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dilemmalyn
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1 month to improve 100+ points, math by 10? 24 Nov 2010, 15:29
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Hi All,

Been lurking on this forum for a while and would appreciate feedback.

Question 1- Do I have enough time in 1 month of dedicated study to go through the Manhattan math books?
Question 2- Is it possible / plausible for me to raise my math score by 10 points to break 40?

Background -

I'm taking 4 weeks off (all of Jan) to study for the GMAT +some odd hours in Dec. Average study times plan seems to be 120 hours over 3 months which is not an option for me. I definitely have the patience to get in 35-40 hours a week, so I'll have 120 hours in 1 month.
I have the Kaplan strategies, the Manhattan books, the OG 12, and the Manhattan guide to the OG quant answers (I learn by repeating others work). May buy the OG quant if I see I need it later.

I read Kaplan strategies quickly and just took GMAC test 1
scored 590 (Q31, V40) and finished 30 minutes early on each section because I wasn't sure about timing so I rushed and guessed a lot.

This is abysmal. I'm aiming for at least 700, ideally higher to counterbalance my mediocre undergrad GPA (3.5 with a lot of easy classes). Historically I am bad at math and good at verbal (SAT 1 math 670, reading 800, writing 730, and these scores with a ton of studying)

I'm pretty confident that I can get my verbal really high with minimal studying. I'm very worried about math.

Thanks in advance!
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1 month to improve 100+ points, math by 10? 25 Nov 2010, 13:11
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Hi

Welcome to the Club!

Responses:
1) I think yes, if you study and work hard you will manage to go through the Manhattan math books.
2) generally is it possible to receive even more. I don't know what is your backgroung so i can not recommend anything here.

you verbal is fantastic ) I wish I could have such a verbal score.

Take official Gmatprep test and follow the rule in Quanta: every 5 questions minus 10 minutes. it is very easy.

Consider on-line course: gmat-prep-course-reviews-discount-codes-78451.html
Knewton guarantees at least 50 points increase.

Learn concepts, if yiu are at 30 level - your knowledge of concepts is really weak.
Go through the Manhattan math books and take few MGMAT and GMATprep CATs.
If you achive 45 and want more practice try GMATClub tests they are best for those want to rise their score 48+.

good luck!
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dilemmalyn
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1 month to improve 100+ points, math by 10? 29 Nov 2010, 02:11
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Thank you!

How does this look, is this enough practice problems or should I be looking outside the OG and MGMAT? For verbal, I'm going straight to the OG problems after reading the MGMAT strategy since my verbal is quite strong. I'll be keeping error logs of the OG problems via the gmatclub iphone app, is there an error log for the mgmat problems? Also will be reviewing problems after practice tests.

When is the most effective time to repeat missed problems? The next day, the next week, etc?

W1:
MGMAT Math part 1 (all the books, the easy section)
MGMAT RC whole book
Cat #1

W2:
OG Math part 1 (all the books easy section listed OG problems)
MGMAT SC whole book
Cat #2

W3:
MGMAT Math part 2
MGMAT CR whole book
Cat #3

W4:
OG Math part 2
timing, essays, problem zones
Cat #4

W5 (actually just 3 days before test)
Official Prep test #2
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1 month to improve 100+ points, math by 10? 29 Nov 2010, 17:52
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Hey dilemmalyn,

Welcome to the community! One thing that I think is important for everyone to recognize is that the GMAT scoring is not linear - it's not like shaving a minute off of your mile time or anything like that in which there's a linear 15-seconds-per-lap change you need to make. Often people scoring in the 500s are still only 10% away from a score in the 700s, but they're:

-Making the same kinds of silly mistakes frequently (assumptions, answering for the wrong variable, etc.)
-Pacing themselves poorly and having to rush
-Misunderstanding a type of question (e.g. Data Sufficiency)

One of my favorite success stories is a student from one of my first classes back in Michigan who improved from 490 to 710 in 5 days - he just "clicked" with the kinds of mistakes he was making and from there was finally able to reach his potential.

I'd recommend a few things to you:

1) Focus on noticing the kinds of mistakes that you make frequently so that you can be aware of them on test day and make quick fixes.
2) Determine which subject areas or question types you need to emphasize most and attack them.
3) Learn to think like the testmaker - ask "why" a lot (why did they ask it that way? Why does that rule hold true? Etc.). I'd argue that the single biggest pitfall for those who put in a ton of study time is that they focus so intently on learning content that they don't develop problem solving skills and test familiarity. Study "to take the GMAT" and not just "GMAT content".

It can certainly be done in a month if you're thinking the right way and focusing on the big-picture learnings of each study session and practice test. Good luck - keep us all posted!
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