My first GMAT today. Scored 620. How to get +100 point jump

Question

Hi
My background : Female , 27, engineer and 6 years of work experience.
I am just back from my first GMAT and I'm disheartened. I started preparing from Mid-January'16.

My main problem today was I messed up Quant. I took too much time to answer a question and as a result had to guess quite a lot of questions. 
My scaled score was : For quant 41 and for verbal 35. What does this mean?
I want to aim for 720+ so that I can get the top tier schools. My profile is quite strong so I don't want to compromise on the score.
Before I take another test date I need an expert opinion on how much time to give and what to study.

Dear experts, Please help me out.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WinnieThePooh,

First off, a 620 is a decent score (it's right around the 70th percentile overall), so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School. If your profile is as strong as you think it is, then you might not need to retest. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and application plans. There's a Forum full of them here:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

Before I can offer any advice about how you could continue to study, I'd like to know more about the work that you've done so far:

1) How long have you studied?
2) What materials did you use?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

WinnieThePooh · Answer

HI Rich
Thanks for replying.

1. I started studying from Mid-January. 
2. I used the following materials:
a. GMAT OG'15
b. Manhattan GMAT SC Guide
c. GMAT club mathbook.

3. I'm planning to apply for R-3 of Jan'17 and June'17 classes.

Will really appreciate your help in planning my study plan so That I know when to take a second date. I dont want to postpone this cause I dont want to get rusty.

KarishmaB · Answer

Work on both Quant and Verbal with an aim to push Quant to about 48-49 and Verbal to about 39-40. I would say that your basics of both subjects are fine. In Quant you need to focus on advanced concepts and applications. In Verbal, you need to be brilliant with at least one question type. With a 35, I would assume that you are avg to above avg on each question type. If you have a definite weakness, great - work on that. Did you get your Official Enhanced Score Report? Sometimes, that can shed light on strengths and weaknesses e.g. you might feel you did a great job with CR questions but for all you know, you answered most of them incorrectly. If you took some practice tests before the actual one, you would know how you perform in each question type. I would suggest you the following: Quant - if you have some weaknesses already identified, work on them. Thereafter, work on advanced concepts of all topics. For that, you can use the Veritas Quant blog: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/categor ... mat-quant/ Verbal - Find out whether you are weak in one particular question type. Ensure that you work hard on that. Then work of all question types simultaneously. If one is very good in at least one of them, a V40 becomes attainable. Check out the Veritas Verbal blog: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/categor ... at-verbal/

WinnieThePooh · Answer

Hi Karishma

Thank you for replying.
In my mocks the consistent problem with me was time management at Quant and in verbal it was CR. However, I practiced well for my CR and was able to get almost all correct, so I dont know what a scaled score of 35 in verbal really means. What is the official enhanced score report? I will check that out.

During the exam, I screwed up and took too much time on one quant question and that screwed the entire section for me, so yes I think I need to work on my advanced concepts of all topics.

How much time do you think I should give for studying + mocks before I take the test again.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WinnieThePooh,

With your Official Scaled Scores, and your score goal, you'll have to make some significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections to pick up 100+ points. Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies before they hit their 'peak' scores; since you've studied for just 2 months, it's likely that you have not put in enough time and effort yet. This is meant to say that while you might naturally improve with a bit more study time, you'll also likely need to invest in some new non-book study resources (many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach tend to get 'stuck' at a particular score level, and it's possible that this has happened to you). I suspect that you would need 2 months of consistent, guided study to get to the 720+ score level.

1) Do you have the available study time for the next 2 months?
2) How much time can you commit to studying each week?

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

KarishmaB · Answer

Believe me when I say this, you actually need only about a minute per quant question. If you are conceptually strong, calculations required are negligible and most questions can be answered very quickly. I like to discuss such holistic methods on my blog, the link for which is given in my signature below. It is sacrilege to spend too much time on one question until and unless you know that you always have 20 mins to spare in the section. After 4 or so mins, you should move on... Your enhanced score report (ESR) shows your performance (in percentile terms) in each question type of Verbal and each topic area of Quant. You can order it for your official score from GMAC. If you are already aware of your weaknesses, it doesn't help much. But it can be useful to people who are clueless about why they scored way lower than their expectations or those who unknowingly messed up one particular section. e.g. how do you know that you got almost all correct on CR in the exam? Here is a demo ESR: https://www.mba.com/india/the-gmat-exam/ ... -demo.aspx If you are not pressed for time, take a month and see how much improvement you are able to make. Decide the next test date after that. Ideally, 2-3 months from now should be sufficient if you put in quality effort.

WinnieThePooh · Answer

Wow..Karishma! Thank you for the sound advice! I know my weaknesses are time management in Quant and CR. Like you said in your previous post that I need to spend more time on advanced concepts, so I'll plan my strategy accordingly. I was pressed for time this time as I was targeting R-1 & R-2 of Insead Jan admit, but now as that is not happening I have sufficient time to preapre and get the score.
Thank you once again

WinnieThePooh · Answer

Hi Rich

You said a text book heavy approach. How do I change that?

I do have time to study for the next two months.

I can study about 8 hours on weekdays. I studied a lot this time even on weekends and was feeling a lot saturated as the exam came near.

You also said 2 months of guided, consistent study. How do I get this?

Thank you
Winnie

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WinnieThePooh,

The GMAT is a consistent, predictable Test, so you CAN train to score at a high level. From what you described about your studies, you essentially 'self-taught' your way through the last couple of months (using various materials and a few strategies that you tried to implement on your own). While that approach was enough to get you to a 620, it will likely not be enough to get you to a 720. You need to learn and master specific Tactics to pick up those points - and right now, you don't need to focus on 'advanced' concepts (because those concepts do NOT represent the missing points that you're looking for).

Based on everything that you’ve described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in well under 2 months, so the time commitment wouldn't be that bad. 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 you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

mbaaspirant80 · Answer

Hi ,

You can follow below materials. I am sure your score will boost
1- Quant : As you scored Q41 so you can raise it to Q 50 or 51 . Practice GMAT club tests . These are fantastic . I also raised my Q score with the help of Gmatclub quant tests. I scored Q50. These tests are more than enough to score Q50/51

2- Verbal: you can read manhattan GMAT SC books. Also Read free article and watch free video on E-GMAT. You can practice questions using scholaranium (free account).
For CR - read power score CR bible. this is more than enough. 
-RC - you can practice using GMAT forums RC questions
- GMAT Prep exam pack 1 and 2

Thanks

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