Online On Demand course recommendation

Question

Hi All,

I am currently in my prep phase of my GMAT, and I have bene self studying. While I have all my basics and foundations almost complete, I am looking for some external help that will help me cross over to the 700+ score. I have gone through the MGMAT strategy guides and am currently practicing the OG questions (the review books, since I am done with the OG). My quant score is currently between a Q40-43, and I would like to get it to a Q49-50, my verbal score is currently between a 29-33 and I would ideally like to get it over to 39-40, but I will be happy with anything above a 37.

I have plan to get the test done by the end of January 2021, which means that I have about a month and a half (excluding the reduced hours spent during Christmas). I am currently on holiday from work, so I have 5-6 hours a day that I can dedicate, but I will be back to work in January, and will then have only about 2-3 hours a day and 5-6 hours over the weekend that I can dedicate towards prep. Ideally I would like to get most of my prep done in December and then do a lot of practising a solving during most of January.

I am looking for a course that you all would recommend. I don't mind splitting them and doing the quant with company x and verbal with another, but my budget (for both) is not more than 400 dollars.

Looking forward to tips for you. Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,
Charlene

vamshikaithi · Answer

Hey Charlene, I have improved my score from 570 to 720 by focusing more the the methods, strategies and process. An online course called GMATWhiz helped me in learning those strategies and the methods. In fact, I have made a detailed debrief of my journey. I think you might find it helpful. Debrief of my journey from 570 to 720 https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-journey-f ... l#p2648110 And it's really affordable and is within your budget. I think there's some Black Friday Sale going on. Do check it out. All the best

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Charlene,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates (or approximate 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) 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

cmldps · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks. Here comes the information.

1) I have been studying since the end of September. That was when I started going through the MGMAT strategy guides building up the concepts. If I remember correctly it was around the middle of October that I started applying these concepts to the OG questions.
For Quant when solving the Easy questions I have a 100% rate of getting them correct, the medium is more like a 80% and the hard questions a mere 30-40%. I am a bit uncertain about the percent split between DS and PS questions, but I do tend to get more of them right in DS compared to PS.
When it comes to Verbal and the split there:
CR- Easy questions 100% correct, the medium questions are 80% and the hard questions are about 50%. I notice that I struggle more on the tougher questions in inference and statements required to evaluate type of questions.
SC - Easy questions 100%. But the SC area is where I feel I have a chance to improve a lot if I get things right, since the medium and the tough questions have a declining rate of 50% and 30% respectively. I do pretty well with the modifier questions and the subject verb agreement. What I have noticed I get wrong a lot is the rhetoric and sometimes the tenses.
RC- This is where I struggle the most especially on inference questions.

I typically study about 2 hours a day (Monday through Friday, since I am working full-time), and 6 hours over the weekend. This sums up to a total of about 22 hours a week.
2) So far I have only used the MGMAT guides and the OG.
3) I have taken 2 Mocks
The first one was in September before I stared studying (don't remember the exact dates) and the score was 530 with V33 and q30
The second one was last week with a 570 V28 and Q41
The third one one was on 2 days ago and there I snored a 580 V31 and Q40

Goals:
4) My overall goal score is a 710. so I have a long way to go, but I would like to finish the exam by the end of January.
5) I am planning to apply only to INSEAD and their Round 1 which has a deadline of march 21.

Hope this information helps.

Br,
Charlene

For Verbal

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hi Charlene,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates (or approximate 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)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) 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

Br, Charlene For Verbal

cmldps · Answer

Thank you vamshikaithi , I will try out their free trial and see if I like the course structure. Also Kudos for the post! congratulations on the score that you received.

Br, Charlene

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Charlene,

"Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix'). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your most recent CAT/mock. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

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

Statistically-speaking, raising a 580 to the point that you can consistently score 710+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. A planned Test Date by the end of January gives you less than 2 months though, so you might need to consider pushing back that Test Date. You still have plenty of time before the March 21st application deadline, but you'll need to be efficient with your studies going forward to hit your Goal Score before then.

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

cmldps · Answer

Hi Rich, 
Thanks for getting back. I completely agree a review is the most important part of the GMAT process. When it comes to the questions below: 
Quant:
Most of the quant mistakes I make is usually silly errors. A ton of them are because I don't write out what the question is asking me and then hurry with the answer to get done on time. For the questions that are too hard, I do have a hard time just guessing and moving on (which I know is what one should do since they don't really weigh too much to your score).

Verbal: 
RC: I do spend a chunk of time reading the passages and tend to get a lot of the inference questions wrong. This is after narrowing down the choices to two probable answers. I then just pick one and move on. 
CR: I do get a lot of the answers here correct, except for the hard questions where I narrow down to two options and then end up picking the wrong one. 
SC: I have all the grammar rules in place, but I feel I need to get my timing proper, since I rush through the SC to make up for the time spent on reading comprehensions and then forget to check my sentences for meaning.

All in all I would say I have the foundations in place, I just need some strategy and work on my timing. I did the trial by Empower and I have to admit I loved it, so I signed up for the course. Love the tips and tricks that I am learning through both you and Max.

I agree that I will need more than 2 months, and that I would say is my plan B. I will still do want to target the 29th of January as my test date (or around that day). 
Do you have any inputs that you can provide?

Br,
Charlene

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Charlene,

Depending on how efficiently you are able to learn - and implement - the Tactics that you learn in the Course, you could potentially hit your Score Goal in less than 3 months. At higher-and-higher score levels, the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes (especially on 'gettable' questions) - meaning that one of your priorities at this point is to do consistent, organized work on your pad at ALL times. It's okay to get the really hard, weird and complicated questions wrong, but you have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum on everything else. To that end, doing work "in your head" is the WORST way to approach a GMAT question (as it greatly increases your chances of making a little mistake), so you should NEVER choose to work in that way.

In the short term, you should be focused on the Stage 1 Tactics - and using them every time they apply (for example, TEST IT is so useful in the Quant section, that you could potentially use it on up to 67% of the Quant questions that you'll see on Test Day). At the end of Stage 1, you'll take your next NEW CAT/mock - and we can analyze that result to see how well you are progressing and any adjustments you might make to your routine.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to PM or email me directly at any time.

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

cmldps · Answer

Hi Rich,

Completely agree! Doing stuff in your head is awful when it comes to the GMAT and that is a habit that I need to get out of. I will get back to you via email once I have the second CAT out of the way. 
Thanks!
Br,
Charlene

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