Recommendations needed- Please help!

Hi analeonnnn,

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 various CAT score results - along with your Official Score - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 660 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Since you've been scoring at this level for some time, it's possible that you've developed some 'bad habits' that are keeping you from scoring higher and might take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits').

Both of the Test Dates that you've mentioned are relatively soon (just 1-2 weeks from now), but you may need more time than that to get to the point that you can consistently Score 700+. The Round 1 application deadlines are far enough away that you still have plenty of time to continue studying though, so what would be the latest date that you would be comfortable pushing back your next GMAT to?

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

I agree with EMPOWERgmatRichC. There is something else that's holding you back from bridging the gap between a 650 and a 700. I don't know if this is something you can resolve in a mere 1-2 weeks. If you really want to attempt the exam again in 2 weeks, you may want to have a conversation with a GMAT expert. I happen to know that EMPOWERgmatRichC is a very reputable tutor around here

Hi Rich -
Thanks a lot for your answer! I actually wanted to have the exam ready by Mid-July because I have a one-month business trip which will limit my GMAT study. I do want to apply by R1, so I'd say that I'd likely be not as focused in the GMAT for about a month but could potentially go back to study in Mid-August. I'm planning to prepare applications while in the business trip (since applications can be advanced in little tracks) but I'm a bit concerned to disconnect from the GMAT. At this point I know I'm fairly close to obtaining a 700, but the I firmly believe that the pressure of having the exam ready by Mid-July is firing back and hurting my performance.

Any recommendations? What should my study plan look like?

Thanks!!

Hi analeonnnn,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Since you have scored as high as V38/Q48 (on separate exams), you certainly are capable of achieving your score goal. That said, the variations you are experiencing in your verbal and quant scores indicate that you have lingering weakness that have been exposed during your practice exams and real GMAT, and those weaknesses have led to lower quant or verbal scores.

To strengthen weak areas, you need to go through GMAT quant and verbal carefully to find your exact weaknesses, fill gaps in your knowledge, and strengthen your skills. The overall process will be to learn all about how to answer question types with which you currently aren't very comfortable, and do dozens of practice questions category by category, basically driving up your score point by point. For example, if you find that you are not strong in answering Number Properties questions, then carefully review the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions and practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. 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 carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant 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, types that you would rather not see, and types 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.

You can work on verbal in a similar manner. Let’s say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number of Critical Reasoning questions: Strengthen and Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, find the Conclusion, Must be True, etc. As you go through the questions, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get correct. If you missed a Weaken question, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize what the question was asking? Did you skip over a key detail in an answer choice? Getting GMAT verbal questions right is a matter of what you know, what you see, and what you do. So, any time that you don't get one right, you can seek to identify what you had to know to get the right answer, what you had to see that you didn't see, and what you could have done differently to arrive at the correct answer.

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 quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for [the best quant](https://gmatclub.com/reviews/highest-ra ... or-quant-4) and [verbal courses](https://gmatclub.com/reviews/highest-ra ... -verbal-34]. You also may find my article with more information regarding
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT helpful.

Please reach out with any further questions.

Hello, I recently gave my GMAT after 2.5 months of prep and scored a 540 (Q37, V27). I am planning to retake the exam in about a month and a half (45 days-ish), and need help with planning my approach to study.

I do know what went wrong, but don't know what's the best way to move ahead with the study.

What went wrong:
1) I am working a full-time job which requires international travel. Obviously, my studies got hit while I was traveling and I didn't have a regular schedule.
2) I didn't have a proper study plan and was just going with the flow.
3) My initial target score was very low - I thought I cannot do this so I created a self-made barrier that I cannot score beyond 640.
4) I had to start from very basic - touched books after 7 years, and had limited time to practice.
5) I didn't finish the entire OG (especially Quant and RC)
6) My RC and SC concepts are still weak.
7) I took 5 practice tests along with a couple of quizzes and scored almost the same in every test!
8) In Quant, my weak areas are probability, set theory, coordinate geometry, and I am not so confident with number properties especially in DS.

What I need help with (and would be most grateful if someone can point me to already available resources, etc.)
1) Study plan!!! I need to create a rock solid study plan that would help me tackle, measure and quantify my study on a daily basis. What should finish when? When should I take the practice tests, etc.? I feel like a day-to-day plan will help me most rather than a weekly plan, but I don't know how to create one.
2) What are the best resources for me? I was thinking of taking up e-GMAT verbal online plan, but not sure if that's right for me.
3) RC, RC, RC! I have tried almost every trick explained on most of the forums but still unsuccessful. My current rate is 20 - 30% correct answers.
4) Some expert advise(s) + motivation is most welcome

Also, a quick profile summary/career history - just in case a great idea pops in your head looking at this - and you can suggest what colleges I can apply to easily with a minimum GMAT score.
1) 7 years of work experience in strategy consulting and account management
2) 5+ years of work experience with Deloitte where I experienced fastest career growth (2 promotions in 4 years, support services)
3) 5+ years of volunteer experience and community service towards Child Education in India. I have also organized and participated in various workshops and events. Currently working as a facilitator for a teacher development program for private affordable schools

++ The Schools I am currently targetting:
1) NUS, Nanyang in Singapore
2) ISB, IIMs in India
3) McGill, Rotman in Canada
4) AGSM, Melbourne Business School in Australia
5) Rotterdam in the Netherlands

Any help is most appreciated.

Cheers!
SG