Strategy Tips Needed

Question

Hi,I am planning to give my exam in August this year and needed strong advice on the plan that I have prepared. Basically I require expert comments from someone who could vet the plan.Below is the material that I have planned to finish-

Quant-

1.OG15
2.Jamboree Blue Book(Must Do+Extra Practice)-which is a copy of the 700-800 pdf shared in this forum 
3.Weekly sectional tests of GMAT Club

Verbal-

1.e-GMAT verbal course
2.e-GMAT Scholaranium
3.OG15

Just to give you a background, I have already given the GMAT twice,once in 2014 and then in 2015 and have failed miserably(490(Q39 and V19) and 470(Q22 and V17 )). Would really appreciate if people on this forum could help me out. Thanks in advance!

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rmadmit,

Since you've taken the GMAT twice already, you can use those past experiences to define what you can do differently this time around to raise your scores. As such, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How long did you study before each of your past Official GMATs?
2) What materials did you use each time?

3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

rmadmit · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for replying. My plan is to score 700+ in the exam. For each of my attempts I have spent approx 2 months of preparation. I plan to apply in Round 1 this year and the resources that I have been using till now are-

Attempt 1 - 490(Q39 and V19)-

Quant-

1.Sandeep Gupta(Indian tutor) 700-800 Level Qs PDF- Its very commonly available set of qs. on GMAT Club as well.
2.Theory and sample problems from MGMAT guide for No. Properties and Word Problems
3.MGMAT 6 CAT's + GMAT Prep 1 and 2

Verbal-

1.OG12
2.OG Verbal review
3.MGMAT 6 CAT's + GMAT Prep 1 and 2
4.MGMAT RC and SC Guide

Attempt 2-470(Q22 and V17 )-

Quant-

1.Jamboree PS441 Set
2.GMAT Prep 1,2,3,4

Verbal-

1.OG 10 and OG 13
2.GMAT Prep 1,2,3,4

Would appreciate if you could help me in defining my strategy as I am in dire need of the same as I have to apply in Round 1 this year and in order to achieve that I want to appear for the exam latest by August. One more thing, I have ample time during the day these days which will continue till August and I can devote most of my time towards the preparation.

Thanks in advance!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rmadmit,

Raising a 490 to a 700+ will take some serious work on your part - and you'll have to make some big improvements in BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Since your two prior overall GMAT Scores are so similar to one another, you've likely developed some 'bad habits' that will take time to fix (and replace with new 'good habits'). You've also used a number of practice CATs during your prior studies, so you're going to need some NEW practice CATs to work with. This is all meant to say that if you continue to study 'your way', you'll likely continue to score at your current level. To earn a much higher score, you're likely going to need to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led).

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

Worksmart · Answer

Hi rmadmit. I'm certainly no pro, but when I look at your post these thoughts come to mind:

Your quant score on the second attempt of your test looks quite a bit lower. That sticks out as a red flag to me. Can you think of why you placed lower in quant on your second try? I would have thought it to be your strong point based on your first score.

Your verbal score is quite low. I am guessing your AWA score was in line with it. Something I have been doing is taking full-scale practice tests, and then organizing the data of my results in such a way that I can see what topics I am weak in. Then I spend quite a bit of time just studying the topics. For example, I came to find that I missed 2 out of 4 verbal questions regarding idioms. So as a result I don't just review the explanation of the question, I study the topic at large. I have been using Magoosh flash cards (iphone app) for idioms, and I found a useful YouTube video series from Magoosh regarding idioms. I switch between these two resources to study the topic, partially to keep from getting bored and partially to cover the topic with multiple resources.

If you are finding your verbal score is low overall, you may need to do more extreme things to pump it up. Reading a well written book in English can help. While you read, think of sentence structure and the effectiveness of the writing. Does it sound professional? Could it be misinterpreted?

With regards to the OG study material, if you are missing more than 10% of questions in a section, that's a red flag and you need to drill down into that topic. You have to get scientific about how you study. I have always liked YouTube videos so I watch a lot of those from the GMAT companies.

rmadmit · Answer

Hi Rich,

I have already started doing the e-gmat course for verbal and plan to do the e-gmat Scholaranium for testing purposes. For quant, I plan to complete the Jamboree material and also plan to take weekly GMAT Club tests. Are these tests good enough or are they unnecessarily tough? Please suggest.

I understand your point of bad habits and I have started to recognize that as I am doing the basics once again.I have realized that in my previous GMAT attempt, I took quant for granted and hence a lower score in quant. I've also started to maintain an error log which I didn't make it religiously on previous occasions.

Please suggest if you feel something else can help me attain my target score and how should I be more scientific in my approach.

rmadmit · Answer

Hi WorkSmart,

You are damn right. I thought about my low quant score and have realized that it was primarily due to lack of practice and taking quant for granted.

Are you also planning to take the exam? If yes, then when and what resources are you planning to complete? Also, how much are you scoring in your mocks?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rmadmit,

To earn that 700+ score, you're going to have to do more than lots of practice questions. On a fundamental level, you have to learn/practice the proper Tactics and change the 'mechanics' of how you face this Test. It's too early to say whether your current resources will help you in those ways or not, but you have to make the conscious choices to change how you handle this whole process, otherwise you'll continue to score at this level. If you don't 'fee' that these resources are making you work in a different fashion, then you might need to invest in new resources that will force that change to occur.

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

Worksmart · Answer

Hi rmadmit,

Yes I am planning to take the exam in the middle of June. I am studying fulltime right now.

I am currently using Princeton Reviews online mock exams and question drills. My subscription to them ends soon though, and I am kind of disappointed with the quality of their materials to be completely honest. Their customer service is great and I feel like I have learned, but I have found issues and a few typos/grammar mistakes with their questions.

Next I am planning to use the official GMAC mock exams, and the Official GMAT Guide for 2016 and 2015. I am going to take the GMAC mock exam in a few days to see where I stand.

In terms of scores I am still theorizing....

4 months ago I took a mock exam from princeton review. Scored a 520.

A week after that I took the real GMAT, scored a 640. Was very surprised. I scored in the 94th percentile for verbal, which my Princeton Mock did not indicate I would do at all.

Just last week I took another Princeton review mock exam after studying further. Scored a 590. At this point I have a theory that Princeton mock exams are inaccurate gauges and likely give you a lower score than you will actually get.

My next course of action:

I am half way through an untimed princeton mock. I will organize the results in excel and drill down into the trends of what topics I am weak on. I already identified idioms, parallelism, and high level quant questions with equations as my weakness. I studied those topics for a week. The results of this mock will tell me if I have improved on those topics.

After I analyze the data and review it, I will take a timed GMAC mock exam. I am hoping their scoring is more accurate than Princeton. I have heard on here it is the best gauge for scores.

I will continue to focus study on topics of weakness and take GMAC mock exams until I am consistently getting a 720 average on them. At which point I will sit for the real test and hope to get a 700+.

I figure with a 700+, decent GPA in Finance from a private US university (3.4), my abnormally good resume, and being a US minority; I have a decent shot at a top 10 school.

In terms of macro strategy my priorities are Learn the material ---> learn ways to get right answers faster ---> learn how to beat the clock.

rmadmit · Answer

Yes, Gmac mocs are the closest to the actual exam. You can also do exam 3 and 4 and also the official question bank if you have time. Have you by any chance given the GMAT Club tests? I am planning to take them every weekend,so wanted some opinion.

And all the very best for your prep. Nice to see the motivation.

Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

And all the very best for your prep. Nice to see the motivation.

Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

Worksmart · Answer

I have not used any of the GMAT Club materials yet. I just finished reviewing some Veritas YouTube videos. I'm about to do some more prep in the Official Guide and then take one of the GMAC official prep tests.

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