Hello Experts
First of all, thank you for your contribution to students' questions - your advice has been immensely helpful during my preparation for the GMAT! That's why I'm here.
Any help you could offer towards a study plan would be greatly appreciated.
[Very sorry for the long post
]
In spite of popular opinion, I have decided to attempt to retake the 740 (Q49,Q41) - AWA 6, IR 8 I got on my first sitting of the GMAT in Dec '14. I will try to reach 770+ and only retake the GMAT if I can score consistently above this mark during prep.
Reasons: 1) I have time on my side: I am in my final year of university (good grades) and I do not feel that I would be foregoing much by dedicating time to this goal
2) A very good score could also be useful 1-2 years into my career (eg. entering the PE space), not just in the context of MBA apps
Prep for the first sitting:Used
MGMAT (5 textbooks for Quant and RC, CR and SC books for Verbal) and OG13 to prepare (took about 1.5 months). Test scores in chronological order:
MGMAT 1: 680 (Q48,V35)
MGMAT 2: 670 (Q46,V35)
MGMAT 3: 700 (Q45,V40)
MGMAT 4: 710 (Q50,V36)
MGMAT 5: 680 (Q46,V37)
GMATprep 1: 760 (Q50, V42) - IR 8
GMATprep 2: 740 (Q51, V38) - IR 8
I have kept a very strong
error log - basically, know where to find every error I have made throughout my prep. I also have quite comprehensive notes from the books.
Goals:Deadline: If I were to retake the GMAT, I would have to do it mid-March at the latest (I have around 8 weeks to prepare).
1) Main goal: improve ~V40 to V45+. I feel that I could achieve this without having to rely on luck. The number of errors is usually in the 6-8 range and the mistakes are quite evenly split between RC,CR and SC. Any suggestions on how to get used to the trickiest of verbal questions? (perhaps additional question banks) Given the resources I have used, I'm looking for a strategy that can complement what knowledge I have already acquired. Any advice would be very useful!
*I'm non-native, but have been using English as a primary language throughout my studies and will continue to do so in my first job.
2) Maintain Q score: On the day, I felt that quant questions didn't go as well as they normally had, but I feel confident that if I keep practicing from time to time I can maintain a Q50-Q51 - any ideas on where to find difficult quant questions? I was thinking that I can maintain a quant:verbal ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 in terms of time dedicated to these sections and eventually obtain a Q50-Q51 & V45+ combination.
If anyone has any suggestions on devising a study plan that will best build on what I have learnt already, please share! I can fully dedicate myself to this cause, I just need some guidance to make sure that I am following a productive path.
Thank you very much for reading this and thank you for ANY help that you can offer!!!