Best way to improve my GMAT Focus Score in 1 month

Question

Hey fellow GMAT friends!

I recently took the GMAT Focus Edition and scored 585 (Quant:78, Verbal:81, Data Insight: 78). 
Before that, I took 4 mock exams all around this score or a bit lower. 
I am quite comfortable with the verbal, but I can definitely improve on CR. For the Quant and DI parts, it's a bit tricky. I feel like I know how to solve the questions, but I am just too slow or too cumbersome in the approach. I think I need to review some of the concepts and drill into them. 
My goal is to reach at least 670 or beyond, but I have a time constraint of 1 month, given most of the master application deadlines are soon.
Since it is my priority now, I want to dedicate quite some time next month to studying. I am thinking about subscribing to TTP for a month since I heard a lot of good things about it. Do you guys recommend it even if it's just for a month? I would also be very grateful for any other tips, study plans, or strategies for my case here.

Thank you so much for all your help in advance!

bb · Answer

Hi. I think there is value in having a course with a structured plan of studying and materials that are served to you in a pipeline. Just time savings alone would be worth, esp if you are just doing it for 1 month and get the 1-month package... however, you need to be realistic and figure out what you would be improving.

For example, you can try to improve everything - that's a bit like solving world hunger... not easy and perhaps not possible in 1 month.
I would suggest picking 2 weeks for 1 area and 2 weeks for a second area. Pick the 2 areas you can improve the most and fastest such as PS and CR or PS and DS (e.g. you like them or you feel better about them). Usually RC is hardest to improve. DI can also be challenging. And perhaps you can make the improvement faster and have a bit more time to practice timing and other aspects. If you are one of those people who spends 50% of time on the 25% of questions and then rushes, then your average scores could be the result of self-inflected damage.

P.S. I don't know enough how TTP course works but perhaps you can just focus on the 2 areas you are looking to improve the most.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider checking out Manhattan-Prep's 6th Edition for Critical Reasoning. If time management is an issue, using question/time markers may help as well. Fair to say including official questions/official mocks into a prep path would be a solid choice. You can get e-versions of different guides, too.

Critical Reasoning tips

Themightyknight · Answer

Considering ua base score , u can improve score by solving medium & hard level questions in all the three categories

parsleyresistance · Answer

By completing medium and hard level questions in each of the three categories, you can raise your score.

T4Star · Answer

Hey, bud!

Am in a similar boat too...

The experts here have shared wonderful inputs.

To build up in the quant section, I would suggest to strengthen your fundamentals (if they need work).
Practice the official questions without time limit and try to get high accuracy. Then slowly introduce time constraints.

What i have experienced is that the first 30 seconds of reading the question is important. You already build up an approach in your mind during that time. Try to think on that lines. For eg. if you come across a speed-time-distance problem, what are the key information to look for.

Hope that helps.
All the best!

Posted from my mobile device

MartyMurray · Answer

You could increase your Quant score, and your DI score, by mastering one Quant topic at a time.

Using TTP could be a good way to master one topic at a time, and fortunately, some of the earlier chapters, in particular Roots and Exponents and Properties of Numbers, could help a lot with increasing your score. After those chapters, it may make sense to pick and choose which topics you focus on. For instance, Rates and General Word Problems are important topics that you might want to jump to if you don't have time to go through all the chapters before them.

Whichever topics you work on, it's probably better to master fewer topics than half learn more topics. A half-learned topic won't do you much good on test day.

For some additional tips on mastering the GMAT, see this post.

How to Score 705+ on the GMAT Focus Edition

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

These articles will help you increase your score: 
-  How to Learn More, Learn Faster, and Retain More Knowledge While Preparing for the GMAT 
-  How to Score High on GMAT Verbal on the Focus Edition 
-  How to Prepare for GMAT Data Insights 
-  How to Get Faster at GMAT Quant Questions 
-  GMAT Error Log: Do I Need One?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi  syy17 ,

TTP for one month is a great option for you! Feel free to reach out to us on live chat, and we can discuss further.

Su7sH · Answer

Imo focusing on data sufficiency questions, especially with resources like the GMAC official question bank (extra questions) and GMAT Club, has noticeably boosted my scores in a short time. The sharp improvement I've seen in my percentiles and score makes dedicating time to mastering DS worthwhile. You will face at least 5-6 DS questions in DI section as per my test exp. I agree with all the other tips shared by experts.

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