Help me make a retake plan!

Question

Intro 
Hello everyone, I took my GMAT yesterday (08.09.2021) and completely bombed it. Managed to score only a 590(Q36V35). I am planning to retake the test. Since I come from a over represented region(India), I am aiming for 700+ and apply to top 10 MiM schools for Sept 2021 intake.

Journey till date 
I have been preparing for roughly 6 months now, the first mock I gave got me a 430 (I don't remember the split). I did not even know what a subject is and even had to look up pronouns. I have done a great deal of work to score a V35. For quant, I brushed my concepts from MGMAT books and quantitative mega-thread. I did make a error log as I solved many questions, but I realized I never went through the error log seriously and just had a "brief look" over my errors. I have done all my practice via the GMAT club question bank. I did not touch the GMAT prep questions until I was done with all my mocks so as not to artificially inflate my score.

Below are my scores for each mock I gave (I have purchased the official mock tests)

31.06.2021 - 570 Q41V27 (guessed last - 8 questions on V, 6 on Q)
7.08.2021 - Q45V23 (guessed last - 7 questions on V)
17.08.2021 - 680 Q48V34(repeated)
21.08.2021 - 640 Q41V36(fresh)
26.08.2021 - 710 Q50V36(repeated mock)
02.09.2021 - 650 Q44V35(fresh)

I repeat, all are official mocks. I have exhausted Practice test 3 & 4. I still have 1 attempt left in each practice test 5 & 6. And well unlimited attempts for test 1&2 (not really as the questions start to repeat a lot more).

Practice regime  
Since about two months, I have been solving 20SCs, 3RCs and 15Crs/day and about 20-30 Quant questions/day(equal number of PS and DS). Verbal routine has immensely helped me to maintain a V35. I practice from the gmatclub's practice question bank, I generally select a 600-700 tag and solve questions from Official sources and Manhattan. I have exhausted almost every official question in this tag and when I try to solve the incorrect questions again, I notice that my thinking clouds up because I already remember the answer and it does not help me work on my concepts.

Plan for retake 
I am open to buying new courses(preferably cheap courses as I am on a tight budget) that can help me cross the 700 barrier. Since I am consistent with a V35/36, I want to take my verbal score up a notch and cross V40. I am considering getting the E-gmat course but it is a bit expensive so looking for alternatives, if any. I am also considering getting the MGMAT mocks as I have only 2 official mock tests left, and as MGMAT has a tougher quant section (or so I've read in the reviews) that could help me improve in quant. Also, Should I purchase a question bank to supplement my practice?

weak areas in Quant - Geometry, Coordinate geometry, Inequalitites
weak area in verbal would be RC and 700+ SC and CR. I am very comfortable with 600-700 level SC and CR
 
I have to give my GMAT before 3rd November (as LBS MiM closes its second round intake on 3rd Nov).I do not have a job and hence can devote 8-10hrs/day(more if needed)

PLEASE HELP ME MAKE A PLAN!!!

Drucifur · Answer

I found myself in a similar situation to you. If I were in your shoes, I would do the following:
1) Quant: Target Test Prep. This is the only thing you need for Quant. Work your way through all the chapters!
2) Verbal: If you really want to save money, Target Test Prep also has CR and SC content. I thought it was excellent. Sprinkle in some LSAT verbal questions, too. If you want to spend more, I'd go with E-GMAT. 
3) Don't take another official practice test until you've studied for at least a couple hundred more hours. Just focus on the Target Test Prep lessons and practice questions.

Be careful about spending 8-10 hrs/day on your studies. First, you run the risk of burnout. Second, it's extremely hard to internalize new content for 8 hours straight. Content you study at the end of the day might not sink in very well.

Drucifur · Answer

Also, you did not "completely bomb it!" Raising your original score by 160 points is a big deal. You worked hard to get this far. Keep it up

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hk111,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as hoped. Raising a 430 to a 590 is a significant achievement though - and it shows that you have the capacity to adapt and improve. That having been said, the next 110+ points that you're interested in will require that you focus on a different set of skills (from the ones that you emphasized during your earlier studies).

When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) Over the last 3 months, how many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned? 
3) You listed 6 CAT results, but you mentioned that you took each of those CATs more than once. On what dates (or approximate 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)?

If you took your Official GMAT at a Test Center, then you might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

hk111 · Answer

First of all, thankyou for reading through and providing your feedback.

I am planning to purchase the E-GMAT focused plan(2 months validity) for $199. Since I want to take my Verbal to V40, it looks like the ideal choice. Though E-gmat is not known for its quant, I guess it will be more than sufficient to get me past Q46.

What are your thoughts on the same?

hk111 · Answer

Thankyou for your response Rich. I will answer your questions below

1. 30-40hrs/week
2. I have extensively used the Manhattan guides, reffered Aristole for SC and done almost all my practice from GMAT club question banks (tags - usually only official and manhattan). I have purchased an additional question bank from GMAT prep
3. I have mentioned the date and the test split above

I will get back to you if I decide to purchase the ESR.

thankyou!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi hk111,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

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