Do I Stand a Chance : GMAT preparation

Question

Hello Achievers,

I know this is a very common question and mine too falls under the same : how do I prepare for my GMAT exam from scratch.
A bit of background about me - I am closing in towards 10 years of IT experience and willing to make a shift in my career because of many reasons.

I have always been an average student and this haunts me a-lot when i think about my preparation. I was so skeptical to take a diagnostic test, for obvious reasons, but gathered my strengths and took a test. My fears were true as I performed horribly, which i cannot describe. I can only tell you that I scored below 350 (literally embarrassed) because my verbal and quants are very weak.

Obviously it took a toll on me and shifted my interested away from this exam and i left it then and there only about a year ago. But I know this very well too that I need to get into a top class business school to shape my professional career ahead. I am willing to challenge myself and take up an actual GMAT exam in the month of September 2021, preferably in first week. So, i have about 5 months to get ready for this exam. Even though i am way behind my from my targeted score ( targeting 720 or above), i just want to give myself a fair chance and see if this thing is made for me or am I in some delusion.

After removing my working life and personal life engagements, I can invest 2-3 hours on weekdays and 3-4 hours on weekends. I just want to know if this is enough to complete my syllabus in lets say 3 months so that I have sufficient time for my mocks towards the end of my preparation. If yes, can you please assist me in this daunting task and help me plan this journey?

Request - For this time, please ignore my passage for sentence correction.

Regards,
GMAT Aspirant

Regards, GMAT Aspirant

HoneyLemon · Answer

Hey  ameet23  ,
 I always believe that it will matter more where you will reach than it is from where you will start. Getting right resources, mastering concept and applying the skill in a consistent manner are the key to get your dream score.

I have also started from a score of less than 350 before 9 month ,and now I am at 680 -700. I know that it's not over yet unless I reach at the level of attention to details , an approach that is highly required to break into the 720 zone.

Do keep post your doubts during the prep journey in GC club as there are a lot of experts who can help .All the best mate !!God bless your hard work !!

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider looking into some 3rd party resources to get a strong grasp of the fundamentals on Quant and Verbal - as tested on the GMAT.

Sirr · Answer

People are built differently so the average number of months say 5months may be helpful to catapult some into the 700 zone.
But in my candid opinion and experience, you will need a minimum of 8months consistent training to unlearn old habits and relearn the necessary approach, and also to hone some vital skills. Especially given where you are starting from.

The easiest way to shorten the journey is to look at some test preps for assist. If budget is the issue, the following will offer great value:
 TargetTestPrep  , @empowergmat, @expertglobal

All the best, and welcome aboard

Posted from my mobile device

MathRevolution · Answer

Hello ameet23 ,

Welcome to the GMAT Club. It is one of the great platforms to get information about the GMAT official test, Study plan, Section wise instructions, etc.

To assist you better, we would request you to write back with the following questions:

1. What are your current score and target score? (You can mention the Diagnostic test score also)
2. How do you rate yourself in Quant and Verbal?

In a generalized way, to crack GMAT, you need a disciplined study plan, command on basic concepts, exposure to agile approaches, reliable resources, updated comprehensive material and mock tests, and an expert with whom you will be connected throughout your preparations.

You may also see to connect with experts online for your preparation.

As a GMAT instructor, I will first recommend taking our Free diagnostic test https://www.mathrevolution.com/diagnostic/dtExamMember and receiving a comprehensive study guide by topic. This test will clearly help you understand your weak areas. There are also many free materials available in the GMAT Club.

Time is precious and unstoppable at the same time. You can schedule a Free counseling session for 20 mins with one of our experts: https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/ for detailed advice on your study plans.

If you have a recent mock test score available with a break-up, kindly send it back to me.

Your diagnostic score will clarify what plan you should adopt to beat the GMAT. An initial mock rating will help to understand your concept knowledge of both sections.
Since we are a math expert, we will recommend you go through our post on the GMAT club, which gives a complete breakdown of Math. Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Math Revolution Team

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ameet23,

Many GMATers find the Exam to be challenging - so you're not alone. Giving yourself up to 5 months of potential study time is a good first step. Beyond needing to learn the necessary content, you'll also need to learn the Tactics, patterns and little 'secrets' to the GMAT. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

From what you describe, it sounds as though you have not technically restarted your studies yet. 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 your timeline and your goals:

1) Have you done any study recently? If so, then how many hours do you typically study each week?
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
 
 760+: What GMAT Assassins Do to Score at the Highest Levels

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi ameet23,

Do not take your mock score too seriously at this stage. The mock is just to see where you stand. Your score entirely depends on how you prepare from now on. Let me help you here.

How to prepare for GMAT in the right way?  
Before you start preparing for any test, it's important to understand the structure of the test, what is tested on it and then prepare accordingly. In this case, GMAT is a test which focuses on your application skills along with the conceptual knowledge. So, just learning the concepts and practicing questions without focusing on the right methodology will not do any good. So, I suggest you to first focus on the methodology to solve questions of a particular topic and only then move to practicing questions of that topic.

So, the right way to prepare would be to

learn the concepts of a topic,  
 learn the right methodology to solve questions of that topic 
 practice a few questions of that topic to solidify your learning and then move to the nest topic 
 Repeat the process for all the topics

And working on weak areas is equally important. You move to the next topic only if you get a decent accuracy in the previous topic. If not, you revisit the concepts, fill the conceptual gaps and then move to the next topic only when you are 100% confident. There are a couple of articles which you might find helpful.

How to effectively plan your studies for GMAT

How to score 700+ on GMAT

How to start preparing for GMAT

And you can go through the recording below to understand how to strategize your GMAT prep in an effective way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65n8_LIbPIM

Are you preparing in the right way?  
You didn't mention anything about the resource you are using and your study strategy. I can help you in a better way if you can provide me a little background about your GMAT preparation. Please use the link below to schedule a call with with me. We can have a detailed discussion on the study strategy and come up with a plan of action.

Click here to schedule a call

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, you have successfully completed the first step: taking a diagnostic to get a baseline score. I realize you are still far off your goal score but if you work your butt off and study smart you can make a major improvement. Regarding how to improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills, be sure that you follow an organized and structured study plan that allows you to individually learn each quant and verbal topic, and then follow up your learning with focused practice. By mastering each topic one at a time, you can ensure that you methodically improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills.

For example, let’s say you start by learning about Critical Reasoning. Your first goal is to fully master the individual topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.

When practicing Reading Comprehension, you need to develop a reading strategy that is both efficient and thorough. Reading too fast and not understanding what you have read are equally as harmful as reading too slow and using up too much time. When attacking Reading Comprehension passages, you must have one clear goal in mind: to understand the context of what you are reading. However, you must do so efficiently, so you need to avoid getting bogged down in the details of each paragraph and instead focus on understanding the main point of each paragraph. That being said, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can just read the intro and the conclusion and thereby comprehend the main idea of a paragraph. As you read a paragraph, consider how the context of the paragraph relates to previous paragraphs, so you can continue developing your overall understanding of the passage. Furthermore, as you practice, focus on the exact types of questions with which you struggle: Find the Main Idea, Inference, Author’s Tone, etc. As with Critical Reasoning, analyze your incorrect Reading Comprehension answers to better determine why you tend to get a particular question type wrong, and then improve upon your weaknesses. You can perfect your reading strategy with a lot of practice, but keep in mind that GMAT Reading Comprehension passages are not meant to be easy to read. So, to better prepare yourself to tackle such passages, read magazines with similar content and style, such as the New York Times, Scientific American, and Smithsonian.

Sentence Correction is a bit of a different animal compared to Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. There are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, you likely will have to work on all three of those aspects.

Regarding what you know, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules. Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not just a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.
 
This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending under two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer. As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns clearly refer to nouns? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.
 
There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and those reasons are not that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answers were always the ones that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.
 
As for the third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct, what you do, the main thing you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey meanings that make sense. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice repeatedly until you start to see the differences between the choices that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. It may take time for you to see what you have to see. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to be determined to see the differences and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.
 
To improve what you do when you answer Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. Are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did that resulted in your arriving at that answer and what you could do differently in order to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could have done differently to extend your streak.

As with your Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension regimens, after learning a particular Sentence Correction topic, engage in focused practice with 30 questions or more that involve that topic. As your skills improve, you will then want to practice with questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.
 
Now, regarding quant, you seem to be in much better shape; however, with some more work, there is no reason why you couldn’t raise that score to 50+. Since you recently scored a Q49, you clearly don’t need to go back and learn the foundations of GMAT quant, but you still should engage in a process of linear learning and focused practice to find and fix any gaps in your quant knowledge. For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. 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. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.

Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and types of questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types.

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 and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

You also may find it helpful to read the following articles about  how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  and  how long to study for the GMAT .

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

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