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aeglorre
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 18 Dec 2013, 12:42
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Hi,

did a GMAT Prep test about a week ago and scored 600 (q36,v37).

Do you guys think its reasonable to think I could score a 720 come january 15th? (Christmas is inbetween so I wont be able to study all days)?
I should let you guys know that I can spend AT LEAST 10 hours on the GMAT each day, so that's a minimun of 200 hours of practice, and at most 240 hours.
Since I scored 600 I think I mightve practiced for a total of around 55 hours, so add that to the total.

This is my plan:

My weak areas are definitely quant - and especially so PS. My plan is to do all official PS/DS quant questions (there are 406 PS and 412 DS official question), starting with all PS, and then after doing all quant Ill take another GMAT Prep test, and from there hopefully if I have a good enough quant score to focus on verbal.

Getting a 37 verbal was a serious (negative) surprise to me; verbal is without a doubt my strong side. So Im chalking that up to bad luck and not having a structured strategy.

So what do you guys think?
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 18 Dec 2013, 12:46
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Yes.. it is but not the plan/strategy you outlined. If all you are planning to do is solve questions, you can solve most of those in 30 hours.
You really need some books to teach you basics, strategy, and traps.
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 18 Dec 2013, 12:58
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Yes.. it is but not the plan/strategy you outlined. If all you are planning to do is solve questions, you can solve most of those in 30 hours.
You really need some books to teach you basics, strategy, and traps.
Show more


Ive read all the MGMAT books, unfortunately I was dumb enough to read them 6 months ago, prior to doing any questions at all. Do you think I should focus on re-reading the quant section, and after each book I practice relevant questions here on GMATClub? (so after the number properties book I practice NP questions, here).


Or is there some other strategy you would recommend?
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 18 Dec 2013, 22:45
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Hm... I am not sure. You would need to evaluate your weaknesses.
You may have to go through the Arithmetic (Number Properties) and some other ones again... such as word problems and geometry or may as well go through all of the quant books.

It is doable with that amount of time. I would definitely get the GMAT Roadmap from MGMAT as it would VERY helpful to optimize your study routine.

I would also find what your weaknesses are (specifically not just quant). Find what your verbal weaknesses are and hammer those. Keep taking small exercises (not CAT's) frequently to check your level after each chapter/study session and keep at it until you improve. If you don't improve, you need to figure out why and possibly change the approach. Make sure you time those.

P.S. If after 5-7 days you are not seeing much improvement/difference in exercises, hire a tutor. Don't evaluate yourself with a CAT after only 5-7 days. It may not capture the difference and will send you down the wrong path.

Good Luck!

P.S. You can get it done Right, Fast, or Cheap. Pick 2. In your case, it is Right and Fast... keep that in mind.
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 19 Dec 2013, 00:28
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Hm... I am not sure. You would need to evaluate your weaknesses.
You may have to go through the Arithmetic (Number Properties) and some other ones again... such as word problems and geometry or may as well go through all of the quant books.

It is doable with that amount of time. I would definitely get the GMAT Roadmap from MGMAT as it would VERY helpful to optimize your study routine.

I would also find what your weaknesses are (specifically not just quant). Find what your verbal weaknesses are and hammer those. Keep taking small exercises (not CAT's) frequently to check your level after each chapter/study session and keep at it until you improve. If you don't improve, you need to figure out why and possibly change the approach. Make sure you time those.

P.S. If after 5-7 days you are not seeing much improvement/difference in exercises, hire a tutor. Don't evaluate yourself with a CAT after only 5-7 days. It may not capture the difference and will send you down the wrong path.

Good Luck!

P.S. You can get it done Right, Fast, or Cheap. Pick 2. In your case, it is Right and Fast... keep that in mind.
Show more

Thank you so much for your insight! Half the reason Im planning on doing all the Quant OG questions is because Bunuel gives amazing explanations on each questions. I always feel dumb when I see his answers after having failed a question because he puts it very simply. Also, he ALWAYS explains what rule/law/relation applies, if there is a specific application, for each question so that's how I learn the "basics".

Maybe that's a dumb idea? The other reason as to why Im doing the OG's is that I can really analyze where my weaknesses are. Here's my initial assesment:

Arithmetic and Algebra are my weaknesses, with an emphasis on arithmetic. Especially Operations w/ rational numbers and percent/interest problems. But my biggest quant weakness overall is without a doubt word problems. Most other problems either fall under number properties, statistics or some of the above categories. Ive got a pretty good hang on geometry, so I will not focus on that initially.

As far as verbal goes, RC is without a doubt my strength, and SC/CR are my weaknesses. Especially so SC. I will focus on the verbal after Ive covered the initial quant "holes".
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 19 Dec 2013, 01:32
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Aeglorre,

I am in a similar situation. I finished the MGMAT Quant guides about three months ago and am in a review phase. I have found that, for my strong areas, completing the OG Problem Sets (part 1 from the MGMAT guides) was enough to remove the rust. These questions are fairly easy, but you will quickly find out what you retained, and what you lost. On areas I knew I was not strong, or needed additional review (Number Properties, Geometry), I read through the MGMAT guides, taking notes on my "non-automatic" areas, and completed the question sets at the end of each chapter. In total, my review has taken about 20-25 hours, but I am at a higher level than I was when I left off. The question sets were time consuming, but helped me master the basics, and help me better identify specific issues without "wasting" OG problems.
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Is it possible to go from 600 to 720 in about 20 days? 19 Dec 2013, 07:24
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I also want to add that to improve your score, you should figure how what topics are most troubling you. The best way to do this is do take a look at your score assessments from one of your past simulation exams. I'm not sure about other test prep products, but the Economist GMAT Tutor will break down your score question by question, so you will be able to see the topics on which you need to spend time. Then concentrate your time and effort on overcoming those problem areas -- no need to spend time on topics you already know!

Regards,

Elizabeth
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