Tips to improve from 670 to 700+ with 28 days left

Question

Hi all, 
I took the GMAC practice test 1 today and scored 670 (44Q, 38V, IR4). I’d like to improve to a 700+ on the real exam which is in a month (Feb 20). This will be my first GMAT attempt ever. I’m clearly weaker in quant than verbal so I think I should focus my efforts on quant for the next month, but I’m not sure what resources to use or what my study plan should look like for the next month.

I’ve finished all the quant Manhattan guides. I have yet to get through all the questions in OG.

Should I do question sets for the next month from the OG or would I benefit from a course like TTP or Empower? I’m not sure what would be the best use of my time.

Feeling a bit lost. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

TAC470 · Answer

Hi SSM473,

670 is a good score to start with however if you want to improve further you will have to give extra care to those topics you think you are weak at .your quant score is 44 right now and to reach 700+ score you need at-least 48-49 in quant ( assuming you will be maintaining your current verbal score ) i would suggest you to use 5 days trail of TTP and work on those topic we are weak at.

gmatgames · Answer

Try the Target Test prep course. You should be able to increase your Quant score.

shikhasing4 · Answer

Hey
670 is a good score
To cross 700+, you need to analyse areas where you are going wrong.. there are just a few areas which you need to focus on now that you are at 670 already

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ssm473,

A 670 is a fantastic initial CAT/mock Score - and you're closer to a 700+ than you probably realize. The Q44 means that your overall 'math knowledge' is probably fine, but the Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test' - it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires a lot of little calculations as you work through it. Assuming that you can consistently score in the high-V30s, then with some adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Quant section, then you could score well into the 700s.

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? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned?
3) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

ssm473 · Answer

TAC470 gmatgames shikhasing4 Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate the feedback. I will check TTP out and isolate the areas I am weak in.

ssm473 · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC , Thanks for taking the time to respond. It is really motivating to hear that a 700+ is within my reach if I work a little bit more for it. I wholly agree - I think I'm having trouble seeing the Quant questions in a different light. As I was reviewing the practice test today, I noticed that some errors could be attributed to careless errors, such as misreading the stem, or that it took me long to understand what the question was asking in the first place. I also need to improve on my time management skills/pacing as I have to guess on the last few questions. Here are my answers to your questions: 1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week? I've been studying since August 2020. I've pulled myself up from a 580 on a mock test to a 670. I study around 30 hours every week. 2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned? I started off with the Kaplan Live Online course in August 2020. That concluded in September/October. After that I started the MGMAT books and did questions in the GMAT forum/Official Guide and used MGMAT CATs. 3) Are you planning to take the At-home GMAT or are you planning to take your GMAT at a Test Facility? I'm planning to take my GMAT at a test facility. 4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to? I'm planning to apply for R1 deadlines later this year. I'm looking at schools in the Top 20 that are located in the Northeast US: Columbia Business, Yale SOM, UPenn Wharton, NYU Stern, Cornell Johnson, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, and Chicago Booth. Haven't narrowed it down yet

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ssm473,

Many GMATers face pacing issues in the Quant section, the Verbal section or both – so you are not alone. However, it's important to remember that pacing problems do NOT exist on their own - they're the results of OTHER problems. Most GMAT questions can be approached in more than one way, so if you typically have to 'rush' through several questions at the ends of each section, then it's likely that "your way" is the "long way" - and there are faster, more efficient Tactical approaches that you could be using. By extension, you have to be careful about continuing to use the same approaches that are currently causing your pacing problem, as you could end up getting 'stuck' at a particular Score level.

Going forward, you also have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

Since you are interested in some highly-competitive Schools, 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/

1) In your original post, it was not clear that you had taken more than 1 CAT/mock. 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)?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ssm473 · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,

I keep an error log and visit it often, so I've been able to remedy a lot of approaches but I will try to take careful note of areas where I'm still not being efficient. Maybe taking a course will help me stay on track with applying efficient tactics and breaking free of the old ones. In some instances, I feel myself reverting to traditional methods because I don't trust that I'm applying the tactical approach correctly. Maybe it also comes down to getting more practice. On this last test, I did notice myself getting hung up on questions that I didn't know. I should've guessed and moved on. I also noticed that it sometimes took long for the efficient approach to come to me and I'd freeze. I do think I need more practice applying the techniques. I hope I'm not getting stuck at a particular score!

Sorry, the 30 hours every week definitely includes breaks. I was adding up chunks I've allotted on my calendar. If I consider purely studying, I'd say a total of 20-23 hours.

Thanks so much for the link; I'll definitely reach out to the experts and ask questions about my overall profile.

1) In your original post, it was not clear that you had taken more than 1 CAT/mock. 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)?

I've taken six CATs prior to this one. In total:

a) August 2020 - Kaplan Diagnostic CAT: 580 (unfortunately, don't remember the scaled scores for each section)
b) Oct 2020 - Kaplan Test 1: 650 (40Q,39V,IR3)
c) Nov 6, 2020 - Kaplan Test 2: 680 (44Q, 39V,IR5)
d) Nov 30, 2020 - MGMAT CAT1: 630 (44Q,32V,IR4.5)
e) Dec 13, 2020 - MGMAT CAT2: 620 (39Q,36V,IR7.3)
f) Jan 10, 2020 - MGMAT CAT3: 600 (36Q,35V,IR7.3) - this one was taken under less than ideal circumstances
g) GMAC Practice Test 1: 670 (44Q,38V,IR4)

I definitely found the MGMAT exams tougher but I also was only able to take them really late at night after work. I'm planning to take practice tests from now up until the week before the exam to build up stamina. I'll probably take the next official GMAC free mock on Feb 6 (two weeks before the real thing).

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

I can continue to study the same number of hours each week going forward (20-23). I can probably allot more time but as you said, I don't want to burn out right before the exam. I'm really committed to changing my tactics and doing well on this test, so I recognize I'll probably have to take the exam more than once to score my overall goal of 720. I know it may not be realistic to aim for a 720 by Feb 20, so I'm aiming to get as close to a 700 as possible and to continue improving my Quant skills.

To be honest, I don't think I studied efficiently at all after I finished my Kaplan course in November. I wish I had signed up for another course like Empower or TTP earlier on to keep drilling in the skills I had been building. I think it was the wrong move trying to solely self-study using the Manhattan Guides. But alas, here we are! Just trying to figure out how to make the best use of the next month and if I'd benefit from enrolling in a course now or just doing OG question sets/using the GMAT Club Forum for the answer explanations.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ssm473,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The MGMAT CATs are generally regarded as being a little tougher than the Official GMAT, so it's not surprising that those CAT Scores are a little lower. That having been said, GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your CAT score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 650 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes (and since you've been scoring at this same general score level over the last 3 months, it is likely that you've gotten 'stuck' at this level).

A February 20th Test Date still gives you almost 4 weeks of study time - and that could be enough time for you to hit a 700+ IF you're focused on learning and practicing the proper Tactics. However, if you developed any 'bad habits' during your prior studies, then we'll need to define and fix those issues (and replace those bad habits with new 'good habits') - and that might require that you commit to more than 4 additional weeks.

Based on all of the information that you have provided, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Quant Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in under a month, so the time commitment wouldn't be too intense. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Glad to see you plan to use TTP! If you have any questions about the course, feel free to reach out to us directly.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi ssm473,

Before you plan what to study, I suggest you to understand the problem. It's good that you know that you are weak in quant but I'm afraid that's not enough. You have to analyze why it is that you are struggling with quant. Are you struggling with the concepts of a few topics or you are struggling with the application? By application, I mean, are you finding it difficult to approach the questions in the right way. This can be the case, if you are struggling with timing.

So, I suggest you to narrow down your weaknesses first and then think about the plan of action. I see that there's hardly one month left for your exam. So, I suggest you that we get in touch over a call and have a detailed discussion regarding your study strategy and the reason behind not scoring well on quant. This will help me understand your concerns better and guide you in a better way. You can use the below link to get in touch with me.

Click here to schedule a call

Tips to improve from 670 to 700+ with 28 days left

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