How to improve score by 80-120 points in 20 days?

Question

So I have been prepping for GMAT regularly for the last 40-45 days and based on Princeton Reviews CAT's my recent scores range between V600-640 points.
I have been doing fairly well on most of the easy and medium level difficulty questions in both Quant and Verbal Section with 85-100% accuracy. However, my accuracy is pretty low for the harder questions. 
What are some suggested strategies to improve my score further? Or what should be my road map going ahead?

Here is a summary of my previous tests and scores:

Test 1: 520 (V27, Q35)
Test 2: 570 (V34, Q35)
Test 3: 590 (V35, Q37)
Test 4: 640 (V38, Q41)
Test 5: 600 (V32, Q41)

Thank you very much for providing your feedback.

abhimahna · Answer

Hey  abansal1805  ,

I would suggest try to give Official Mock exam and determine your current level first.

Honestly, I don't rely on any of the other sources other than Manhattan or Official Mocks.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi abansal1805,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores. You've improved quite nicely over this first 40-45 days of study, but it's likely that you would have to put in far more than just another 20 days to raise your score another 80-120 points. Since your goals are a bit unclear at this point, I'd like to know a bit more about how you've been studying and those goals/plans:

1) What study materials have you been using?
2) What is your goal score?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

abansal1805 · Answer

Dear  abhimahna ,

Thank you for your response. I will give either an Official mock test or a practice test from Manhattan and update this post as soon as possible.

abansal1805 · Answer

Dear Rich,
Thank you for your response.

1) I am currently using the Official Guide along with the supplementary Quant and Verbal Guides as my primary source of study material. In addition, I am also using some material from the Princeton Review. 
2) I recently graduated from Boston University QSB in May 2017. And given I am lacking any significant work experience, I am looking forward to strengthening my application with a strong GMAT Score. Therefore, I am currently aiming at 720-740. 
3) The closest deadline for a B-School application that I want to apply for is ISB's PGP Early Entry Option Stage 1, which is due on 15th October 2017. Hence the rush to improve my score within upcoming 20-25 days. The deadline for Stage 2 is 15th January 2018. 
4) My primary program of choice would be a Master's in Finance. Therefore, some of my target schools are SMU, Nanyang Tech., HKU, HKUST, London Business School, and London School of Economics to name a few.

Please let me know what do you suggest going forward.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi abansal1805,

You've named some highly-competitive Schools - and since many Schools tend to expect 2-5 years of quality Work Experience from applicants (experience that you do not have), you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and application plans. There's a Forum full of them here:

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

It's important to remember your REAL goal - to get into your first-choice Business School. If that means pushing back your Test Date (so that you can continue to study and increase your chances of scoring higher) or that you might have to push back your applications altogether (so that you can put together the proper OVERALL profile), then those might be changes that you have to make to your overall plan.

Assuming that you still plan to apply to Business School sometime in the next few months, you will likely need at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study to hit your score goal. Many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level - and since most of your CAT scores revolve around a 600, it's possible that this has happened to you too. As such, you'll likely end up needing to invest in some new, non-book resources.

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

abansal1805 · Answer

Dear  abhimahna

As you suggested, I recently took an Official Mock Exam with GMAT Prep and scored 680 with V38 and Q45. 
What do you suggest going forward?
Thanks

abhimahna · Answer

Hi abansal1805 , Looks like you are targeting the score range of 700-720. I would prefer working on my quant first and ensure that I end up with atleast Q49. Then I may also prefer to increase my verbal score by another 2 points. This will help you score 720+ score. Work on your weak area and determine the root cause. Drill down everything and maintain the error logs. Read my debrief on how I reached V40. That may give you a couple of strategies to follow. Good luck

abansal1805 · Answer

Dear  abhimahna ,

Thank you for suggestions, I will definitely follow these directions. 
I read about your experience in your GMAT Story and it was highly motivating. 
Do you think it would be wise for me to take my GMAT before 15th October and apply for the 1st round of applications with ISB or do you think I should wait until the 2nd round with deadline on 15th January? 
I recently spoke to the admissions office and I was informed that although the chances for admission remains the same, more scholarships are given during the 1st round of applications as compared to the 2nd.

What would you suggest?
Thanks once again

abhimahna · Answer

Hi abansal1805 , I believe you should give your exam by 15th oct and apply in R1. Since you are targeting ISB, I believe improving those extra 30-40 points won't be an issue if you spend your next few days working religiously. Try to drill down all your mistakes and learn from it. All the best.

swats2020 · Answer

Hi,

i took GMAT yesterday and scored 640. Q-47, V-31. And this is after 40-45 days of studying
in mocks i have been scoring: 
Test 1: 630
Test 2 (official mock): 660
Test 3:(official mock) :690
 
Was expecting a much better GMAT score. Now i am planning to retake GMAT(but have 25 days max to retake), So wanted to ask: how can i improve the score by atleast a 60 points in these 20-25 days. I have covered OG + verbal and quant review and around 50 percent of target test prep tests for quant. 
My target score is around 720
Thanks.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi swats2020,

To start, you would likely receive more of a response if you started your own post-thread (instead of piggy-backing on this one). I would bet that you would receive multiple responses if you posted your story here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/share-gmat-experience-8/

You should be sure to provide as much information about your studies as possible. For example, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what 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)?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

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