Strategy for Retaking the GMAT

Question

Hello!

My name is Rohan and I'm planning on taking the gmat again. I've taken it in the past and scored a  710 (Q47, V40, IR7, AWA6) . I took this during a particularly difficult phase.

A few months ago, I randomly gave a mock without any immediate prep and managed a  720 (Q47, V42) . I also kind of rushed through it and had 7 minutes and 15 minutes to spare in Q & V respectively.

However, work life got the better of me and I could never really carve out time for gmat, until recently. I'm considering giving it again in the next 4-8 weeks and have started practising for 1-2 hours daily. Planning to take another mock in the next 1-2 days.

I'm fairly confident in V, however struggle in putting things together in Q. The concepts are decently clear but i'm unable to apply them under a time pressure while attempting the section. Also, my DS seems to be weaker than PS.

I'm trying to build a certain practise and review routine that could help. I'm also looking for individuals/tutors who can help perhaps specifically help me improve.

I'm based out of New Delhi, India.

Any suggestions/recommendations will be tremendously helpful.

Thanks!

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
As per your previous score, I feel you are prepared for a good score, though you need to revise all the concepts.
In my opinion, you can practice DS from the Gmatclub. There are tons of questions for practice and you can practice them in a timed manner. Regarding
tutors I heard Chiranjeev Singh is based in New Delhi and can help you, though I personally have not contacted him.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

Are you looking tutor for verbal or Quant?

rohanrg · Answer

I'm looking more specifically for Quant. 
Aim is to increase my score from V47 to V50

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rohanrg,

First off, a 710/Q47 is an outstanding score, so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

There's no harm in retesting though - and you could potentially pick up a number of points in the Quant section if you adjust how you "see" (and respond to) that section. With a Q47, you almost certainly have all of the math knowledge you need, so you just have to train to face questions in a more strategic way (and train to take advantage of all of the built-in patterns that the GMAT questions writers put there for you to find).

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:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) How long ago did you take the Official GMAT?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Rohan,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. The good news is that Q47 is a pretty awesome start. That said, to improve your quant score to a higher level, you need to go through GMAT quant 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 and types that you would rather not see, and types of questions 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.

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 materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant courses .

You also may find it helpful to read this article about  How To Increase Your GMAT Quant Score .

Please reach out with any further questions.

Let’s do this!!

rohanrg · Answer

Thanks for responding Rich!

To answer your questions -

Studies:
1) How long have you studied in total? - I'm presuming you're talking about my overall education level; That is high school + undergraduate degree. I've been working for a few years, so have a bit of experience under my belt as well. I'm fairly 'fresh' on the concepts, since I keep practising maths just for fun alongside work. 
2) What study materials have you used so far? - I've mostly always studied from the OG. This time however, I'm using the OQ Quant Review 2019 & the OG 2019 as my primary study material. I'm fairly confident with verbal as I'm a voracious reader and I actively write as well.
3) How long ago did you take the Official GMAT? - The last official attempt was in September 2017 and the mock I took was somewhere in the middle of 2018. Yeah, time has a funny quality where it seems too recent yet too far off in the past.

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score? - Tbh, my dream score is 780. But truth be told, I'd be happy with anything above a 760.
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School? - Once I'm done with the exam and have gotten the desired score, I'll take care of some work related activities and start the application process by the end of July. Should give a comfortable 45-60 days to meet the deadline for most top b-schools.
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to? - Top 5 across the US/Europe.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rohanrg,

When I asked about your studies, I was referring specifically to your GMAT studies (since your post implied that you took a practice CAT just a couple of months ago). However, since it's been about a year (or more) since you took that CAT, we really cannot rely on that Score as a valid indicator of your CURRENT 'ability level.' Thus, you should plan to take a new CAT sometime soon (you mentioned perhaps in the next 1-2 days - and that would be perfect); make sure to take it in a realistic fashion (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.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss how best to proceed.

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

bebs · Answer

Hello,

I'd recommend TTP to get your quant to 49-51. The course is really comprehensive and I have no doubt it will help you. The only thing is that 4-8 weeks won't be enough to finish the course since you will need about 180 hours to complete the course. I know TTP also has an accelerated study plan so you might use that instead of a comprehensive study plan since you also scored a 47 on GMAT.

Best wishes!

HanoiGMATtutor · Answer

To be honest, you're going to have to study a lot harder than you currently are in the next 1-2 months to get anywhere close to a 760. If you are willing to work hard to get the result you want, let me know. You could also go with some other reputable tutor on this board. I would not recommend self-studying if you are this short on time and have such a lofty goal. Good luck!

rohanrg · Answer

Hi Rich!

Thanks for responding.

I took a mock test today and got a 700.

Here's the breakdown - Q47 (I wasn't able to manage the timing well and couldn't attempt the 31st question). Had 10 incorrect from the 30 that I did manage to attempt.

V 38. Biggest problem area was SC - I got 7 incorrect answers here. CR - all were correct. RC 2 were incorrect, these were also due to hurrying up. I ended up with 10 minutes to spare.

Additional points - I took an official gmat mock with 31 questions in Quant & 36 questions in Verbal. 
The order was Q, V, IR, AWA
Took it at a reasonably human hour - a couple hours after waking up.
Haven't booked an exam date yet and hence not sure of the exact time. Will sort that out in the next few days, once I'm clear on how much time it will take me to sufficiently prepare.

rohanrg · Answer

Hey Scott! Thanks for the detailed reply!

I've been reviewing my practise material and less than 20% of the questions I get wrong are because of lack of understanding. 80% of the time, it's 'careless mistake' or 'lack of attentiveness' or 'being unable to focus - thinking something & writing something'. BTW! Tried the questions on your site - got 1/1, 8/10, 2/3 correct from the questions shared directly and respectively from the in-page and outwards links from the article you shared. Liked the simple and clear explanations. I mostly practise with timed sessions and this sometimes leaves me unsure of why I selected a particular answer. Should I revisit the approach and aim to get 100% accuracy first and then time or should I aim to increase my accuracy in a timed manner from the start? I gave an official mock today. Here's the breakdown - Q47 - 10 incorrect. total attempted 30. missed 1 question as I couldn't manage the time better. V38 - SC - 7 wrong. CR - all correct. RC - 2 incorrect. I need to revise SC. I'm fairly good with CR & RC, just a little rusty if I may.

rohanrg · Answer

Hey!

Studying hard(er) is not a problem; Building a strategy/roadmap and being able to address my areas of improvement is.

Thanks for your reply!

rohanrg · Answer

Hello!

Yeah! Even if I do 3 hours/day, then finishing 180 hours in 2 months seems like a bit of stretch. Considering I'll also have to practise V and give some mock tests and spend time reviewing those as well.

The trouble at this score is, I know most of the concepts but unable to put them to use in the exam mode. Will definitely check out TTP and see if it makes sense!

Can you share more about your experience using TTP?

Thanks!

sefwow · Answer

Doesn't need to be as structured as you think it would be - doing a few CATs and making use of GMAT Club tests will give you a good idea of your areas to hone in on.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Great question! For now, your best bet is to work on accuracy. As you improve your accuracy (and thus your skills), better timing will certainly follow.

Also, did you have a chance to actually check out a trial to TTP? If not, I’d love for you to give it a shot. I think our course could be a real game changer for you.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rohanrg,

This recent Score shows that you've essentially kept most of your overall GMAT skills from before - and that you're a naturally strong critical thinker - which is good. Since we now have 3 Scores (spread over 2 years) that are essentially the same result, we have a pretty good idea of what will need to change for you to hit 760+. You're actually closer to that Score than you probably realize - and you could potentially hit that Goal in a month IF you're focused on learning and practicing the proper Tactics. If you're interested in a Study Plan for this next phase of your studies, then I'll be happy to offer some suggestions.

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

rohanrg · Answer

Hey Scott!

I didn't get a chance to check out the trial. I did however gave a Quant assessment and got 18/31 correct. Had selected the 47-51 difficulty level and it showed that my initial level of preparedness is at medium.

I'm going to start with the TTP trial in the next 1-2 days.

Right now, should I focus on solving a question correctly irrespective of how much time it takes? (By that I mean, more than 2 minutes, and maybe dropping it at 4 minutes).

How do you think I could best utilise TTP if I go for the paid version?

Thanks!

rohanrg · Answer

Hey Rich,

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm focusing my energy on two things -
1. To practise in a timed manner. Doing more session practise and doing more mocks
2. To build/improve conceptual understanding at a concept level.

How would you recommend I go about it?

I think a study plan will help tremendously.

Again, I can put in the hours and deal with the frustration of getting incorrect answers if it is backed by a plan and there is some method to the madness.

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

Here you go for the review of various company, which offer math and verbal section. If you want to have my opinion, you can PM me. https://gmatclub.com/reviews/ Thanks__

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