Scored 630 - How to improve to hit 660-670+

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to reply - packed with a lot of helpful information and insight.

I have been thinking too that a 660+ is achievable and not too far out of my reach, and that's why I want to give it another go (with an even more focused approach and sacrificing some family time). On exam 3, I had a good score for my verbal, and I think if I got a 2-3 more questions correct for quant I would have been able to hit the 660 mark. Having said that, I know my Quant has hovered around Q39 to 42 (around there on my previous exams and mock tests). I want to improve and get 660+ so if I'm being honest with myself, it's what I deserved. Going into exam 3 I always felt confident about my verbal but not-so-much for my quant and I was hoping I'd just have a "good day" - and nope it wasn't :P

You mentioned that Quant is a good reflection of how students might handle the academic side of things for business schools, but then how about the verbal scores? What would those scores indicate?

To answer your questions, I'll just copy your questions below and reply on the next line.

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each of your 3 attempts? For this most recent attempt, how many hours did you typically study each week?
- As I mentioned previously, when I took my first attempt my son was pretty young and we had minimal support so I juggled with going to an office job/after work Dad duties/studying. I wasn't really focused and studying was scattered and all over the place. Studying was rather ineffective too I believe but in terms of raw numbers I would say 3-4 months with 6 hours per week?
- 2nd time, I was just really stressed and was literally second guessing myself the week before my exam.
- 3rd exam, this time I was slightly more disciplined considering my two previous results were disappointing to me and I tried to "focus" harder. For this attempt, I would say I studied 4-5 months maybe 8 hours per week?
- It's definitely harder with a child, and it shouldn't be an excuse, but I would feel bad not spending time with the wife and toddler. I think if I am to attempt a 4th time, I really have to make a clear decision to set time apart and sacrifice some family time. Hoping to give myself 3 months starting soon.
2) What study materials have you used so far?
- I used the Official GMAT Material and their mock tests, the Economist online course, and a few Manhattan GMAT Books.
- I found that for Verbal I "understood" the material better, types of questions and how to tackle/answer them. I still have room to improve!
- For Quant, if I'm being honest I do feel like I really struggle and don't feel confident. I tend to not understand the questions unless they're on the easier side of things. And I wouldn't say I'm the worst at math, as I'm great with mental arithmetic but boy oh boy, GMAT questions are so different + I can't seem to keep up with the time and just get lost in the wording of questions. As you mentioned above, I will need to review alot of concepts and tactics.
3) For this recent attempt, on what 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)?
- I took 2 GMAT official mock tests (one a week before, and the other two weeks before the exam)
- Mock 1: 630 ( Verbal 34 / Quant 43 )
- Mock 2: 620 (Verbal 35 / Quant 39 )

Goals:
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
- I'm hoping to take my GMAT in another 3-4 months MAX.
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
I'd be applying to some Canadian schools like UofT Rotman and Western but honestly, the school I have eyes for only is INSEAD. I know 670 might be on the lower-end of applications and acceptances but it is the dream school for me. So probably Round 2 for Jan 21 intake.

Thanks for your help!

Thank you for the advice zhanbo. Yes, quant is the bottleneck and I need to work on this - I'll revisit the official quant questions and participate more on forums for clarification. Definitely feel like I'm stuck in a rut but I know I haven't applied myself fully to understanding the core concepts, which is important.

Hi hongru,

If you are interested in INSEAD, then you will have to make sure that you have a strong OVERALL profile - and as such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement.

There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

As far as your GMAT Score is concerned, if your Verbal skills are consistently this strong, then it would not take much for you to get to the point that you could hit your Score Goal; you could potentially retest in a month and score at that higher level.

1) Are you planning to continue your studies immediately or do you want to take some 'time off' before restarting?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Hi Rich, thanks for your response

Definitely will go over to the admissions forum and ask for advice there about my overall profile.

My first goal is to improve my GMAT score. To answer your questions below:
1) Are you planning to continue your studies immediately or do you want to take some 'time off' before restarting?. I plan on taking 2 to 3 weeks off, and then re-starting and I want to re-take in 3 months.
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week? I think I can manage maybe 1.5-2 hours per day on the weekdays (so approx 7.5-9 hours from Monday to Friday) and between 6-8 hours (sometimes my wife works on Saturdays) on the weekend. So on average per week, and sometimes things pop up but I think I can make it a point to study a good 12-14 hours per week?

Hi hongru,

With 12-14 hours a week of consistent, guided study, I think that you would have a good chance at hitting your Score Goal (and it would probably not take 3 months; likely just 1-2 months).

Once you're ready to restart your studies, you should post back here (or you can feel free to contact me directly at Rich.C@empowergmat.com) and we can plan out an appropriate Study Plan for you.

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

Hi hongru,

I’m sorry to hear how things went with your GMAT. The good news is that your verbal score is in a pretty nice spot, so if you can improve your quant score, you should be right at your score goal. Regarding how to move forward with your quant prep, since you scored Q39, you’ll want to follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to learn each GMAT quant topic individually, and then practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. Let me expand on this idea further.

Let’s say you are learning about Number Properties. First, you should develop as much conceptual knowledge about Number Properties as possible. In other words, your goal will be to completely understand properties of factorials, perfect squares, quadratic patterns, LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, and remainders, to name a few concepts. After carefully reviewing the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions, practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties. When you do dozens of questions of the same type one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to around at least 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

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.

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.
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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 [the best quant courses. You also may find it helpful to read this article about How To Increase Your GMAT Quant Score.

Feel free to reach out with further questions. Good luck!

hongru

Hi Mate!

First of all kudos to your verbal score V38 (85 percentile)!

Scoring in Quant is not a big challenge. There are many sources and tests available online that can help you in big way!

One of sources, which really inspired me and worked for many including dcummins (I know, i have become a big fan of your efforts!) is TargetTestPrep. Refer https://gmatclub.com/forum/430-to-710-q47-v41-ir3-am-i-dreaming-312878.html#p2427270.

All the very best! Hope this is helpful

Thank you Rich, I will reach out to you when I’m ready to begin my studies again (which will be in the very near future!)

Thank you for the thorough response on how to approach my studies (quant in particular). What you’re saying makes sense to me I.e. getting the foundation and concepts of a topic down and then practicing to get “streaks” of questions correct. I did watch Dcummins video and it helped my approach towards the GMAT and perspective of “gamifying” the exam.

Just to kind of echo your feedback on studying approach. and working on building a much better foundation and understanding to improve from Q39, if I use Manhattan GMAT books for the studying the 5 quant concepts (number properties, geometry etc.), would the combination of the questions at the end of the chapters serve as a good review of my knowledge + doing streaks of GMAT official questions? Also noting down the questions I’m weak I.e. getting wrong or slow at in the form of an error log. Would that be a good study approach?

I will take 2-3 maybe a month off and then I will reach out in the very near future if I need your help or I have any questions. Cheers!

Thank you mate I did see Dcummins video and I was truly inspired to never give up!

Hang on there, you seem to be very ner to your goal score. Your verbal score is really very good. You need systematic guided study in quant and you should get your target score.

Keep up the good work. All the best!

Yes. Your approach seems sound. I'm here if you need me.

Good luck!

hongru Hello. I have a 2-year-old and understand how hard it is to find time to study when you work full time and have family commitments. Your verbal score is good, so congratulations on the V38. At Q39, you will need to go over all the concepts tested on the GMAT. I will recommend Target Test Prep since you plan to retake in 3 months. I have to warn you that TTP's course is very comprehensive, but it will force you to learn the concepts and practice tons of questions at the end of each chapter. Please make sure you don't neglect verbal if you decide to use TTP's course.

Feel free to PM me if you have further questions.

Best wishes!