Need help with GMAT Re-take - 1st Attempt - 600,2nd - 660, Target 720+

Question

Hi GMAT Experts,

I need your opinion about how I should prepare to improve my GMAT score.
Here is the brief description of my journey so far.

I started preparing for GMAT around Aug-20 and gave my first attempt at GMAT online in Nov-20 and got 600 (Q49, V23, IR3).
Before this I was scoring in the range of 640 - 690 in official Mocks but the final result was not as expected.
So I started working on my Verbal section and improved from V23 to V42 in official Mocks and attempted GMAT online again in Dec-20 end after around one month of preparation and result was 660 (Q49, V32, IR4), again not as expected.

My target score is 720+ and I do not want to rush this time and now since deadline for my target schools are gone I have plenty of time to prepare and give my best shot in next season.

The study materials I have used till now are
-GMAT official guide 2021
-GMAT Verbal review 2021
-Official GMAT prep mock test (5)
-800 score mock tests (3)
-MGMAT mock test (1)

Please advice me on how should I proceed further and what should be my timeline to retake, 
Is taking more than 3 months of study will be bad for a re-take ? I am planning a re-take in around Jun-21. (6 months prep)
What study material should I follow, For verbal I am planning to solve Official Guide and Verbal review again, will it be beneficial or I should use some other material having new questions ? and 
For Quant I will be solving Quant review which I have not done so far. 
After finishing these I will move to GMAT Official Advanced Questions.

Your expert opinion is highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance !

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi shantanusharma26,

First of all, congratulations on the 60 point improvement. It takes a lot of effort to improve on your own. But I see that you have focused more on practicing questions than on the process. GMAT is a test of application of concepts. So, your focus has to be on learning the right methods. No matter how many questions you solve, if you do not use the right methods or if you do not rectify your mistakes, your score is not likely to improve.

Having said that, your quant score is decent. The verbal seems to be the main concern. And honestly, the resources you mentioned, are not very great resources to teach you the right methods. The best way to learn the right methods is to analyze the solutions. If you have detailed solutions with you, you can go through each step, compare your approach with the right one and then nullify the gaps if any.

And I don't think you have to wait 6 months to improve your score. 6 months would be too long and you might even get frustrated with your GMAT prep if it lasts too long. So, if you can spend some good number of hours in a week for studies, you can finish it off in a month of two.

The path ahead: 
  Quant practice quiz daily - of 10 or 20 questions 
 Coming to verbal, identify the weak areas 
 Organize them into respective topics 
 Go through the concepts of those topics if necessary 
 Learn the right methodology of solving the question types 
 Practice a few questions to get used to the methodology 
 Once you are done with all the topics, you can start taking timed quizzes 
 Once you start getting decent accuracy in the quizzes, you can take the mocks 
 If you consistently score well on your mocks, you are good to book a slot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeVrfdf__jU

I hope you got a clear idea of what to do and how to prepare. Having said that, I would like to know your weak areas, the way you prepared till now and your approach towards solving questions. These details will help me understand your concerns and guide you in a better way. I suggest that we get in touch over a call, have a detailed discussion regarding your weak areas and your approach and then come up with a proper study plan.

You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi shantanusharma26,

The good news is that your quant seems to be in a very good spot but it's clear that verbal is holding you back. With that in mind, I have 3 very helpful articles for you to check out.

GMAT Critical Reasoning: 8 Essential Tips

GMAT Reading Comprehension Tips: Top 8 DOs and DON’Ts

GMAT Sentence Correction: 8 Essential Tips

Regarding materials, have you had a chance to check out reviews of GMAT prep resources here on GMAT Club?

shameekv1989 · Answer

shantanusharma26  :- 6 months is just too much. If you scored 660, I can tell you you are not very far from your target score, its probably just a matter of 3-4 medium questions that you need to get right. I was in a similar position some months ago when I scored 660 - Q49, V31 but was able to increase it to 720 Q50, V38.

My suggestion would be for you to focus more on the mid-level questions as they help you in grasping concepts deeply. Moreover, you need to get a very high accuracy even for mid-level questions. You can get away with incorrectly answering high difficulty questions and still score higher but not otherwise.

All the best!!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi shantanusharma26,

I'm sorry to hear that neither of your two attempts went as well as hoped. When these types of score drops occur, the two likely "causes" involve either something that was unrealistic during practice or something that was surprising (or not accounted for) on Test Day. Before we discuss any of those potential issues though, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) What type of study routine have you been following? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books and practice CATs/mocks that you listed? 
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAC currently allows each Test-taker just 2 attempts at the At-home version of the GMAT, meaning that your next attempt will have to be taken at a Test Center. By extension, you will have to make some adjustments to how you take your CATs/mocks going forward. Thankfully, the GMAT is the same consistent, predictable Exam that it has always been, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

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

shantanusharma26 · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,

Thanks for the insights, Please find my responses.
I have given all official mocks imitating the online GMAT environment.

1. I am studying around 2 hours a day on weekdays and around 4 hours on weekends so approximately 18 hours / week.
2. Other than the listed materials, I referred to video lectures from one of the test prep companies and some YouTube videos for my weak verbal sections.
3. Please find below details of Mock test taken :
GMAT Official Mock 1 18-Oct-20 - 650 (Q49, V30)
GMAT Official Mock 2 01-Nov-20 - 690 (Q50, V31)
GMAT Official Mock 3 04-Nov-20 - 680 (Q48, V34)
GMAT Official Mock 4 07-Nov-20 - 640 (Q49, V28)
GMAT Official Mock 1 13-Nov-20 - 710 (Q50, V36) (Re-take)
 GMAT Exam Attempt 1 : 15-Nov-20 - 600 (Q49, V23) 
GMAT Official Mock 2 13-Dec-20 - 710 (Q50, V35) (Re-take)
GMAT Official Mock 5 20-Dec-20 - 720 (Q48, V42)
 GMAT Exam Attempt 2 : 23-Dec-20 - 660 (Q49, V32) 
4. I am planning to apply in top 4 Indian B-Schools (IIMA/B/C & ISB), all of them having average GMAT score requirement of 700+ and my profile falls into a bigger pool of "male engineer" so I am targeting a score of 720+.

Yes I understand that I need to prepare for "GMAT at center" test now and therefore I need to prepare for AWA as well but good thing is that I can attempt Verbal section first which was not possible with online GMAT.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi shantanusharma26,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

gmatwitcher · Answer

HI Rich. I'm suffering with the same problem as the OP, and had almost similar timelines and score, with the same bracket of target score.

Can you PM me the notes and questions too? Will be of great help.

Thanks in advance

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gmatwitcher,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

shantanusharma26 · Answer

A quick update on this. I took GMAT again on 05-Mar-21 and scored 690 (Q48, V35, IR3, AWA6). Thanks everyone for commenting on this post and providing your valuable feedback. I was expecting a 700+ score but got stuck in some questions in Quant in order to aim for Q50 but instead wasted a lot of time and had to guess few question in order to complete quant on time. Hence, stranded at Q48

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi shantanusharma26,

To start, this 690/Q48 is nice improvement over your prior Score - and since it's a fantastic overall performance, it could be enough to get you into your first-choice School (even if it might be little lower than the Average GMAT Score at some of the Programs that you're interested in).

To that end, since you know the specific Schools that you're interested in, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

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

EducationAisle · Answer

V23 to V35 is a brilliant improvement in Verbal.

Congratulations!

Need help with GMAT Re-take - 1st Attempt - 600,2nd - 660, Target 720+

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