Strategies for the best possible usage of GMAT Club Tests to reach Q50

Hi Rich/Shiv,

Thanks a lot for the quick response.

rich :-

Please find the requested details :-

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? :- approx 3 months
2) What materials have you used? :- Gmat Official Guides,E Gmat Verbal Course
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)? Gmat prep1 (Q46,V30) , Gmat Prep2 (Q46,V28)

Goals:
4) What is your goal score? above 710
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT? 31-Aug-2017
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School? Planning to apply this year in R1
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to? IIM BLACK,ISB,XLRI,NUS,NTU

Actually I need to improve my Verbal to V38 and Quant to Q50 and I have only one month left. I am planning to use Gmat Official Guide questions (advance), E Gmat Scholarnium and Gmat Club tests. In verbal main issues are application of grammar rules for SC and timing issues in RC. To improve RC I am solving 3 RC's per day.

Please provide your guidance and strategies so that I can reach to my target Gmat score and any improvements in strategy , I am planning to follow.

Regards,
Neeraj Tiwari

Hi Neeraj,

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 2 CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few points). You handle certain parts of the Exam consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. To hit your score goal, you're going to have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections - and all of that work will likely take at least another 2 months of consistent, guided study. As such, you might need to push back your Test Date. It's also possible that you have gotten 'stuck' at this current score level - and if you've developed any 'bad habits' during your prior studies, then it will take time to 'fix' all of them (and replace those bad habits with new 'good habits').

1) 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 the response.

The main concern is I am planning to apply to ISB in R1 only and deadline for R1 is 16-Oct, so if I push for 2 months , I will be having less than 20 days to work on application and essays.

I can consistently study for 40 hr per week. And also increase it by taking some working days off.

Regards,
Neeraj

Hi Neeraj,

While I understand that you want to apply for Round 1, there's no point in 'rushing in' an application for Round 1 if it's not a fantastic application (since a "so so" application would likely be wait-listed; and you have just one chance at a 'first impression', so you want that impression to be as strong as possible - even if that means applying for Round 2).

40 hours per week (or more) of studying would be a LOT - and unfortunately that type of 'cramming' rarely leads to great results with Exams such as the GMAT.

1) On what dates did you take these two practice CATs?

2) After reviewing this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong in each section....
a) Because of a silly/little mistake?
b) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
c) Because the question was too hard?
d) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
e) In the Verbal section, how many questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

Hi Rich,

Thanks for providing the guidance.

I now understood the reasoning behind applying to our dream college when we feel ready with planned gmat score and best application, as it's our first impression and it should be the best.

I am planning to make changes in my GMAT exam date as per your suggestion after giving one more Gmat prep mock and analyzing the score in it.

Please find the requested details :-

1) On what dates did you take these two practice CATs? :- 12 and 15 July 2017

2) After reviewing this recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong in each section...
a) Because of a silly/little mistake? :- Q:- 6,V:-3 (CR,SC)
b) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do? :- Q :- 4(P&C,SD,Sets), V :- 6( SC, as I was not able to remember the grammar rules because I prepared SC one month before and was not able to revise before mock)
c) Because the question was too hard? Q :- 2 , V 11 ( RC)
d) Because you were low on time and had to guess? Q:- 0, V :- 3(RC)
e) In the Verbal section, how many questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?:- Sorry, I did not include this criteria for analyzing the wrong questions , will include this in future mocks.

Regards,
Neeraj

Hi Neeraj,

If you really took just these 2 practice CATs, then we have a big 'unknown.' You took these CATs 4 days apart (and about 2 weeks ago), but you've been studying for 3 MONTHS. Without any prior CAT scores, we have no way of knowing whether you've been 'stuck' at this score level for a short period of time or for a much longer time. It might be that everything that you're doing right now is keeping you at this current level (in the low-600s) and that you would have to make big changes to how you approach the GMAT (to score higher). It might also be that you've been steadily improving over these 3 months, so you might be able to continue on studying as you have been and potentially hit your score goal in the timeframe you've listed. At face value, I have to use the limited data that we have - which is that these two scores are essentially the same result and you're probably 'stuck' at this score right now - so it will take time to get 'unstuck' and you should push back your Test Date.

One noteworthy area that you could potentially improve on quickly is "silly mistakes." There are only 78 total questions between the Quant and Verbal sections and you analyzed that you missed 9 of them due to silly/little mistakes. That's over 10% of the Test. You cannot afford to lose that many 'gettable' questions and still score 700+, so you should focus on the 'precision' in your work (re: better note-taking/organization, NOT doing work 'in your head', using Tactics to verify that your answer is the correct one, etc.). By eliminating those little mistakes, you could potentially pick up some significant points quickly.

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