LAST MONTH BEFORE GMAT: MY JOURNEY

Question

I have started studying for the GMAT on June 2, when I did my first practice exam that went really bad. From that point on, I did almost one Prep test per week and I got a 700 on the last one. 
I’ve booked the exam now and is is in a bit more than one month, and I don’t have a clear plan to secure a 700+ score on the actual exam.
I know that I’m stronger in verbal than in quant and that it is quite an unusual thing here. The one thing that worries me is that even though my score on the prep test I have done has always gone up, I’ve had some dips on my way to 700 that act as an alarm to signal an high volatility of my score.
Here are all the scores for my tests:

02/06/2020 TEST 1: 410 (Q24,V28) 
09/06/2020 TEST 2: 550 (Q32,V34)
17/06/2020 TEST 3: 570 (Q33,V35)
24/06/2020 TEST 4: 580 (Q31,V39)
03/07/2020 TEST 5: 520 (Q34,V27)
09/07/2020 TEST 6: 640 (Q39,V39)
16/07/2020 TEST 7: 670 (Q40,V41)
25/07/2020 TEST 8: 650 (Q41,V39)
07/08/2020 TEST 9: 580 (Q34,V35)
10/08/2020 TEST 10: 700 (Q42,V44)

Side note: TEST 9 was given after I had a one and a half hour early morning drive and I felt quite stress, whereas on TEST 10 i felt that I was on my optimal psychological conditions to do good and I didn’t expect a 700.

My errors are mainly on Geometry and Inequalities on Quant and on SC on Verbal where I sometimes lose focus and male relatively silly mistakes.

I’m asking: what could be my strategy for this last month to get to a 700? And am I even capable of getting to that score on the actual test?

Posted from my mobile device

yashikaaggarwal · Answer

i won't suggest you to go for advance section just now, it will be better to redo OG questions you skipped or did wrong, once you are thoroughly done with OG revise Mgmat Verbal book and try solving hard level question here on GC for both Quant and Verbal. using new material will mess up your brain, stick to official books, it will help you out.

RetaketheGMAT · Answer

When you're getting close to test date, the best way to solidify your in-test performance is focusing on your process during quant and verbal questions. Make sure you're following consistent method for each question and use your error logs to build processes that CONSISTENTLY address the mistakes that harder questions trigger for you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi addsmyname,

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) How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What "brands" of practice CATs have you taken?

Goals:
3) When is your exact Test Date? Are you taking the At-home GMAT or are you taking your GMAT at a Test Facility?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

addsmyname · Answer

Studies:
1) How many hours do you typically study each week? About 30 hours
2) What study materials have you used so far? What "brands" of practice CATs have you taken? I’ve used the OG official guide and both the verbal and quant expansion and the OG Advanced Questions book.
Right now I’m going through the hard questions again on all these books.
I’ve done all the GMATPrep tests.

Goals:
3) When is your exact Test Date? Are you taking the At-home GMAT or are you taking your GMAT at a Test Facility?
I’m taking an at-home GMAT on September 16.
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?
I’m planning to apply to BS at the end of september. 
My schools of preference are HEC,Essec,LBS,ESCP and LSE in this order.
I’m applying for a MiM not an MBA.

Posted from my mobile device

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi addsmyname,

Looking at your current study routine, I see that you are following a plan that I call “practice first and figure the rest out later.” In other words, you are doing practice problems before understanding the concepts on which those problems are based, and thus you are trying to learn solely from reading solutions to problems. Following such a study plan will lead to disorganized studying and ultimately hold you back from improving your quant and verbal skills. Thus, in addition to using your current resources, you may consider using a resource that allows you FIRST to learn the concepts and strategies related to GMAT quant and verbal and SECOND to practice with a large number of realistic questions.

If you decide to use some new prep materials, check out the reviews here on GMAT Club of the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

You also may find my article with more information regarding  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  helpful.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

Good luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi addsmyname,

I've sent you a PM with some additional notes and questions.

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

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