Mid 600 score - ready for round 2

Question

I recently took the GMAT exam and scored a 650 (Q43, V 36). I was a little dissapointed with the score as I was scoring higher in practice tests (i.e. GMATPrep). My boss is going to be out of town until mid Oct, so I am thinking I should have plenty of time until then to study and I plan on a retake. I will probably take off some time as well. I've hit the 700 level a couple of times on practice tests. My goal is to score a 740 (Q48, V 44). I know it sounds like a significant increase, but I think in the next go, my nerves will be calmed and I should have a better handle on things. Here is my plan for the next 2 months; let me know what you think:

GMAT Prep - 6 tests (3x each)
MGMAT Tests - 6 tests
GMAT Paper Tests - 9 tests
OG Review for verbal and OG verbal supplement
MGMAT CR review (book)
MGMAT RC review
MGMAT SC review
1000 SC
1000 CR
1000 RC
GMAT Club tests (I took the first 8 of quant and all verbal before the last test)

I feel that I have a solid understanding/basis for most concepts and am hoping that increased practice will get me there. Is the above approach sufficient to help me rise to the score I want (assuming effective study)? Am I missing anything important on my list?

bigoyal · Answer

Based on your previous gmat exp, probably you must have been able to identify your problem area. But based on your study plan, it seems your focus is more on Verbal side. I believe there is also a scope of improvement in your quant scores.

CaliCpa · Answer

That's a true statement. On my practice tests, I was scoring mid 40s on quant. From what I have read, and my assumption is that after going through the GMAT Club tests, and understanding how to work each problem, I would be in the 48 point range for quant. Is that a fair assessment? I was scoring in the high 20s (27, 28) on the GMAT club tests for the first few I took.

bigoyal · Answer

Fair enough. I think GMAT club tests should give you sufficient practice in quant. Also, after each GMATPrep test do create an error log and identify the weak areas. For e.g. in quant my weak areas were co-ordinate geometry, probability etc. Spend some extra time on these areas from any decent book of your choice.

Similarly, in verbal, I would suggest not to spend time on so many things you have listed. I think your verbal score is decent. Try to identify weak areas, which can be for example SC, CR or Time Management etc. Try to spend more time on your weak areas.

Last but not the least, don't use any sub-standard material towards the end of your preparation. Better try using OG towards the end of your preparation. Also you can use each pair of your GMATPrep tests distributed at regular interval during your preparation time, keeping 2 tests for the last couple of days.

Jivana · Answer

Since I have already taken all the 9 paper tests, I will only comment on those.

Verbal section: Pretty decent, good practice for you.
Quant section: Overall weak, almost retarded. I will say use this just as practice. Another thing I did with these was to give myself only 18-20 mins for finishing each of the quant sections.

For quant I would highly recommend the GMAT Club tests, they gonna break you down and build you back up, like the marines do. 8-)

Good luck!

Good luck!

bipolarbear · Answer

I think the Q43, V 36 range is the ideal place to improve upon. It signifies solid quant and verbal fudamentals. The good news is that your Q43 can probably easily become a Q48+ (unless you were improving from a Q20+ level or something and have maxed out your quant, which I doubt). Furthermore, the V36 level is pretty good and probably means you just need to work on several areas of weakness. Once you fix them though, getting only 5 more verbal questions right will raise your verbal score drastically.

I think you should keep doing gmatclub tests as they're probably at the ideal level for the Q40-44 range. If you want to really solidify your quant, use Sackmann's extreme set ($25). Avenusaur recommended that to me and also has more experience with Sackmann's products so you should ask him if you want more info ( I found it helpful). As for verbal, the GPrep document from sterny's debrief (search for it on the forums) is an amazing source. After going through that you should be getting less than 2 SCs wrong each practice test.

2 months sounds like a good time frame. Best of luck!

CaliCpa · Answer

Thanks for the help everyone -

Bogoyal - Do you think the "1000" series for CR, SC, and RC is a sub-par study material. That is what I derived from your message. I just dont want to waste time on it if doesnt help me improve.

Bipolarbear - The funny thing is that my timing on the real thing was terrible. I had to guess on the last 4 or 5 from each section. I have really only taken one GMATPrep test #2 and I got a Q44 and a V33 (I missed like 7 or 8 SC). I think my weakness must be SC, so I will try and focus on that. I have gone through the MGMAT SC book, but I still seem to miss various SC questions.

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Mid 600 score - ready for round 2

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