How to scale up from 480 to 700 in 3 months

Question

Hi,

I started preparing for gmat around last week of June 2020 (I graduated from college in 2012 and the last time I did maths was in class 12 which was back in 2009). Till now it has largely been self study and brushing up on concepts through the OG book and videos, blog posts from magoosh and Manhattan. I took my mock test last week after finishing almost one OG book (2017 version) and half of the latest 2021 OG book. And I have been getting 80% questions right on the OG. So I thought I am in a decent position to take a mock. The score of 480 has left me stunned. For someone who is aiming for Insead, a mock score of 480 is really disheartening. I am planning to give the exam in last week of Dec 2020 so I have roughly over 2 months. I am contemplating doing a crash course (that I came across on this platform on gmatwhiz). Will that help me clear the gap of application of concepts that I think I lack currently? Also am I on a realistic timeline with respect to the score I am aiming for and the amount of time I have? There are so many platforms offering online self study classes that it's difficult to choose the right course. Also I feel the discipline of a class every weekend will push me to study harder perhaps?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Shraddha91,

Since you are looking for new study materials, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, 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.

Also, would you like some general advice on how to improve your verbal and quant skills?

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

Good luck!

chaitralirr · Answer

Hey Shraddha,

Please Don't be disheartened analyze your mock questions and revise the concepts.

Practice little more from OG and time your self in practice so that the next mock would be easy for you.

All the best

gmatgames · Answer

https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-self-pr ... tml?f=menu

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Shraddha91,

To start, since you're interested in at least one highly-competitive School, 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/

Many GMATers are unhappy with their initial practice scores, but you really shouldn't be. That 480 is just a measure of your skills right now - and you'll improve on that result over time as you learn more about the content, Tactics and little 'secrets' of the Exam. The OG books are great sources for practice questions, but they're not designed to teach you Tactics, patterns or the little 'secrets' behind the GMAT - for those, you'll need Course-oriented materials.

Statistically-speaking, raising a 480 to the point that you can consistently score 700+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. A planned Test Date at the end of December would be a reasonable plan (as that would give you approximately 3 months of additional study time), but you'll have to be focused on learning and practicing the proper Quant and Verbal Tactics needed to earn that type of Score.

1) Are you planning to apply to any other Schools besides INSEAD? When are you planning to apply?
2) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
3) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

egmat · Answer

Hi  Shraddha91

Thanks for reaching out on the forum, it feels good to see you coming out and asking for advice.

Looking at your scores, I can say that you need significant improvement in both Verbal and Quant. Majority of students falter in their GMAT exam because they start their preparation with OG. 
This is a major mistake because if you start your preparation by solving OG questions, you are skipping to practicing questions without learning the concepts. This is a trial-and-error based preparation methodology which cause a two-fold problem:

1. It increases your preparation time by up-to 5X. 
2. You tend to miss out on concepts even after solving many questions .

We have helped more than 25,000 people in last 1 year in achieving their target of a good GMAT score. Maximum people attributed their success to the structured process which we suggested them. I suggest you break your preparation into 3 stages and follow the below plan:

Stage – 1 --> Learn the concepts
Stage – 2 --> Cement the concepts by practicing a sub-section in Isolation
Stage – 3 --> Become test ready (practicing all the sub-sections together)

If you follow the above approach you can expect your preparation to get over in a timeline of 2-3 months with 18 hours of preparation time per week.

You can also analyze your ability topic-wise and skip stages if you are good in a topic, this will expedite your preparation even further.

I would be happy to explain this Strategy in detail and create personalized milestones for you on a quick call. Please select a time slot that works  here .

Hope the above strategy get you to your target score

Karan
e-GMAT strategy Expert

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