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Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
03 Jul 2018, 13:31
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I took my GMAT today and scored 680 (Q48/V35) 
. I was expecting to touch 700 though , now I feel the need to retake my exam and get 710-720 in order to get into a good college. My maths is weak but I think I can improve in Verbal. I finished OG 2017 and verbal and quant OGs as well. I took 6 MGMATS with a constant score of 640 and 3 Kaplan tests with a 680 constant score. Also I took the two official gmat mocks with 700 and 690 scores. I need help on how I can improve my score in Verbal and how much time should I devote on a daily basis? Are 2 months enough to increase scores by 30 points? Also, if someone could tell me what material to practice from and what all mocks can I take especially for my Verbal scores. Thanks in advance 
. I was expecting to touch 700 though , now I feel the need to retake my exam and get 710-720 in order to get into a good college. My maths is weak but I think I can improve in Verbal. I finished OG 2017 and verbal and quant OGs as well. I took 6 MGMATS with a constant score of 640 and 3 Kaplan tests with a 680 constant score. Also I took the two official gmat mocks with 700 and 690 scores. I need help on how I can improve my score in Verbal and how much time should I devote on a daily basis? Are 2 months enough to increase scores by 30 points? Also, if someone could tell me what material to practice from and what all mocks can I take especially for my Verbal scores. Thanks in advance 
04 Jul 2018, 12:13
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Hi nupurbiswal,
To start, a 680/Q48 is a fantastic Score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice Business School. As such, a retest might not be necessary.
GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 3 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few points). Most of your CAT Scores - and your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time you took a Test (about a 680 +/- a few points). You're actually closer to a 710 than you probably realize; to consistently score at that higher level though, you're going to have to make some adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Test.
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 long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
Goals:
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
To start, a 680/Q48 is a fantastic Score (it's right around the 85th percentile overall, so it could be enough to get you into your first-choice Business School. As such, a retest might not be necessary.
GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your 3 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few points). Most of your CAT Scores - and your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time you took a Test (about a 680 +/- a few points). You're actually closer to a 710 than you probably realize; to consistently score at that higher level though, you're going to have to make some adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Test.
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 long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
Goals:
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
06 Jul 2018, 08:28
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Nupurbiswal,
I’m glad you reached out and I’m happy to help.
So, while a 680 is a great starting, it will take some serious prep to bring your score up 30 points. It’s possible that you can see such gains in two months; however, you may need more time. With that said, to increase your quant and verbal scores to a more advanced level, you need to study each topic "with a fine-toothed comb" to determine your exact weaknesses.
For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By properly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant knowledge. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant and verbal topics.
Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.
In the case of verbal, let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number questions just from that topic: strengthen and weaken the argument, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific CR question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? Again, you must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.
When you do dozens of the same type of question one after the other, you learn what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of the questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.
So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently.
The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for thebest quant and verbal courses.
You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regarding
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.
Feel free to reach out with any further questions.
Good luck!
I’m glad you reached out and I’m happy to help.
So, while a 680 is a great starting, it will take some serious prep to bring your score up 30 points. It’s possible that you can see such gains in two months; however, you may need more time. With that said, to increase your quant and verbal scores to a more advanced level, you need to study each topic "with a fine-toothed comb" to determine your exact weaknesses.
For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By properly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant knowledge. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant and verbal topics.
Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.
In the case of verbal, let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number questions just from that topic: strengthen and weaken the argument, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific CR question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? Again, you must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.
When you do dozens of the same type of question one after the other, you learn what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of the questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.
So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently.
The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for thebest quant and verbal courses.
You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regarding
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.
Feel free to reach out with any further questions.
Good luck!
