Help with Study Plan

Question

Hi,

I started my GMAT prep in April, took the test in August and scored a horrible 570 (V21, Q47). From April - August, i covered all the relevant material i had. I completed 700-800 level questions, finished the OG, Advance and Review. Took all the official mocks in which i scored between 710-750. But on the test day i failed. After August, i started my prep again. I finished all the resources i had. 
I would solve 4 RC passages daily, 20-30 CR and SC questions, and a particular quant topic - ALL IN A TIMED ENVIRONMENT. and i was able to finish in time.

After the first shock, i prepped a lot more and bought the Manhattan mock tests in which i scored between 650-720. In October, I took the test again and scored a 680 (V37,Q47).

My academics in school and graduation level have been strong and i dont want to settle for a 680, so after a break of few weeks i have started with the prep again to apply in R1 next year.

I'm bringing this out to get any help with the study plan or resources i could use to jump from 680 - 740+.
I had enrolled for a class before and according to me i dont think i have any problem with the concepts or understanding aspect. I also maintained an error log and followed up with my weak areas.

I would appreciate any help or ideas which can help me escalate the score as I'm looking at an MBA in finance which requires a high gmat. My work experience is good so it is only the GMAT which is a road block at the moment.

Will appreciate any help.

Russ19 · Answer

Hi blaze9 Did you check to see the gmat club study plan? https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-p ... l#p1680625 Best Wishes!

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

Hi blaze9

Given that your improvement came mainly from verbal V21 to V37, it's likely your best area of focus for the rest of your prep is Test Taking Skills. Usually underperforming practice tests scores is the also caused by the same thing.

If you have an upcoming application deadline (or you're just looking to get it done soon), the most efficient way to get the remaining points you need is to focus on how you're taking the test.

Weak test taking skills puts a ceiling on your performance, because:
1) You end up doing more work than you have to on each question
2) You use up more time answering questions that you should
3) You answer questions with less than complete understanding of what the prompt has given to you

We offer a FREE Test Taking Skills Diagnostic. It's live in a practice test (Testing Simulation) and a performance coach will work with you to identify exactly how you're missing out score points on both quant and verbal.

Let me know if you're interested.

arigiurovic · Answer

Trust me when I say that this Target test prep is the best course you can find avaiable online.Their site and plane are truly amazing, with many REAL questions to practice daily. The course methodology was the key to improve my study and truly understanding what type of questions I was going to be asked. Also the way it is designed it helps you customise your tests and find your weak and strong areas.I would recommend it as a must resource for anyone aiming for an high score in GMAT!!!
A truly enjoyable learning process!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi blaze9,

First off, a 680/Q47 is a solid Score, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

There's obviously no harm in continuing to study - and you have the potential to pick up some serious points in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How many weeks did you study between your 1st and 2nd attempts? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Did you use any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned?
3) 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)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

If you took your 2nd 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.

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do To Score at the Highest Levels

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

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

I'm bringing this out to get any help with the study plan or resources i could use to jump from 680 - 740+

Recent student I tutored for Verbal. Went from an Official V31 to V40 in about 30 days. Went from a 680 to a 740. There may be some insight you find helpful in their post:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online- ... 68599.html

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi blaze9,

You actually seem to be in a pretty decent spot. With a little more focused prep, I think you can bring your GMAT score to the next level. That said, in order to do so, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.

In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

You also may find my article with more information regarding  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  helpful.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

Good luck!

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi blaze9,

It's unfortunate that your GMAT didn't go as planned. I know it can be disappointing to not reach your target score after preparing for a considerable period of time. But there is clearly scope for improvement. And it's good to see that you are eager to work on anything that is holding you back. Before getting into details, do provide some context about
 
1. The time you are able to devote to studying each day

2. Resources you used for prep

3. The structure and study plan you followed

You can write back to me here or a better way would be to hop on a call using the link given below. This way you can take me through the approach being followed by you and we can discuss your exact pain points and also come out with a revised retake strategy for you. Considering the effort you have put, I would really like to know the concerns and help you improve your score.

Click here to schedule a call

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