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10swatimishra
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 03:13
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I prepared for the GMAT on my own. Started by hitting the OG 2021, referring to relevant strategies shared in GMAT Club and on YouTube for RC and CR. Coming from an engineering background, Quant was my plus point. So, i focused more on improving my Verbal score from V15 to V30. I gave multiple mock tests with the result as below:

Official Mock - 520 (Q47, V15)
Official Mock - 540 (Q49, V16)
Manhattan - 570 (Q39, V30)
e-GMAT - 480 (Q36, V21)
Kaplan - 590 (Q44, V27)

Then i decided to give an actual GMAT and hoped to score 600+. But, was shattered to see a score of 480 (Q38, V20).

I had a very bad experience on the actual test day, as the Test was scheduled at 2:45 PM and the proctor turned up to give me access to the exam around 3:40 PM (almost after an hour). I was irritated and worried. Not sure if this had impacted my score.

I am planning to give a second attempt with a target to score 700+. Please if anyone can share their experiences/suggestions on how to improve this much in 2 months time.
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 03:26
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10swatimishra
I prepared for the GMAT on my own. Started by hitting the OG 2021, referring to relevant strategies shared in GMAT Club and on YouTube for RC and CR. Coming from an engineering background, Quant was my plus point. So, i focused more on improving my Verbal score from V15 to V30. I gave multiple mock tests with the result as below:

Official Mock - 520 (Q47, V15)
Official Mock - 540 (Q49, V16)
Manhattan - 570 (Q39, V30)
e-GMAT - 480 (Q36, V21)
Kaplan - 590 (Q44, V27)

Then i decided to give an actual GMAT and hoped to score 600+. But, was shattered to see a score of 480 (Q38, V20).

I had a very bad experience on the actual test day, as the Test was scheduled at 2:45 PM and the proctor turned up to give me access to the exam around 3:40 PM (almost after an hour). I was irritated and worried. Not sure if this had impacted my score.

I am planning to give a second attempt with a target to score 700+. Please if anyone can share their experiences/suggestions on how to improve this much in 2 months time.
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Hi Swati, I agree that Verbal seems to be in need of major improvement, since you scored V15/16 in the official mock tests.

However, the phenomenal variation in your Quant scores on the mocks is especially surprising. Normally I haven't seen these kind of fluctuations.

While your post is titled "480 to 700", I wouldn't say that your current level is 480; test day seems more like an anomaly. Looking at your mocks, 520-530 seems more representative of your current level.

Two months of focused and concerted preparation can definitely boost your score.
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10swatimishra
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 03:33
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Thanks!

Do you have any suggestion in terms of the prep material i can refer to for Verbal. Or, should i enroll to some online course.

EducationAisle
10swatimishra
I prepared for the GMAT on my own. Started by hitting the OG 2021, referring to relevant strategies shared in GMAT Club and on YouTube for RC and CR. Coming from an engineering background, Quant was my plus point. So, i focused more on improving my Verbal score from V15 to V30. I gave multiple mock tests with the result as below:

Official Mock - 520 (Q47, V15)
Official Mock - 540 (Q49, V16)
Manhattan - 570 (Q39, V30)
e-GMAT - 480 (Q36, V21)
Kaplan - 590 (Q44, V27)

Then i decided to give an actual GMAT and hoped to score 600+. But, was shattered to see a score of 480 (Q38, V20).

I had a very bad experience on the actual test day, as the Test was scheduled at 2:45 PM and the proctor turned up to give me access to the exam around 3:40 PM (almost after an hour). I was irritated and worried. Not sure if this had impacted my score.

I am planning to give a second attempt with a target to score 700+. Please if anyone can share their experiences/suggestions on how to improve this much in 2 months time.
Hi Swati, I agree that Verbal seems to be in need of major improvement, since you scored V15/16 in the official mock tests.

However, the phenomenal variation in your Quant scores on the mocks is especially surprising. Normally I haven't seen these kind of fluctuations.

While your post is titled "480 to 700", I wouldn't say that your current level is 480; test day seems more like an anomaly. Looking at your mocks, 520-530 seems more representative of your current level.

Two months of focused and concerted preparation can definitely boost your score.
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 03:49
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Hi Swati, you already have a history of preparation. So, best way would be to do a trial class with few GMAT service providers, to evaluate:

i) Whether you stand to gain anything by attending the classes

ii) How comfortable you are with the class/instructor

Based upon these criteria, you can take a well-informed decision.
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 04:03
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Hi swati,

I would recommend you to join GMAT intensive course by CJ and Anish .
I believe you must have gone through all concepts but there is still some lack in concepts ,core skills or approach.
This course focuses on fundamentals and approach.
It will help you identify your weak areas and then you can improvise.
I took this course and have gained a lot, it ‘ll help you as well as.

Shortest way to recover is working with the right approach in the right direction and under the right guidance.

All the best!

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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 04:39
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Hi Swati, it's fine. Now I would recommend you to analyze your mistake and identify your strengths and weakness, from your official mocks, its pretty visible that you have very good quant ( scoring 49 is really very good in official mock ) but I feel and it's my personal opinion, that due to real exam pressure, you could not perform to your full potential in quant whereas your verbal section needs to be improved a lot. this I can understand better because my first GMAT was also the same ( V17 and Q 48 ). Hence you should work on your weaknesses, You can not score well in the verbal section without having good accuracy in SC and RC.

I am currently having verbal classes from EducationAisle. My verbal has been really improved especially SC and RC, though I have taken only 2-3 classes only. hence I would recommend you to go for one of the trial class. Ashish ( Tutor) is best in India for SC and his SC book has been extremely crisp and is available on Amazon / Flipkart. his course has been extremely structured and the questions he provided after class for practice are arranged from easy to hard difficulty.

I have already taken the class with GMAT intensive in past, the thing I did not like about them is that the tutor is not approachable, you will never have the chance to talk to them. You may need to write them an email every time after the class if you have any doubt. Moreover, they Provide only 2 days of RC class throughout their course.

It's my genuine opinion as I have taken one course in the past and current student of Ashish from EducationAisle. You should try taking his mock class for sure. He is not only a very good teacher but he is only one phone call away apart from the classes whenever you have any doubt. He has been a great mentor so far to me.

Whatever classes you took, or any coaching you take, just my advice is that your teacher should be approachable, who can understand your problem and keep guiding you throughout your GMAT journey .

Good Luck with your GMAT.
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 05:01
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Thank you everyone. Appreciate everyone's inputs and guidance.

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Hi Swati, it's fine. Now I would recommend you to analyze your mistake and identify your strengths and weakness, from your official mocks, its pretty visible that you have very good quant ( scoring 49 is really very good in official mock ) but I feel and it's my personal opinion, that due to real exam pressure, you could not perform to your full potential in quant whereas your verbal section needs to be improved a lot. this I can understand better because my first GMAT was also the same ( V17 and Q 48 ). Hence you should work on your weaknesses, You can not score well in the verbal section without having good accuracy in SC and RC.

I am currently having verbal classes from EducationAisle. My verbal has been really improved especially SC and RC, though I have taken only 2-3 classes only. hence I would recommend you to go for one of the trial class. Ashish ( Tutor) is best in India for SC and his SC book has been extremely crisp and is available on Amazon / Flipkart. his course has been extremely structured and the questions he provided after class for practice are arranged from easy to hard difficulty.

I have already taken the class with GMAT intensive in past, the thing I did not like about them is that the tutor is not approachable, you will never have the chance to talk to them. You may need to write them an email every time after the class if you have any doubt. Moreover, they Provide only 2 days of RC class throughout their course.

It's my genuine opinion as I have taken one course in the past and current student of Ashish from EducationAisle. You should try taking his mock class for sure. He is not only a very good teacher but he is only one phone call away apart from the classes whenever you have any doubt. He has been a great mentor so far to me.

Whatever classes you took, or any coaching you take, just my advice is that your teacher should be approachable, who can understand your problem and keep guiding you throughout your GMAT journey .

Good Luck with your GMAT.
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 23 Sep 2020, 20:47
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Hi 10swatimishra,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better (and the 'delay' that you experienced likely would have impacted most Test-takers). Based on the 'swings' in your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores over your various Exams, it's tough to say what your exact 'ability level' is right now, but with a Score Goal of 700+, you would likely need to commit to at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you will 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.

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 how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Were these the only 5 CATs/mocks that you took? On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
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,
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HELP! How to improve my score from 480 to 700 25 Sep 2020, 02:45
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Hi,

I think you have a response from Scott from TTP on my post, by mistake.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/help-how-to- ... fl=similar

You can check it out there.

Good luck with your studies!

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