Need help planning next moves

Hi penguinman,

Test Day is a rather specific 'event' - the details are specific and they matter, so you have to train as best as you can for all of them. The more realistic you can make your CATs, the more likely the score results are to be accurate. The more you deviate, the more "inflated" your practice scores can become - and that's likely what happened here. By skipping sections and taking the CATs at home, etc., you weren't properly training for the FULL GMAT 'experience.' By extension, it's likely that this recent CAT score is not completely accurate. As you continue to study you should make sure to take your CATs in a more realistic fashion (so take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.).

Rescheduling your Official GMAT for the end of July is a smart idea - and you could potentially improve a great deal during that time.

1) What study materials have you used so far?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Rich,

Thanks for getting back with me.
1. I am primarily using the OG17, OG Quant & Verbal 17, Verbal MGMAT Study Guides, and GMATClub Toolkit App.
2. I am pretty available on time and was thinking 20 hours per week would be a good target.

Thoughts?

Hi penguinman,

From what you've described, your studies right now are essentially 'book-heavy' - and if that's how you've approached most of your studies so far, then that might help to explain your situation. Many Test Takers who use a book-heavy study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular scoring level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided. This is meant to say that you would likely find it beneficial to invest in some new, non-book resources. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. You'll need to put a greater focus on Tactics and patterns during this next round of study, but if you're efficient then you could potentially hit your score goal by the end of July.

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

Definitely push that date back. But more than that, use that time you get more effectively. Your emphasis should be on getting good at discerning the patterns you see on the test as opposed to learning all there is to lessen about mathematical concepts. Here, you should work on getting that ego out of the way. It really doesn't matter HOW MUCH you know but HOW WELL you know it.

Take for instance the concept of numbers - they're essentially the product of indivisible building blocks we call prime numbers. I didn't quite get this when I was in school; I really realized this after I studied for the GMAT. Or why the two sides of a triangle should sum up to be greater than the third. It's not enough to memorize this. You should truly know WHY this is the case. And that's all there is to the GMAT. Being able to think objectively and logically to use the best tool at your disposal.

So how would I tackle this issue? I'd go back to the basics and get GMAC's own Quant guide. It has lots of questions but more importantly they start off with simple ones and then get complicated progressively. This will help you attack each question piece by piece and will give you an steady plank to walk on.

When you run into a problem or make a mistake, be brutal on yourself and ask yourself this "what don't I understand here?" - is it a fundamental weakness? Or am I simply not thinking fast enough? Or was it a silly mistake? If it's a fundamental mistake or an inability to solve it fast enough then clearly you don't understand it well enough. Try describing this concept or how you would solve the question to a kid. If you cannot explain it well enough, you need to go back. Keep doing that until you are able to break it down into a level in which you could communicate this to a 10 year old.

I did just that and was able to do a 690 with 3-4 weeks of studying. Last attempt I studied even less. Practice and critical understanding is all it takes. Eventually you'll train your brain to think in the way necessary for the GMAT. Good luck.