Request for study plan: 640 to 700+

Question

Hello,
I gave my GMAT twice in 2016 and scored 640(1st: Q41 V36 & Q42 V35) both the times. I feel I did not put in enough effort to yield an improvement. Honestly, I still do not know how do I put in enough effort. So I decided to reach out to this forum to request suggestions for a study plan. I work full time so I would want it to be manageable. I intend to apply for some early rounds and 1st rounds, nothing beyond that. So I would want to get done with GMAT with a 700 latest by May 2017.

Looking forward to the suggestions!

Thanks

GMATinsight · Answer

The only plan that will be suitable for you is to work on Quant section right from the beginning. Your score of 41-42 speaks of lack of your command on the basic fundamentals of Quant so the plan should be to start going through the basic of Maths concepts first. Solve topicwise questions (atleast 50-100 questions from each topic in PS and DS combined) for the topic that you revise. You accuracy level should reach to about 70% will be the sign that you are now becoming ready for the test. A iprovement of your Quant score from 42 to 46 can improve your score by 30-40 marks which is EASY and POSSIBLE> Now the journey after this score will become a little tougher. Improving score from 46 to 48 will be tougher as you will have to get a greater command over more difficult question. I suggest for the remaining improvement, you can forward to the Verbal section which seems to be your forte. To plan on how to proceed on Verbal I suggest that you either refer to your GMAT ESR report and identify your weak section (If you haven't obtained ESR report already then I recommend that you order it first on the link mentioned below) https://www.mba.com/global/store/store-c ... eport.aspx Please let us know for any suggestion of help in the sections that you want to improve. I hope this helps!!!

TrevorKleeTutor · Answer

Well, I'd recommend you check out my 60 day study plan, which you can find in my signature. It's $1, and I recently had a student use it to get from 650 to 760. It'll be about an hour a day of work.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi salickk,

You have not posted about your studies since last May/2016, so I'd like to know more about what you've been doing over the last 7 months:

1) How many times have you actually taken the GMAT (you mentioned that you cancelled a score, so it's been at least 3 attempts) and on what date was each attempt?
2) How long did you study for each attempt?
3) What study materials did you use for each attempt?
4) When was the last time you took a NEW FULL-LENGTH CAT and how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

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

salickk · Answer

Thank you very much everyone! I will try to respond to everyone in one reply. Thank you GMATInsight. Your suggestion is very strong. I will get my ESR report and see where can I improve my verbal while strengthening my quant. Also, thank you for being the first respondent

TrevorKleeTutor, Thank you for the suggestion. Although it seems more of an advertisement (sorry if it sounds rude), i will surely visit your link. Thank you rich, you are right I have provided limited information. Please find my answers below: 1) How many times have you actually taken the GMAT (you mentioned that you cancelled a score, so it's been at least 3 attempts) and on what date was each attempt? Correct, thrice. 640(IR=0)->590(cancelled)->640(IR=6) 2) How long did you study for each attempt? 1st attempt was in march, second in may and third in September. In introspection, I do not think I put in enough effort. I read somewhere that one should expect improvement only after 50+ hours, and I doubt i put in enough hours to expect 700+ by that formula. 3) What study materials did you use for each attempt? I used official GMAT, Manhattan verbal+quant set.veritas prep tests and manhattan prep tests for mocks, never surpassed 640. 4) When was the last time you took a NEW FULL-LENGTH CAT and how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? It must be September 14. After September 16 I got busy with my applications. Got 1 acceptance, 4 rejections, 2 decisions are pending. Schools were top 20-top 35. I hope I answered all of the questions. Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi salickk,

Since you've already received an acceptance letter - with the potential for two more - the immediate question is whether you're going to accept any of those invitations or not. If you are, then you don't necessarily need to continue studying for the GMAT (unless there's some justifiable reason - a higher score might help you gain scholarship money, etc.). Can you go into more detail about your timeline and plans?

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

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