I got a 690 my first time, need to improve in short time. What now?

Question

I took the test just going through the few free questions on the GMAT website and ended up with a 690. Honestly, this was with so little preparation I did not really know what to expect, and was pretty happy with my score. However, I have now narrowed down my end goals, and I need to get the score up to the mid 700s. I would like to take the test within the month, how should I go about preparing? I have looked into the various online options, and am not sure what is best for someone with already near a 700. Should I even be looking at a class? Maybe just some books? Like I said, even with my score, I am very new to this so not really sure where to start my preparation. Thank you in advance for your help!

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear jb90 , I'm happy to respond. :-)

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bostonbp · Answer

I was in a similar position albeit with a little more time. Personally I was weak in Quant but strong in verbal, so I did all of the Manhattan Quant books with practice questions, then did a very brief review of the verbal rules. I dropped $100 on the Manhattan Q-Bank and CAT tests. So worth it. Helped with timing as well as exposing me to a variety of questions. About a month of this prep brought me from 690 to 770. Just make sure you put in the time and are smart about working on your weakest areas.

jb90 · Answer

Thanks for the help! I just rented the Manhattan books, I think that should help a lot. Now I'm not so sure I need the Magoosh videos. For how long did you study? And how often and how long during that time? Also, do you think I should be going beyond just renting the books, and paying for tests and everything? I don't have a huge budget, so I'm trying to only buy stuff that I really need to see the improvement I want.

bostonbp · Answer

Personally I found that the books and tests were very thorough. But you need to be disciplined about it. Set time each night, stick to it, spend less time on areas you understand and more on areas you don't. I'd make sure you are at least comfortable with all of the 'non-advanced' sections and some or most of the advanced strategies.

The tests and Q bank were really a huge help. Learning how to pace yourself is very important, I ended up 'dumping' 2 quant questions I didn't like after 60 seconds and due to the manhattan program felt confident that gave me enough time to score well on other questions. I may have lost a point or two but overall it was worth it.

I really studied hard for about 3 weeks - probably 5 weeks total. Last week I was off so it probably averaged out to 2-3 hours a day for a month. Don't try to learn all the material, learn the strategies outlined in the manhattan books and then do a ton of questions to apply them. It will be second nature by the end. That's why you should stick to the Manhattan books and their online qbank/exams - their explanations explain the "method" way of solving instead of just giving you a ton of equations.

evansgherzi · Answer

Hi jb90,

I realize you began this post about 12 days ago but I just came across it and still wanted to reply. A 690 is great for your first practice exam and there is a very good chance that that is an accurate representation. However being that these test scores can range + or - 30 points from each other, and that it is best to take an average of your sim test scores, I would take another (if you haven't already) and then reassess my plan. If your scores are consistent, stick with your current plan. If not, definitely reassess your goals and think about taking it in October. While you most likely did do well, it is best to know for sure that it was an accurate representation before going into the exam. If you have any further questions or if you require some suggestions for your study plan (I did not make any yet, because why change something that seems to be going well), then just let me know and I will provide clarification where I can.

Good luck with your studies!
-Evan

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I got a 690 my first time, need to improve in short time. What now?

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