Imagine the situation

Question

Hi guys,

Imagine this friends.

I am applying for an eMBA at Chicago Booth, my application is all going well. BUT they need a GMAT score and not a particularly high one (from all the scores I am seeing on this forum).

I am bad at Maths, I scraped a B grade in high school, with a very easy exam board in the UK that gave multiple choice answers and it was the highest grade I could get on the paper so.. I am not great to start with, that was 15 years ago.

My logic is very sound. but I am struggling big time. Netting out on practice questions about 30 for D/S I haven't looked at P/S yet.

I have bought Math Revolution, but self learning isn't going well (as an aside I do suggest Math Revolutions approach to those who know math, you'll nail it).... but I am struggling.

I am looking for people in Shanghai that can help, a tutor, etc...

Support, wise words, or practice will make perfect encouragement all welcome.

Thanks
Samuel

p.s not so worried about verbal, as scored 31 with no studying on GMAT practice exam, when just exploring what this is all about. I got 16 on Q BTW... I guessed well

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Samuel,

Many Test Takers have some concerns about their 'math skills', so you're not alone. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. For free math practice and help, I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. Beyond that resource, 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?
2) What materials have you used?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

samuelminns · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks for getting back to me,

See my responses in line with yours.

Thank you for any advice.

Kind regards
Samuel

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Samuel,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores; since you've beens studying for just 7 days, you should not have expected to have mastered any part of this process yet. With your current timeframe, you have about 2.5 months of study time remaining, which is good. Your goal score is also relatively modest, but it will still take a concerted effort on your part to improve to that level.

Given your need to build up your general 'math' skills, I suggest that you focus on that task for the next 1-2 weeks (while concurrently working on your Verbal skills). There are a variety of different score combinations that will get you to a score 600+. Since it's likely that your Verbal performance will be stronger than your Quant performance, we should look to squeeze out all of the possible points in the Verbal section as possible.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

samuelminns · Answer

Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting to have mastered it, I was concerned that it won't happen as progress is very limited, but this sounds an encouraging time frame for my situation.

I have/can consistently put in a minimum of 2 - 3 hours per day, somedays more, I have one work commitment that is going to take me away for 2 weeks during CNY (Jan 28th - Feb 12th, and I will try to do all I can in that time, but it will be hard).

But other than that I should be able to have consistent study daily.

Do you recommend using the questions as my foundation and exploring the mistakes, understanding them and then improve from there. I want to make my study time as time efficient as possible?

You mention working on my verbal skills also, how about a 6/1 weekly split between Q/V), or (5/2), let me know your thoughts on that?

Kind regards

Samuel

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EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Samuel,

Having a 2-week block of time (right before your Official Test Date) in which you won't be studying much could be an issue. GMAT skills fade over time, so if you won't be able to study much during those 2 weeks then your schedule might end up impacting your progress. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you can do much about it, so we'll just have to proceed as normal. As far as the 'ratio' of your studies are concerned, what you've proposed sounds fine for now (you would likely find it useful to 'mix' your studies though - doing some Quant and some Verbal each week). To build up your math skills, practice/review are the essential components. However, once you start focusing on GMAT Quant questions, you also have to focus on Tactics, pattern-matching, etc. To that end, it helps to learn those Tactics in phases - starting with easier questions and working your way up to tougher material. To that end, investing in a full GMAT Course (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led) would likely be a good idea.

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

samuelminns · Answer

Hi Rich,

Yeah I am thinking that the break will be an issue, I will find out if I can submit my score later in March so I can have some more time after the break. I will see where I net out on that. For now I am going to do what I can.

Regarding the full GMAT course, is there one you recommend, that can help me?

Thanks for you help.

Samuel

-- --

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Samuel,

When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are a variety of different options. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

I still highly recommend that you work through the Khan Academy resources before you get back into GMAT Quant practice. Based on your score goal and timeline, I think that you could bypass all of the 'advanced' materials/quizzes in the 3-month Study Plan and easily hit your score goal. This would allow you to save some time AND stay focused on the concepts that are most relevant to your improvement.

If you have any additional questions, then just let me know.

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

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