Hi conradgorton,
In your 2nd post, you mentioned that you had taken a FULL practice CAT Test - and taking those FULL CATs at regular intervals (and under realistic testing conditions) is an essential part of the GMAT training process. I responded to that post with the following message:
Studying for the GMAT far in advance of when you'll actually "need" your Score is a really smart choice! In addition, you appear to have given yourself lots of potential study time - which is great!
Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, but it's not clear what YOUR commitment will be to your studies once you begin. The 700+ Score is a bit shy of the 90th percentile - so most GMATers clearly never score that high (regardless of how long they study), so if you're thinking about just reading through some books and working through lots of practice questions, then there would likely be a limit to how much you could improve with that type of approach (even over the course of a year). With a more structured Study Plan that focused on the proper mix of content and Tactics, then you could potentially improve a great deal though. A 480 is a decent initial CAT score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years) - and the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.
1) When would you be looking to begin your studies?
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich