tests are rumored to be more difficult than the actual exam, which should be a nice prep. If you have time after exhausting the pool of questions for those two groups, then I'd hit Kaplan. Just my two cents.

Hi VinceCPA
thank you for the input, i will work with MGMAT and then think of Kaplan.
And i will concentrate on verbal.
Hi BB
Waiting for your comments.

hi ppl..dis is the first time i m posting on this forum.wel actually i require some help from you guys.i gave my gmat yesterday and scored a mere 640. I was shocked when i saw the score coz this was the lowest score i got including my practise mock tests. Was not at all satisfied with the score and so planning to give it again in a month's time.
The following were the scores which i got in my mock tests:
Manhattan (M1)-660
M2-660
Kaplan-680
M3-660
M4-640
M5-690
Gmat Prep1-690
M6-710
Gmat Prep2-710

Final GMAT: 640

I was expecting a score abv 700 bt was not successful. Well now my aim is to crack the GMAT and get a 750.What should I do?What should be my strategy? Now that I've solved quite a good amount of material-OG,Kaplan 800...how should I go about my preparation now to achieve my aim?Please help..its urgent...i jus have a month's time!

Hi
Just now completed Knewton 1st test. got 590 (46,25) (33correct,25correct)

Hi BB - nice place here. I saw this site a while back and then recently saw your reviews on Amazon. Your first post in this thread recommends a variety of books (like Kaplan for verbal, MGMAT among others for quant; if I remember correctly), but based on your and others' recent reviews of the MGMAT books, I am leaning towards just getting their 4th edition and the Official Guide 12th edition and going to town on that. I've taken one GMATPrep test, got ~710. I'd like to apply to INSEAD and/or a few other top international or domestic schools, so I'd like to see that score closer to 750 for my own comfort - I'm an engineering grad and my GPA (3.33) isn't top of the line in my mind, so I want my GMAT score to easily offset that. Plus I don't want to get a false sense of security based on my first score.

My point is, would you agree that MGMAT + OG is a good way to go?

My other question pertains to laying out a schedule. How would you lay out a typical week's schedule for MGMAT? I'm thinking 2 hours per day, 5 days per week. Is that sufficient to get it done in two months? Thanks to anyone for your input.

nice post. hopefully should help me in crossing the 700 mark

Hi BB,

Great site you have going here. I'm trying to cross the 700 mark but quant seems to be holding me back. I've done the GMAT and am looking to give it one more try. I scored 650, but my quant score was terrible (36Q, 42V). I used MGMAT books as well as OG. Is there anything you can suggest to improve my quant score? Is it just a matter of repetition and practice? Or are there books/softwares with more challenging questions that I should focus on? I felt pretty good post exam and was extremely disappointed when I saw my quant score. I'm sure I can improve. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and keep up the good work!

just downloaded an error log template. now to get over the 700 hump.

Aug 21th MGMAt2- 660
aug21st GMAt prep1 2nd time 690 (50,31)

nice one!! i hope it really helps for me!!

I have a doubt about Kaplan Math Workbook. Is it really good? A friend of mine told me it was really basic and I found some bad reviews about it. I tested 47 twice in MGMAT and 44 in Kaplan, so I think it will not be easy to improve. I don't want to spend a lot with a good tutor but I would really like to break through the 50s in quant. Should I try this Kaplan book?

Getting lot of info about improving quant, I think MGMAT quant books and kaplan are needed, no 2 ways about it, i need to buy the kaplan premier now!

Nice and helpful post... I have got my motivation back to give the GMAT again... I have score a 690(Q48 V36)... I know verbal needs a lot of improvement. I am going to stick to improving my grammar basics and studying from MGMAT SC and CR.
Suggested reading for RC: Harvard Business Review, LBS Business Strategy Review.
The kind of English that these sources have is there at the top. Authors from Harvard and other top business schools write articles for HBR. Also try out some books from Harvard Business Press(If money is not a constraint)

I am planning to practice more Maths from Princeton, Kaplan Math Workbook and McGraw Hills GMAT. Will let you know how it goes.

Hi BB,

I've been following your posts quite closely. Plan to take the GMAT in a couple of weeks. Took MGMAT Online test about three weeks back (at night -dead tired after Office) and scored a 610. Checked the answers and found a lot of silly mistakes.

Now (hopefully) much better prepared. My goal is definitely a 750+ score. However, I don't feel very confident right now. RC is a worry. SC I get about 80% correct, CR about 75-80 (Kaplan CD).
I know I've not shared much background, but I am wondering how I can get my confidence that I can score 750+? BTW, I am on a month's leave from Office to prepare for the test. Any advice for a couple of weeks of intense prep which can make a difference in my final score?

Regards

Rahul