Just trying to improve my score from 550-600+

Question

Hello everyone.

I've been studying for the GMAT for about 4 months now. I'm not going to sugarcoat things, I've certainly taken the wrong approach from the start and my score is not where I should be by now. I have been exclusively self-studying with the OG 2019 and some supplementary materials (Manhattan Foundations of GMAT Math, GMAT Prep Now).

I had originally planned to take the GMAT on June 3rd, but after scoring a 550 on a practice test yesterday (Q31 V35) I think I should postpone. My question is, would anyone have some advice on how to improve my skills in 3 weeks so I can get the score I want (600+)? Is this reasonable? I have the ability to study full-time as well.

At this point with my self-studying not going so well, I'm wondering if a directed option might be better. I've looked up Manhattan 3-week boot camp, does anyone have some experience or recommendations on if that would be a good option?

Thanks in advance for your input.

kiran120680 · Answer

Hi you are doing extremely well in verbal. You have a very good chance to improve Quant score. First, go through the concepts, then try TTP course. It would definitely help to improve your score.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

avsfan987 
I was a course student of ManhattanPrep. You can send me a PM if you have any query about their course!

avsfan987 · Answer

Thanks for your reply. I did start TTP a couple months ago but found it a little overwhelming. I started it right after my first cold GMAT practice test, which I got a V19, so I've at least improved a bit from there. I will seriously consider this though as I've heard nothing but good things. Would you mind expanding on best ways to 'go through the concepts'?

Regarding my verbal score, I actually got a V37 on a practice test two weeks ago, and that was even with not being able to complete the final question (which I understand is heavily penalized).

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi avsfan987,

To start, GMAC's policy on rescheduling an Official Test requires that you make that choice at least 7 FULL days before your Exam Date. At this point in the calendar, are you actually 7 full days ahead of that appointment? If you are not, then you cannot reschedule this current date; there's no harm in taking the GMAT as scheduled though (since you can always cancel the result if you are not happy with it).

In answer to your immediate question: assuming that this recent 550 practice CAT Score is a realistic assessment of your current ability level, then you are closer to a 600+ than you probably realize. You might actually have the ability to earn that type of Score right now, but you're not approaching the overall Exam in a consistent, organized fashion to pick up those additional points. On this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong because you made a silly/little mistake....?

Assuming that you might want to continue studying for another 3-4 weeks, before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) Over the last 4 months, how many hours have you been studying each week?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs/mocks (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
3) Is your goal score 600 or something higher?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

avsfan987 · Answer

That's a good point about rescheduling, thanks for letting me know. When reviewing my recent score I tallied 3 quant questions that a silly mistake caused me to answer the question incorrectly. On verbal, about one or two.

To answer your questions:
1) I have studied about 170 hours total. Average weekly is a little difficult as I took a couple weeks off in February April, but I would say average about 15 hours a week. My weekly hours upped a lot in May as I quit my job and was able to study full time.

2)Mock 1 on March 9th: 480 (Q19 V36) - I was unable to answer the last verbal question due to time constraints, so possibly would have scored higher
 Mock 2 on May 12th: 550 (Q29 V37) - I was unable to answer the last verbal question due to time constraints, so possibly would have scored higher
 Mock 3 on May 26th: 550 (Q31 V35) - Lowest verbal I had yet which was surprising especially since I answered all questions this time

3) My goal is essentially a 600-620 if possible.

4) My application for Fall Semester is due June 30th. All I need to complete my application at this point is my GMAT score.

5) The only school I am applying to is the University of Colorado Denver. It doesn't have high standards for admission, but with my low undergrad GPA they said a GMAT above a 600 would help.

Thanks for your help.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi avsfan987,

You've clearly made some noteworthy improvements to how you handle the Quant section - which shows that you have the capacity to learn and score higher. At higher-and-higher score levels, the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes (especially on 'gettable' questions). Between the Quant and Verbal sections, there are only 67 questions in total - and if your analysis shows that you got 5 questions wrong because of silly/avoidable mistakes, then that's approximately 7% of the Exam. To hit your Score Goal, you do NOT need to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird, but you have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum (and if possible, avoid making them altogether). As such, you might be able to 'self-correct' and put your emphasis into doing the necessary, organized work to earn the correct answer each time (on your pad, NEVER "in your head"). That having been said, based on these CAT Scores, you could potentially pick up enough points in the next 3-4 weeks to score well beyond 620 - but you would almost certainly need to commit to a consistent, guided Study Plan to hit that level.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

avsfan987 · Answer

Thanks for your input. Realistically, I could study 30-40 hours per week.

Since there's no point in me skipping the June 3rd date, do you have any suggestions on how to maximize my time till then so I can score my best on that first real test? I have one more practice test that I have purchased, should I try to take it later this week or save it?

I would be interested in learning more about a guided study plan for the 3 week timeframe though to maximize my score if I need to retake.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi avsfan987,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, first off, since you have been studying for 4 months and are scoring 550, you need to look at how you have been preparing and make some changes, right? Right now, it’s clear that you have many verbal and quant weakness that must be addressed in order for you to hit your 600+ goal score. So, moving forward, you need to follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic and then practice each topic until you've gained mastery. Meanwhile, you likely will need more than just three weeks to improve your score, so you should give yourself more time and take the GMAT when you are ready to do so.

Regarding quant, I agree with  kiran120680  that Target Test Prep would be perfect for you. Yes, you may have been a little overwhelmed when you first tried the course, but remember this: the course is quite detailed because the GMAT itself is quite detailed. If you can follow the study plan and work your way through the course, trust me, you’ll be able to knock GMAT quant out of the park on test day.

If you have any further questions regarding your study plan, feel free to reach out to me directly.

Let’s do this!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi avsfan987,

I want to reiterate a prior point: to hit your Score Goal, you do NOT need to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird, but you have to keep the little mistakes (on the 'gettable' questions) to a minimum. In simple terms, you should 'dump' any questions that feel difficult (just take a quick guess and move on) - and then use all of the time that you 'save' on the other questions that you DO think that you can correctly answer. In addition, you should NOT try to 'cram' during these last days of study; 'cramming' rarely leads to great results on the GMAT - and you would greatly increase your chances of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid).

As far as taking that last CAT is concerned, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. Since your Official GMAT is this coming Monday, you don't have too much time between now and then. If you wanted to squeeze in one more CAT - on Thursday or Friday - then that MIGHT be okay - as long as you give yourself some time to rest on the weekend (but Saturday or Sunday would be too close to Test Day).

If you're interested in a 3-week Study Plan, then based on your CAT Scores, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in well under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then just let me know (and you can also feel free to contact me directly).

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

avsfan987 · Answer

Thank you for the advice, I will definitely use this. It's probably a bit of a longshot, but perhaps if I had a better strategy for test day then what I've been using, it could get me over the hump. I've been looking into these strategies this week and see I've been approaching things wrong on the practice tests.

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

Your Verbal score is better than your quant score. For a 600, if you are able to take your Quant score to Q36 and Verbal score to V38 then you will reach your goal score. Of course, there are many other possibilities, I just gave you an example at random. If you would not have studied at all then improving your Quant score from Q31 to Q36+ in three weeks is definitely possible but since you have been studying from past 4 months then have you analyzed why have you not been able to bring some improvement in your score.

Have you maintained an error log? Have you analyzed your mistakes? Have you identified your weaker areas? etc

You need to bring in some strategy in your prep. All the very best!

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Just trying to improve my score from 550-600+

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