Recommendation for Study Resource

Question

Hi friends!
Hoping to get some specific recommendations here on what prep program is best for my case.

My main source of prep over the last few months has been Magoosh - I’ve completed all the lessons. Also attended a bunch of E-Gmat webinars for various topics and read several downloads from this beautiful site.

Took my GMAT online yesterday and did even worse than the official practice test. 
640: Q-41, V-37
Practice test had my V at 40.
I struggled with timing on quant and had to randomly guess on the last six.

Needless to say, I am very unhappy with my score and would like to retake in a month (at the end of June). 
I have a FT consulting job so I’ll be studying primarily on the evenings and weekends. I was aiming to apply for Round 3 intake at INSEAD but now will have to postpone to Round 4 (end of July) in order to get my GMAT score in order.
I would like to get my V score to 44-46 range and my Q score to 49.

Any advice is appreciated. I keep seeing that TTP is good for quant and verbal but I’m wondering if it can help achieve my desired improvement in the time I have (I don’t think I can take the time to watch 500 more videos, especially after how long Magoosh took). 
For verbal - I’m a native English speaker. For quant - I like math and I think I’m just missing strategies for logically solving the problems rather than from a standard math perspective. So really, I am looking for a program that I can tailor to my weaknesses and get the most out of in the shortest time. Perhaps I need a personalized study plan - any recommendations for that as well?

Thank you in advance,
Zhenya

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Shikhar22 · Answer

Not an expert. But went through kind of the same situation.

Firstly, identify what topics in quants and verbal needs improvement.

Manhattan prep gmat guides will help you work on those topics in detail. Work on them. Clear the concepts and then practice a bunch of questions on the topics you cover.

If you don’t have Manhattan prep guides. I can email soft copies. They are great source of perfecting each topic individually.

See if that works

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Zhenya0258 · Answer

Shikhar22  Thank you so much for your response! It’s comforting to know you went through the same thing. 
I’ve sent you a PM with my email if you don’t mind.

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MathRevolution · Answer

Hello Zhenya0258,

A score of 640 is decent and a target score of 700+ seems realistic.

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning especially on hard level questions while stably hitting middle-level questions.
• Lack of many updated questions and practice in the recent exam trend
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

You can try our free diagnostic test and receive a comprehensive study guide by topic. This test will clearly help you understand your weak areas.

You can schedule a Comprehensive counseling session for 30 mins with one of our experts: https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session for detailed advice on your current study plans and also to learn self-preparation strategies. You can also discuss your ESR.

You must schedule your day smartly to revise the topics and also practice more questions. We would suggest you register with Math Revolution https://www.mathrevolution.com/member/signup to get access to our 7-day full-on-demand course (27 topics, 490 subtopics, and 1,500 questions) for free trial lessons.

Since we are a math expert, we will recommend you go through our post on the GMAT club: Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

Regular tests will reflect the positive change in the score, and hence, your confidence will boost up. Gradually, with the help of mock tests, you will be able to compete with time and hence will be able to learn time management.

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@mathrevolution.com

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Math Revolution Team

kntombat · Answer

Zhenya0258 , I think Target Test Prep would be helpful for you. I think you should give the trial a shot.
 ScottTargetTestPrep ,  MartyTargetTestPrep .

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Zhenya,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out as well as hoped. 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:

1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the course that you mentioned? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
 
 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

Zhenya0258 · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC 
Hi Rich. Thanks for your reply!

1). I’ve studied around 120-140 hours total. On an off in March/April, and very intensively in May (I took a week off work even). The bulk of my studying was done in a month. In June I think I can dedicate 3 hours each weekday evening and 8-10 hours each Saturday and Sunday. I’m planning to retake July 3rd.

2) I’ve watched a lot of eGmat webinars and used their system mainly for practice and assessment tests. Their Prethinking approach did not work for me. I think because, being a native speaker, I already have a strategy my brain goes to for verbal (unlike quant). I did start determining my own conclusion and assumptions prior to reading the answer choices, but the whole negating each statement and plugging it back in did not work well for me. I’ve also reviewed each question I missed on every platform and made sure to understand the correct solution but have not been keeping an official error log (which I will start now).

3) Official GMAC mock exam 5/30: V40 Q41
Magoosh exam 5/27: V34 Q36
Magoosh exam 5/16: V32 Q29

I plan to get the detailed report for my official exam for reference as well.

Thanks again for your time!
Zhenya

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GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Zhenya

I think you're pretty close to getting 700+ and are missing key strategies to solve questions (as you yourself figured out). That is absolutely the way to go ! I suggest you give a go to the free trial offered by GMATWhiz which has both the things you are looking for - a focus on methodologies for solving tougher 700+ level questions as well as a personalized study plan which would be integrated with your course. You can find it here -

https://www.gmatwhiz.com/

If you want to get into a more detailed discussion, we can do that as well. You can do that here -

https://calendly.com/gmatwhiz

Hope this helps !

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Zhenya0258,

I think TTP would be perfect for you! You know, we offer a full-access, 5-day trial, so why don't you give the trial a shot and then reach out to us on live chat, so can discuss your situation in detail. I'm also here if you have any additional questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Zhenya,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so since your studies were mostly inconsistent - it's likely that you have just not put in enough time and effort to have scored higher yet.

Going forward, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

Statistically-speaking, raising a 640 to the point that you can consistently score 750+ will likely require that you commit to at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam so you CAN train to score at a higher level. While there's no harm in retaking the GMAT on July 3rd, that's probably not enough time for you to hone all of the skills needed to consistently score at that much higher level - and you would likely need to continue studying and retest again later on.

While the Enhanced Score Report doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

Zhenya0258 · Answer

Hi Rich,
Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. I do agree that it’s a consistent, predictable exam and that additional time will help. However, since my Round 4 deadlines for my application are coming up at the end of July, I am afraid that I’ll have to make the most of the time I do have. I’ll see if I can push the test out to July 10th to give myself another week.
I do think an improvement to a score of 700+ should be realistic in that time frame since I know the concepts already and will be focusing on refining my approach and strategies. 
I’d love to get your opinion on the ESR once it’s released.

Thanks,
Zhenya

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Zhenya,

While we're waiting for your ESR, we need to better-define what your actual Score Goal is. A Q49/V44 is more along the lines of a 750+, but raising your recent 640 to a 700 is considerably easier by comparison (and would be a feasible Goal given the timeframe that you've described). So, if you would be satisfied with a 700, then we need to be clear on that point before we plan anything out.

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

Zhenya0258 · Answer

Hi Rich,
I am targeting V44-46, Q49 since the university recommends to have at least 75th percentile in both sections. I am aiming for 750 but I think that a score of 720-750 will be sufficient for me to stand out on my application. 
I feel that my verbal skills are stronger and I am confident I can increase my verbal score to help pull my up my total score.

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Anupom · Answer

TTP quant is cool. Try their trial. TTP, the way they make you repeat concepts over and over and over again is brilliant because it ends up sticking in your brain.
   Posted from my mobile device

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