GMAT SUGGESTIONS AND GUIDANCE

Question

Hi,
Today I gave my first mock out of the two free mocks from the official site and received 620 with 48 in quants and 28 in verbal. Is it a bad start? I faced issues with the time management in verbal as I did the last 8 questions in a minute or something. I have my GMAT exam scheduled for 20th February. Can you tell me how to get better at verbal? Also, I want to have a better grip on modifiers and idioms, so if you can provide me with some references to study these topics from.

Thank you!

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

"Can you tell me how to get better at verbal?"

5 Verbal tips from a V48 GMAT Tutor

There are some other Verbal tips on that blog you may want to check out, too.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi abhijeetsinghh,

A 620 is a strong initial CAT score (the Average Score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years). Since February 20th is approximately 6 weeks away, you still have plenty of time to continue to study and hone your test-taking skills. To make sure that you're using that time in the most efficient way, we'll need to define your prior studies and goals in more detail:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?

Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

Hi Abhijeet,

First congratulations on a solid first attempt at an official mock! 620 and especially Q48 is very solid.

6 weeks is enough time to get a target score (I assume you're aiming above 700? -- please confirm). But you need to get focused fast on exactly what your key gaps are. Your score improvement will come from a combination of quant and verbal. Since quant is already solid, you can get yourself to a Q50+ score with solid focus on test taking skills. On the verbal side, the bigger jump will come and it will be critical to figure out how much of that you can get from improving your verbal test taking skills.

Remember the GMAT is a test of executive reasoning, so the test writers reward you heavily for having great PROCESS in answering each question. The good news about that is this: you don't have to become an English wizard or even a math genius to boost your score A LOT. You just to identify your process gaps in Q and V and then focus on improving them.

We offer a FREE 90 minute diagnostic session that's primarily focused on test taking skills. A GMAT performance expert COACHES you LIVE online through a GMAT practice test simulation. You'll be amazed at the insights and focus that will come out of it (an it's completely FREE!).

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi abhijeetsinghh,

620 is actually a great start! Regarding how to improve your GMAT verbal skills, here is a helpful article that you can check out:

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi abhijeetsinghh,

A 620 with a Q48 is a solid start. However, your verbal score is an area of concern.

Let me share my 2 cents from my experience of scoring 740 on GMAT and helping many students reach their target score.  Taking extra time to solve questions is a symptom  and not the disease itself. Let me elaborate.

There are 2 things that you do while solving questions - 1. You think about how to solve the question and 2. You solve the question. It's the first point that eats up unnecessary time. Now how do you tackle Point 1. Most people think the best solution is by solving additional questions. It does help but sadly is not the most effective solution because by just practising more questions you end repeating the same mistakes.

The better solution is to learn the right logical methods to solve questions and then master these methods with additional practice.

Verbal:
  Generally speaking,  the best order of prep for Verbal is SC->CR->RC . The logic behind this is the level of skills tested. SC acts as the most basic skill tester and tests your comprehension skills. CR builds on this, and also tests your analytical skills on top of the comprehension skills. Once you've mastered these two, you move on to RC, where you are tested on both the previously mentioned skills along with a third one - your ability to focus on the main point in a given passage. This way, its a natural progression of skills that you learn.

As you may know,  GMAT tests your inferential skills  and your  application skills , and as such, you need to learn not only the concepts but the application of those concepts, the methodologies to solve questions correctly and consistently. Thus I recommend going about the verbal prep in  3 phases  - learn the concepts, learn the correct application methods (for e.g. a meaning based approach in SC etc), and practicing of questions.

For a start, you could check out this video, explaining how to ace SC questions. 
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfcaKK_GN6U

You can learn how Nishant improved from V31 to V41 in almost a month's time with a super hectic work schedule bringing it to a GMAT 720:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxXRnY0DQjc  
Now before suggesting you the right methods, I would like to understand how you approach questions at present, the time you can devote to studies, your target score, etc and accordingly, I can suggest you what's the way out. You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link:
    Click here to schedule a call

	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $79 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $325 $200 Discount + $79 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	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 SUGGESTIONS AND GUIDANCE

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