Help on GMAT Next Steps

Question

Hi,

I recently took my first official GMAT last Saturday and scored a 36 in Quant (29%) and a 30 in verbal (58%) for a total score of 560. These scores are fairly low, however, they are higher than my initial score (30 in Quant, and 28 in verbal).

In prep for the exam I just completed, I have been using the Manhattan Prep GMAT study guides to study for the past 2.5 month - reading study guides and taking practice problems. Given where I am today, should I continue completing more practice problems, or should I consider taking a Manhattan Prep course? I’m conflicted as I’ve already read 80% of the Manhattan Prep study guides over the past 2.5 months and am unsure if the course is worth it.

I am also open to other suggestions.

Thank you all for the help!

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Hey Hi spicytuna777 , You can look at some other courses as well Read the following thread to know more about the pros and cons of various online Gmat prep courses https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-co ... ml?fl=menu Many companies also provide a trial of their course have a look and see which suits you the best Try Target Test prep for Quant as they have a 5 day trial, as its a very good Quant course Also try Egmat as they best course for Verbal

AjiteshArun · Answer

I don't think you'll find the content of their books significantly different from the theory they teach in their classes. But at the end of the day, the GMAT remains the GMAT, so there's nothing wrong in that. This is to say that if you join a course now, join for the discipline/personalized (human) approach to prep.

As for your GMAT, there is a very clear need for you to work on your quant (the basics). Q30 is 17% and Q36 is 29%, so there are plenty of points to be scored there. This can even be done with general quant resources for now.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi spicytuna777,

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:

Studies:
1) What other study materials have you used so far besides the books that you listed?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

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

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help.So, although I am not aware of you exact score goal, I can say that, even though you have been studying for 2.5 months, it’s clear that you are lacking the gmat quant and verbal fundamentals you need for a high score. Thus, while, doing more practice questions would make sense, doing lots of random practice questions does not. Instead, I think you have to follow a structured and organized study plan that involves your working topic by topic, continuing to learn learn GMAT basics and answering topic focused practice questions, so that you thoroughly learn about and master each individual quant and verbal topic.

If you find that you need additional materials to study in such a way, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for  the best quant  and  verbal courses, and also read through some   GMAT success stories  to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

You also may find it helpful to read this article about 
  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.

Good luck!

MathRevolution · Answer

Hi, spicytuna777

If I know your target score, I could give you more useful advice. To hit the score over 700, you should improve both verbal and quant score. But I recommend you to focus on either verbal or quant to quickly improve your score, which means that you’d better set priorities. Considering that Math Revolution is specialized in quant, I could say that improving quant score can be much easier than verbal by focusing on studying quant. According to the company’s data, it takes 3-4 months to hit the score Q49-50 from Q36 level assuming that you spend 3 hours a day studying quant. I think that you are still weak on math basics. With no good basics of math, it is hard to improve your score to over 45. There are lots of resources to strengthen your basics in GMAT Club. Math Revolution offers free video lessons for math basics and also offers detailed math review if you enroll.

To hit the score over 49, it is important to learn and internalize skills which is based on fundamentals. As the question styles of DS and PS are different, the approaches should be different. Math Revolution offers ‘IVY approach’ for PS and ‘Variable approach’ for DS. With Math Revolution ’s ’Variable Approach’ for DS questions, you can minimize time spent on each question while improving accuracy (over 80 percent) (solving a question in + having a checking time = 2 minute) On average, our students have about 10 minutes to spare before the exam ends. To briefly explain our ’variable approach’, we apply ’variables–equations matching system’ to the DS questions. For example, you first need to count the number of variables and equations given in the question. By doing so, you can determine which answer choice will most likely be the answer.

Then, you can apply our ‘IVY approach’ to PS type questions. Our IVY approach for PS can give you lots of tips and techniques to find the answer quickly and easily. (More information about our approach: https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/vs)

Please let us know if you have further questions.
You can reach us at [email protected]

Success is within your reach,
Good luck!

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