Boost score from 640 to 720+

Question

Hey,

I appeared for GMAT today and scored a 640 (V35 Q44). Waiting for my ESR to be available for analysis, but until then I was hoping to come up with an action plan so I can purchase subscription and mocks accordingly.

Current state- I had purchased the E-gmat coaching last month and focused on the lessons for SC, CR and Quants. I did exhaust their Scholaranium for Verbal and my accuracy was between 80-85%. However, I was unable to give any mocks due to less time and I felt that impacted my score today as I had to guess around 4-5 questions in Verbal and 8-10 questions in Quant.

I personally feel that DS questions of Quant and speed in hard RCs are my pain points.

Would mean a lot in case anyone can provide their valuable insights and guide me on the next steps as I am planning to give another attempt next month and it will be my final one.

Archit3110 · Answer

To improve timing one of best ways is to practice with timer for that you can utilize GC forum and tests alongside give official plus MGMAT mocks

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GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Consider using question/time markers for time management. For RC, becoming familiar with how inference questions work could be helpful as well. If you feel your fundamentals are solid, working on your solving approach may help a bit. Had a student for example who went from a V31 to a V40 in about 30 days. Perhaps include working with a study buddy who is strong on DS and RC.

3 RC tips

3 RC tips

pintukr · Answer

Need to use Forum Quiz to solve topic-wise questions, gradually increasing the difficulty levels of the questions.

All the Best.

Score-Quest · Answer

Hi Arpit,

First off, moving from 640 to 720 within a month is quite a significant leap. It's crucial to approach this with a strategic mindset to make the most of the time you have.

The initial step is to decipher your accuracy in each sub-section of both Quant and Verbal. You can achieve this by meticulously going through your error log. By analyzing this, you can pinpoint the specific areas where your accuracy might be lacking. Now, it's essential to diagnose why your performance dips in these areas - is it due to conceptual misunderstandings, oversight errors, or perhaps even test-taking strategy issues? Addressing these directly with your error log will offer clarity on the areas you need to fortify.

Once you've identified and addressed these weak points, you should concentrate on practicing more challenging questions, but under timed conditions. This approach will help you build both your skills and your pace simultaneously. Remember, the time pressure on the GMAT is significant, so practicing under similar constraints can condition your mind to work more efficiently.

In the final phase of your preparation, channel your energy into taking and thoroughly analyzing official mocks. This will not only give you a closer approximation to the actual exam scenario but will also provide insights into last-minute areas of improvement.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ArpitV,

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

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 course that you mentioned? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
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) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

Av919 · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC

Hi Rich,

PFB my response to your queries-

1. I have been preparing full fledged for the past 1 month. On average, I was devoting atlas 6-8 hours per day. But what I feel is that I focused too much on the video lessons and not on practicing questions in a stipulated set of time.

2. Apart from E-gmat, I practiced questions from OG andGmat Club Forum.

3. As for mocks, I have not given any due to time constraint and was focusing on completing my course before my attempt which is why I believe that I faced issues with timing during my actual attempt. I ended up spending 4-5 minutes on a couple of questions which ended up costing my valuable time during the second half of the exam.

4. I am planning to apply to business schools in R2 i.e. first week of January mostly. However, I have a month before I rejoin office so it's extremely important for me to crack a good GMAT score before that, leaving me with enough time to work on my applications.

I will be sharing my ESR as soon as it is available, would be great if you could analyse and help me formulate an action plan.

Thanks in advance!

KarishmaB · Answer

Your Quant is at about 50 percentile and Verbal at about 75. If you struggle with DS, figure out why. The Math concepts involved are the same. DS questions require a good understanding of the Sufficiency concept and come with lots of pitfalls that you need to look out for. Once you do that, your performance on both types of questions should be similar.

With a V35, you are likely average at 2 question types (and perhaps good at one). Aim to be good at both CR and SC and then even if you are average at RC (troubled by the harder questions), you will get a high score. This would be the best strategy considering the amount of time you have at hand.

You must take 3-4 full length practice tests to sort out the timing issues. The score you obtain in these is usually not very representative of the actual score but they help you identify your weak areas and learn time management.

Other than that, let's wait for your ESR to get a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.

Av919 · Answer

Hi  KarishmaB 
 EMPOWERgmatRichC ,

I have DMed you my ESR report. Please provide your feedback on the same.

Thanks, 
Arpit

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Arpit,

I've sent you a PM with an analysis of your ESR and some additional notes and questions.

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]
www.empowergmat.com

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

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