Optimal strategy to go from 730 to 770?

Question

What would be your strategy to go from 720-730 (estimated by GMATPrep) to 770 in exactly one month? Not full time, unfortunately, only in evenings and in weekend? I know it is ambitious but at least I want to try to improve as much as I can.

But what should I do? Review dozens of my notes with mistakes I made before (most of them because of missing some minor thing), practice more tests or solve more advanced problems?

I am non-native speaker but my Quant & Verbal scores are balanced: 48 & 42 correspondingly.

I already went through all 8 Manhattan Guides & Official guide and solved most of the problems there. Then, I just took GMATPrep twice.

Thank you very much for your help!

AbhiJ · Answer

If you are a non native speaker, then I think you can boost your quant from Q48-Q51 using any one or more of the resources

- MGMAT Advanced Quant
- MGMAT Challenge Archive
- GMAT Boost 250 Questions
- Ian Stewart Questions
- GMAT Quantum 450 Questions
- GMAT Club Tests
- 4GMAT.com PDFs.

These are all advanced questions. For mid-level questions
- Magoosh GMAT
- Kaplan Quiz Bank.

Just do a research and see what fits your purpose.

rajeevrks27 · Answer

hi AbhiJ,
never heard about GMAT Boost 250 Questions, Ian Stewart Questions and GMAT Quantum 450 Question. It would be really great if you elaborate little on them.
one more thing, i have heard great guns about jeff sackmann's challenge sets, i think they also have good 700 level questions.

AbhiJ · Answer

All three are proprietary questions by GMAT Math tutors.

GMAT Boost Questions:
They cost 10$ for 250 Questions and have video explanations for each question. They are created by Greg.
You can view sample Q's on his site.

https://www.gmatboost.com/index.php

Ian Stewart Questions:
He is quite famous on GMAT forums. He also has a set of 250 Questions. You can contact him on GMATix.com for price.

GMAT Quantum 450 Questions

Dabral is a GMAT tutor who has posted solutions to all Official GMAT Quant Questions published till now: GMAT Prep, OG 10, OG 11, OG 12, OG Quant Review 1 & 2, Paper tests.

https://www.gmatquantum.com/

Quoted from his site:

Paid Content: $145 for list below.
Emphasis on teaching core concepts.
15 hours of detailed video lessons.
450 problems reflecting current GMAT content.

rajeevrks27 · Answer

Hey AbhiJ, Thanx for the information. Really helpful. I will also request to give ur expertise comments on the under mentioned thread:- the-final-climb-quest-for-q-50-from-q47-129441.html

bb · Answer

One option/suggestion would be to take a course (selectively) that offers a 50 point money back guarantee:
1. Knewton (you must take every exercise to get the guarantee)
2. GMAT Pill
3. Magoosh

They will refund your money if you do not score 50 points higher on the GMAT (assuming you are retaking).

rajeevrks27 · Answer

Hi bb, 
IMO The efficacy of 50 point increase needs to be checked for such a high score. I think the 50 point increase will work under normal conditions (500-700 range), however, haven't come across a debrief that says like 730 to 780 with such strategies.

bb · Answer

You are right. Not many. This is the most prominent one I can think of: how-i-upgraded-my-700-to-a-770-q50-v44-82149.html

However, if you have 30 days and want the best chance, why not take a course that may end up free unless you get to the target?

KarishmaB · Answer

First of all, I would suggest you to think twice before taking the test again. Your score is above average (and the split is good too) for every b-school. Scoring exceptionally high in GMAT will not give you much of an edge. (Scoring miserably in GMAT is a problem). Even if you get a 770, still your essays and interview will be equally important and hold the same weightage. A good school will not give you admission only because you have a 770. Also, there is a chance that you will not see any improvement/score will go down. So taking GMAT again may not be the best use of your time, effort and money. That said, if you do want to take it again, following is my opinion: Unfortunately (or fortunately!), going from Q 48 to 51 involves work on conceptual clarity and timing strategies instead of just practice. You can solve any question of any level based on a particular concept if you understand that concept well. Also, I would suggest you to work on solving questions using logical methods which are faster and less prone to errors. What do I mean by logical approach? Check out this post for an example: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2011/06 ... se-in-tsd/

dabral · Answer

Hi rajeevrks27,

I wrote the 450 questions to capture as many of the recently tested GMAT concepts in the fewest possible number of problems. There are many new ideas and concepts that have been added since Pearson Vue took over writing the GMAT in early 2006(harder questions on sequences, functions, parabolas, circles and line intersections, standard deviations, etc. that are relevant only for 90%+ scorers in quant), and unfortunately a lot of these have not been released as part of the Official GMAT guides, including the 13th Edition.

This is especially important for students scoring near the very upper end of the score chart. An example would be a problem that hinges on the use of the computational formula for the standard deviation. Prior to 2009, I used to think that if GMAT writers were to test any concept on standard deviation, then either it will be a conceptual question that does not require knowing the expression for standard deviation, or if it does require one to compute the standard deviation, then they provide the formula with a clear explanation of the terms. This is no longer the case because some questions might require you to recognize the computational formula for the standard deviation, or at least be able to rearrange the general formula for standard deviation and arrive at the computational formula. The example I gave here is only of relevance for people targeting the 95 to 99% on the quantitative section.

Cheers,
Dabral

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