Strategy required to crack GMAT in 40 days.

Question

Hi 
I have been studying for my other tests and am almost done with my quant basics and concepts required for GMAT. I have scored 570 in my mock. And I have to write my GMAT on 15th of January. I cant afford to delay it. Please advice a good strategy to follow for these 40 day to achieve a score of 720. I can study for almost 10 hours a day if required.

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi gurveenkaur2,

If you feel confident in Quant, I would recommend focus on verbal. E-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live are both amazing courses that can really help you improve your scores.

However, given how close your GMAT date is, I personally do not think one should focus on too many things on the final leg of their GMAT Preparation. It may be nice to give a couple of mocks (the official ones) and work on your weaknesses, but trying something new might not work in anyone’s favor. However if you want to improve on any individual area such as Sentence Correction, you may subscribe to the individual SC course as you can finish the whole course in 10 days (with proper dedication). If, however you are only looking to identify and improve on your weak areas, I would encourage you to purchase the e-gmat scholaranium, which is included in both the courses above. It is without a doubt, one of the best practice tools for verbal and will indeed help you on the final leg of your preparations. Further taking a few mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas.

Further another advantage of taking mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practice tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that.

I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice.

Hope this helps. All the best.

pushpitkc · Answer

Hi  gurveenkaur2

To add to whatever  rohan2345  has written, 
I would suggest you to try out other prep companies before taking a decision. 
You can find free trial of several companies here at GMATClub. Test and go with
a strategy which you think will help you!

Also, I would request you not to push too hard (10 hours/day) unless you think
you are making progress. Give tests from time to time and work on your 
shortcomings to make improvement.

You should read this  post  for Reading Comprehension.
Also, some books that you could read to improve your comprehension skills
are available in the post -  GMAT Fiction 
For CR, you should definitely read the PowerScore CR Bible to build your concepts.
For SC, I definitely think e-GMAT has an awesome course and it will surely help 
you improve your SC skills.

Hope this helps you!

MagooshExpert · Answer

Hi gurveenkaur2 ! Carolyn from Magoosh here

I think rohan2345 and pushpitkc have given you some great advice here

I just want to emphasize that the quality of your studies is much more important than the quantity . Learning from mistakes is key. If it were possible to never make the same mistake twice, you would become an absolute master of the test in a very, very short time. So be sure that you go through the explanation, study very carefully the related concepts, research methods or material you're not comfortable with but are mentioned in the solution, and really analyze the questions. Make it your goal to understand inside-out every single practice question you do, so that if you see that same question in the future, you know that you will nail it. In fact, if you review a question one day, it's good to go back to it four to five days later to see if you still understand it. Always be checking how much you have retained or how much you can actually remember from what you think you understand. Until you can recall something at any time, without any hints or warm-up, immediately and with complete clarity--until you can recall it like that--you don't really understand it as deeply as you need to. The goal in learning is NOT efficiency but rather thoroughness. I'd also recommend reading through Mike's list of the habits of excellence , and try to incorporate those as much as possible in your practice! I hope that's helpful!

-Carolyn

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gurveenkaur2,

Assuming you took this CAT in a realistic fashion and the score is an accurate assessment of your skills, you're almost certainly going to have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections - and all of that training will likely take at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study. With just 40 days of potential study time, you will likely need to either push back your Test Date or change your Score Goal. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. In addition, it's possible that you don't actually "need" a 720+ score.

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 study materials have you used so far?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?

Goals:
4) What is your exact Test Date?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Strategy required to crack GMAT in 40 days.

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