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Shawshank
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 20:20
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I took the GMAT for the first time back in November 2007 and scored a 700, with quant score only in the 70's percentile. Two years ago I applied to b-schools and got dinged everywhere. This year I took it again and prepared by going through the Manhattan GMAT books and doing multiple practice exams on GMAT Club. I was scoring around 720 on the MGMAT exams and felt pretty good. However, when I took the exam a second time, I scored a 690! After all the preparation, I was devastated by the result.

I applied to 5 schools in round 2 this year and was dinged by my top 3 choices and waiting to hear on the other two. I really think if I can raise my score to around 740-750, it will help my case for admission next year. So my question is, should I take a prep course? If not, what other books and resources do you guys recommend?

Thanks.
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 20:24
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Did you take all the practice exams under timed conditions? Timing can make a big difference during the actual exam.

Also, I am sure nerves played a part during the real exam. Did you happen to take any GMAT Prep exams before your second attempt? What were your scores?
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 20:34
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Did you take all the practice exams under timed conditions? Timing can make a big difference during the actual exam.

Also, I am sure nerves played a part during the real exam. Did you happen to take any GMAT Prep exams before your second attempt? What were your scores?
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Yes, I took all the exams in timed conditions.

In the MGMAT practice exams I was scoring between 700-720, and people said that the actual GMAT exam is a bit easier. Then, I took the GMAT exam from MBA.com, which is the most reliable one and was shocked to score a 680.
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 21:10
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MGMAT questions/CATs are a great source of practice but the questions are a little "different" from GMAC questions. One should really get accustomed to "official questions" from the OG12, OG Quant Supplement and OG Verbal Supplement. Did you get a chance to look at those?
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 21:33
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ibbys
MGMAT questions/CATs are a great source of practice but the questions are a little "different" from GMAC questions. One should really get accustomed to "official questions" from the OG12, OG Quant Supplement and OG Verbal Supplement. Did you get a chance to look at those?
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Actaully, no. People told me that the OG guides are fine for the easy and medium problems, but if you want to score 730+, they're not a good source.
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 20 Feb 2011, 22:17
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You might find this article helpful :)

https://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/7 ... erence.cfm
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 04:45
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This thread should help you:
should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 11:27
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Arbitrageur
ibbys
MGMAT questions/CATs are a great source of practice but the questions are a little "different" from GMAC questions. One should really get accustomed to "official questions" from the OG12, OG Quant Supplement and OG Verbal Supplement. Did you get a chance to look at those?


Actaully, no. People told me that the OG guides are fine for the easy and medium problems, but if you want to score 730+, they're not a good source.
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I used the OG guides and supplements ONLY. People who claim the OG is easy/medium may not realize that the questions are ordered from easy to hard. The later half is a great place to focus on. By focusing almost exclusively on the latter half questions, I took mine from a 690 to a 740. Also, I took the mba.com CATs and analyzed what I did wrong. In my build up to my 2nd GMAT I did the mba.com CAT1 twice and CAT2 twice.
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 14:40
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Knewton offers a money-back guarantee if you follow the curriculum and don't score 50 pts. higher with their course. Seems pretty low-risk if you ask me. I'd gladly pay a couple grand for a 740+.
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 14:50
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700 is a pretty good score. What schools did you apply?

Posted from GMAT ToolKit
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 15:40
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jb88
Knewton offers a money-back guarantee if you follow the curriculum and don't score 50 pts. higher with their course. Seems pretty low-risk if you ask me. I'd gladly pay a couple grand for a 740+.
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On their website, they're offering a president's day discount for only $389. That seems insanely cheap. Shouldn't that raise red a flag, concerning the quality of their service?
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Trying to go from 700 to 750: Need advice 21 Feb 2011, 23:25
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shivgan3
To get a better score in the GMAT, you can also try working on solving the questions of CAT-IIM a management entrance exam in India. It is the toughest exam in the world for MBA.
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IIM Questions are of unbelievable difficulty.... But if you're looking at that 51... I believe IIM Quant questions are good to practice on...

Verbal... Nah... IIM questions are not structured the way GMAT questions are!

The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to prepare for the Quant section of GMAT using the IIM Book called Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar Sharma! It's an awesome book :D
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