Some clarity wrt Strategy

Question

I'm sorry if the nature of this post is as repetitive as it gets, but after going through countless other threads, I'm still not convinced about my strategy going forward. I would really appreciate the input you guys might have. I took the first of the 2 mocks offered by GMAC, and I got a score of 560 (Q33 V34),

This was rather surprising to me, as I've always considered my verbal ability to be significantly better than my Quant, even though I am from an engineering background. I want to ask, if a score of the ever fleeting is 700 is possible given a time period of about 2-2.5 months from my current score. I have all the time in the world thanks to the virus.

Additionally, I know it's a bad idea to refer too many guides in order to form an effective strategy, but I am having trouble ironing out the de facto material I'll use for my prep. Some say Manhattan's quant is way harder than the official tests, hence making it the best for quant. Is this true?

And as for verbal, the general consensus I found was proponent of the OG being the way to go. Should I go for this

So to surmise, is a score jump to 700 possible within the given time frame, and largely focused on the above books? (Manhattan for Quant, OG for verbal), should I include Kaplan 800 and the like too? And also, is the Manhattan test prep series the best for me if I want to focus on my quant?

Thanks a lot for any input whatsoever. Hope y'all are staying safe.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sharkeinstein,

A 560 is a solid initial CAT score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years) - and if you consider the respective percentiles of a Q33 and a V34, you'll see that you DID perform notably better on the Verbal section than the Quant section. Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you're going to 'limit' your studies to just 2 - 2.5 months, then there will probably be a limit to how much you can improve.

From what you describe, your immediate study plan is 'book heavy'; unfortunately, many Test Takers who study in that way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. There's no harm in starting off your studies in that fashion, but you'll likely end up needing to invest in some additional, non-book resources at some point. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them, then choose the ones that best match your personality, timeline and budget.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How much study time have you put in so far?
2) What study materials do you currently have access to?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

snkickersk · Answer

Thanks a lot for the elaborate response, Rich. The books are something I have immediate access to, and I haven’t ventured fully into gathering the resources I’ll need for a solid plan, which is where I need help.

As for your kind questions :
1. No study time thus far. I took the test as a benchmark to see where I stand so I could focus areas of improvement. So 0. 
2. I have access to the OG, The Manhattan guide + tests, and the Kaplan GMAT Prep Plus. 
3. I’m looking to target MBAN/MSBA in Canada for Winter or Fall ‘21, which is where the 2-2.5 months of prep looms in (as I’d like to target the first round ideally). Targeting schools like Desautels, Schulich, and Montreal. I have a low GPA that I’m looking to offset with the GMAT.

Thanks a ton for putting in the time and effort!

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sharkeinstein,

If you're really set on earning a 700+ in the timeframe that you have described, then you will have to be really efficient with your studies going forward (and it might still be too challenging of a task for 2 - 2.5 months of study time). That having been said, there are additional ways for you to 'offset' a lower GPA besides scoring at a high level on the GMAT. Obviously a high GMAT Score could be beneficial in a number of ways (including potentially for Scholarships), but if you have the time and can put in the effort, here's another way to strengthen your application:

Business Schools want to know that you can handle the 'academic side' of their respective Programs. Even if you were not a great student when you were younger, you can show that you're a stronger student NOW by enrolling in - and earning a high grade in - certain College-level Courses that MBA Programs put a value on (such as Calculus and/or Statistics). If you could earn a high grade in one (or more) of those types of classes, then that might also help to 'counter' a lower Undergraduate GPA.

Regardless of which plan you choose to follow, there will clearly be a lot of work involved. As such, you might want to consider the Round 2 application deadlines (as opposed to the earlier Round 1 deadlines). This would give you a couple of MONTHS of additional time to work on all of these aspects of your Applications (along with everything else that you'll need to work on to apply).

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi sharkeinstein,

560 is not a bad start; however, your 2 month timeline is a bit concerning. Is there are particular reason why you must take the GMAT in just 2 months? Also, regarding resources, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for  the best quant  and  verbal courses , and also read through some  GMAT success stories  to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

Also, would you like some general advice on how to improve your verbal and quant skills?

You also may find it helpful to read this article about  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

snkickersk · Answer

Thank you for the elaborate response again, Rich. That’s some invaluable info. 
After thinking about it I feel like I should not rush into something as important as the GMAT. I’m ready to put in 3 months into it if there’s a higher probability of the target score being achieved, hence targeting round 2.

I have no other commitments right now, so I literally have all the time in world to put into the GMAT. Kindly guide likewise.

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort, really appreciated.

Posted from my mobile device

snkickersk · Answer

Thank you for the reply, and the resources linked. They’re great and I’ve bookmarked the same.

As for the timeline, my goal was 2 months since I wanted to target the first round of admissions, but considering the general consensus being a later date is more suitable for the desired score, I’m flexible with the same. I’ll shift focus to round 2 wherever needed, increasing the preparation time.

Also, yes, any advice you give would be invaluable to me, as I don’t have much knowledge about the GMAT as of now. I would specifically like some knowledge on how to increase my quant section, as it is the weak link right now.

Thank you so much for taking the time.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sharkeinstein,

I've sent you a PM with some additional notes and suggestions.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

To improve your quant skills, I would follow a linear and structured study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant topic and practice each topic until you’ve gained mastery. Let me expand on this idea further.

For example, if you are learning about Number Properties, 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.

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 .

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Good luck!

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