Need to get 600+ in 3 weeks!!

Question

Dear All, I have about 3 weeks to go for the real thing and i have been studying for the past couple of months almost everyday for like 8 hours per day. I took an online course (gmax) which I found very useful. I had almost made my basics in quant and verbal about 90% strong Last week started off with the GMAT PREP and scored a 380 :cry:

, this was not under real test conditions and I wasnt concentrating that much. Took another test about couple of days later and scored a 460 (q32 v 22). I was happy to see my quant score improving as I hav always been bad in quants. Took another (gmax online) test the next day and scored 480 (q35 v16), there were quite a few repeats here in maths. Right now I am brushing up with my basics on Quant and Verbal and will be taking another test today. My question is will I be able to cross 600 from 470 in 3 weeks? I have already re-scheduled my date as I was supposed to take it on the 8th of June. Any advice or suggestions are most welcome Thanks Sameena

bb · Answer

Will be tough and close. Depends on how much effort you invest and what books you use (see bottom of my post for suggestions). 
GMAT Prep is close to the GMAT but can be a swing of up to 40 points if you are negatively impacted by stress or you could actually do better if it takes stress to get the best out of you.

* Get a good GMAT Book
* Make sure you review your mistakes very carefully and print them all out and keep a folder that you can review once a week to make sure you dont' make the same errors again. Would spend at least 2 hours per day and 4 hours on weekends taking full tests. 
* Split your studies into math/verbal - don't do both at the same time
* Give your best time (not bus ride or lunch break) but morning and make sure you are not interrupted
* Take full tests on weekends - the AWA too to simulate the real test experience. Review your mistakes and invest at least an hour into questions you did not know, guessed, or got wrong

lahoosaher · Answer

Hello Sameena,

Why dont you find out the number of the wrong ones sectionwise?
I mean how many SCs , CRs and so on ....

In case you make most of the mistakes in SC / DS , you may concentrate on these areas for some time.

sameena · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

Actually I am off work for the past 2 months and have been studying the whole day pretty much every day. I am doing exactly the same thing as you have suggested.

Re-viewing my mistakes after the tests and spending sufficient time to understand them so that I dont repeat such mistakes.

Have split my work into Verbal and Quant.

Took a test yesterday again and got a 430 (q28 v22), I did not answer the last 6 questions in quant and was distracted at times with my Husband asking me things inbetween. On the verbal, I could have got a hell lot of questions right, I narrowed down to the 2 most probable choices and chose the wrong one (in most cases I chose the wrong one after first marking the right one). I am pretty confident I can up my verbal score to a 40 because what I can see is I know the approach and the method and when it boils down to choosing the right answer between 2 final choices, I chose the wrong one (they both seem very fitting to be the answer), SC is good at the moment and I am scoring around the 70% range.

CR is also fine with around 60% accuracy and with a little more practice I can go up to 70%. (I TEND TO CHOOSE THE WRONG ANSWER BETWEEN TWO ON CR MOSTLY).

The only area which I need to improve in verbal is the RC where my scoring rate is only about 55%. I shall learn the approaches well and give time to practice so that I can improve.

On the QUANT section, I really need to improve my timing, my scoring rate now is around 60% and I do not complete the section in time, so with practice may be I can up it to about 75%.

I've got 3 weeks to go and would like to know what if I can reach my target score of 600+ with practice, I am willing to work very hard and do any kind of practice to achieve my goal.

Please advice

Regards

Sam

Hades · Answer

Hi Sam, my advice would be to move the exam ahead a lot of weeks and to take a breather. 8 hours a day? For 2 months? My guess is you've burned yourself out. There is such a thing as studying too hard! Take a week or two off, plan your approach, and come back strong.

Realistically a 130 point jump in 3 weeks is a stretch. Your Verbal is low, but then again write a GMATPrep and see what it says, any other CAT is unreliable. If you only nail 50% of RC questions that's a huge deficiency on the GMAT, something that would definitely keep your Verbal in the 20's.

lahoosaher · Answer

I would suggest you to write the test again , but make sure you are alone with the Gmatprep and there is no one to disturb you.

I always follow this for timeing and it always helps:

Questions--Start---Stop 
1-10--------1:15---0:55 
11-20------0:55----0:35 
21-30------0:35----0:15 
31-37/41--0:15----0:00

make sure you follow this timing chert when you sit for the test this time. The chart looks pretty simple but require a little amount of practice.

Please check the Gmatprep score this time , if with no disturbance and good timing strategy you still have less than expected scores (70% and below) , I would suggest you to stop taking the tests for some time , review the wrong answers , study the basics again for them and then take the test again.

lahoosaher · Answer

I agree with Hades , see if you can take a couple of weeks off from GMAT...
I take every Wednesday off....it really helps.

bsd_lover · Answer

Hi Sam one thing you must realise is that you absolutely MUST finish the test. Under no situation should you leave a few questions unanswered. If you leave 5-6 questions unanswered the penalty that gmat throws at you is very severe. You can easily lose 100 points if you dont finish the actual test (did this happen in the real thing ?). If a question gets too hard, guess and move on. But definitely finish the test. Good luck.

sameena · Answer

Oh thank you all for your replies.

I could take a few days off but as I really wanna join B school this year, I dont want to miss out the chance, I am looking to study in Europe as I am a european union passport holder and formalities will be much easier than other candidates. I am looking at either the SEP or JAN intake which schools offer.

I am again reviewing my mistakes and also gonna try some different techniques for the RC and CR and see if I can up my verbal score, I shall also practice my timing and see if I can improve my quant score as well. Its not that I am weak in either section but when it comes to taking tests I really make blunders but when practising under normal conditions I really breeze through the questions with the right answers.
Please please advice as to what I can do so that I can take my test on 22nd scheduled for now and join B school this year

Regards

Sam

diegocml · Answer

Hey bb - how reasonable it is to take a CAT every weekend?

I think it's good to build stamina and practice one's test taking skills. However, it seems to me that it would be quite challenging to review all the questions one have missed before the next CAT.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi diegocml,

While you don't necessarily have to take a FULL-LENGTH CAT every week, you should still have an established routine for when you plan to take your CATs (for example, maybe once every 2 weeks). As you get closer-and-closer to Test Day, you'll want to make sure that you take your CATs a bit more frequently though (perhaps once per week). It's important to remember that taking lots of CATs will NOT make you a better Test Taker. A CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to put in the necessary practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. As such, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

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

	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Need to get 600+ in 3 weeks!!

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards