How to get better?

Question

I've been revising briefly for about 3 months now, not consistently because of work commitments.

Anyways, gone through the OG guide for 23-24 and 24-25 and done all practice questions, same with the specific quant, DI and verbal books for these years.

I'm scoring around 645-685 on practice tests for GMAT FE (Gmat club and official practice papers 1-2 practice), all taken in the past 2 weeks.

I have no idea how to consistently revise from here. I have the basics locked down but trying to be a perfectionist and want to be getting scores in the top 1-2%. Where to go from here?

kapoora10 · Answer

Hi Adamdogg,
I am stuck in the same stage as you. I have given GMAT twice (didn't get my desired score) and I can give my 2 cents:
1. Do not get stuck in a loop. GMAT is more about consistency than number of hours. Your progress is strong and already score range of 645 - 685 tells that you're doing easy/mid questions of most topics accurately.
2. What I am doing to improve my score is to pinpoint exactly what kind (easy/med/hard) and what topics am I getting wrong based on my mock attempts. Work on those in pressure/ time sensitive conditions because that's where my score drops. No one can give you exact advice hence you need to define where your pitfalls are. Since this is painful most people (including me) absolutely hate this process.

Remember GMAT is a sprint and not marathon. After certain months it can be (not will be) bad for the score. All the best!!

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi Adamdogg,

Given that you've been testing for only a couple of weeks, it'd be a good idea to take maybe a couple more official practice tests (you can repeat the first two if you don't want to use the paid practice tests right now). After that, you may want to just go ahead and take the GMAT. 645-685 on official practice tests (only 2 weeks!) is really good, and if deadlines aren't an issue, you could always retake if you don't hit 705+.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Your 645-685 mock scores indicate that you already have a solid command of much of the GMAT content. So, from here, it's a matter of identifying and strengthening all remaining areas of weakness. So, be sure to thoroughly analyze your practice tests and practice sessions to identify those weaknesses. Then, for each area of weakness: 
- Carefully review all of the properties, formulas, techniques and strategies related to that topic
- Locate and answer dozens of questions that test that topic.

For each question you answer incorrectly, ask yourself: 
- Did I make a careless mistake? 
- Did I incorrectly apply a related formula/property/technique? 
- Did I fall for a trap answer? If so, what was the trap exactly? 
- Was there a concept I did not understand in the question?

By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to fix your weaknesses efficiently and, in turn, improve your skills. This process has been proven to be effective for all topics.

For more tips, check out these articles: 
-  Developing the Proper Mindset For GMAT Success 
-  How to Increase Your GMAT Quant Score: Top 20 Tips 
-  How to Score High on GMAT Verbal on the Focus Edition 
-  How to Prepare for GMAT Data Insights

MartyMurray · Answer

Hi Adamdogg,

You could move to working on weaker topics one at a time by doing the following:

- First, use your performance on practice sets or practice tests to identify a topic you could improve in.

- Then, review the concepts and strategies the topic involves.

- Then, do practice questions involving that topic UNTIMED until you're achieving high accuracy.

- Finally, work on reducing the time per question until you're correctly answering questions involving that topic at test pace.

Then, move on to the next topic and do the same thing.

These posts could be helpful as well.

How to Score 705+ on the GMAT

How to Prepare for GMAT Verbal

How to Ace the GMAT Using the Streaks Method

ExpertsGlobal · Answer

Hello  Adamdogg ,

Here is a structured, step-by-step approach to help you perform better:

1. Consolidate your concepts
Revisit all the conceptual material you have covered so far; you already have a command over it so you need to just work on strengthening it. If you are still struggling with certain topics, consider investing in a solid prep course. Keep in mind: while the official material is excellent for practice, it’s not designed for teaching concepts from scratch.

2. Re-attempt all previously incorrect questions. Review your mistakes from earlier practice. Understand why you got them wrong and how to avoid those errors going forward.

3. Practice with a new set of high-difficulty questions. Use either official sources or reliable third-party material to build deeper familiarity with challenging questions.

4. Practice consistently over the next few weeks. Every couple of weeks, go back and re-attempt your earlier incorrect questions. Continue revisiting weak areas in your conceptual understanding along the way.

By diligently following these four steps over a few focused weeks, you will likely find yourself performing at a significantly higher level.

All the best!

Experts’ Global Team

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