**HELP - Stuck at 590**

Question

Hey There GMAT Clubbers My Name is Rodney and this is my first post, so please be kind! :-D

I have been studying for 3 months now. I started with Veritas In person 2-day per week class which ran 6 weeks. In addition to that class I was studying 4 days a week and now that the class is over I'm studying 4-5 days per week about 2-3 hrs per day. My test is scheduled for Oct 10, so lately I have been taking a practice test once per week. My last 4 (Veritas)practice tests have come in at 590. Im getting between Q37-Q42 and V28-V31. Lately I have reviewed the problems I got wrong, done some practice questions and taken another test… When I see how to do the questions I say ahhhh, its so obvious. But I guess I can't think well enough during the test. The pressure gets to me and I'm tempted to just guess. Im so discouraged at this point that Im considering hiring a GMAT tutor to help me. So Im asking you GMAT Clubbers the following questions first: 1) Any advise on study strategies I can use to increase my score to 650 by Oct 10 without a Tutor? (If possible) 2) Any recommendations on 1on1 Tutors to help me improve 50-100pts?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi RRodney,

Since your GMAT is in 10 days, it's important to clearly define your goals. In one part of your post, you mention 650 specifically, but then you mention raising your score 50-100 points (which, at the high end, is 690). What is your specific score goal? What score would you be satisfied with?

With such little time, you might find it difficult to make any huge changes in how you handle the GMAT. Do you have the flexibility to push back your Test Date (even if it's just for a few weeks)?

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

asahi92 · Answer

Rrodney, in addition to what Rich is advising, which makes sense to me, since you bought an expensive full service course you should be able to email your instructor and get some help too. Have you tried emailing your instructor?

RRodney · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for takin a minute to comment on my situation. My specific goal is to get a 650 at the very least. I will take the real test over again if I don't get at least a 650. That being said, if I spend $1500-$2000 more money on a GMAT Tutor, I will want to gain 50-100 points... A 690 or 700 score would be awesome!

I do have the ability to push back my test. But my last really opportunity is the week of November 1. In addition, I just started 2 night classes this week which will be eating into my study time, which is why I scheduled my test for 10/10.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi RRodney,

With a 590, you're actually closer to hitting 650+ than you realize. Your self-analysis has pointed out a significant 'issue' with your work though - little mistakes. A tutor isn't necessarily going to 'fix' that for you. However, in almost all cases, the 'solution' is to take more notes and NOT do work in your head. In these last 10 days or so, you should really focus on the 'precision' in your work - don't worry about 'hard' questions (if you can't answer the 'gettable' questions correctly, then the harder questions really don't matter).

Given what you described, you seem comfortable with the idea that you may have to retest. As such, you should take your current GMAT as planned. If you don't score high enough, then you can always retake the GMAT later.

As an aside though, you really don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a tutor to raise your scores 50-100 points. There are far easier (and less expensive) ways to do it.

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

m3equals333 · Answer

For me, classroom learning is the least effective and one on one tutors are the most effective only it if you have targeted problematic areas (i.e. not quant, but rather combinatorics or 600+ geometry)....however quality material + a little bit of time alone to rationalize the underlying concepts of what your're learning can sometimes work wonders. Everyone is different. Good luck.

AjiteshArun · Answer

Do you have a time management strategy in place? Something like "I'll get through the first 10 questions in less than 20 minutes"?

RRodney · Answer

Thanks to all your responses, I have decided to go ahead and take the test on Sat (10/10) and just be committed to taking it again in 4 weeks.
During that 4 weeks I will see about a tutor, but focus on creating an error log and try to identify why I get the questions wrong.
Basically, I guess I will just study more and take some advise from the GMAT Club message boards.

Any more specific strategies you can think of?

As far as time management, I really only look at the half way point and see how far off i am. What is a better strategy?

AjiteshArun · Answer

You could check after the 10th, 20th, and 30th questions. Worrying about or trying to calculate the time left after every question actually wastes time, and checking the timer just once during the entire test is probably not going to give you enough control over your timing. We can't stop ourselves from taking a quick look at the timer every now and then, but this is more about when we actually take a few seconds to ask ourselves how fast we need to work through the next set of questions.

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